I don't know what had drawn me in to request Casket Case on Netgalley. It sounded good and I was hoping maybe it'd be a little spooky . . . nope.

In general, the premise was there. Vaguely.

I feel like this was more just a poorly executed romance and even then it hardly felt like a romance.

We follow our female main character as she runs her casket shop in the middle of nowhere. How she stays open is beyond me, how many people are dying in the middle of nowhere? Then she meets a stranger who comes into town and starts a little meet-cute. Except the both of them seem so needy with each other. I would expect that type of behavior from teenagers, not grown adults!

Then find out what and who Graham really is. I thought there'd be more of this and not just a vague undertone that's almost overlooked. It was there for the "third act breakup," I guess.

The title grabbed me, and the plot so unique! Nora is grappling with grief after the death of her parents and now runs the family casket business. She develops a romance with Garrett, the mysterious man that visits their small town. Unbeknownst to her, he works for Death. Although the romance was a bit insta-love for me (the chemistry between the main characters was lackluster and I wasn’t a fan of the love triangle presented in the last third of the book), overall it was still an enjoyable read. I appreciated the balance of love and heartache and the unusual and unique perspective on when people pass away. Many thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to read and review. 3.75 stars

I did not finish the Casket Case. I found it slightly boring and didn't care enough about the characters to keep reading.

I won't be reading this. I've tried multiple times and haven't gotten into it. Thank you though for the opportunity. If I read it in the future I will come back and change this review.

This was just fine. I thought it would be a little more exciting giving the spooky vibes, but it still felt so cliche.

I really wanted to like this because it seemed so fun. But, I just couldn't get myself be interested enough to read this. DNFed it pretty quick at 10% which is not usually how I read books but something about this just didn't hold my attention. Maybe I'll pick it up again later, but after three tries, something tells me this book isn't for me.

I wish I could’ve gotten more into this, it took me a very long time to try. I hate DNF’ing arcs, especially now that it’s out for the world. I came back and gave it another shot, but it wasn’t for me.
Very interesting concept, just wanted more.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book early

This book started with so much potential but somehow just puttered out by the end. I was expecting a romance with some Under the Whispering Door vibes, but it mostly just was about Nora being mad about Garrett's job. This could have been a really good reflection of death and how fleeting life is. Instead I had to listen to Nora talk about instagram over and over again. It honestly was just so confusing by the end.

Thanks NetGalley and Ballantine | Dell for the ARC.

Thanks to Dell Romance and Netgalley for the arc.

This had such a cute concept and I was really looking forward to it. Having Death in a romcom as the mmc during spooky season? This gave so much potential but unfortunately this felt a bit flat. However, it wasn't a terrible way to pass the time and I don't regret the read.

I thought the story line was very unique and out there. Definitely very original and that in itself appealed to me. But, the insta-love in this, and then the love triangle, did not work for me.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC. It wasn't right for me or my mood reading. at this time. I would try another book from this author.

A paranormal romance with an mmc who works for death sounded so interesting but was such a letdown. Our two mcs are also kinda boring, very one-dimensional, and not likable characters. This led to no chemistry between them, terrible communication, and instalove. Then a love triangle is introduced about 60% into the book, and our fmc, Nora, has better chemistry with this newcomer than with Garrett, the guy she’s been spending this whole book in love with, but she doesn’t know if she can be with him because he works for death. Now working for death would seem like an interesting job, but it's so boring and corporate and there’s no paranormal aspect to it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Casket Case by Lauren Evans!

DNF at 31%. I cannot get into this book. The relationship is moving way too fast in comparison to what we're experiencing as the reader. I just don't buy the relationship. I am super intrigued by him being a grim reaper and we've seen basically nothing from that portion of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Look, I made it about 10% in and had to stop. This book reads like a project for a creative writing class. The characters are flat and unrealistic. The whole thing felt off and odd in a way that I couldn't get through.

This book had an interesting premise, but it didn’t fully deliver. The story had potential, and there were a few enjoyable moments, but it lacked the depth and engagement needed to keep me hooked. The characters and plot just didn’t come together in a way that felt satisfying.

Nora returns home to take over her family's business, selling caskets. One boring day everything changes when Garrett walks in. Will she find love and happiness? Can she accept his job? This was a fun read and I really enjoyed it.

What initially drew me to Casket Case was its intriguing premise: a romance between Nora, who inherits her family’s casket business, and Garrett, who works for Death in Logistics Services. It takes a little while to figure out exactly what Garrett does, but once it’s clear, it adds an interesting layer to the story. However, I did find the relationship between Nora and Garrett a bit hard to fully buy into, as it developed a little too quickly for my liking. That said, it was still a cute and unique read, and the ending did manage to tug at my heartstrings. While I wasn’t blown away, I’d be open to exploring more from this author.

Casket Case is such an interesting idea. Usually when books mention Death, it is a person, not a corporation. I felt this book had a fast pace in the beginning and slowed a bit in the middle. I liked Nora but Garrett seemed clingy pretty fast. All in all, it waws a cute book that got some tears outta me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Randomhouse-Ballentine for the early review copy. The above opinions are my own.

I think this is a great read during the spooky season since it takes place in a setting surrounded by death. It was an adorable rom-com with its own little twist.

The miscommunication in this one actually kept me interested, it usually gets me frustrated but I liked the way the author went about it. I enjoyed both Nora and Garret as characters they were so genuine and their relationship made me smile throughout the book. I loved the aspect of both of their jobs and how it played a major role in their relationship.

Overall I thought this was a cute rom-com read that would probably reread around the Halloween season. I want to read more by this author because the romance was so cute.