Good Mourning, Darling by Azalea Crowley is everything I never knew I wanted in a queer cozy horror romance. Eugene Graves is an undead, gray ace, gentleman hitman from the 1920s with a murder-hungry shadow who unexpectedly falls for the daughter of his employer while acting as a bodyguard. Ella Bardot is a bisexual 27-year-old Filipino American woman with autism adjusting to life back at her estranged parents’ home who becomes the target of a paranormal hit. Ella’s father never told her about the real supernatural business behind the family funeral home legacy, so when the monsters start attacking, the odd employee Ella’s been nursing a crush on for years is charged with keeping her safe.
This is an excellent book. I love Eugene’s friendship with his shadow. For how bloodthirsty they are together, they really care for each other (or themselves) and consider each other’s feelings as a unit. Also, I commend Crowley’s commitment to a 20s Mid-Atlantic accent and the slang that accompanies it. I am a big Eugene fan all around.
Ella is equally compelling. She is in that late 20s stage of your life where you are refiguring out what you want from life and how you fit back into the place that raised you. It is hard for me to pick individual lines or scenes, but her thought process and reactions to things just delight me. If you’ve been looking to unpack the links between infantilization, femininity, Asian identity, and autism boy do I have a book for you.
So maybe it is no surprise that I love Ella and Eugene’s relationship. As this is the start of the series, I expect more facets of their partnership will reveal themselves over time but golly I do love them together. All their flirting is top-notch. I have never loved descriptions of smiles more.
I was expecting to dislike the horror or gore elements, but I was so wrapped up in how much I liked this book I just took in the ambiance of it all and barreled on through. (As an aside, I would say this is a good book recommendation for any fans of Hazbin Hotel.) If you are looking for a paranormal romance that unpacks what it means to demand freedom—whatever that looks like for you—Good Mourning, Darling by Azalea Crowley, set to release April 3, 2024, should be next on your list.
I would like to thank Azalea Crowley for providing an earc of Good Mourning, Darling in exchange for an honest review.