Elizabeth Holloway

The truck should have turned Libbi Piper into a Libbi Pancake—and it would have, too, if Aaron hadn't shown up and saved her life. The problem? Aaron's the local Grim Reaper . . . and he only saved Libbi's life because he needs someone to take over his job. Now, Libbi has two days to choose between dying like she was supposed to, or living a lonely life as Death Incarnate. Talk about a rock and a hard place. And the choice goes from hard to sucktastic when her best friend shows up marked: condemned as a future murderer. Libbi could have an extra week to stop the murder and fix the mark . . . but only if she accepts Aaron's job as Reaper, trapping herself in her crappy town forever, invisible and inaudible to everyone except the newly dead. But, if she refuses? Her best friend is headed straight for Hell.

Call Me Grim

Jessica Nottingham

Call Me Grim enticed me with its promise of a new Grim Reaper story. No matter how many I read, I'm always excited to see what angle a new author will take on this subject. It's fascinating to me. The chance to skip your death, if you're only willing to guide others into the light? Yup, I want to know how it works. There was no hesitation as to whether or not I'd read this book. It instantly went on my list when it was offered to me for review.
 
I'll start with the strong points. First off, the premise of this story is pretty standard. You're slated to die, but you can avoid that if you're okay with becoming a Grim Reaper. Done, and done. The wrench in this system is that there can only be one Reaper in a certain zone. So if you want to take their place? They have to die. Twist! I liked this. Imagine knowing that, not only are you avoiding your own death, but you're trading places with someone else. Crazy. The other thing I liked about this book was that Libbi was so adamant about needing time to think it over. I'm always wary when a character makes a split decision regarding something so life changing. It made this feel more real.
 
Now on to what I didn't click with so much. The characters fall under this category. All of them, Libbi, Kyle, Aaron and Haley, were just so hard to like. They whined, a lot. They got into fights that felt like they were so petty that I couldn't get behind them. What they felt like, to me, were what an adult believes that teenagers act and sound like. Do I believe that there are teenagers out there who actually behave like this? Yes, I do. I don't think it's the norm though. So having four characters who are all eerily similar in their temperament? A little frustrating, to say the least. Add to this the fact that their dialogue never really felt true, and I had a hard time sticking with them.
 
The other issue I had, and this was the big one, was that the story just didn't seem to flow. Aaron's plight made sense. I understood the way that the Reaper world worked on a very shallow level, but that's where things stopped making sense to me. I wanted to see further into the politics of this world. Wanted to know who Aaron answered to, and why he was such a stickler for the rules. The ending also made me a little upset, but I won't spoil it for you. Suffice it to say that, although I finished it, this wasn't a book that I clicked with.

Call Me Grim

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