A review by ramunepocky
Good Mourning, Darling by Azalea Crowley

dark funny mysterious
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

 “There was no point in keeping love inside when it was meant to be shared.” 

It took me some time to get into this book as I had to read most of it in short bursts between working, but oh my god, once I properly got into it, I absolutely devoured it. It was so good. I loved the world building. I loved the characters. I loved the slow steady trickle of information we learned as Ella did. I loved the representation in it. I loved Eugene’s shadow. It was just so good and I am so excited for the next book and will be waiting rather impatiently. 

I really liked both of the main characters, they were both really interesting and I loved the way that they contrasted each other. Eugene was a well-dressed dead monster who considered himself unable to feel, always with his deadly smile, and mostly trying to resist his hunger, contrasted against Ella, who dressed in cute pastel colours, considered herself to feel too much and fall too fast, was human in every way. I loved the way that their relationship developed and Eugene went from intending to manipulate and use her to genuinely growing fond and protective of her. And the way, by the end of the story, even his shadow is somewhat fond of her too. 
I really loved Eugene's use of language and the way he constantly used 20s slang. It was a fun quirk for him to have, esp in contrast to his darker personality and monstrous traits. 
I also really liked the representation of Ella's struggles with her autism and how she would get overstimulated and be on the verge of meltdowns. It felt very realistic and I related to her struggles and worries with misinterpreting social cues and other people's intentions. I also love that she used to 5 senses method of grounding herself whenever she was feeling particularly anxious and overwhelmed.

I think my favourite character was Eugene’s shadow. I loved the way that Eugene interacted with it, and it often made me laugh with it’s comments and it’s nagging, and it’s general disgust at Eugene's fondness for Ella. I also liked the way it realised Eugene was growing fond of her before he did and it was only it’s comments that really made Eugene start to realise what that nagging feeling was. 

We haven’t really seen much of Ella’s father, but I rather detest and distrust him, even if he, at the very least, seems to have Ella’s safety as a top priority and he does seem to genuinely love and want to protect his daughter. I’m intrigued to learn more though about his dynamic with Eugene, and to learn more about the way his father, Adam, treated Eugene too as Eugene seems to be genuinely afraid of him. 

I really enjoyed the world building, and whilst I was quite confused about what was happening to begin with, I felt like I slowly began to understand the world, and what was going on as Ella learned about her family’s business, the truth of Eugene, and who was after her, which I really liked. It makes me feel more involved in the story to not have all the answers handed to me from the get-go and made me feel more connected to Ella because I felt her confusion and somewhat frustration alongside her. 

I also really loved the way that the title reflects the story with Eugene constantly saying "Good Morning, Darling" and how Ella's family fronts as a funeral home/the whole story's association with death, which is reflected in "Mourning." I just think it's rlly clever.

I am, admittedly, a bit of a scaredy cat too and, whilst I really love the little illustrations for each chapter with the ribbon for Ella and the watch for Eugene, every now and again, the illustration for the shadow would appear and I jumped every single time. Every. Single. Time. 

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and am excited for the second book!! Also, as this was the first Azalea Crowley book I’ve read, I really enjoyed her writing style and am even more excited to finally get around to reading the Odd Blood series! 

Thank you for the ARC! 

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