morbidly yours by ivy fairbanks — october book club pick review
Our book club pick for this month was Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks. Not only did it seem like the perfect read for October, but it has also been all over our feeds and TBRs for a while now. Here’s what we thought:
A quick overview of tropes:
Friends-to-lovers
Slow burn
Opposites attract
Forced proximity
Tessa Jane (@tessajane_books)
Rating: 4 stars
Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks is about Lark Thompson, an animator from Texas, who flees to Galway, Ireland after the tragic and unexpected death of her husband. She moves in next door to… a funeral parlor. Run by the tall, stoic, quiet, Callum Flannelly. As Lark, a true fish-out-of-water, starts to open up to her new surroundings, Callum finds Lark’s brightness and color a positive influence on his dreary, dark life. And Callum, faced with a terrible and quickly approaching deadline before he may lose his family’s business, teaches Lark that love is not something that needs running from.
I’ve seen this book for genuinely I don’t even know how long on social media. Like, before it was traditionally published. I finally was asked to read it for @thatromancebook ‘s book club (thank you for the kick in the right direction Jess!) and I’m SO glad I was. This story is a classic sweet rom-com, that tugs at your heartstrings but makes you laugh to lighten it up as well. There were some things about the book that I found a little silly (like Lark’s complete lack of being able to stand up for herself at work, even though she’s so unafraid and outgoing in nearly every other aspect of her life) but overall, it was a super sweet read that brought me out of a slump. It also set up well for a possible story between Cielo and Aidan, and I would LOVE to see a story about Saoirse.
Overall, I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars. It was very cute and I’m glad that I read it, especially right before Halloween (since Callum is an undertaker). I would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a sweeter book; there are a lot of heavy themes regarding grief and guilt, and some written depictions of the care and preparation of a body post-death. That being said, it still felt like a very lighthearted book to me.
Jess (@thatromancebook)
Rating: 4.5 stars
Despite its title, Morbidly Yours is a romance full of life. The plot follows Lark Thompson, an American animator who has recently moved to Ireland for a fresh start, and Callum Flannelly, the introverted undertaker that she now lives next door to. When a box of body bags is mistakenly delivered to Lark’s apartment instead of Callum’s mortuary, the two meet and from that moment, an unlikely friendship forms. Soon, platonic feelings begin to blur into romantic ones and the time they spend together begins to multiply — helping each other out with their separate issues and learning how to have fun again — but the realities of real life makes their undeniable chemistry seem so out of reach. Morbidly Yours is Callum and Lark’s story of love, trust, grief and figuring it out as you go along.
There is definitely a risk with books that have a lot of hype surrounding them, particularly in the Bookstagram space. Seeing other people’s glowing reviews can mean that your expectations for certain books can be so high that they are almost unattainable. Admittedly, I did have very high hopes when starting Morbidly Yours — I expected to completely love it. And I’m very happy to report that I did!
This story is genuinely lovely. I read it in one weekend and it was the perfect autumn read and escape from a busy week. Ivy Fairbanks has perfected the art of balancing the kind of romance that makes you laugh with the kind that is layered with deeper meaning. Moments of joy between Callum and Lark (watching movies, roller skating, walking along the cliffs) exist on the page alongside moments that explore themes of grief and self-doubt. This makes Morbidly Yours a well-rounded story that is easy to get lost in with characters that are easy to root for. I also loved the side characters in this book; the representation is great and I can’t wait to explore their lives more in upcoming installments of the Love in Galway series.
The reason this book isn’t a 5 star read for me is because I found Lark’s thought process to be a little frustrating at times. I was screaming ‘JUST TELL HIM HOW YOU FEEL’ at my kindle for a good few chapters. However, don’t let this put you off. Morbidly Yours is a perfect slow-burn, friends-to-lovers autumnal read that I would recommend for anyone looking for something meaningful but cozy. A wholly enjoyable read!
It’s safe to say that we both loved Morbidly Yours. The characters and plot lines were fun to read about and the romance was swoon-worthy. Through chapter discussions in the Fable book club group and the conversations that we had afterwards, it’s interesting that we had similar thoughts about the factors of the book that we loved a lot and also about the factors that we didn’t.
If you would like to join us in our next book club read, you can join us on fable by clicking this link https://fable.co/club/that-romance-book-club-with-jess-land-462772473382.
We can’t wait to talk about books with you!
This review was written by Tessa Jane and Jess! You can follow them both on Instagram for more book-related content here:
https://www.instagram.com/tessajane_books/
https://www.instagram.com/thatromancebook/