Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Morbidly Yours

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks

29 reviews

gondorgirl's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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pagesbysabrina's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

5.0

Lark, a vibrant animator from Texas, relocates to Galway on a work visa, hoping to heal from a recent loss. There, she meets her new neighbor, Callum—a mortician on a mission to marry before his 35th birthday to keep the family business. On the surface, they seem like polar opposites, but their connection runs far deeper than anyone could imagine.

As soon as I was approved for this ARC, it went straight to the top of my TBR. This story beautifully illustrates how opposites not only attract but also complement and uplift each other. Lark may have her stubborn moments, but the dynamic between her and Callum is captivating and wholesome. She helps lift his spirits, while he grounds her, making them seem like two perfect halves of a whole. I loved every moment of this story and couldn't put my kindle down until I finished.

Fingers crossed the next book in the series is Cielo and Aidan!!

Thank you NetGalley, Ivy Fairbanks and Penguin Group PUTNAM for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

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battyaboutbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

🦇 Morbidly Yours Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

❓ #QOTD What do you want people to remember you for? ❓

⚠ Trigger Warnings: Grief, Death, Car Accident, Ableism, Bullying, Body Horror, Child Death

🦇 Painfully shy Callum Flannelly would rather dive into an open grave than take a stranger to dinner. But he can only inherit the family undertaking business under one condition: He must marry before his 35th birthday. Texan animator Lark Thompson moved to Galway, Ireland, to restart her life and career, not be reminded of losing her husband by moving in next to a funeral home. Can Lark help Callum find The One, or has she been standing right in front of him all along?

💜 Ivy Fairbanks has done a wonderful job at developing vibrant, realistic characters who will, no doubt, steal your heart. Despite the grief and guilt weighing on her, Lark is a ray of sunshine, and there's no discounting the charm Callum is hiding behind his seemingly dark exterior. Initially, I worried they were TOO different for chemistry to spark between them, but the progression is easy and natural, the two of them bringing light to one another despite coming from very different, dark places. The little moments between them truly build into romance, making their friends-to-lovers progression both realistic and raw. You'll fall in love as they fall in love, feel your heart ache as their hearts ache, and watch both characters grow with every page. Beyond that, Fairbanks directs readers directly into Ireland, the setting's natural beauty and rich history seeping out of the page until you can't help but breathe in the scent of flowers blooming after a heavy rain. This book is a journey, both through Galway and its intense character growth. Callum's stutter is well-represented, as is his ace/demisexual orientation. As someone who is in love with a demi-goddess (hehe), I was glad to see it depicted so richly and honestly. Lark researching to understand Callum better was all too sweet.

💙 Normally, I have limited interest in a marriage of convenience plot, but it really works well here. You feel the pressure Callum is experiencing without it seeming like a hokey plot device. I also appreciate that both characters have both internal and external conflicts they need to resolve. That being said, I do think Lark's enemy comes off as a one-dimensional villain, when so many other characters live off the page. I've encountered coworkers who are willing to take credit for another person's work, throw someone under the bus, and bully to feel powerful, but honestly, there's usually a deeper reason motivating them. I also think we should have experienced more panic from Lark when she realized how Callum planned to fix the marriage problem. Instead we skip that scene and go straight into her finding a solution.

🦇 Recommended for fans of Tessa Bailey, Hanna Bonam-Young, and Tara DeWitt.

✨ The Vibes ✨
🪦 Dual POV
🌻 Contemporary Romance/Romantic Dramedy
🪦 Marriage of Convenience
🌻 Set in Ireland
🪦 Opposites Attract
🌻 Ace/Demisexual MMC (w/ a Stutter)
🪦 Forced Proximity/Neighbors
🌻 Friends-to-Lovers
🪦 Open Door Spice
🌻 First in a Series
🪦 Debut Novel

🦇 Major thanks to the author @IvyFairbanksBooks and publisher @putnambooks for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. #MorbidlyYours

💬 Quotes
❝ Lark’s vibrance made me fall for her. Stifling it would be akin to plucking a wild, rare bloom, only to watch it wither under a bell jar. ❞
❝ To love was to accept risk. In all honesty, the half-century old scooter was a thousand times safer than giving anyone my heart—and I’d done that months ago. ❞
❝ My heart thumps like a drum, with the taste of your lips, the sweet breath in your lungs. I tried not to fall, but I had to succumb. ❞
❝ Swear on this life, beside you I’ll stand. ❞
❝ “Mo chuisle? It means ‘my pulse.’ I never quite understood it before, what it meant to have another person be the d-driving force behind the pump of your blood, but it’s true. Lark, your smile saved me like an emergency transfusion. Your laugh is the song my every blood cell dances to. Your touch revived me from darkness. You are my pulse. You make me feel alive even when I’m surrounded by death.” ❞
❝ “I can’t b-b-believe you named my character Plague Rat.” “What can I say? You inspire me.” She shrugged. ❞
❝ “Illusions aren’t lies. They’re gifts. They give the audience something to believe in,” she replied. “Help me put a little magic in the world.” ❞
❝ “You’re absolutely gorgeous,” he murmured. “You say that after I take your glasses off?” I smiled. “I don’t need them to see you.” My heart swelled. He did see me, and it felt so right. ❞
❝ In an interview, my animation hero Hayao Miyazaki once said that he strived to portray love as a relationship where two people mutually inspire each other to live. ❞
❝ We would cherish the light and honor the darkness, together. ❞

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takarakei's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Pros: stutter and demisexual representation in Callum - Callum in general was a pro, he was so sweet. I like the becoming friends first into romance (a slower burn). I bet if they got the right narrators this would be good on audio (to hear Callum's accent).

Cons: My biggest issue with this book was Lark's coworker enemy who is quite possibly one of my most hated book characters ever (so I guess props for writing a villain so well?). I just don't really feel the need for a villain in a romance (unless they turn into the romantic interest!). Maybe it's just my past experiences with shitty men at work that it really just made me mad and even tho I suppose he gets what he deserves in the end (kinda he's still an ass), it just really took away overall enjoyment of this book.
This has the beginnings of marriage of convenience trope, but ended up being a slow burn so the 'reasons' Callum has to get married ultimately become a barrier to their romance (perhaps maybe that just wasn't what I expected from the first few chapters).
While I understand Lark's qualms with moving on after the death of her husband, it did feel a bit repetitive to continue hearing about it without much development (until the end).
Something about the writing style and pacing also felt a bit awkward at parts.

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

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