Release Day Review: Grave Intentions by Lori Sjoberg

Grave Intentions
by Lori Sjoberg
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publication date: January 3, 2013
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/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.

Holy hot reaper, Grave Intentions was a fun, sexy start to a new paranormal fantasy. Sjoberg introduces us to souls who have been enlisted to serve as Reapers. I loved the world building and the fleshed out characters.  It looks like each book will deal with a reaper and his romance. I quickly consumed this as I laughed, giggled and swooned.

We meet David Anderson he has been a reaper since he died during the war. His job is to help souls who die from tragedy cross over. His boss is fate, and because of some fluke in the universe; souls that meet a tragic end need guidance to cross over and do so though a reaper. It is a hard job, arriving just before death and being helpless to stop it. In order to handle the emotional toll of the job, David cuts all of his emotions off. That is until his path crosses with his neighbor Sarah Griffin. She is different than most humans and he is astounding when he cannot plant suggestions in her mind. The tale that unfolds kept me enthralled as I waited to see what fate had in store for this couple.

David is smexy, built like a solider with the sexiest grey eyes you have ever seen. *swoons* He does not regret the act(s) that caused him to become a reaper but after sixty years he is starting to lose some of his humanity. He is training a newbie named Adam. Who is cute, loves dog and was a police officer before he died. I cannot wait for his story. Sarah is interesting, and her family history and paranormal abilities were fascinating. I loved the slow building relationship between her and David. It felt genuine and oh so hot!! Other reapers and David’s superior Samuel added to the tale causing problems. All of the characters had unique voices.

I really enjoyed Sjoberg’s take on reapers and cannot wait for the next book. David’s story was fascinating and his anguish felt real. I loved Fate and her interference. The story flowed at a wonderful pace and the climatic last few chapters completely removed me from reality. When I finished I immediately searched out information on the next book. Thankfully, there is a sneak peak in the back of this book, but it only says coming soon and isn’t yet titled..Grrr hope it’s soon!

I recommend Grave Intentions to fans of reapers and paranormal romances. I am super excited about this series and have added Sjoberg to my list of authors to follow.

I want to thank Kensington for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my unbiased review.

Four cups of dark chocolate coffee out of five