SUMMARY
One mysterious mansion. Two rival journalists. Three weeks to uncover the story—and love—of a lifetime. Don’t miss this unforgettable romantic comedy performed by Phillipa Soo and John Cho!
Obituary writer Nadine Barbault doesn’t mind being called “Lady Death”. It suits the ice queen persona she’s cultivated to survive the fast-paced Toronto Herald. So when Nadine learns that famous (and reclusive) author Dot Voline has died, she doesn’t hesitate to run the obituary…only to discover that Dot is very much alive.
Nadine’s screw-up has brought Wesley Chen of the rival Spear no end of joy—she’s been a thorn in his extremely ambitious side for years. But the renewed interest in Dot also surfaced chatter about a mysterious past scandal. Intrigued, Wes goes to the source to learn more—only to discover Nadine had the exact same idea…and the infuriating woman isn’t willing to respect dibs. Typical.
At first, Dot refuses to speak to either of the squabbling pair, but then they receive an unusual request—work together, and Dot will share everything. The offer seems too good to be true…and of course, it is: in a bitter twist of irony, Dot dies for real before she can finish recounting her story. Not all is lost, however. The estate’s executor allows Wes and Nadine access to Dot’s sprawling wonderland of a mansion for three weeks to find their answer. That’s three weeks of working together…three weeks of endless sweltering in tight spaces…three weeks of learning there could be something more between them than a desire to win at any cost.
And maybe, just maybe, under the rubble of all those could-have-beens they’ll uncover more than the secret of Dot Voline’s long-ago scandal—and Lady Death will finally embrace what she’s wanted from life all along.
Image and summary from Goodreads.
REVIEW
Drop Dead was my second book by Lily Chu after really enjoying The Stand-In, so I went into this one with fairly high expectations. I decided to listen to it as an audiobook and as someone who loves having a romance or contemporary fiction audiobook on while I’m out or driving to and from work, it seemed like the perfect choice.
One thing I already knew going in was that Lily Chu has a really approachable writing style. Her books always seem to blend humour romance together, and Drop Dead was no different. It had plenty of funny moments, some heartfelt scenes and characters that felt realistic.
I really liked the overall concept of the story. It had an interesting premise that immediately pulled me in and I was curious to see where it was going. I won’t spoil anything, but it wasn’t your typical contemporary romance which I appreciated. I always enjoy picking up books that have a slightly different angle and this one definitely stood out because of that.
The audiobook itself was really enjoyable to listen to. The narrator did a great job bringing the characters to life and I found it easy to slip back into the story whenever I pressed play. It’s the kind of audiobook that worked well while I was doing other things and before I knew it, I’d listened to quite a few chapters without even realising how much time had passed.
That being said, I did find myself losing interest a little during the middle of the book. There were sections where the pacing slowed down quite a bit and I caught myself waiting for something to happen to move the story forward again. It wasn’t enough to make me stop listening, but there were definitely moments where my attention drifted.
I also don’t think I connected with the characters quite as much as I did in The Stand-In. They were likeable and I enjoyed following their journey, but I never became fully emotionally invested in them. I kept hoping for that one moment that would completely pull me in, but it never quite happened. Because of that, the emotional moments didn’t hit me as hard as I think they were meant to.
Even so, I still had a good time with this book. Not every read has to become a new favourite and sometimes it’s nice to pick up something that’s simply entertaining for a few hours. There were plenty of moments that made me smile and I appreciated Lily Chu’s ability to balance humour with more heartfelt themes.
Overall, I’m still glad I picked this one up. While I personally preferred The Stand-In, Drop Dead was still an enjoyable audiobook that kept me company throughout the few days it took me to listen to it. It didn’t completely wow me, but it was an easy listen with an interesting premise and enough enjoyable moments to keep me listening until the end.
This was a solid 3 star read for me. Although parts of the story felt a little slow and I never fully connected with the characters, I still enjoyed the experience overall. I’ll definitely continue reading Lily Chu’s books because I really like her writing style and I’m curious to see what she comes up with next.
-Rachelle
I’m on Instagram at @rachellesbookshelf
