‘Casket Case’ has a great premise centering the story on a casket shop in the middle of nowhere, but ultimately the pacing and characters fell just a little flat for me. I would have liked a little more time for their love story to grow and more of Garrett’s point of view in general. Only mild spice throughout.

I was truly so interested in this book, especially as someone whose partner is a funeral director.. unfortunately this is one of those books that had such a strong concept, but the execution failed. The pacing of this book was quite off. The fact that they were instantly in love after only a couple dates and a few short weeks it shouldn’t be surprising that they didn’t know enough about each other to make the relationship sustainable. Then we added in the secondary love interest, Johnny, who I’m gonna be honest, I was rooting for More. They had history they chemistry they had shared interest and by the end I just wanted her to end up with him. And then making the epilogue the grandfather‘s death just felt like the worst way to end it.

Yes, I am giving this 3 stars. I actually am looking back on this read fairly fondly because while it read less as a romance to me (even less so a rom-com), it did make me have lots of feelings. This story is more of an exploration of the role of death in our lives and how absolutely unescapable it is. It is grief in all its stages. I would lean towards heart-wrenching instead of heart-warming when describing this.

Nora returns to her small town after her parents suddenly pass away and she must take over their funeral home business, when one day a stranger walks into town and asks her for directions... and out on a date. Seeing as there isn't really many options in her town, she says yes. Does this sound like sure it could in fact be a rom-com? Well, she has pretty crippling depression that you can practically feel oozing from the pages of this book that really mutes all the potential for humor in this. Oh and to make matters worse? That stranger actually works for death and helps send people to the great beyond.

The writing style is pretty cut and dry, which lends itself towards more of a general feeling of exhaustion in Nora that made me as the reader also just... sad. Or I was in a slightly depressive episode while reading this and the story just compounded those emotions. Who knows?

I do think the premise itself was interesting, and kind of came across like an Ashley Poston type of situation, only less romance-y and more "what do I do when everyone I have ever loved and will ever love dies and I am once again alone in this world".

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing an eARC of Casket Case in exchange for this honest review

First, thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this.

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t quite for me. I struggled to connect with the main character, and most of the supporting cast felt flat and underdeveloped.

It’s strange—there were little neurotic bits of Nora I recognized in myself, but overall, her personality grated on me. Maybe that’s something to unpack in therapy. Where I see some balance in myself, she felt one-note and lacked redeeming traits.

The love story didn’t work for me either. It was a confusing blend of instalove, miscommunication, and an out-of-nowhere love triangle that didn’t add much to the plot. I went in expecting a darker, perhaps more morbid tone based on other reviews, but was surprised by how much it focused on romance instead.

The ending was exactly what I expected, but it still made me cry—which always earns a bonus star from me. So kudos for that emotional pull.

Overall, while the premise was intriguing, the execution just didn’t land for me.

Couldn’t get into this book. I struggled staying interested and connecting with the characters. I loved the cover art for this book.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF at about 33% into the novel. Something that will always make me put a book down is getting this far into it and still not getting past the events described in the blurb. If you’re advertising this book to be about Nora grappling with Garrett’s job, then make it about that! Instead, a third of the way in and she still doesn’t know what his job is.

I understand some set up needs to happen. Seeing them meet and go on a few dates is only to be expected, but these moments are extremely mundane and need to happen quicker. I’m over 100 pages into the book and really nothing has happened yet except seeing two awkward adults get ice cream and Italian food. I felt no chemistry between these two. Their relationship seemed to move really fast and came across as insta-love, which isn’t very fun to read about.

Nora has no personality to her. She literally spends her free-time watching the same shows over and over and drinking a questionable amount of wine. I know it’s to show her depression from losing her parents, but it isn’t very entertaining to read about. There’s a way to portray this and not bore the reader.

This is a fantastic premise destroyed through execution. If this was written purely from Garrett’s POV, I think it’d be a better experience.

I received an e-ARC through NetGalley from Random House Publishing Group. This review and my opinions are my own.

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, Random House Publishing for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Insta love, secrets, small town

This book had a good premise, but it just didn't play out how I expected or wanted. I'm not really sure why I didn't love it. It struggled to come together for me.

This book was a DNF for me. I had trouble getting into the book and the writing style was just not for me. I love the premise of the book though. I wanted to love this book based of the description.

Unusual and funny. This was pretty unique and I loved it! Garret and Nora were two halves of a whole and it showed! This had me laughing out loud! The pop culture references and the quips too good!

I really wanted to love Casket Case. I thought the premise was super unique, and who better for a logistics coordinator for death than a woman who runs a casket business? Sadly, while I enjoyed the first few chapters and their first meeting, I couldn't get invested in the story or the characters. .

Garret and Nora had some instalove, and while I don't mind it in some books, it didn't work for me with these two. I found myself bored with their relationship, and it didn't really feel like anything was going on until towards the end when they had their 3rd act breakup.

Thank you so much, Netgalley, for providing me with this arc!

The concept of this book was so intriguing and could've been executed well IN THEORY. But the execution just didn't land for me whatsoever. I didn't feel any connection to either of our main love interests, I found it hard to believe that they even felt a connection with each other! It was also more akin to instalove, a personal hell trope I can never gel well with. I think this author has a lot of promise, and her concepts could be turned into something amazing, maybe romance isn't the place for it, though.

Nora is running her family's casket store after the death of her parents. Garrett is looking for an address and stops in to ask directions. A slow burn romance begins. Little does Nora know that Garrett actually is a grim reaper.
Opinion
This was a slow novel to start, so slow that I almost abandoned it. I am very thankful I did not. Once it picked up, things got really interesting and I ended up enjoying the book way more than I thought I would.
I love stories about the Grim Reaper (call me morbid, I know!) This was my initial attraction to the book. What turned my head was what happened with a side/minor character towards the end.
Many thanks to Net Galley and to Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of this book.

this book was a slog. the insta-love in the first 50 pages meant there was no romantic tension, and honestly the book just didn’t have a point to it? could have been such a cool concept of a story but instead it was just incredibly mundane. this needed a secondary plot to do with garrett’s job, i think that may have helped. also i know she’s been grieving but nora truly had no friends???

I really wanted to like this one. It’s such a fun concept, great blurb. But unfortunately it just did not deliver in execution for me. I’m not sure what the problem was entirely, maybe that it needed to choose a lane? Either whimsical or sardonic, either lighter or darker or grounded, instead it just felt like I could never fully get a grasp on the pacing and vibe.


It also felt like a caricature of a small southern town, and Nora, the FMC, seemed to repeatedly follow beliefs and routines that she didn’t seem to want to, that was just what they did there. The sort of stereotype much of the south is trying to break away from. Including this interaction where she doesn’t gently have a discussion about her friend’s overstepping, because she knows better. “She’s trying to find a recipe for her grandson’s fifth birthday party. Lucas doesn’t like cake. He doesn’t like bread of any kind. He also doesn’t like loud noises or excitement, so this birthday party might not be a great idea, but Nora knows better than to tell that to a grandmother.”

She moves home even though she doesn’t want to, she continues her family business because she should. She jumps from relationship to relationship and bounces all decisions off of other people. In a healthier situation this could be seen as a village but unfortunately it just seems like she doesn’t know how to be her own person.


I’m sure plenty of people identify with this character, but personally I don’t want to encourage much of the people pleasing behavior that Nora exhibits. She fears “doing something wrong without even knowing” and is ready to say her relationship is serious after less than a handful of encounters. She is extremely codependent. This is a very real character, and also, I wish there had been more encouragement and growth.


This story just wasn’t for me.

"Casket Case" by Lauren Evans is a thrilling, fast-paced mystery that kept me hooked from start to finish. The characters are well-crafted, the suspense is high, and the plot twists had me on the edge of my seat. Evans weaves humor and intrigue into a story that’s both clever and entertaining. Huge thanks to the publisher for the ARC! I’ve already added a copy to my library system. If you're a fan of mysteries with dark humor and unexpected twists, this book is definitely for you. Highly recommend it!

Cute and preposterous. I get having to suspend disbelief with fiction, and who knows how exactly death works, but this wax just silly.

Casket Case has a pretty wild concept, and I’ll admit, the blurb completely drew me in. I was hoping for something interesting and a little offbeat—and on that front, it did deliver. The story follows Nora, our FMC, who works at her family’s inherited casket store. She crosses paths with a mysterious stranger, Garrett, and the two quickly fall for each other. Then comes the twist: Garrett works for Death himself. Nora is left to wrestle with the reality that her seemingly perfect guy might not be so perfect after all.

While the premise was unique and intriguing, the execution fell flat for me.

The pacing felt off from the start. The insta-love between Nora and Garrett was hard to buy into—it felt more like a product of loneliness and proximity than genuine connection. Their romance lacked depth, and once they got together, the story became a repetitive cycle of Garrett internally debating whether to tell Nora the truth, and Nora going back and forth on whether she could handle that truth. This went on for hundreds of pages with little progress, and I honestly think the story would’ve been much more impactful (and less frustrating) as a novella.

Then out of nowhere, we find ourselves in a love triangle—which, to be honest, only added to my confusion about the relationship. It made me question whether Nora actually had real feelings for Garrett, or if she just latched onto the first new person to show up in her life. It didn’t feel like genuine chemistry so much as convenience, which made it hard to root for any of it.

Character development also left a lot to be desired. There were hints at deeper emotional arcs—particularly with Nora and her grief—but they were never fully explored. The side characters were indistinct and forgettable, and I couldn’t tell you much about any of them, which made the world around the main couple feel hollow.

The book is written in third-person, and in my opinion, it would have worked better in first-person. For a story so focused on emotions, relationships, and internal conflict, a more intimate narrative perspective could have brought us closer to the characters and made their emotional arcs feel more genuine. As it stands, the third-person narration felt oddly detached and occasionally too revealing, almost like an over-sharing narrator we never really got to know.

Stylistically, the writing felt choppy and abrupt. Most of the sentences were short and lacked detail, giving it a rhythm that reminded me of one-word answers in a conversation—awkward and unsatisfying. The dialogue didn’t feel natural, which made it hard for me to connect with the characters. Garrett especially gave me the ick from the beginning, and the way he was written didn’t help.

Overall, Casket Case just wasn’t for me. It had a fresh, creative concept, but the lack of emotional depth, character development, and flow in the writing left me feeling disconnected. Big thanks to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for my DRC.

I unfortunately had to DNF this. I am reviewing here, but won’t be posting elsewhere as I typically don’t review DNFed books

I just couldn’t get into it. Yeah, she works at a mortuary, but it’s labeled a rom-com and I felt it was more morbid than necessary. The characters had the worst case of insta-love, but still somehow felt stiff and unnatural. It just gave me the ick all the way around and I couldn’t continue past ~42%

I would definitely recommend this book. Nora ends up where she never wanted to be.. back in the small town she was from. Selling Caskets! Love and death completely intertwined. Add a little Paranormal when she finds out Garrett the man she is falling for works for Death.

Nora takes over the casket sales business that her parents owned in her tiny hometown. Her life in the big city over, she believes that this is her new life. She is not happy, but she is also not unhappy. She is just okay.
But then she meets a man. Charming, attractive, perfect except for his job. Turns out he works for DEATH.
What ensues is a complication of what death is, how it affects the people who live and how love can make you do things you did not know you were capable of.
It is a lighthearted look on a serious subject. Enjoyed it very much.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me this ARC.