Genre: Urban Fantasy, Dark Humor
Series: Yes, it is Book One of The Grim Reaper Chronicles.

"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Reapers" is a captivating mix of humor, heart, and the supernatural that will leave readers contemplating life, death, and everything in between. It’s a must-read for fans of urban fantasy who enjoy stories with depth, humor, and endearing characters.

I would recommend this book to readers who like urban fantasy, especially the kind that has dark humor combined with deeper and heavier emotional topics. Most likely, it will appeal to those who have read Jim Butcher's "The Dresden Files" or fans of Neil Gaiman. It is truly an original and intriguing tale.

It involves Aiden Finn, a demon, Grim Reaper, and residences talent in Boston for 3,000 years. He ushers the souls of the dead into the afterlife, ready or not. Pulled into the mystery of a series of murders among the witches, Aiden has been thrust wide open from his routine-not just that, but into the personal lives of the souls he reaps. Meanwhile, the smoldering relationship he develops with side characters-like Carol, a stubborn witch, and her ever-so-loving cat Tommy-builds up a deeper rapport with his neighbor Chloe, a witch who actually manages to draw out the human side of him. Professional struggle, emotional growth, and larger supernatural forces entwine in this plot.

Aiden Finn: His character provides the hub of the story, wherein lies a balance of demonic nature, astoundingly combined with an ability to show empathy. At the beginning, Aiden was just a cynical reaper who completed his job, but soon his emotional arc paces the novel as his motives change from fulfilling his obligations to protecting those he inadvertently cares for. This turmoil between professional detachment and personal involvement makes him hugely complex and flawed, which is great. Also brilliant is the development of Aiden when he gets chiseled through his interaction with Chloe, Carol, and Tommy, starting to raise questions about the meaning of his existence.

Chloe: Whereas Aiden holds a very jaded view of the world, Chloe is a witch with an immediate sense of warmth and kindness. Her relationship with Aiden is, really, very, very slow in its development and hence brings tension into his world, along with some vulnerability. In fact, it is through her that we really do see the protective instincts of Aiden rise to the surface. Independent yet subtle in meaning within the story, Chloe connects the themes of love, redemption, and trust in End.

The witch Carol and her cat Tommy were not peripheral characters but rather active participants in Aiden's emotional awakening. Carol's refusal to cross over till Tommy was taken care of made Aiden reflect on his aloofness.

Roz, his fellow Grim Reaper, brought insight into the pecking order of the reapers-further iterating bureaucracy and duty.
That's where Angels of Death and other reapers constantly challenge Aiden's approach to things and cause tension-as a show of authority within the supernatural community.

Death and the Afterlife: It is about the dying process, which most definitely is letting go-the story of both the dead and those that have to stay behind. Aiden's work puts him face to face with how souls deal with the concept of death and what crossing over entails.

Empathy and detachment, however, appear to be the biggest problem in the role of Aiden-with his duty of detachment toward souls he reaps and a growing attachment, in particular to Chloe and Tommy. He is bang in the middle of this emotional journey, attached to questioning what it costs to care.

Power and Control: It is a book, essentially pointing the accusing finger at the different hierarchies existing within the management systems of the reapers and angels, relating mainly to issues of control and autonomy from the perspective of both reapers themselves and souls they guide.

This novel takes on a theme often left to fantasy novels, including the redemption through love even for one like Aiden, who viewed himself as beyond saving for such a long period of time. His writing is humorous and engaging; the dark humor does not eradicate the true moments of emotion. First-person point of view really lets the reader feel the angst of Aiden's inner turmoil. Realism within the context of dialogue gives a realistic air to the work and also provides much humor in the story. The pacing is good; likewise, there are well-placed shifts between action, introspection, and character development. Kennedy uses effective figurative language with regards to creating vivid pictures of a supernatural world instilled with a contemporary setting.

His tone is light yet reflective; hence, deeper themes can be considered without weighing the readers down with heaviness about the theme. The point of view dives deep into Aiden's world and just makes his emotional growth so real and relatable.

"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Reapers" is a deeply charming urban fantasy that tells yet another story about the afterlife, love, and duty. C.A. Kennedy weaves the thread of humor and heart into the story for the most part, regarding personal redemption as much as the supernatural nature of it. Complex in character, in his relationships, and in the moral dilemmas he finds himself in, Aiden stands out as one of those exceptional stories told not so frequently within this genre.

Weightier with humor, heavier with heart, than most novels of its ilk in the urban fantasy genre, this reads like Neil Gaiman, but a little lighter, a little more personal.

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆
Writing Style: ★★★★☆
Characters: ★★★★☆
World-Building: ★★★★☆

Fave Quote

“Crap. I might lie, but I don’t break promises.”

This was a strong start to the Grim Reaper Chronicles series, it worked with an introduction to this world and characters. It uses the Grim Reaper element perfectly and was glad it was so well written. C.A. Kennedy wrote this in a way that I was hooked from the start and glad I got to read this.

A fun premise and a light tone. Despite the rather bland cover, this book turned out to be an engaging read. It is fast paced with plenty of action and intrigue, as well as good moments of humor. It even gave me chills towards the end.

I was thoroughly invested throughout.

3.5 stars

I was looking forward to this book; I love a spooky read for the fall! The plot is original, and the characters are great. I like Finn and Chloe's chemistry. The dialogue and pacing in this book were excellent. My issue with this book is that some loose ends took away from the reading experience.

I was very intrigued by both the title and the blurb, so I requested this. It didn’t take long for me to get immersed in the story, and I really liked Finn. He might be a little too self-absorbed at first, but once he meets Chloe, he changes. I thought this would be more of a mystery than it was; the book focuses on the romance aspects more than the mystery, and I was a little disappointed about that. However, I still enjoyed this from the beginning to the end. With that ending, I am hoping there will be more, and maybe the next one will have more of the mystery in it. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.