Review of ‘The Grim Assistant’ by Jodi Hutchins
3.75 Stars. I really enjoyed this. To be honest, there was nothing in the book that blew me away, but it was just fun to read. I have been in a slump of reading disappointing books lately so this was exactly the entertainment I was looking for. I believe this is Hutchins’s first full-length book. They have a few novellas and shorts but I had to give them some extra points for writing a fun debut.
Sam is a postal worker and an avid surfer. After a freak accident that leaves Sam technically dead, Sam meets Margo who claims to be a Grim Reaper. Margo offers Sam a deal. Sam can become her temporary assistant, helping spirits move on, or she can move on herself. Sam is young and wants to stay alive to be with her sister but is the bargain too good to be true?
As I’ve said a million times I love paranormal anything. Ghosts, vamps weres, I’ll take them all, but I actually liked that this book wasn’t super heavy on the paranormal aspects. Much of the beginning of this book feels like a regular romance. While there are supernatural beings all around, most humans don’t know about them so half of the characters in this book are just normal humans. I thought the balance was really clever and I found the book to be very readable.
There is a romance if you are wondering. It’s still in the newer stages but there were some good and steamy sex scenes in the book too. The main character of Sam is really likeable and very easy to root for. I did not love the other main Lauren quite as much, but she was likeable enough and her character brought some needed drama to the story.
On the slight downside, I did think there were times when the characters got out of trouble or bad situations a little easily. I mean, I don’t want bad things to happen but, I just could have used maybe a little more excitement in a few parts. But it’s not a big issue in the grand scheme of things and I was entertained which was just what I wanted.
This is the first book in a series. I was happy with the world-building and the supernatural set up so I’m excited to read more. Sam is at the beginning of her journey and I’m ready to follow her down the rabbit hole. I would recommend this to lesbian paranormal romance book fans and I’m hoping we don’t have to wait too long for book 2.
An ARC was given to me by the author for an honest review.
