Love E.J's books. Gold is possibly my favourite book ever but unfornately just didn't enjoy this one as much. But like always is was written well

Fantastic read. Love reading something a little different. Noyes certainly made the story different. Great writing, great characters. I had erred about reading what appeared to be a non reality story, but how wrong was I. I was so engrossed and convinced of the whole concept. The character Cici was a favourite, hope we get a book about this character.

Clearly a lot of people loved this book, but it was really hard for me to get into it. I still gave it 4 stars, because EJ Noyes is one of the best authors in this genre. Her writing is always great, no matter what the subject.

I also appreciated that she went away from her "normal" type of books, and dived into Fantasy. The world she created, with death's minions, was very unique. The fact that the world knew about them, and they were a normal agency in some respect, was also pretty genius.

Having said that, there were weird parts for me when it came to Jane and immortality. I don't want to say too much, but I felt like it was a bigger deal than it was given. The only real relationship she's had in her entire life was with her Mom. She clearly loves her dearly, so I don't get the choice at the end. No way.

I would also really love to have the metabolism of a minion. Just saying.

I'll still read any book she writes, but this one wasn't my favorite.

Wildly unique and completely unexpected, Reaping the Benefits wasn’t a hard sell given the expertise the author has been able to entertain me with every book published. The letting go of reality to fall into a paranormal underworld is a most unusual backdrop for a love affair but here we are, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Despite the uniqueness of the scenery and its characters, Morgan and Jane’s developing attraction eventually directs Morgan to contemplate everything. The intensity of her introspections coupled with her musings with Death is as bizarre as it is incredibly interesting. This author never fails to entertain me in the most unusual ways that leaves me ruminating over her words long after The End. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ah Morgana and Jane, you had me from the moment E.J. Noyes set you to paper.
What I really enjoyed about this, was that the amazing and perfect Morgan wasn't unattainable and was actually really genuinely nice. Jane's bucket list was a great idea to bring them together even though roller-coasters make me ill.
I also enjoyed Morgan's 'travelling', but more specifically, her abundant eating to keep her afloat feels like COVID bingeing on a good day.

Loved this book. Loved the unusual storyline, the way it was written and the main characters. It was fun and put a smile on my face. Sometimes you want to escape the normality and drudgery of day-to-day life, and this is a great book to lose yourself in. The writing is superb and the characters extremely likeable. I can see this being a series of Jane and Morgan adventures. More of the same please.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Noyes can always be depended on for a great read and this is no exception. This story does have a slightly different premise to her usual stories though. It has a paranormal element but it doesn’t overwhelm the book. It’s also the first third person story by Noyes, and since I’m not a fan of first person, I preferred this. Also don’t think first person would really have worked for this particular story.

So, here we have Morgan, chief minion to Death, who runs a company staffed by humans, she’s also involved in some kind a battle with another minion for the equivalent of the ‘employee of the year’ award. In order to win she needs to convince one of her employees, Jane Smith, to sign her ‘death plan’. Jane is reluctant to do this without completing her bucket list, so she strikes a deal with Morgan to help her with the list in exchange for her signature.

The catch is that both are attracted to each other and have been for awhile, and that one of the items on Jane’s list is to sleep with her boss. Morgan has no problem with this and so the deal is on.

Both characters are fully fleshed out and engaging. There’s also a few interesting secondary characters, including Death herself and Jane’s mother to round things out. The interactions and banter between the characters was also really fun. Their relationship unfolded in a believable way (paranormal stuff notwithstanding). The only issue I had was the back and forth about whether they should have a relationship that crops up about the 75% mark, it bogged the story down a bit, but I loved how it was resolved, which was not what I had predicted.

Anyone who has read Noyes before will likely enjoy this, and if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading Noyes, this is as good a place to start as any. 4 stars.

I enjoyed this book immensely. E.J. Noyes is the type is writer who is just good at what she does and it seemed effortless when you are reading her books. Noyes has a way of crafting words that evoke so much emotion. I have read three of Ms. Noyes books, and all three of them are unique and all three were enjoyable. Ms. Noyes can write, there is no debating that.

This book is different. Where Gold was about skiing, and Alone was about a psychological experiment, this one was about death, it takes a unique mind to come up with three so very different topics for books. IN this book one of Death's (Cici La More) minions finds herself falling in love with one of the women she has to administer an afterlife package. There are going to be some interesting terms for you to look up when reading this, but the author does a wonderful job of making this book about death lighthearted and funny. The two women Morgan and Jane find mutual attraction and love while Morgan is helping Jane to complete her bucket list. The only issue I have with this book is how easily Jane gave up a life with her mother for an eternal life with her girlfriend. Will Jane continue to take care of her mother with her new duties? It just seemed that at the end of the book the mother did not seem all that important anymore, whereas in the beginning of the book she was incredibly important.

Both Main characters were likable, although Morgan got to be a little annoying at the end with the myriad of ways that she could not be with Jane, and how it was a betrayal to Hannah. That story got old really fast. Other than that this is an enjoyable quick read. I recommend it.

This book was given to me as an ARC in exchange for an honest review from Bella Books and NetGalley.

The important stuff goes first. Journalism 101. Here’s all you really need to know. Noyes’ latest does not disappoint. That’s it. That’s the review. JK. Have you met me?

In this fantasy world, Death is a woman and she relies on minions to secure afterlife packages for the living. Without a package, you’re doomed to wander as a ghost and find no peace after death. Jane Smith has worked for Morgan Ashworth for years without realizing she’s an otherworldly being, but when Morgan tells Jane she must secure an afterlife package, Jane knows her day/years are numbered, and she agrees to seal the deal if Morgan will help her with her bucket list. Ultimately, Morgan agrees, but #12 on that list may complicate their journey more than either is willing to admit, and when they start falling in love, Morgan will have to face old heartbreak and the possibility of losing love all over again, because after all, Jane is just another mortal.

The thing I love about Noyes’ books is that they are so different in plot and characters, but her style is consistent, and I absolutely love her writing voice. Reaping the Benefits is quite unlike any of her other contemporary romances. I loved the magical realness of it all. How this world is just like ours except death’s minions run things. I loved the romance, which was flirty and playful at the start, but then when things get real, it gets tough. I wholly identified with Morgan, not for the same reasons, of course, but her fear of intimacy struck a cord with me.

As usual, the steamy scenes did not disappoint, and there’s a lot of angsty drama, which I love in my fiction and not in my life. I would love to see more fantastical elements in Noyes’ work, and of course, I would love there to be more of her work. Today. Tomorrow. Whenever. Always.

This one’s out now, so if you hate summer as much as I do and need some cool, darker elements that evoke fall vibes, pick this one up. If you like Noyes’ other books, I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

This is easily one of the best books I have read this year! E.J. Noyes does not disappoint!

Jane Smith's life was simple and she was happy - working, watching her hot boss, and spending time with her Mother. But then Morgan, her hot boss, turns it upside down when she says she has to fill out her afterlife package in the eventual preparation for her death. Jane asks Morgan to help her complete a bucket list in exchange for filling out the package and help Morgan meet her quota for her work as the Death's Head Minion. Over the course of the list, the two women grow closer to each other and closer to the bucket list item "sleep with my boss". The two women aren't expecting their feeling to grow deeper than the fun adventures they're having but Morgan is immortal and Jane is destined for the afterlife. Will the two women find a way or is their relationship only temporary?

Noyes is one of the few authors I actually enjoy reading in first person POV, but was pleasantly surprised to read an equally stellar third person POV. This was such a unique story idea and it totally blew me away. The pacing of this book was wonderful, the way Morgan and Jane's relationship grew and blossomed in the mundane work moments, the adventures, and the cozy familiar moments was flawless. I was so invested in their story. The chemistry between Morgan and Jane was so intense and their love scenes were steamy and perfect.

Can't wait to see what comes next from E.J. Noyes!

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

Top minion, the immortal Morgan Ashworth and IT human geek Jane Smith have been lusting after each other through the windows of their Theda office for ages. Jane is in awe of Morgan and too intimidated to approach her while Morgan has her reasons to not make her fantasies of Jane become reality. They dance the office dance until the day Morgan has to deliver an afterlife package to Jane. Jane decides she will help Morgan make her target if she helps Jane fulfill her personal bucket list.

I don’t read many paranormal reads and this talk of Death’s minions, afterlife packages and one character who is “centuries old” twigged my nope, not reading about love affairs with 900 yr olds automatic response. But this is Noyes, an author who is an auto-read for me. I love her books. Time to dip my toes into paranormal waters and while receiving an ARC from the publisher I chose to download the audiobook so Abby Craden could get me through potential eye rolls.

First off I was impressed by the world building. I had no idea that death could become such a corporate endeavor. Morgan’s boss Cici LaMorte was a hoot and Morgan’s need for junk food to fuel her many trips around the world and to other dimensions made for an entertaining running joke throughout the novel. I liked how Jane went from meek and mild to finding her voice and standing up to someone as powerful as Morgan. This first attempt at third person POV helped give Jane that voice which would have been lost with Morgan’s larger than life personality and issues from her (extensive) past.

The downside of worldbuilding is that it made the story drag. The book felt longer than it needed to be because very little happened for too many pages. The romance is there and so is the comedy and witty dialogue we’ve come to expect with books penned by this author. The plot seemed clever but the resolution to challenges faced by the two mains is telegraphed early and is easy to guess making the final HEA anticlimactic and predictable. A fun read but not my favourite by this author.

ARC received with thanks from publisher via Netgalley for review.

Paperwork of death.

Morgan is successfully running a business and in competition with another fierce employee to get an award. When the dorky hot IT woman, Jane, becomes her client and refuses to fill out important paperwork, it puts the award in jeopardy for Morgan. She must agree to Jane's terms in exchange for completing the information and setting things right in her endeavor to be the best

This was a quirky story about the processing of death. I recently read another book, The Mortician's Daughter, which had a similar concept. Where that one took itself too seriously, this one excelled at providing enough sarcasm and comedy to make it enjoyable.

I have to admit, though, that it took almost half the book for me to really get into this. I guess in the beginning there was a lot of explaining of the characters, backgrounds, and processes. There wasn't much really going on until Morgan and Jane started to travel about together. And even then, it took a couple of interactions before I got invested in them.

Noyes is one of my favorite authors. You can't go wrong with any of her books.

I recommend this to people who like to read about romance, death, bucket lists, inter-dimensional travel, and trying at casual unsuccessfully.

I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review.

E J Noyes never disappoints and this book is another added to one of my favourites. What I love about Noyes is every book is different and unique from the other which is what makes her such a special writer. The way she has me completely entrenched into the story has me wanting to read or listen to her books over and over again, it's addictive.

I love how different this story line is with both characters being so likeable. You would think Morgan would be a harder personality but ended up being a big softy and Jane being kind and nerdy making both a cute couple. I liked the humour throughout the book which added a lightness to a somewhat darker topic of death.

I highly recommend the book, I have bought the audiobook so am looking forward to enjoying the story again!

E.J. never disappoints. This one is so sweet. When your crush becomes the obe and forever and I mean forever for eternity.
Both characters are sweet, full of secrets and only bucket list makes the impossible, possible!!

This is a very original story line. Morgan, is a head minion for Death. She is also Jane's boss. What Morgan doesn't know is that Jane is very attracted to her. When Morgan has to have Jane complete an afterlife package, Jane tells her that she has a bucket list that she wants to complete before filling out the afterlife package. Morgan get the green light from her boss to assist Jane with the bucket list. All is well until #12 "Have sex with boss" is revealed.
I would recommend!
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This has been a twist in relation to the type of books that this author has published to date, at least those that I know of her published, but in no way has this reading been less interesting than the previous ones. It has only been a little different, more on the side of letting the imagination fly and transporting us to an ideal world, because who would not want to be certain of what lies beyond. I certainly wouldn't mind being in Jane's place at all.

It has been quite fun to follow the development of the relationship between Morgan and Jane, they are two really interesting, pleasant and charming characters. It has been quite fun to follow the development of the relationship between Morgan and Jane, they are two really interesting, pleasant and charming characters. The situations they both go through, literally and emotionally, have gone from hilarious to poignant in the blink of an eye, quite literally.

Because deep down it is still a love story with a happy ever after (and beyond and really forever), perhaps a sequel that occurs a couple from now of centuries will show us if that really is possible.

Summarizing, in short, without going into details because you find them yourselves, you should not have many doubts about choosing this book, it is absolutely and totally worth it.

If you are an E.J. Noyes fan, you are in for a real treat! She really blows my mind with this one. Reaping the Benefits is written in third person, a first I believe for Noyes. Even though her writing default is first person, she shines just as well in third. In addition to telling this story from third person perspective, she ventures into a truly entertaining trope, one that is completely captivating, using her wit and talent to entertain and delight us throughout the pages.

As I got deeper into the story, I discovered there is a very compelling theme threaded throughout this romance. I’ve read many love stories that entertain the idea of soul mates, but this one does something even more interesting. This one explores the depth of love and its ability to transcend death. This story plays with the idea that love has no limits or boundaries. It can span through endless time, something very thought provoking indeed. It’s exploration provides a unique setting for this heartfelt romantic tale.

All of this may sound heavy, but it isn’t. At its core it remains a romance. The love story between Jane and Morgan is tender and sweet. It’s so cleverly and delightfully done; I’ve never read anything quite like it before. That’s trademark Noyes, though. She loves to consider things most don’t. Noyes possesses the ability to see a story where others don’t and turn that into something unique and captivating. She uses rich storytelling and engaging characters to enthrall and delight us. Once I opened my mind to the idea of Minions offering afterlife deals to the living and Death ruling the end of life, I couldn’t get enough.

All of the characters in this book are superbly developed and fleshed out. I loved Jane’s quiet strength. I adored Morgan’s tender passion. And, as strange as it sounds, I was completely captivated and charmed by Cici, a.k.a. Death. Not only does this wonderful cast of characters make this story work, but they make it shine. Each pushes the story to deliver a wonderfully crafted story arc.

I can’t express enough how much I enjoyed this book! It’s fresh and original. The romance is sweet and tender. The characters are engaging. It’s everything you crave when you want to dig into a great romance. I I highly recommend it.

So, Noyes delved into paranormal romance, and its pretty darned good! I for one always love it when authors play around with the ideas of paranormal stuff as part of a large corporate culture. I don't know but I like the juxtaposition of fantastical beings being stuck in the same corporate drudgery as their human counterparts. Its the same here, with Morgan Ashworth being the top Minion of Death, but is over worked and slightly miserable. She has a massive crush on her employee, the whip smart and beautiful Jane Smith. Things get complicated when Morgan has to give Jane her paperwork for her death, almost like the prep work for when Death comes to guide Jane to the afterlife. Jane springs a bucket list on Morgan, with one of those items being quite the surprise: Jane wants to sleep with Morgan.

I love this premise, and the fact that it gives our protagonists to actually date without them realizing they are dating. Morgan's boss, Ceci La Morte is very fond of her oldest minion, and wants her happy, so she forces Morgan to accompany Jane on her travels while she completes her bucket list. I loved that Morgan gets to have times to do things that she never thought to experience, and may actually not like them. Jane gets to be herself, away from worrying for the care of her quadriplegic mother. Morgan is also kind of an empath - something she had when she was mortal - so when she feels, she feels a lot, and she also picks up emotions from others, and for her, Jane is her warm blanket she needs.

I loved that the theme of loneliness gets alot of play here. It's a huge part of the book, but it is not experienced in the same way by Morgan or Jane. Even Ceci, though an immortal being that only really holds her human form because she likes it, experiences it. It also seamlessly touches on what a child being a caregiver to their parent can experience. Then there's Morgan often self destructive behavior because she feels so much. It was interesting to me because I thought Jane would be the more dynamic character, but it really was Morgan who needed to shift. I liked that idea - and it made sense for someone who is so seemingly lost as Morgan was at the beginning of the book.

I enjoyed this a lot. I kind of took off a star mostly because I thought this was going to me more of a comedy, based on the blurb. There were some really funny parts, but I should have expected this to be a more emotional journey that had some excellent poignant moments. That's just how Noyes rolls. The paranormal elements were used to perfection. The characters were amazing, the locations were great, and the worldbuilding just fantastic. Noyes fans will love this one, and paranormal romance fans will love it too. Highly recommended.

EJ Noyes is an amazing writer. I have read all of her books and no two books have even a remotely similar plot. She constantly pushes herself to be a better writer. This book is no exception. This book was such a fun twist on what everyone normally thinks about life, death, and the afterlife. Morgan, a few hundred year old Minion for Death (Cici LaMorte) fell in love when Jane Smith, her employee. Little did she know that Jane had feelings for her. Morgan tried so hard to keep herself from acting on her feelings but the more time she and Jane spent together crossing off items on Jane's bucket list, the harder it got for her. I loved the dialogue between the characters as well as the plot development. Cici was a fantastic supporting character as was Jane's mom. Jane was an admirable character for not giving up on Morgan, despite all of Morgan's attempts to back away. I really enjoyed this book. It was a lot of fun to read! Thanks EJ for another fantastic read!

Sigh. I’ve been looking forward to this book coming out for a long time, and it didn’t disappoint.

Morgan is one of Death’s minions. She runs her operations from a plush downtown office complex and takes pleasure in doing her job well and occasionally perving over the office IT manager. Jane is an IT manager. She knows that at some point one of Death’s minions will approach her so that she can officially choose her afterlife options, but she’s kind of surprised when the minion turns out to be her hot boss.

So this is half supernatural fantasy and half steamy romance. I’ve never seen a world built like this one and actually the world building was done really well. Not too infodump-y but still had enough information to give me a good idea of what the deal was.

This is an alternate universe where Death isn’t a skeleton in a robe with a scythe, but a hot chick. Her minion is a hot chick and so is the IT manager. The book is full of hot chicks, which is fine by me. I imagine some people might say that the hotness quotient is not representative of reality, but really we’re talking about a book where Death is a person and you pick your afterlife options using an iPad. So yeah.

The supernatural element was done really well. I think the reason for Morgan wanting to help Jane with her bucket list was super flimsy but I was so keen for them to get together that I was willing to overlook it. The romance element was done well also. There was plenty of slow burn and emotional engagement. Honestly, there wasn’t quite enough sex for me and a bit too much discussion as to why they couldn’t be together, but this is only a small complaint and didn’t detract too much.

There was one passage that really made me laugh when Jane and Morgan are in the English countryside:

If she lived here, she’d probably do nothing but walk around staring or spend her days lying down in the fields of thick grass.

This was hilarious because I live in the English countryside and I would NEVER spend the day lying in the grass because (a) it’s always either raining or has recently rained, (b) adders and (c) dog poo. Sorry to burst everyone’s romantic bubble of what the countryside here is like.

For me, EJ Noyes is an auto-buy author. She has absolutely reeled me in with her other books. I think If The Shoe Fits and Turbulence are still my favourites, but this is a welcome addition to my library!

I was given a copy of Reaping the Benefits in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley.

5 stars