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She lives in Toronto, Canada, just blocks from the house she grew up in. Storm Grant—the writer, not the hound dog—writes engaging action adventure with two heroes. Since , she has published with a variety of e-publishers and more recently, self-publishes. View all posts by Gina X. Leave a comment Comments 0. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Email required Address never made public.

Arc received via NetGalley I was a bit disappointed with this book for several reasons. Firstly, the humour seems unnatural and too forced; I didn't find it funny and since it is overused and omnipresent it quickly annoyed me. As for the story, the premises were original and interested me but I don't really care for what the author has done with it. Kirsty doesn't really do anything in the story apart from wandering around and I didn't grow attach to her.

Some emotional moments like when Kristy Arc received via NetGalley I was a bit disappointed with this book for several reasons. Some emotional moments like when Kristy discover that all her coworkers don't care about her, when she is betrayed by her boss or when she discover the depth of her aunts' sacrifice could have been interesting to explore but they were gloss over.

I was curious about the Reapers, but we don't learn a lot about them here. However I think that we learn more about them in the next books of the series. Thirdly, I didn't like what the author choose to do with Dante Alighieri, which is a shame since a big part of why I wanted to read this book was because I was curious to see how the author would use him.

Indeed, he is the hero of the story but doesn't remind me of the historical figure or of someone of this time period, but rather of an awkward adolescent. He is supposed to be a master of language and to have participate in Florence politics and I would have like to see it reflect in something else that badly done poetry. In addition, he says that his major work,the Divine Comedy, was supposed to be humorous and that he can't stand the interpretations done by scholars, that's why he doesn't want to be reborn. I really can't stand that. People appreciating this kind of humour may like this book better than me.

The world building was interesting and you may also appreciate it better than I did if you don't know about Dante Alighieri. I would recommend this book to people wanting a quick and light read with a lot of humour. The premise of this book sounded so intriguing, yet the story epically fails.

Girl who's name I can't even remember is accidentally reaped because she's inanely stupid. During which time she lives with Dante. Girl is emotionally bipol The premise of this book sounded so intriguing, yet the story epically fails. Girl is emotionally bipolar, screaming and hitting people one moment, then mushy the next. There's no consistency to her character. I really want to medicate her. She's also so dumb and worthless. Even people in the book tell her this.

It's blasphemy what she does to Dante. He spouts really bad poetry and even though he's cute and one of the better characters, I can't take the ruining of his intellect. Ugh, super super super corny lame puns. The writing is poor. I applaud the idea behind the story, but the actual book needs several more rewrites and editing. What I did like The premise is good, the underworld she creates is interesting.

Dante is cute, if I can pretend he's not really a 13th century Italian poet. Oct 02, Deborah Armstrong rated it it was amazing. In all honesty, I did not know what to expect when I decided to read Gina X. Grant's The Reluctant Reaper. Okay - so the cover reminded me of Christopher Moore's books and I hoped I'd be in for a treat. Added to my instant enjoyment was the pairing of the two settings - Toronto and Hell. The Reluctant Reaper is the story of Kirsty D'Arc who is reaped accidently in a men's washroom while trying to save her boss from being killed.

Her adventure takes place as she accompanies her handsome and sexy reaper, Dante, into Hell to find out if the deed can be undone.


  1. The Reluctant Reaper (Reluctant Reaper, book 1) by Gina X Grant;
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Kirsty finds out that she is distantly related to someone called Joan who has a penchant for burnt food. Dante is The Inferno's Dante who much prefers living in Hell than topside. As I read the book I wondered if Ms. Grant wrote the story to all of the puns she could think of, or did she masterfully insert every and any pun to her story to make it thoroughly entertaining. Yes the puns are sometimes corny and groan-worthy, but for the most part they are witty, smart-assed and almost genius.

Quirky fiction that's pretty, witty and gritty.

Looking for a little zany adventure into hell? Me neither but as far a story goes this is a quirky little book that may entertain you. Just frivolity and a quick read. Ultimately she wants to get back to her life as she is somewhere in a coma. Along Looking for a little zany adventure into hell? Along the way we meet a host of characters. I chuckled a few times but sadly not enough. Some of the one liners had me rolling my eyes. I do see great potential in this series. So if you need a no brainer while waiting in line give it a go. Jul 14, Scott rated it it was amazing Shelves: I copied this from my amazon review: The book clocks in at about pages, which would usually take me about a week to finish.


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I'm a slow reader, I've got toddlers in the house, and being mildly dyslexic makes casual reading something that requires a lot of attention. I finished this book in less than a day. I was hooked from the first page. Kirsty is a relatable, real character that I was rooting for all the way.

The story moves along at a nice clip with humor and puns peppered throughout. It doe I copied this from my amazon review: It does have puns but they aren't over-done. There are times when the main character drags a bit in pity, but then she did die, so that's understandable. There is a pleasant wit displayed among the wordplay and I look forward to the next in the series. Mar 07, Christina Sdao schmidt rated it it was amazing.

I really liked this book. The premise is interesting, we all go to hell to get recycled unless you're really bad you go to Heller. The fact that Kirsty gets none of Dante's terrible poetry is well, like poetry. I'm a big supernatural fan so this kinda played right into that fandom. Totally a Canadian book too. Heaven and Hell play interfaith hockey league on Tuesday night to settle their differences.

Sep 12, Missi rated it it was amazing. I was able to read this first book for free on xoxoafterdark. Dante as a grim reaper! And oh my, I never thought of him as hot! The 80's and 90's references really brought back memories too. Aug 20, Stacy rated it it was amazing Shelves: I enjoyed the first installment of Kristys new life. She just turned 25, thinks she is were she should be.

Then the big "D" happens. I like the characters, the story line, snark and humor. I cant wait to read the next in this series! May 17, Ann rated it liked it. I liked the premise of this book but I was disappointed to find the ending was , look for book 2. Didn't realize it was a series. Kristy mets the grim reaper before her time and goes to hell till her appeal can be heard. Apr 30, Joan Leacott rated it it was amazing. I don't usually read fantasy, but the premise tickled my fancy. I'm glad I surrendered to temptation. This was a fun read--chuckled my way through the whole thing! Can't wait to get my hands on book two.

The characters seemed really flat and I found myself forgetting what I was reading when away from my Kindle. Apr 24, Brandy Kruse rated it really liked it. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really enjoy this take on hell. Can't wait to meet Lucy and see what kind of job Kirsty ends up doing.

The Reluctant Reaper

Plus, Dante writing the Inferno to be a joke? May 01, Irene Jordane rated it it was amazing. The best quirky fun read I've had a in a long time. Oct 10, Frances rated it it was ok Shelves: This review was originally posted at: Once there, Kirsty goes about gathering evidence for an appeal against her old boss so that she can return to her comatose body lying in the Hospital.

The problem is that Kirsty starts to like Hell and the people who are there, particularly Dante, the reaper who accidentally reaped her instead of Conrad. Will Kirsty stay in Hell? Or, is her drive for revenge to strong? The world-building in The Reluctant Reaper was well done.

I found it interesting that people in hell essentially wait in line for years and years to appeal against the decision to reap their soul. Most appeals fail and the people then have to earn points by working in order to be reincarnated. Although this is not the traditional idea of Hell i. I also like how time worked differently in Hell.

Time might move fast and a month may slip by in what seems like a day, or the days can drag on far longer than usual. Time also works differently for each person, for example, a month passed by in what seemed like a matter of hours for Kirsty, yet, the month went by slowly for Dante. Finally, the demons were well done in the sense that they were different. One demon, for example, wore a tight sparkly gown, long nails, make-up, and jewels on his horns etc He was different and I liked the demon for that.

I wanted more demons though, particularly evil demons. Although, Dante tells Kirsty that some demons will rip the flesh off her bones, there's never any real threat that this will happen. I think this may have helped quicken the pace. I didn't really gel with the main character, Kirsty. It seemed like the author was trying to create a female character who likes shopping and designer clothes, but who will also stand up for herself.

I like this idea in principal but this was clumsily done. In theory, a female character that is fairly tough yet vulnerable should have created a more three-dimensional character. However, the switch back and forth happened too frequently and too closely together, meaning it read more like bi-polar disorder instead. I also disliked how the author threw in so many puns and references to other books. At the back of the book there is a description of the author that says her sense of humour reads throughout the book. I agree that the puns she came up with are clever, but I found them very distracting and annoying.

The puns did not endear me to Kirsty and I often groaned at them. I think a couple scattered throughout the book would have been fine, but there were so many that I might not read the next couple of books in the series as a result. The chemistry in the book was lacking.

Although it was painfully clear that Kirsty had a thing for Dante—because she repeatedly talked about how insanely hot he was—it wasn't clear that Dante had a thing for Kirsty until two-thirds of the way through the book. As a result, the tension was lacking. Then, when Dante and Kirsty do get together, it seems like Dante is much more invested than Kirsty. Kirsty is still insistent on returning to her old life even though she didn't really start living until she was reaped, with the aim of reuniting with Dante when she dies naturally.

I think this was meant to be romantic because he'd wait for her. I didn't understand why she wanted to go back if she was in love with Dante. It was clear that if she won her appeal, Dante would be in a huge amount of trouble. Plus, she is mostly responsible for her situation as she jumped in front of Dante's scythe and blamed him! The book ends rather suddenly. I think this was meant to be romantic because he'd wait for her. I didn't understand why she wanted to go back if she was in love with Dante.

It was clear that if she won her appeal, Dante would be in a huge amount of trouble. Plus, she is mostly responsible for her situation as she jumped in front of Dante's scythe and blamed him! The book ends rather suddenly. I didn't realise the book was a series until that point. I was rather angry at the ending because it felt like nothing was really resolved. I'm guessing that the second book will be fairly similar to the first book as a result.

There was nothing in the ending of the book that made me want to read more. Something needed to happen that ended the book on a cliff hanger. Although, technically the book does end on a cliff hanger, it's a cliff hanger that indicates the next book will pretty much repeat the first book in the overall plot points.

The Reluctant Reaper (The Reluctant Reaper, #1) by Gina X. Grant (2 star ratings)

What the book needed was a cliff hanger that indicates the next book will be different and more exciting. I think that this book probably needed to be combined with the next book in the series. That would have prevented the inevitable similarity between the books and the author could have spent more time developing the chemistry and tension between Kirsty and Dante.

That way, I might actually have been invested in their relationship rather than feeling ambivalent. The Reluctant Reaper is okay; not awe inspiring brilliance or excruciating torture. Sep 07, Doug rated it it was ok. The Reluctant Reaper is an urban fantasy drawing on Dante's Inferno with plot and setting elements not entirely dissimilar to similarly inspired works by the likes of Piers Anthony and Amber Benson. Grant's style is is short on description and long on puns, as this early paragraph demonstrates: Leaping up, I threw myself against the far wall, grateful for the support as my knees wobbled.

I peered around my office, wary of other threats from seemingly harmless office supplies.

The pencil might put The Reluctant Reaper is an urban fantasy drawing on Dante's Inferno with plot and setting elements not entirely dissimilar to similarly inspired works by the likes of Piers Anthony and Amber Benson. The pencil might put my eye out; the eraser could choke me to death. Even my calculator could no longer be counted on. The plot barely held my attention I was frequently impatient for the narrator to work out things I'd already figured out , but it did provoke plenty of snorts, groans, and the occasional guffaw.

Dec 14, Henry Lazarus rated it it was ok. Grant then sends her to hell where. The Reluctant Reaper electronic from Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc appeals her reaping and so she can return to her comatose body. She also falls for the reaper who mistakenly sent her to hell, Dante Alighieri. This is only the first part of the tale. Review printed in the Philadelphia Weekly Press Jul 05, Paula rated it it was ok.

Read because it was cheap - not necessarily the best reason to read a book. The concept was cute, but the puns annoyed every other paragraph was another joke like one my teenaged daughter would make up - they slowed the pace of the story. Not the biggest fan of romance, so not really the target market for the book.

May 30, Alicia rated it it was ok. I didn't feel like I connected to the main character, and the fact that I am uninterested in finishing the series speaks volumes to my general uninterest.

Jul 18, Lee Roland rated it it was ok. This book started out slow and never picked up the pace. Thomas rated it it was ok May 20, Heather rated it it was ok Sep 14, Jecca rated it it was ok Oct 02, Pannies Bredenkamp rated it it was ok Jul 07, Teresa Bergholz rated it it was ok Aug 21, Cher rated it it was ok Jun 06, Brad Thomson rated it it was ok Sep 26, Saulegriza rated it it was ok Sep 26, Kristin rated it it was ok Dec 15, Cindy rated it it was ok Jul 04,