This rom-com took me by surprise in the best way. The premise is delightfully bizarre: a woman makes a living by being hired by the dying to attend their funerals and carry out their final wishes. It sounds like the start of a ghost story—and it is—but not the spooky kind.

As the title says the MFC is a mourner for hire. A unique and interesting job all on its own.

Now throw in a one-night stand, a meddling ghost-mom, and a main character with amnesia from a childhood accident, and you’ve got one weirdly wonderful rom-com.

The heroine is equal parts awkward and endearing, and her emotional journey really hit me. She’s trying to move forward with her life while coming to terms with a past she can’t remember—and now she’s got a ghost whispering in her ear (literally). The romance is sweet and slow-burn, with just enough bumps to keep it interesting.

There’s humor, there’s heartache, there’s ghostly meddling… what more do you want?

So this was weird, wonderful surprise 😍 I wasn’t expecting to connect so deeply with a story about a professional mourner (like wtf?) but the FMC completely won me over. Her job sounds bizarre, but there’s so much heart behind it, and her character made me feel everything .. grief, laughter, even a bit of secondhand embarrassment at times 😂

The romance was messy in all the best ways. The MMC frustrated me a little with how hot and cold he was, but the chemistry between him and the FMC was undeniable. Their banter felt real, and their emotional moments hit hard.

There’s a ghost involved (yep! another wtf 😂), which added a quirky twist without making the story feel silly. If anything, it made the emotions land harder.

This book made me laugh, made me think about grief differently, and gave me all the warm fuzzy feelings by the end. Not quite a full 5 stars, only as some parts dragged a little bit too much for my liking, but I genuinely enjoyed this book and what it had to give!

Mourner For Hire - what a unique morbid comedy romance!
This book was so much more than I was expecting.
I loved the variety in the reasons why people hired Veda, and Annabelle absolutely stole the show.
I was invested in the relationships so much that at times I was so angry at Dominic's actions and found I could not excuse them all due to grief.

First of all, the idea is a solid 5/5, thank you, it’s so unique and interesting!

Second, I said no more books with losing a loved one… and yet here I am, crying again.

This book was, at different times, funny, sad, cozy, and engaging, fast-paced yet still had that lovely slow burn.

Every time I finish something emotionally heavy, I never know what to say. I really liked the light writing style and the humor, so I’ll definitely check out more of the author’s books.

I also loved the small-town atmosphere, all the characters were so sweet and lovable.

It’s a romance with a touch of the paranormal, which I really enjoy.

Read it if you liked the k-drama "May I Help You?"(I love it!)

⭐️4,5/5

• loathe to love
• dark humor
• grumpy cinnamon roll
• quirky FMC
• slow burn
• tensionnnn
• small beach town

omg this was soooo cute i absolutely ate this book up!! it was the perfect amount of spooky and tension and enemies to lovers ahhh!!

ALL THE DAMN STARS WITH THIS ONE!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was the definition of hauntingly beautiful. It was so much more than a little rom com with a cute cover. You know a book is good when it tells more than one story. You would think by looking at the cover it was about finding love, right? It was so much more. It was about finding something that has been lost to you, that feeling of home; being a mother, a daughter, a son, finding yourself, losing yourself, picking yourself up and putting yourself back together, losing a parent and coping with loss. This book had so many layers to it, it was just simply bitter sweet.

The relationship between Vada and Dominic was so complicated yet so beautiful. That man had it so bad for her that he really didn’t know how to deal with his emotions and I wanted to break that hard shell and get to the ooey-gooey center of him. And Vada, ugh she literally wore her heart on sleeve. I seriously wanted to give her the biggest hug and tell her it would all be okay. Then Annabelle? My girl had me dying. She was so damn funny. Like poor Vada really didn’t look like a crazy person when she was around. Then the ending? My god, if you weren’t a sobbing mess like I was at the end of the book, then you have no heart.

This book broke me, put me back together, broke me again and then slowly put me back together…with a lot of band aids. I went through half a box of tissues after this book. I really could go on and on about how beautiful this story was. I am definitely a fan of Caitlin Moss after this and cannot wait to read more of her books. If it is anything like this one, make sure you have your tissues close to you.

Talk about a title and cover that catches the eye!

Vada is exactly what the title says - a mourner for hire. The living hire her before they pass away, and she will attend their funeral and cry, cause a scene, whatever their last wishes entail. An unusual request from a client leads her on a journey to find out about her own forgotten past and possibly love along the way.

I loved the unique premise of the book and enjoyed the emotional journey of the main character. There were also fun quirky moments - Vada being haunted by a client - but it didn’t detract from the heart of the story. The love/hate relationship between Vada and Dominic, a client’s son, felt like it flipped on a dime… Dominic held a grudge against Vada for so long despite a mutual attraction but suddenly he was over it and admitted his feelings for her. Dominic’s childish behavior towards Vada was somewhat understandable as he was grieving, but after a while it was just annoying and when he changed his tune it was a complete 180. I felt like that could have been handled better, but aside from that this was a sweet story!

Thank you to NetGalley and Caitlin Moss for the opportunity to read an early copy.

Mourner For Hire follows Vada Daughtry, a woman who will show up to your funeral, cry for you, share a secret or whatever you prefer - for a nominal fee, of course. It’s unorthodox, but she’s good at it, and it works for her.

I won’t share any more of the plot because I feel like going in blind would likely be best, as there are a handful of great surprises in here. I generally don’t read much romance, however I absolutely adored this story!

Humor and sorrow are balanced so well. It has so much heart, yearning, nostalgia, grief… Caitlin Moss is described as “the author who brings you all the feels!” And I would definitely agree after reading this. 4.5, rounded up - highly recommended!

3.5 STARS! I thought this book had a unique story. I loved the touch of paranormal activity. I live in Oregon so I can clearly picture this cute little town and a cottage on the coast. I thought that Vada's job was so unique and that her character was mostly developed. Where I struggled was with Dominic's Love-Hate-Love. It seemed like whiplash. One page he was obsessed with her and the next he was being pretty hurtful. Then all the sudden he is in love with her again. It made it hard to see his true personality. I love a slow burn but I feel like the last 30-20% of this book was a little rushed. Overall I did enjoy this books unique look on grief and trauma.

Mourner for Hire by Caitlin Moss was the first book I read from this author and I wasn't disappointed. Talk about a unique story line. I was hooked from page one. The banter and tension between the FMC and MMC was perfection. I also appreciated the paranormal aspect that I didn't see coming. This book had me laughing and kicking my feet, but also shined light on grief in a way that you can relate to the characters.

A must Read! This book was so unique from anything I've ever read. It has suspense, mystery, love, friendships, family, comedy, heartache, paranormal and enemies to lovers intensity. It was so fun to read I couldn't put it down. I love all the characters and felt like they were my friends and people from the small town I grew up in. I want to read a sequel!

Wow - this was a fun read! A snarky FMC with a slightly weird job; a broody and grumpy MMC with a heart of gold; small town shenanigans and a meddling and hilarious ghost - sign me up!

While I generally read mostly spicy romance that is way more explicit than this book, this was a great read. It ticks all the boxes for a chance encounter meets enemies-to-lovers (with sarcastic banter) romcom that you want.

Vada has a strange job - a mourner for hire, who literally dances to the tune of dead. In one such job, she gets stuck in her childhood town, with a friendly, but slightly nagging spirit and her handsome son who despise her for being there. Will Vada be able to finish the job she was hired for?

In her pursuit of finishing the task her client assigned her , she finds herself , her past and future. The book was very engaging until the last few chapters, which was little predictable. If you are a fan of Ali Hazlewood and Emily Henry's work, this book would not disappoint you.

Mourner for Hire
By @caitlinmossauthor

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What’s a girl supposed to do when you find out your fumbled one night stand thinks you are robbing him of his inheritance… oh and you’re getting haunted by his mother????

Nine months after an unsuccessfully attempt to have a meaningless tryst with a hot and charming bartender, you find out that he is the son of your latest contract, the woman you have been paid to mourn.

Because you are a mourner for hire.

You get paid to attend funerals because you vowed to make sure that nobody will have an empty funeral like the one you sat through for your own mother as a child.

Some people want the drama of calling others out after they’ve gone, others just want to make sure that their funeral has at least one person in attendance, but it doesn’t matter because you were there for them and you follow their wishes to a T!

So, when the loveliest person you’ve ever met asks that you’ll watch over her son after she dies how can you possibly say no?
Especially when she says the pay is $50,000.

This book is full of moments that you were going to absolutely snicker at and even more that will have you cackling!
From the ad at the beginning of the book to the epilogue, I was fully locked in.
But don’t expect a shallow romcom here, this book goes deep! It’s hard not to talk about the deeper plot points without spoilers so instead just go read it!

#mournerforhire #caitlinmoss #romcom #romcombook #romance #romancebook #arc #arcreview #netgalley #selkiereader

This book got me with the description. The premise was unique so I was excited to read it.

It started off kind of strong but then it sort of dragged before getting back to it, but the drag was enough drag that I dragged my feet when getting around to reading it.

It felt like there was a lot of story to get the story started. And it was interesting, but then it just kinda felt like I was waiting for the real book to start.

Overall though, it was interesting. MMC was a little annoying and it felt like forced drama sometimes, but it was a cute book.

Thank you to netgalley

Love. Love. LOVED this book so much! There wasn’t one moment in this book where I got distracted or bored. I was 100% engrossed in this story and then some. Mourner For Hire is cute, funny, romantic, sad, and even a little spooky but not in the spooky scary kind of way. Think paranormal cutesy kind of way. Just read this book and thank me later.

Mourner For Hire is a romantic comedy about life and death, as well as forgotten memories that come back to surface after quite some time. Vada is a professional mourner. It’s a job that takes her everywhere and gives her a sense of purpose helping those who pass fulfill their last wishes. Vada is on her way to her next funeral and makes a pit stop at a bar to relieve her bladder. Once inside is where she meets a very handsome bartender and has a fun filled night. The next morning she is back down to business and finds out that the bartender from the night before is actually the son of the deceased. Yikes… awkward right? The bartender does have a name btw it’s Dominic. Dominic thinks Vada is a fraud and is extremely upset and confused. Why would his mother do this? Turns out his mother knew what she was doing and her plan is bound to work. Meanwhile, the deceased, Annabelle, is haunting Vada until she completes what she’s promised to her.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. Mourner For Hire releases on September 8th, 2025. Be sure to add this one to your fall reading lists!!

*3.8 Stars*

This book has significant depth. I really enjoyed the witty banter, and although it was emotional at times, I believe it struck a good balance. I absolutely love Vada's personality, and her growth throughout the story was well done. Dominic was often hot and cold, but overall, it beautifully brought the story full circle.

Thank you so much Caitlin Moss and Netgalley for the ARC of Mourner for Hire! I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book and I loved every bit of it! Vada was one of my favorite characters ever from Caitlin's books. Her job as a Mourner for Hire was the most unique and bizarre job, but it fit her. And she was unapologetic about who she was and that made me like her even more. I loved when her and Dominic first met, and all the circumstances that led up to them meeting later. His grumpy personality was just a reflection of his pain. And the characters both had so much depth from issues with their late parents. Added in the small beach town setting and I adored it all. Moss knocked it out of the park on this one. Pick it up on the Pub date 9/9/25!!

Thank you to Netgalley and Caitlin Moss for the e-arc of this book!

I was immediately drawn to this novel because if the title and the premise - Vada gets paid to mourn at peoples funerals as one of their last requests and there also a ghost? I immediately wanted to read it since I love romance with a little bit of whimsy and a touch of the paranormal.

This novel has all of that and more. I loved the bater between Dominic and Vada, I loved the cunning of Annabelle as she haunts Vada. I loved the fact that Vada has returned to a town she grew up in with no memory of it and watch as she slowly gets her memory back. The story made me laugh and cry and each of the townsfolk felt interesting enough that I wanted to know their stories too.

The vibes of this book are cosy, hilarious and a little bit emotional - as it is bound to be when we're dealing with a heavy subject like grief. I think this book will be a perfect cosy Autumn read - it's due to be released 9th September.

Actual rating 4.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author, Caitlin Moss, for sending me this ARC!

The chemistry between Vada and Dominic was instant, and I loved their banter. The concept of Vada's job was very interesting, and I loved her integrity with the way she followed her client's wishes, no matter how silly or outlandish they were. Vada's connection to the dead was unexpected, and I wish this was explored more - how amazing would it be for her career if the dead could help guide her in what they want at their funeral and see it through with her!

As expected, grief came up a lot within the plot, and I felt that it was discussed in a really sensitive way that was honest and respectful.

My only downside is that sometimes the love declarations or hopeful messages came across as a bit corny and took me out of the moment.

Overall a good read, 4 stars!