Death Meets Cute (Deluxe Edition)

Kindle Customer

Already Ready for More! ❤️

"Absolutely adorable story 🥰 I sincerely hope that this turns into a series!! ["

May 10, 2026 Verified Purchase

Stephanie F.

Warmly Charmed

"Death Meets Cute is a sweetly cozy fantasy. This is a quick, easy read perfect for a weekend where you just want to say home bundled under some warm blankets. It's a book that brought me many smiles. This is the story of Iris. Whose recent run of villainy with her sisters has left her feeling askew, untethered, and quite empty. So she ventures away from her sisters to make it on her own in a new town, where she can become its villainous mistress. To really get the bad image going she is in need of a fierce bodyguard. When an orc falls dead at her door she uses her spell to revive him and employ him her as new bodyguard. But this would-be fierce orc, Talon, is missing his memory but what remains is someone kind, loyal, sweet, and ever so gentle. Seeing the world through eyes has Iris reanalyzing her own, and realizing perhaps friendship and love are a more powerful tool than the whims of villainy (well to a certain degree!). Iris is the worst villain, and I mean that in the best way! While this story is ultimately a breezy, cozy ride, I enjoyed the contradiction explored within Iris. She tasks herself with the tools to lead with villainy, but as we see her engage with her new home, the town and its people, we see how much she unconsciously cares in her own way. Sure, she may be considering certain hexes on certain people, but others...others treat her with warmth and kindness, perhaps something she mirrors back as well. She fits in more than she initially realizes, and I like how her journey comes into this acceptance and eventual embrace. How she finds not only her path, but her home as well. This entire journey is definitely predictable, but it's charming enough that any predictable story beats are not so bothersome due to their sweet delivery. The wheel isn't reinvented in this one, but it stays at a steady turn and perhaps that's exactly what we need sometimes. I never fell in love, but I fell in heavy like, and it's due to the pure delight in our heroine (villainess!) and her steadfast bodyguard Talon. I adore how Talon so readily takes care of Iris throughout the book. Not only takes care of her, but gets to know her, as well as encourage her, as he does with her potions. He simply sees her, and in turn, Iris starts to see herself as well. She starts to get to know her true self that in itself is a joy to witness. Along with the cute love blooming between witch and bodyguard. I liked Death Meets Cute! It's charming, it brought me smiles, and it warmed my heart. While it may not be the type of book I'll want to read again, I'm glad I took this journey from beginning to end. ["

Show more

April 30, 2026

Anne (eggcatsreads)

A cute romcom fantasy that falls just a little short in the delivery

"A cozy fantasy meet-cute between an orc who dies in the yard of the witch who revives him to bodyguard her. I really wished I liked this book more, but as I was reading I couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. I think it was a mix of both the characters and the plot, where I had difficulty rooting for the romance when the entire time we - as the reader - are not even sure if the one character’s feelings are genuine. I also found it a bit difficult to believe that the second one specific thing is discovered about a character our main character hates, that suddenly they’re friendly. (I also did not like the “oh I shouldn’t have judged her because she’s not [doing spoiler thing here] but ALSO it’d have been totally okay if she was!” that felt totally ingeniune. This scene felt like the author wanted to clarify that this character was totally not like someone like THAT but then realized afterwards that acting like if she was it would have been offensive, and so instead kind of wound up lukewarm in the middle.) The ending also had a bit of “time to end the plot!” about it with not only how quickly it was resolved, and this made the romantic ending feel a lot less impactful. Not to mention the “evil” of the sisters is almost an afterthought, where we have stories and mentions of their deeds but in their daily life it seems almost non-existent. Finally, I get that this was part of the plot but I could feel my eyes beginning to glaze over with the constant descriptions of food and what everyone was eating during every single scene. I get it, but oh boy did it lead to some tedious chapters. Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me this e-ARC. ["

Show more

April 28, 2026

Chelsea

This book made me super hungry, but I loved every second

"TL;DR version? I loved this book so much more than I was expecting, and I highly encourage anyone who wants a sweet, surprisingly insightful, and fun cosy fantasy. Now for the obnoxiously long version: I have a serious problem with this review, but it's absolutely delicious (a funny pun if you read the book). As a personal policy, I don't like to include too many spoilers or give too much away in my reviews. The thing is, my immediate and intense gut impulse is to offer up a detailed and thorough play-by-play of everything that made me fall in love with a story that, at its core, is a fairly lovely little cosy fantasy. Alas, I will control myself. In the spirit of honesty, this was one occasion when I hadn't actually read the description at all, because the cover and the name were enough to grab me. So I went in expecting a fun romance (which it is), but was completely blindsided by the fact that it is only part of a much deeper story about self-identity and stepping out of one's comfort zone. Our primary protagonist is Iris, a hyper-independent, middle-sister witch whose daily affirmation is, "Love the life you live...and destroy those that get in the way", and the life that Iris loves is that of being a villain. But every self-respecting villain needs a bodyguard, so when an orc mercenary named Talon drops dead in her yard, she grasps the opportunity to reanimate herself a new employee. Except he's not what she expects. Talon is kind, bakes, and seems to thrive in the friendly village that Iris tries so hard to make fear her. It’s a great use of the grumpy x sunshine trope. Which is all in the description I didn't bother to read. Clearly, this was going to be a love story, and it is, I think, a simple yet awesome example of how love can be a powerful stepping stone in someone's personal growth without being the driving force. In fact, while extremely satisfying, I think the romance angle of this book is far from the focus. When that became clear, I focused on the detail that Iris's magic is fading. Certainly, this story was about solving that crisis, and I was quick to start suspecting all the colourful townsfolk. (This crisis IS a driving force to the plot, but I was definitely on the wrong track.) In fact, it took me an embarrassingly long time to realise what the actual story was about. But weirdly, I think that's partly because this story is so relatable. Iris's journey is one I think we all go through, and despite the tongue-in-cheek, cosy nature of the writing, it resonated in a powerful, often funny way. But I do sort of have to tread lightly here because this is where I want to start blabbing details that, even when not integral to the plot, should be discovered as you (hopefully) read this for yourself. All in all, Death Meets Cute, I think, checks a lot of boxes. It's a great palette cleanser and cosy read. The world and the characters are so much fun. The romance is touching and feels organic. It walks a great line between light-hearted and emotionally deep. I expected to like this book, and I ended up absolutely LOVING it. ["

Show more

May 17, 2026

Dotti

Fun, Cozy Fantasy Romance in Small Town

"Rating: 4.5 stars I love a cozy fantasy. I love a cozy romance. I love a small-town setting and a diverse community and a fun redemption arc. And all of that and more is contained in J. Penner’s Death Meets Cute. I enjoyed Penner’s Fellowship of Bakers & Magic series and was excited about what she had planned for her next series. Our story follows Iris, a witch who strikes out on her own instead of remaining with her bickering sisters. Iris settles into the quaint market town of Fraywell and opens a shop selling evil potions on demand. Our story opens with a missing bodyguard (seemingly vacationing for longer than planned) and a dead body on Iris’ doorstep. When Iris reanimates the orc corpse, she expects a mercenary, not a baker and housemaker. Iris’ life is upended when her sisters come to solve the problem of their faulty magic, and Talon seems to be a good solution for all the tension in the house. There’s also a slew of animal familiars, a message about friendship and the power of community, and a sweet romance with feeling. The story really hits a lot of the cozy fantasy romance notes: good stakes that aren’t too heavy or large, a fun romance worth following, a talking hedgehog, a fun small town filled with quirky characters, and more. It’s such a sweet story without feeling sickly, with complicated characters worth engaging in. My problem with Penner’s previous books are that her love interests were one-note. Thankfully, Talon is given interesting layers throughout the story, especially because of the amnesia storyline. The romance is well done and complicated, with an appropriate third act conflict and good development throughout. Iris’ character development throughout the story is compelling and complicated, in appropriate ways. Penner leans into a lot of the middle child experience, and Iris has lessons she learns throughout about her coping methods and family roles. I appreciated how Iris’s development is shaped both by her relationship with Talon and her relationships with her sisters and her community. This book does not contain explicit content. There are a few kisses but nothing beyond that. Altogether, this was a fun, cozy fantasy romance novel for people who want to curl up with a warm cup of tea. Our characters are fun, the small town is just the right degree of punny, and the romance is sweet. The character development in this book feels like an improvement over Penner’s previous books and I’m hopeful that she will offer more books in this world. Thank you to Poisoned Pen for this advanced reader copy. ["

Show more

April 30, 2026