I had a great time with this. FMC Lark Thompson moves to Ireland to escape the memories of her deceased husband and the way that his death affected other parts of her life in Texas. She thinks she’s moving next door to a bed ‘n breakfast because it’s called Willow Haven, but it turns out to be a funeral home run by MMC Callum Flannelly. The two characters meet when a box of body bags is mis-delivered to Lark.
I’m not a “kick my feet and giggle” kind of person when I read romances, but I definitely caught myself grinning at parts of this. I loved the dynamic between Lark and Callum. They have a great bantering relationship but aren’t mean about it, and Lark brings Callum out of his comfort zone. It doesn’t feel forced; she just makes it easier for him to let loose. I loved the way he was willing to be silly for her without changing the core of who he is—someone who is generally on the more reserved side.
Part of what made their connection compelling was the sensitivity with which the author handled Lark’s grief and Callum’s stutter, deeper elements that unfold alongside the lightness and humor. Lark is unfairly blaming herself for her husband’s death and is determined not to get into another relationship, which is part of what gives the novel a slow-burn feel and complicates the developing bond between them. While readers may not agree with her interpretation of events, the author understands that everyone grieves differently. And at no point does Fairbanks try to make Callum erase Lark’s late husband. She also doesn’t rely on love to magically cure Callum’s stutter. She acknowledges how having a stutter might affect someone as they grow up, and Lark helps him feel more comfortable stuttering around her instead of trying to change his words to avoid it.
This was a sweet, cozy story with occasional laugh-out-loud moments and some funny lines (e.g., I loved the way Lark thinks that Wile E. Coyote is the “underdog of Looney Tunes” because he is an “eternal optimist”). I definitely recommend this to rom-com fans. It looks like an interconnected follow-up is going to be released later this year, too.
CW for occasional brief but explicit descriptions of a mortician’s work.