Very uncharacteristically in my initially sitting I read 43% in one go! Despite knowing my teething daughter could wake up at any point in the night I absolutely could not put it down. The characters of Vada and Dunner are so snippy and clever and their back and forth quips are pure entertainment.

I absolutely loved seeing the glimpses into her work life as a mourner for hire but am so glad for the main story. The ending was perfect and I just won’t be shutting up about this book for a while.

Vada Daughtry is a professional mourner which means she is hired by people before they are dead to carry out tasks such as crying dramatically at their funeral, spreading stories about the deceased or just being plain mysterious stranger at the wake. Vada is chugging along quite well running from her past into the bargain until she hits traffic on the way to a client meeting and ends up in a roadside bar and spending the night with the handsome bar tender. A year later she finds herself back in the town she was born and at the funeral of the handsome bar tenders mother. It’s a big mess, he’s not happy, but Vada made a promise to a dead woman and she is a woman of her word. She’ll renovate the ships out of that cottage and be on her way handsome bar tender be damned! This was good fun. I was aware of the concept of paid mourners before so didn’t find the premise as odd as the book kept making me think it should be. Vada wasn’t all that weird to be honest, apart from the selective amnesia of course. Want was weird was Dunners seismic anger towards her at the beginning. He was an ass for no real reason. It’s sort of reasoned away by his grief but his attitude is pretty unacceptable from a grown man. It also kind of lost its way in the last third of the book it could have been shorter with a tighter plot. But yes good not as weird as it thinks it is.

ALL. THE. STARS. 👏 👏 👏

This was absolutely, unexpectedly fantastic!!

Not only did I experience literally every emotion known to man but these characters have enriched my life in a way I can’t begin to explain.

Dominic and Vada will remain with me forever. Dominic is a bit of a tortured soul, completely skeptic and absolutely brutal when he has to protect his own heart. Vada is fabulously weird, outrageous and sarcastic. Together they make up one of my FAVORITE book couples ever. They had incredible chemistry and banter. They’re every single fibre of my being right now.

The writing in this Romcom was amazing. It felt warm and fuzzy but also funny and romantic whilst being so angsty and tension filled. There’s heartbreak and despair and so much nostalgia. I couldn’t get enough and I ate it up!!

Thank you SO MUCH to Caitlin Moss and Netgalley for the ARC copy!! I am eternally grateful for having read this story.

Thank you so much to Net Galley for the ARC!!

3.7/5; this book was a lot of fun!! While it took me a few chapters to get into it, the premise was intriguing and the plot definitely picked up! This was such a unique concept and take and how someone might deal with grief. The funeral and ghosts subplot was reminiscent of Ashley Poston’s The Dead Romantics. I guess I just did not expect this book to be so ghost-centric, but once I got used to the idea, I liked it more and more. I love a cozy rom-com, and this book definitely deals with grief in almost a Hallmarkian kind of way!

Overall, I had a great time reading this one—it would be a fun and festive October comfort read! I resonated with Vada’s need to complete checklists and feel like life is never long enough to get to where I want to be. Her take on death and people getting the last word in even after they pass on helped change my perspective on some things. As a girl who loves a story centered around “soft dreams,” this was a cozy take on it. Not every person needs to be the Chosen One saving the world—sometimes we just need to act within our means to make the world a little bit brighter.

The reason it was not quite a four-star read for me was at times the constant metaphors felt a bit choppy and out of place—like I understood the general reason and effect the author was going for but felt it was not completely blended into the tone of voice. The message of the book definitely comes across, and the core substance is there, but I believe with some minor edits this could be an even more beautifully bittersweet story. I am definitely open to reading more stories by Caitlin Moss and am excited to see which character we jump into next!

Another must read by Moss. I love her wit. She never misses a beat! Love the premise of the story. She never disappoints.

I would give this a solid 3.75 stars.

I thought the concept was interesting and well done. I enjoyed Vada as a character and loved watching her journey, along with Dominic's growth. Now, it took a while to like Dominic again because of some of his actions, but overall, he was a good character. I liked the limited drama and the romance. Had to skip a couple of short parts, but it didn't take away from the story for me. Overall, a solid, unique romance.

4.5 stars rounded up!
Thank you, NetGalley & Caitlin Moss, for the eARC of Mourner For Hire! 🪦👻❤️‍🔥

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ . 5 / 5
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️ . 5 / 5

When I saw the cover and title of this book, I was immediately intrigued. I’m so ecstatic that I was able to receive an eARC of this unique story!

This story involves a slow burn small-town romance that is also strangers-to-crushes-to-enemies-to-lovers. 🙂‍↕️ This book somehow made me emotional and made me giggle all at the same time. It’s witty, flirty, and heartbreaking (in a good way?).

I didn’t expect the quirky twist on the paranormal aspect of the novel, but I’m pleasantly surprised! It was comedic, original, but also devastatingly healing in a way. ❤️‍🩹

I recognized some of the remarks in the story from the internet. For example, there’s a meme I once saw that said something along the lines of, “when I pass away, everyone must sleep at the graveyard. Y’all can’t leave me alone with people I don’t know”. Well, without giving too much away, one of her clients requested that. Could be a coincidence, of course! Another example; “is _____ in the room with us?”. If you’re online in 2025, you’ll probably know the references too. I couldn’t decide if I liked it or disliked it!

Overall, this book is so much more than just a spicy and beachy rom-com. There’s many layers I didn’t expect to peel through. From grief, to comedy, and even to home renovations! 🤭 I loved this book and as a weird girl myself, I loved the FMC. ❤️

I adored this! I love a rom com that is more.. and that is what this is. It has more depth and heart and humor. Vada and Dominick’s chemistry was great. The banter was crackling. I loved how quirky she was. And some of the funeral scenes had me cackling. Go read it!

Mourner for Hire made me laugh out loud so many times and it made me cry! It is an amazing balance between a rom-com and a tear-jerker.

Vada has an interesting job. She is hired by people to perform a service after they die. It could be to tell a certain story at their funeral, or to stand mysteriously to the side at the funeral to create intrigue. She is a beautifully written, well rounded character.

Dominic is a bartender who cut his dreams short to be with his mom while she battles cancer. After Vada gets hired by Dominic’s mom life gets messy. They have amazing banter and once they get together are super sweet.

I really loved reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who loves emotional romances or romcoms!

Thank you to Caitlin Moss and NetGalley for a copy of this arc in exchange for an honest and timely review!

loved this paranormal romance of a mourner for hire and ends up falling in love with the son of someone she mourns. she has a different job and loves doing her job. Loved her friend and hope to see her friend with a romance. loved dunner and vada and that they fell in love.

I rated this 4 stars!!
Below is a snipet of my IG review:

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘝𝘢𝘥𝘢, 𝘢 '𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘪𝘳𝘦' 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘋𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘤 (𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳).

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 '𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘪𝘳𝘦', 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴𝘬? 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘝𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳, 𝘎𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘞𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 - 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵, 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯-𝘵𝘰-𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴.

𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘨𝘪𝘨. 𝘋𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐'𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧𝘧. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥.

𝘝𝘢𝘥𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘋𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 (𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘨) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯... 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘝𝘢𝘥𝘢.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 300 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘺, 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵, 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘺.
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘤'𝘴 𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘰'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵.

I adored this. Thank you Caitlin for giving me the chance to read this!

I really loved Vada and Anabelle's relationship and how it blossomed after death and once Vada was older compared to her eight year-old self. BUT THEN SHE REMEMEBERED ANABELLE and I wanted to cry. It was beautiful and so sad that she didnt get to spend more time with her whilst she was alive.

The ending was wonderful. I was engaged from start to finish and I just thought the whole concept was done really well.

I did want to see Connor's reaction to them getting together though? I think he just got forgotten about...

Okay when I read the summary for this book I was intrigued. I devoured this book two days, it had me in all the emotions happy, sad, and angry. Vada Daughtery is one heck of a main character, I was completely hooked from chapter one. The sense of feeling lost was seeping through the pages. Her complex character was everything I wanted and more. I feel in love with the story & what a unique concept mourner for hire a crazy concept that just worked it shows so many emotional layers. And Dominic Dunne made me feel everything he was going though. I will absolutely be reading more books by Caitlin Moss, incredible writing style and raw emotion. All I can say is I can’t recommend this book enough 5 stars!!!!!!!

This book was great! I really enjoyed the book from the beginning. It was a unique story. There was the right amount of comedy to keep it light with a serious premise.

I absolutely loved this so much. I was literally cheesing so hard, and finding my self laughing out loud and swooning. It had the perfect mix of angst, sweetness, humor, and spice. A easy 5 star read.

This is my favorite rom com I’ve read this year. Hands down. As a death care worker, this scratched an itch I didn’t know I had.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

I went into this expecting a fun dark romcom but also somehow cozy, and it was, but it was also so much more. The original meet cute, turned enemies to lovers between Vada and Dominic was done so well, and the ghostly meddling/matchmaking of his mom Annabelle made for some of the more hilarious moments. But it’s also about two people who have both lost parents, and are dealing with grief, childhood trauma and in Vada’s case memory loss, and how they heal on their own and by trusting each other and letting someone else in. These topics were handled with care and a sensitivity that gives you an emotional understanding and depth, and the story leaves you with a feeling of being home.

This book was a fun read! It was cute and unique. I was hooked from the first page. The twists and truths in this book I never saw coming.

This is the first book I have read from this author and I’m excited to read her other works. Mourner for Hire has such an offbeat premise that really works. The writing is good, the main characters present as authentic and there is a good cast of characters. Do heed the trigger warnings!

Recommend!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this book! Definitely want to buy a copy when it is released. This book is for those who likes a small town, slow burn romance with a lot of banter, fall town vibes and a hint of magical realism. I also really enjoyed that the book has two POV’s.

The book talks a lot about grief and regrets and really made me think about life and all the people around me. At the same time there were some funny moments, and I liked reading the chapters when the main character Vada was working as a «mourner for hire».
This book deserves a 5 ⭐️

Mourner for Hire by new to this reader Caitlin Moss, is romance with a definite twist. Vada is a professional mourner, hired by someone before they pass and given explicit instructions on how to act at the funeral. Annabelle Dunne has tasked Vada with redecorating an old beach cottage in the town where Vada was born, but has no memories of. Actually, Annabelle has sent Vada on a quest to find…something she will know when she finds it. Annabelle’s son is not so keen on having Vada in town, much less on her being in his mother’s cottage. Ms. Moss has written a lovely story about two people trying to find their proper place. Her prose is descriptive and she has a few surprises for both her readers and her characters. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book from NetGalley. Most highly recommend.