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.

Normally I steer clear of books dealing with the paranormal, because all too often they're simply thinly veiled romance novels with the ghosts/vampires/werewolves/angels/demons/creatures of the week playing second fiddle to the steamy main plot. I know I'm probably missing out on some good books by doing this, but since romance novels aren't my cup of tea, I would rather play it safe. I almost passed up on "Graveyard Shift" because of this, especially when the description revealed the main character was dating an angel. But in the end, I decided to give it a shot -- if nothing else, reading a book with some version of the Grim Reaper as a main character would at least be entertaining.I'm glad I gave "Graveyard Shift" a shot. While it's not perfect, it's a solid debut novel, and creates a fascinating world that I would love to explore further.Lana Harvey is a reaper -- not THE Grim Reaper (he's her boss), but one of many reapers whose job is to collect souls and transport them to one of the many versions of the afterlife awaiting them. She chafes against her boss's restrictions and her by-the-book co-worker Josie, collects the bare minimum amount of souls to stay employed, occasionally bends the rules to give souls a better afterlife, and tries to keep her archangel boyfriend, Gabriel, from getting into TOO much trouble. When Grim announces that he's promoting her, giving her an assignment to find a very special soul in particular, she's understandably not thrilled. But as she and her co-workers find themselves attacked by demons and must deal with scheming gods and spirits on all sides, she realizes just how important her new job is... and like it or not, the fate of Eternity rests on her shoulders.I found myself liking Lana -- she's a feisty character, with her own flaws and quirks, and it's hard not to sympathize with her plight as a second-class citizen in the afterlife. She's surrounded by a colorful cast of characters as well, including her workaholic best friend Josie and her boozing, partying, John-Wayne-movie quoting boyfriend Gabriel. (An angel he may be, but that doesn't mean he behaves angelically...) There's a rather large cast of characters, and some of them have little in the way of personality, but I didn't have trouble telling the characters apart, and I enjoyed the colorful cast.Angela Roquet's afterlife is meticulously crafted, and is one I enjoyed reading about. It's nice to see an afterlife that isn't predominately Christian but encompasses all faiths -- including nearly-defunct religions such as Chinese and Egyptian mythology. There's a clearly defined political system and hierarchy in place, and locations such as the Sea of Souls, Limbo City, and Hell itself are described in vivid detail. I wish we could have visited more of the locations in Eternity, but I suppose that's what the next book is for.My main complaint with the book is that it feels like it ends in the middle of a scene -- not quite a cliffhanger, but definitely without a clean resolution. It bugs me when books do this, as it feels like a cheap ploy to get you to buy the next book. I am glad we got to see at least part of the overarching plot resolved, but there are still a LOT of unanswered questions, and I feel like I've only read half a book instead of a complete one. Still, it isn't as if this is a world I don't want to revisit...Also I did find a few grammatical errors in my version of the book, though that seems to be a running trend with many Kindle books.A fun and well-written first novel, and the start of what promises to be an entertaining series. I'm definitely going to check out the next volume.

This book was a great romp through different manifestations of death, reapers, gods of different cultures and angels with questionable after hours behaviour. I liked that there was a real mystery to follow as well as a fun cast of characters. Angela Roquet has a way of bringing us into the story with vibrant descriptions and dialogue. Following this parallel universe is a brain-twister and I'll definitely look for the next book in the series.

Dies ist mal eine Geschichte aus einem ganz anderem Blickwinkel. Und die Geschichte setzt sich sehr unreligiös mit den Religionen auseinander. Sehr erfrischend. Ausserdem ist die Heldin total sympatisch und mal sogarnicht scharf perfekt zu sein. Sie will einfach nur ihren Job erledigen, mit ihren Freunden abhängen und ist damit voll zufrieden. Daher passt es ihr gar nicht, das nun jeder meint, sie soll jobmässig nach höherem streben. Nein Danke. Leider ist sie aber für die schwierigen Aufgaben deshalb so geeignet, weil sie sie möglichst schnell erledigt haben möchte, damit sie ihre Ruhe hat. Und sie ist gut darin, es richtig zu machen, da sie Aufmerksamkeit ihres Bosses vermeiden möchte. Pech nur, das sie gerade deswegen von anderen Parteien dafür geachtet wird. ; )Also, dieses Buch ist lesenswert, wenn man eher auf Patricia Briggs Helden steht. Das heisst, die stillen Helden, die den Job erledigen, dafür keine Anerkennung möchten und ansonsten in Ruhe ihr Leben leben wollen.

Univers intéressant, un peu trop sentimentale à mon goût mais pas dénué de charme, très facile à lire en anglais pour un francophone.

very well though offdeath, heaven, hell all re-imagined very wellseamless integration of all different religions and religious beliefs and many answers to questions from beyond

Love the worldbuilding in this story!!!!! The story as a whole is great and fun, the characters are interesting n I'm looking forward to reading more!