I just finished reading my first ARC! For the uninitiated, that means an Advanced Reader Copy, a copy of a book before the publication date. The Reluctant Reaper was written by Mary Janice Davidson and was published November 11, 2025 (I started reading it on 11/5 so a few days early).
I chose this book because I was looking for something to read for fall and was still feeling the Halloween spooky vibes. I had not heard of Davidson before but they have written a significant number of books. This book was an upbeat, genre bending merge of cozy mystery and romance.
Amara Morrigan reluctantly returns home when her father, Death, becomes ill. Since gaining the ability to know when people are going to die as a child, Amara has secluded herself. Her one exception has been Gray. He, thankfully, goads her into bringing him home with her. Amara never wanted to be Death, too much reaping. Surprisingly, the reaping may just be bearable with Gray at her side. But Death doesn’t just get sick and die willy nilly…and Amara is going to prove it.
I generally liked this books. It was a fun, easy read. However, some of the dialogue was confusing and there was room for improvement transitioning between chapters.
Books like this one:
- A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer by Maxie Dara – also a spooky, cozy mystery with a female protagonist great at dry humor
- The Finlay Donovan Series by Elle Cosimano – also a confident female protagonist out there doing life with some out of the blue happenings
***SPOILER ALERT BELOW***
I did not realize going into the book that it had a romance aspect. I did not pick up on the romance until about half way through the book and found it to be more of romance lite. I found Amara and Gray’s relationship plenty compelling without the romantic aspect. She fights for him by setting boundaries for (threatening) his parents. She sees what a kind person he is and wonders at it even more knowing his experience growing up. Gray is really able to role with the punches. He accepts all of the mystery around Amara and then accepts all the crazy things he learns about her family legacy. They are endearingly compassionate and understanding with each other.
I wish I knew more about the food discussed in the book. I could not tell if the food discussed was actual dishes or made up (yes, I know I could look it up, but I like to stay in the book when I’m reading and then don’t have the patience after I finish the book). Some of it was described in detail but more would have heightened the cozy vibe.
I found the mystery of Sky, Amara’s childhood mentor, being behind Death’s sickness in order to get his land disheartening. Amara has so few connections in her life and I would have liked to see her keep this one in tact. It feels like the betrayal of Sky should have had more of an effect on her relationship with Gray and the decisions she makes long term. It came off as a bit of a throw away twist. While she gets her man for the long term at the end, her life still seems very isolated. Her childhood mentor betrayed her; her dad just died; her mom may die now that she is no longer married to Death; she has no other friends. This book falls into the heteronormative cannon that tells women that the only relationship they need is a romantic one with a man when in fact all people need many many types of relationships in order to thrive.