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piazelda's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jcurry447's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
fsi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
lezreadalot's review
3.0
3.5 stars. It feels strange not to give this a higher rating, but as far as romantic suspense/mystery goes, I know I've read better. And as far as the romance goes, I've also read better from this author, pretty recently, so it's hard not to compare. But I still enjoyed this quite a bit! It just didn't quite live up to expectations.
Corey is an analyst at the morgue; Thayer is a new doctor on staff at the hospital. When they meet, they're immediately intrigued by each other. Meanwhile, Corey has a case with some discrepancies that she can't quite shake, and starts to investigate it independently. I haven't read a lot of medical romances, and especially not those that are more on the suspense side than the contemporary side. This was a slight, and welcome, departure from my norm in that regard. I really really liked both characters. Thayer, for all that she's drop-dead gorgeous and has men and women falling over themselves for her, is such a down-to-earth and pragmatic character, and so easily likeable. And it's cool reading about a character with a job like Corey's. Her stubbornness, though a little frustrating, was definitely understandable. It felt really well-researched and immersive, especially during the medical scenes. The suspense/mystery wasn't what can be called intricate; it only gets that label from me because it's just obviously not a contemporary. There was nothing to "figure out" per se; your first guess as to who the bad guy is will probably be right. Which was a bit of a bummer to me.
The romance was good, but as wonderful as I found the chemistry between the two characters... it was just too much too soon. The two other books I've read from Elizabeth have been second chance romances. Even though that's not my favourite trope, it has the added benefit of establishing history between the characters, so if they get together very quickly in the book, it seems more natural, because they've already had some kind of relationship. This romance wasn't a second chance, but it still moved at lightning speeds, and just didn't convince me or compel me as much as I wanted.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Lori Prince, who was great as always. Since I did like the characters a lot, I might continue this series? I just hope the plots/mysteries have a little more to offer.
Content warnings:
Corey is an analyst at the morgue; Thayer is a new doctor on staff at the hospital. When they meet, they're immediately intrigued by each other. Meanwhile, Corey has a case with some discrepancies that she can't quite shake, and starts to investigate it independently. I haven't read a lot of medical romances, and especially not those that are more on the suspense side than the contemporary side. This was a slight, and welcome, departure from my norm in that regard. I really really liked both characters. Thayer, for all that she's drop-dead gorgeous and has men and women falling over themselves for her, is such a down-to-earth and pragmatic character, and so easily likeable. And it's cool reading about a character with a job like Corey's. Her stubbornness, though a little frustrating, was definitely understandable. It felt really well-researched and immersive, especially during the medical scenes. The suspense/mystery wasn't what can be called intricate; it only gets that label from me because it's just obviously not a contemporary. There was nothing to "figure out" per se; your first guess as to who the bad guy is will probably be right. Which was a bit of a bummer to me.
The romance was good, but as wonderful as I found the chemistry between the two characters... it was just too much too soon. The two other books I've read from Elizabeth have been second chance romances. Even though that's not my favourite trope, it has the added benefit of establishing history between the characters, so if they get together very quickly in the book, it seems more natural, because they've already had some kind of relationship. This romance wasn't a second chance, but it still moved at lightning speeds, and just didn't convince me or compel me as much as I wanted.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Lori Prince, who was great as always. Since I did like the characters a lot, I might continue this series? I just hope the plots/mysteries have a little more to offer.
Content warnings:
Spoiler
violence, descriptions of death and blood and gore, particularly head woundsghadeer065's review against another edition
4.5
4.5 ⭐️
“Thayer whispered, “Stay with me tonight. Be near me. Let me put my head on your chest and listen to your heart and feel you breathe.”
This book is fucking fantastic!!!!!
Honestly why haven’t i know about it before i have no idea!!
I loved both Corer and Thayer so much! Their chemistry is mind blowing
catbartram89's review against another edition
5.0
What a brilliant book! Corey is coasting through life and when Thayer comes into her life Corey finally realises there is more to life than the way she is living it.
When Corey decides to get to the bottom of the death of a 'patient' (she works in the morgue) she takes Thayer along with her, they end up back at the scene of the accident and bad things happen that could cause the relationship to be over before it even begins.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it! It's brilliantly written and the narration by Lori was fantastic as always! Kept in character and was really entertaining!
Story rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice rating.
When Corey decides to get to the bottom of the death of a 'patient' (she works in the morgue) she takes Thayer along with her, they end up back at the scene of the accident and bad things happen that could cause the relationship to be over before it even begins.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it! It's brilliantly written and the narration by Lori was fantastic as always! Kept in character and was really entertaining!
Story rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice rating.
angieinbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I read Gallows Humor months ago and have yet to review it because I’m not sure what to say about it except: “OMG, I LOVED IT SO MUCH!” with some embarrassing heart eyes and pleads that Carolyn Elizabeth write more novels. But this novel deserves more than that, so I will make an attempt at a proper review (after a re-read to ensure I did it due diligence).
Corey Curtis is a forensic pathologist and seems to be more comfortable dealing with the dead than the living. Maybe that’s not entirely fair. She has a solid group of friends at her MMA gym and a good working relationship with her co-worker, a forensic anthropology PhD student, and she’s respected for the work she does, but she’s not what you’d classify as cuddly. The medical students and nurses in the hospital in which she works are a bit scared of her and even have a special nickname they use for her. Her track record with the ladies isn’t as great. I mean, they like her, but she hasn’t found anyone who really excites or challenges her.
Thayer Reynolds has a lot going for her. She’s the recipient of a fellowship in the emergency department at the hospital where Corey works, where she has the entire staff in love with her, and only part of it is because she’s so beautiful. She’s also witty as hell.
Intrigued by the lore surrounding the resident forensic pathologist, Thayer crashes an instructional session for new residents under Corey’s care. Corey certainly makes an impression, sporting a black eye and definitely too-casually dressed for the occasion, but this seems to amuse Thayer more than it should. I didn’t actually see the sparks fly between them when they made eye contact, but they were certainly there—a grand and disruptive entrance, a smirk and raised eyebrow, a self-deprecating smile, stares that go on a little too long. Yeah, those sparks are there in spades.
This isn’t a story of insta-love, but rather instant attraction/interest. And it’s built up well. In terms of pages, it takes a long time to get to a kiss and, for its genre, a really long time for the stuff beyond that kiss. But it’s definitely not a slow burn either. Elizabeth is really able to balance that interest/sexual tension throughout the novel. She allows her protagonists to get to know each other beyond their mutual and instant attraction. They make mistakes. They have to adjust to new information/new circumstance. So that when we finally get that delicious pay off, it’s earned.
She accomplishes that payoff because the story also focuses on a plot that exists outside of the love story. Through the course of her work, Corey stumbles upon a suspicious death that she chooses to investigate more than she probably should, as it’s definitely not in her job scope. And that takes a literal physical toll that is impediment on their ability to explore a relationship. But the mystery is intriguing in its own right, and the suspense kept me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next.
This novel is filled with an assortment of interesting characters that were remarkable on their own and really added to the world of the novel, and I could easily spend a lot more time with Rachel and Cinnamon and Dana and Collier. But they did their job of added depth to Corey and Thayer as well.
I didn’t give this novel 5 stars, but it came close. There were a couple of things that didn’t quite work for me. First, the description of the bad guy felt predictable and convenient and although the “why” of the crime isn’t predictable, the “who” is. Maybe that was the intention, but given the overall cleverness of the writing, this felt a little subpar. Second, I just can’t with the name Thayer. A person’s name is their name, and I get that, but I wish in f-f fic, names were less unusual. I’m just thankful the reasoning behind the name in addressed in the text, but it was so distracting that it took me out of the story for a good while.
But I’m not kidding. I want more. More of this story, yes! And definitely more from this author.
Corey Curtis is a forensic pathologist and seems to be more comfortable dealing with the dead than the living. Maybe that’s not entirely fair. She has a solid group of friends at her MMA gym and a good working relationship with her co-worker, a forensic anthropology PhD student, and she’s respected for the work she does, but she’s not what you’d classify as cuddly. The medical students and nurses in the hospital in which she works are a bit scared of her and even have a special nickname they use for her. Her track record with the ladies isn’t as great. I mean, they like her, but she hasn’t found anyone who really excites or challenges her.
Thayer Reynolds has a lot going for her. She’s the recipient of a fellowship in the emergency department at the hospital where Corey works, where she has the entire staff in love with her, and only part of it is because she’s so beautiful. She’s also witty as hell.
Intrigued by the lore surrounding the resident forensic pathologist, Thayer crashes an instructional session for new residents under Corey’s care. Corey certainly makes an impression, sporting a black eye and definitely too-casually dressed for the occasion, but this seems to amuse Thayer more than it should. I didn’t actually see the sparks fly between them when they made eye contact, but they were certainly there—a grand and disruptive entrance, a smirk and raised eyebrow, a self-deprecating smile, stares that go on a little too long. Yeah, those sparks are there in spades.
This isn’t a story of insta-love, but rather instant attraction/interest. And it’s built up well. In terms of pages, it takes a long time to get to a kiss and, for its genre, a really long time for the stuff beyond that kiss. But it’s definitely not a slow burn either. Elizabeth is really able to balance that interest/sexual tension throughout the novel. She allows her protagonists to get to know each other beyond their mutual and instant attraction. They make mistakes. They have to adjust to new information/new circumstance. So that when we finally get that delicious pay off, it’s earned.
She accomplishes that payoff because the story also focuses on a plot that exists outside of the love story. Through the course of her work, Corey stumbles upon a suspicious death that she chooses to investigate more than she probably should, as it’s definitely not in her job scope. And that takes a literal physical toll that is impediment on their ability to explore a relationship. But the mystery is intriguing in its own right, and the suspense kept me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next.
This novel is filled with an assortment of interesting characters that were remarkable on their own and really added to the world of the novel, and I could easily spend a lot more time with Rachel and Cinnamon and Dana and Collier. But they did their job of added depth to Corey and Thayer as well.
I didn’t give this novel 5 stars, but it came close. There were a couple of things that didn’t quite work for me. First, the description of the bad guy felt predictable and convenient and although the “why” of the crime isn’t predictable, the “who” is. Maybe that was the intention, but given the overall cleverness of the writing, this felt a little subpar. Second, I just can’t with the name Thayer. A person’s name is their name, and I get that, but I wish in f-f fic, names were less unusual. I’m just thankful the reasoning behind the name in addressed in the text, but it was so distracting that it took me out of the story for a good while.
But I’m not kidding. I want more. More of this story, yes! And definitely more from this author.
00leah00's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun and delightful read. I think I have a crush on both Thayer and Corey so that was amusing for me. It’s not a long book so it was a very quick read which is exactly what I was looking for.
This is a bit of a medical workplace romance with a side of mystery/thriller. Thayer Reynolds is a new doctor to the hospital and Corey Curtis works in the morgue. Things get a little hectic when Corey and Thayer go looking into a death that doesn’t seem to add up to Corey’s autopsy findings.
So, what I really liked about this is that when Corey gets injured, she actually gets injured and isn’t magically better the next scene. And the poor woman gets injured a lot. Give this lady some bubble wrap to put around herself.
The only nit-picky thing is, and I know I sound like a broken record, but the insta-love. Seriously. They haven’t even gone on a real date when people start admitting they’re falling for the other…smh. And Corey literally got out of a relationship the day they met.
I still highly recommend this and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
This is a bit of a medical workplace romance with a side of mystery/thriller. Thayer Reynolds is a new doctor to the hospital and Corey Curtis works in the morgue. Things get a little hectic when Corey and Thayer go looking into a death that doesn’t seem to add up to Corey’s autopsy findings.
So, what I really liked about this is that when Corey gets injured, she actually gets injured and isn’t magically better the next scene. And the poor woman gets injured a lot. Give this lady some bubble wrap to put around herself.
The only nit-picky thing is, and I know I sound like a broken record, but the insta-love. Seriously. They haven’t even gone on a real date when people start admitting they’re falling for the other…smh. And Corey literally got out of a relationship the day they met.
I still highly recommend this and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
andrea_reads_'s review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0