Grave IntentionsBy: Lori Sjoberg
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: Jan. 3, 2013
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Rating:
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He’s handsome, reliable, and punctual—the perfect gentleman when you want him to be. But this dream man is Death’s best agent—and now he’s got more than his soul to lose…
One act of mercy before dying was all it took to turn soldier David Anderson into a reaper—an immortal who guides souls-of-untimely-death into the afterlife. But the closer he gets to atoning for his mortal sin and finally escaping merciless Fate, the more he feels his own humanity slipping away for good. Until he encounters Sarah Griffith. This skeptical scientist can’t be influenced by his powers—even though she has an unsuspected talent for sensing the dead. And her honesty and irreverent sense of humor reignite his reason for living—and a passion he can’t afford to feel. Now Fate has summoned David to make a devastating last harvest. And he’ll break every hellishly-strict netherworld rule to save Sarah…and gamble on a choice even an immortal can’t win.
David is a reaper. Although, he isn’t what you would normally think of when you picture a reaper. When he was alive he made committed some sins but was found redeemable and thus was brought back to earth as a human in order to help souls pass over. With ever soul that he reaps, he is one step closer to paying for his sins. Over the 60 years that he has been reaping, he’s pretty much seen it all. Helping souls pass isn’t an easy thing and in order to keep his sanity he has managed to lock down all of his emotions. However, when he meets his neighbor, Sara, he realizes that she can help relieve some of the pain from his job.
I thought that this was an interesting take on reapers. I liked the the whole “redeeming your soul” part of reaping. I must admit that I am not on board with the whole animal testing but I was glad to see that Sara’s job didn’t come into play too much. Had I needed to read through a “testing” I would have put the book down and called it good.
I wasn’t really surprised by what takes place in this story. It is pretty predictable but I still enjoyed the story. The characters are likable and I found myself interested in their story and what happens next.
Samuel- “Not quite. Fate merely controls the essentials; she knows when you’ll be born, and she knows when you’ll die.”
“She knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.” David said, his words dripping with sarcasm.
Ooo I’d had my eye on this one. I like the redeeming your soul part too. Not sure I’ll pick it up though with the animal testing bit even if it’s not really touched on. I think that would still stick in my head and I’d hold it against her. Thanks for the heads up on that!
I agree it was predictable, but thought the twist at the end was clever..i really thought it would go another way, good, but another way. I cannot wait for book 2.