A review by akacya
Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks

4.0

2024 reads: 136/250

i received an advanced review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.

when offered a job all the way in ireland, lark thompson, a texan, is eager to take it, sure that this is the fresh start she needs to not be constantly reminded of her late husband. unbeknownst to her, she moves in next to a funeral home, the last place she would’ve wanted to live. still, something about her new neighbor, callum flannelly, intrigues her. she learns that callum has to marry by his 35th birthday in order to keep the family business, and she’s determined to help him find love.

first of all, i LOVED these characters! lark is feeling intense grief and guilt over her husband’s death two years ago, and because of this, doesn’t want to marry ever again. i appreciated seeing her grow around her grief and find love again. as for callum, i think i need more heroes who are considered grumpy but most definitely just have social anxiety😂. as someone with social anxiety, i felt like this aspect was handled very well and accurately within this book. additionally, callum is a person who stutters. i don’t know as much as i would like to about stuttering, but from what i’ve learned in my schooling for speech-language pathology as well as what i’ve learned directly from people who stutter, this aspect also seemed to be represented well! i liked how lark made some comparisons between how callum described his stuttering and her own speech patterns (such as callum sometimes blocking, whereas lark blurted out whatever she thought).

i also really enjoyed the plot! typically when there are dilemmas such as callum’s, the hero and heroine just marry out of convenience. however, lark felt she couldn’t marry again after losing her husband, and callum wanted a marriage with someone he really loved. this led to lark playing more of a wingwoman role, though both lark and callum quickly found flaws in this arrangement.

overall, i really enjoyed this book, and i highly recommend it to adult romance readers! i’m looking forward to more from the author.