Title: Casket Case
Author: Lauren Evans
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Source: Rachel’s Random Resources
Blurb: Nora thought she was finished with Rabbittown, Alabama, for good. But an unexpected tragedy turned her life upside down, and she’s found herself back in her tiny hometown running the family casket business.
There aren’t exactly a lot of prospects for a single woman in her thirties in a place like Rabbittown. Until Nora Clanton’s ordinary, casket-selling day is interrupted by a handsome stranger wandering into her shop and asking for directions–as well as a date.
Garrett Bishop seems like the ideal guy. He’s thoughtful, he’s kind, and he has a lucrative job as a logistics coordinator, for which he seems to have a passion. She’s not totally sure what “logistics” entails, but she knows it means long hours, lots of travel, and urgent calls in the middle of the night.
When a few of Rabbittown’s residents suddenly pass away–a heart attack here, a car crash there–and Garrett is spotted at the scenes of, well, all of the deaths, his frustratingly vague job description starts to become increasingly . . . suspicious. What is it that Garrett actually does for a living?
He’s a logistics coordinator for Death.
When Nora discovers the truth, she is unable to reconcile the wonderful man she knows with the unthinkably cruel job he loves. Will she ever be able to understand how he can do what he does, or will she have to lay her best chance at love to rest?
Blurb: When Rachel’s Random Resources offered this book, I fell in love with the punny title and the premise, and jumped at the chance to read it. I love Pushing Daises and Meet Joe Black, and this book seemed in a similar vein. If it had been, I’d have given more than 3 stars.
Evans hands the grief side of the story excellently. However, Garrett – who works for Death and could offer Nora some reassurance about the afterlife – refuses to do so as it’s not his jurisdiction. I felt that this was cold in light of her suffering, which happened on page as well as off. In fact she is put through quite the wringer.
I’m not sure if her immaturity is down to grief or a personality trait separate. At least she has a personality – Garrett is flat and I didn’t get a good feel for him. Due to this, I wasn’t as invested in their romance as I might have been otherwise.
Given that Nora is dealing with loss after loss, the insta-love is out of place. It ought to have been friends-to-lovers, not them falling in bed at the quarter mark. A second love interest is introduced and honestly seems a better fit for Nora. But that fizzles out and she pines for Garrett while also not being sure about him.
There was a lot to like about Casket Case. The setting was lovely, the side characters were fun, and the premise was original, if not executed perfectly.
Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources, author Lauren Evans, and Random House Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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