3.75 Stars. I really loved the characters in this book. Ana was easy to relate to, and Zig was a lot of fun. He was snarky and witty and I loved every scene he was in. Everyone felt like they had their own individual personality and were well written. There was also some really beautiful imagery. I loved the way the souls were described.
It did take me a little while to get in to this story, but after a few chapters I started to get sucked in. I also liked that the author did some different things with this book than I'm used to reading in YA. It was refreshing to see a protagonist that wasn't white, and to be immersed in a setting outside of the US.
I liked that at the core of this story it was about Ana and her friends and family. It was about growing up and growing apart from the people and places you used to be close to. This book isn’t a romance novel. It’s not a love story. There is some romance between Ana and Rolf, and some really interesting sexual tension between Ana and Zig, but this story isn’t about some mystery guy that swoops in to whisk the lead female off her feet. Although the ending does set up an interesting scenario for Ana's future love life.
I really liked the story, watching Ana reap souls and meet all these strange creatures from the underworld. But, I didn’t always understand Ana’s decisions. She puts herself in a few dangerous situations when it didn’t really feel like she had to. There’s a few situations that don’t seem desperate enough for her to make the choices that she does. And, Ana is a little too dense when it comes to her boyfriend Rolf. It’s obvious that she loves him but when strange things started happening, I don’t understand why she didn’t talk to Ernest (Grim) or Zig about them, and she stayed overly trusting of him when it’s obvious she shouldn’t be. Also, I wanted to see more of Ana’s trips with Ernest and her learning to be a reaper. I wanted a little more background on this trade she was learning and the underworld.
This book is definitely setting up for a series, and I would be interested in knowing how the story continues, but as it sits the ending feels a little anticlimactic. There are a few different things that get resolved, but this book sets up a lot and there’s a lot to wonder about once it’s over. It just doesn’t feel like it ends in the right spot.
Overall this was a fun read, and I will consider continuing this series in the future.