An ARC of this novel was sent to me by NetGalley for reviewing purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really liked this book! It definitely came across as very YA-y at some points, but it was interesting and kept me captivated to the end. I look forward to exploring other titles from this author.

3.75 stars-I mostly enjoyed this book. I liked the premise and concept. It felt a bit young adult to me. Maybe because I have a college age child, so that not my favorite genre to read about. I am glad I gave it a try though. If there is to be a sequel I hope it's further down the road 5-10 years to give it the more lived in adult feel most readers are looking for in non YA lesfic. I'll definitely give this author another read if the opportunity happens. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review excerpted from my blog post over at Pan/Cis LGBT2SQ+ Romance Reviews (https://pancis.wordpress.com/2020/03/01/the-morticians-daughter-by-nan-higgins/)

Overall Rating: 3.5 stars

Library recommendation: Recommended for public library LGBT2SQ+ romance collections.

Warning: Hereafter, you chance spoilers. I will try never to reveal major plot points, but to review any book, you must reveal some parts of the story.

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Number of titles I have read by this author: 1

Love story speed: Medium burn

Relationship dynamics: The New Recruits/Trainees

Physical Descriptions: Shoulder-length, raven hair and green eyes (h1); short, shaggy, light brown hair, crooked smile, and blue-grey eyes (h2)

Sexual content: A smidge; “on-screen” and explicit.

Gender Identity: Cis (h1) / Cis (h2)

Sexual Identity: Lesbian (h1) / Lesbian (h2)

Triggers: violence; controlling parents; parental estrangement

Acceptance Rating: 4.5 stars

Acceptance Rating Explanation: Some folks embarrassed by mention of girls dating girls. Otherwise, love is love.

Grammar/Editing: I found no errors in my ARC.

Review: This is a fast-paced, single point-of-view paranormal romance set in Columbus, Ohio. It seems very “new adult” oriented in tone and presentation. It features a fairly elaborately conceived, and consistently applied, bureaucracy of the afterlife that I would liken to Beetlejuice, The Good Place, and Dead Like Me, except that the bureaucrats are living, and this novel is not a comedy (or a dramedy).

The heroines of this novel are Aria and Sloane. Both are college-graduate age, and both still live at home with their parents. While their romance is cute, it also feels a bit immature, if only because Aria is still fairly immature due, in large part, to her overbearing parents (although she’s 22 and still has teenage-type sleepovers with her best friend, so she’s also slightly immature, regardless). Their romance is also fairly whirlwind in nature. The supporting characters are well-enough developed for the action of the novel, but there’s an overarching air of secrecy throughout the novel that may account for the paucity of information given. This is also the first book in a series, so it’s possible that more details will be revealed in subsequent installments. I did find Aria’s parents and their relationship with her to be incredibly juvenile – they treat her as if she is 12 rather than 22, including making major decisions about her life without consulting her. Outside of these characters, the villain’s motivations are fairly standard and the other characters seem fairly peripheral.

Overall, this is a quick read and I would be willing to read the next book in the series to see what the author does with it.

Full disclosure: I received a free advance review copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.