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lyrareadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Intriguing, but a bit uneven - some characters/ plot threads needed more development, but engaging nonetheless.
orionswatcher's review against another edition
5.0
A surprisingly good read
I was a little leery when starting the book. The premise was interesting, but how far am I willing to stretch incredulity? Once I started though, I couldn’t put it down, and it turned out to be a good thing. I’m glad I took the chance!
I was a little leery when starting the book. The premise was interesting, but how far am I willing to stretch incredulity? Once I started though, I couldn’t put it down, and it turned out to be a good thing. I’m glad I took the chance!
manzabar's review against another edition
3.0
Potential Review Biases:
* I won a free copy of this eBook in a GoodReads giveaway.
The book does a pretty good job of keeping you guessing if the main character actually is Death or just a slightly delusional young woman. The dialog and characters are both lively; though the "villain" is a bit cookie cutter. Overall, a fun little read.
* I won a free copy of this eBook in a GoodReads giveaway.
The book does a pretty good job of keeping you guessing if the main character actually is Death or just a slightly delusional young woman. The dialog and characters are both lively; though the "villain" is a bit cookie cutter. Overall, a fun little read.
franny_mae's review against another edition
2.0
Promising synopsis, but I could not force myself past the halfway mark.
carlyroth10's review
4.0
Look me in the eyes and tell me you wouldn’t have bought this book at Half Priced Books after seeing the Grim Reaper taking a selfie as the cover. You can’t.
In the beginning, I really didn’t think I liked it. It’s a streak of consciousness book with a very wild premise, but after you let yourself succumb to the strange ways of Living The Good Death , it’s a really good book. While I sat there reading, I would sigh and say “this is a really strange book.”, hoping my mother would ask, “why”, but only after me repeating this phrase thrice did she bite. However, after she asked why was it strange, I couldn’t really come up with a coherent answer that didn’t make the book sound like garbage. All of this is to say that it’s a weird book, but it’s good. Like really intriguing. Like I enjoyed it thoroughly even if I was a bit baffled whilst reading.
P.S
I’m not recommending this because some people don’t share my love for strange and weird books.
In the beginning, I really didn’t think I liked it. It’s a streak of consciousness book with a very wild premise, but after you let yourself succumb to the strange ways of Living The Good Death , it’s a really good book. While I sat there reading, I would sigh and say “this is a really strange book.”, hoping my mother would ask, “why”, but only after me repeating this phrase thrice did she bite. However, after she asked why was it strange, I couldn’t really come up with a coherent answer that didn’t make the book sound like garbage. All of this is to say that it’s a weird book, but it’s good. Like really intriguing. Like I enjoyed it thoroughly even if I was a bit baffled whilst reading.
P.S
I’m not recommending this because some people don’t share my love for strange and weird books.
carmen_monique's review
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
phyrre's review
3.0
Living The Good Death is a romantic dark comedy, which is right up my alley, complete with she-death, meet-cutes, some pretty big-wig mythological name drops, and enough mystery to keep the reader guessing.
I confess, I came close to DNF'ing this at about 10% because I just couldn't get into it and wasn't sure where it was heading. About 15% in, it picked up, and I'm glad I didn't give up on it. It's funny (if you're into dark humor) and has a wonderful ending/moral.
Thanks to the author and Edelweiss for a copy of this. (Although, I also apparently purchased it at some point, because I don't know what I'm doing anymore?)
Thoughts:
- Death being female was a nice touch, and I enjoyed seeing her struggle to cope with being human. I mean, trust me, it's a drag. I laughed quite a few times as she discovered things that we take for granted, and I thought this was done well.
- Her meeting with Randy is adorable in its realistic awkwardness. I mean, obviously they're going to be a couple because this is a romantic comedy, but this meet-cute doesn't go quite as planned, and I actually really enjoyed that.
- The cast of characters is interesting and entertaining and made me laugh more times than I can count. The banter was great. I especially loved when Curtis, Randy, and Dorothy/Death were together and the way they exchanged quips. Stein was quite funny, too, though I don't envy the poor guy.
- The drops of supernatural and mystery in the book were well done, I thought, and I liked that there was enough plausibility to really make the reader question what's going on. Is the main character really Death? Or is she Dorothy, the delusional mental ward patient? Who knows? I loved the duality of the book in that way, where everything that happened had two explanations and it could definitely go either way.
- The ending was lovely, and even though I guessed where it was heading, it was still satisfying.
Sticking Points:
- The villain felt very villainy and one-dimensional. There's a backstory to him that was alluded to but not really explored, and even that just adds to his role as a Bad Guy™. 90% of the crap he did was extremely illegal, yet no one called him on his BS. No one reported him. Everybody hated him, and some feared him, but yet nobody actually acted against him ... why? It's not really said. Especially in this day and age with cell phones, I'm not buying that he's getting away with any of this crap.
- The ending fight was anticlimactic ... and not really actually a fight? There's been this big built up between the antagonist and protagonist and mind games and one-upmanship and trying to break each other, and finally, FINALLY, we hit this moment where they're going toe-to-toe ... and then it's over. Just like that. That easily. I understand why and how, but it really left me feeling cheated after all the build-up.
- There are a lot of places where you have to suspend your disbelief (beyond the obvious fantasy aspect), and mine was often stretched past the breaking point. There were aspects of it that were great in its fantasyish-ness, and for the most part, it danced between the real world and the created fantasy world nicely. But there were too many times I felt like I'm just not buying it anymore.
I confess, I came close to DNF'ing this at about 10% because I just couldn't get into it and wasn't sure where it was heading. About 15% in, it picked up, and I'm glad I didn't give up on it. It's funny (if you're into dark humor) and has a wonderful ending/moral.
Thanks to the author and Edelweiss for a copy of this. (Although, I also apparently purchased it at some point, because I don't know what I'm doing anymore?)
Thoughts:
- Death being female was a nice touch, and I enjoyed seeing her struggle to cope with being human. I mean, trust me, it's a drag. I laughed quite a few times as she discovered things that we take for granted, and I thought this was done well.
- Her meeting with Randy is adorable in its realistic awkwardness. I mean, obviously they're going to be a couple because this is a romantic comedy, but this meet-cute doesn't go quite as planned, and I actually really enjoyed that.
- The cast of characters is interesting and entertaining and made me laugh more times than I can count. The banter was great. I especially loved when Curtis, Randy, and Dorothy/Death were together and the way they exchanged quips. Stein was quite funny, too, though I don't envy the poor guy.
- The drops of supernatural and mystery in the book were well done, I thought, and I liked that there was enough plausibility to really make the reader question what's going on. Is the main character really Death? Or is she Dorothy, the delusional mental ward patient? Who knows? I loved the duality of the book in that way, where everything that happened had two explanations and it could definitely go either way.
- The ending was lovely, and even though I guessed where it was heading, it was still satisfying.
Sticking Points:
- The villain felt very villainy and one-dimensional. There's a backstory to him that was alluded to but not really explored, and even that just adds to his role as a Bad Guy™. 90% of the crap he did was extremely illegal, yet no one called him on his BS. No one reported him. Everybody hated him, and some feared him, but yet nobody actually acted against him ... why? It's not really said. Especially in this day and age with cell phones, I'm not buying that he's getting away with any of this crap.
- The ending fight was anticlimactic ... and not really actually a fight? There's been this big built up between the antagonist and protagonist and mind games and one-upmanship and trying to break each other, and finally, FINALLY, we hit this moment where they're going toe-to-toe ... and then it's over. Just like that. That easily. I understand why and how, but it really left me feeling cheated after all the build-up.
- There are a lot of places where you have to suspend your disbelief (beyond the obvious fantasy aspect), and mine was often stretched past the breaking point. There were aspects of it that were great in its fantasyish-ness, and for the most part, it danced between the real world and the created fantasy world nicely. But there were too many times I felt like I'm just not buying it anymore.
benevolentreader242's review against another edition
4.0
After getting past the first bit where the main character is referred to as "the girl who thought she was death" Baron delivers a quick, quirky and sweet tale of romance and adventure.
jayniemack89's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book!! The characters were really believable and well formed. I really enjoyed the authors style of writing too. The story was well structured and had my attention the entirety of the book. Overall It was an interesting concept for a story and i would definitely read more of this authors work!
shanblackman's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 This is a really good story that has a heartwarming lesson. It has both likable and detestable characters in it; the protagonist you root for and the antagonist that makes your skin crawl, plus the lovable, quirky sidekick that adds plenty of comic relief. This is one that I will read again.