Graveyard Shift: (Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc.) Paperback – September 28, 2012

The grim reaper has been done before, so it's hard not to compare this character, Lana Harvey, with other author's interpretations. For example, I love the character of Charley Davidson in Darynda Jones' series First Grave on the Right, etc..., but that character is pretty much set in our world, with other worldly beings popping in and out. What Ms. Roquet has done is to create another world, one wholly inhabited by otherworldly characters, among whom the reapers make appearances in our world to collect the souls of the dying. There's a council of gods and godlike beings who oversee the afterlives of all the different souls from different religions, there are angels and demons, who strangely mostly get along except for the rogues. The old Greek goddesses who don't have too many worshippers these days, supplement their incomes by designing and selling clothing and weapons. The author includes a lot on how soul power runs the other world and how the gods are fueled by the number of souls who believe in them, thus the souls are able to create or kill off a god.Of course, in any world, there's bureaucracy. Lana hates having to play nice with others, take more classes so she can be certified to bring in different types of souls, etc.. She wants to hang out and shop once she's filled her quota for the day. But there are rogue demons trying to cause trouble, and for some reason, they want to cause it with her. Her boss puts her on a "special" task force, she gets assigned an apprentice, and now she's up to her neck in politics. Of course, there is that really cute angel who wants to keep her safe, and the nice bonus, plus the hellhounds, I guess there are some perks.This was a great read, well written, humorous in a snarky sense, the plot was nice and twisty, and the characters were really interesting. I liked exploring this new world and look forward to more adventures with Lana.Heat factor mild.

As my first foray reading Roquet’s novels, I must admit that this was a delightfully amusing read. Fans of Darynda Jones will want to check this series out.Lana’s not your average Reaper. She’s sarcastic, prone to breaking the rules, and a bit of a slacker. Yet at the same time she’s loyal to her friends, willing to fight for what she believes in, and can kick some serious butt when necessary. She’s someone I’d love to hang out with if given the chance. Gabriel, Maalik, and Josie were wonderful secondary characters. Actually, all of the characters were great in this book. There wasn’t a single one whom I disliked. Actually, strike that, Wasyat had a tendency to make my fur crawl. One would think that a so called Egyptian Goddess would act with more sophistication, but nope, she was the most obnoxious character I’ve read in a long time. Bast would weep from shame over her behavior. Still, the rest of the characters more than made up for her and her annoyance. I even found myself enjoying the two hellhounds, Coreen and Saul. Dare I say that they were rather cute, for canines.This was a fast read. It hooked me right from the start and once I got started, I didn’t want to put it down. There was lots of action, some great one liners, and the plot took a couple of turns that I wasn’t expecting. At the same time I was happy that while there was an element of romance, it wasn’t the primary focus of the book. Instead, the mystery took center stage. I’d hesitate to call this a paranormal romance, but more of a straight paranormal fantasy novel with many different religious ideas included. By this last bit I mean that the deities mentioned come from most of the world’s religious, old and new, and the author does a fantastic job of describing the various different heavens and hells that many believe exist upon death. I felt this part of the book was very nicely done.Yes, some would call this book cheesy, but it’s a fun cheesy. It’s just the sort of read that is sure to pick a reader who is in a reading rut up and put a smile on her/his face. Many times I found myself laughing out loud while reading. I think my favorite scene was when Lana, Josie, and Kevin all gang up on Grim in order to ensure that they get a bonus for the work he is expecting them to do. I also got a kick out of the fact that Lana and Gabriel are fans of Western movies and John Wayne. Heehee.Oh, and did I mention that this book has hellcats in it? Yup, the dark cousins of the feline family get to have a moment of fun in this story. Okay, sure, they are portrayed as evil minions working for one of the antagonists, but we can’t all be perfect all the time. ~shrugs~If you are looking for a fun read that will make you laugh, then I highly recommend you pick this up and give it a try. If you do, feel free to share your thoughts with me in the comments below. In the meantime, I’m going to go curl up with the second book in the series, Pocket Full of Posies. =^.^=