Grave Intentions by Lori Sjoberg

Grave Intentions by Lori Sjoberg

Book stats:
Reading level: Adult
E-book: 586 KB
Genre: Paranormal romance
Publisher: Kensington
Release date: January 3, 2013

Series: Grave #1

Source: Review copy from publisher via NetGalley

Reviewed by: Jenn

Purchase: Amazon

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.

GRAVE INTENTIONS is a the beginnings of a paranormal romance series featuring grim reapers. It's a cute book with likeable characters. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it but it didn't work its way onto my love list because it's a fairly standard paranormal romance.

In Lori Sjoberg's world, dead folks become reapers when they have a debt to repay. David has been reaping since the Korean War and he's lost most of the joy in his life, going through life fairly mechanically. He chafes at the rules he has to live by but dutifully does his job, reaping souls and overseeing a small group of reapers. Sarah is his next door neighbour, a scientist with an unpleasant work situation thanks to a harassing boss. They meet cute and begin a sweet romance that faces one main obstacle: David's "career".

I thought the two main characters were decent leads. They were very pleasant and compatible. I didn't feel serious sparks between them but I think that was because they were both very vanilla. David's very gentlemanly and honorable, Sarah is very smart and sweet, and they work well together but their romance didn't leap off the page for me. It didn't seem incredibly passionate or moving. And that is something of a problem for me in a paranormal romance. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't put off by it and I did like the book but I just didn't have any strong feelings about it at the end. And I really want to feel something at the end of a story because it means I've been engaged by the characters, setting, and/or plot.

For me, GRAVE INTENTIONS is a definite library book. I don't think I'll read it again. My recommendation would be to check out the excerpt below and see if GRAVE INTENTIONS is a book for you. It's a light and conventional paranormal romance that has all of the usual components and is a good choice if you're looking for something light and fluffy to while away some time.

Read an excerpt

Posted by jenn at 05:00

 Grim Reaper, Kensington, Lori Sjoberg, Review  1 Person left their mark

Born and raised in the Toronto area, Jenn moved to St. John's, Newfoundland, eight years ago for school. She's still in school (thankfully on another degree!), now trapped in her dissertation. When she's not dissertating, which happens more often than it should, Jenn spends her time reading, watching movies, playing volleyball, travelling, and enjoying the local music scene. Her latest addictions: yoga and Almond Crunch cereal.