Book Review #22: A Grim Affair by Rachel Stanley

Hello Dear Reader!

I have an indie read for you today, and it’s something I haven’t quite encountered before, so it was super interesting for me personally. If you like my review by the time you finishing reading it and decide it’s your kind of read, I hope you find it super intriguing and a fun read as well!

ANYWAY! This book review is on A Grim Affair by Rachel Stanley. It’s a romance, supernatural book with a pinch of steaminess (so if you’re someone who doesn’t prefer that, those parts can be easily skimmed). It also puts a bit of a unique twist on the soulmate connection, which I personally am a fan of. To be honest, the only soulmate stories I’ve read were always fanfiction stories, so seeing it in a published book was very refreshing.

My personal thoughts aside, here’s the synopsis before I get into the full review (from Goodreads):

I most definitely did not believe in the supernatural. Until the Grim Reaper showed up in my bedroom demanding to know why I've been controlling him. Which, of course, I haven't. He also said that I am the only one who's seen him in around about a thousand years. Which, of course, can't possibly be true. Something peculiar is most definitely going on...Emma lives a normal life, so normal that her own mother has been known to accuse her of being boring. But then she sees a mysterious stranger, one that no-one else admits to seeing, and her life changes forever. Emma becomes convinced she is being stalked but the Grim Reaper says it's not him. And if it isn't him, who is it?Unbeknownst to Emma her life is in danger. Can she find the answers she so desperately needs before it is too late?

End synopsis. Time for the review!

A Grim Affair is told through two different points-of-view. The first is Blake’s part of the story, written in the third-person. The second is Emma’s portion of the story. It’s told in the first-person point-of-view and takes up a good majority of the book. It is through Emma’s portion that much of the main plot gets pushed forward. Through her, we learn more about her character, the people surrounding her, clues about who her stalker is, and Blake the Grim Reaper. Though Blake’s portion doesn’t do all that much to push the main plot forward, it’s super important in regard to revealing more about the subplot of this story. I actually won’t be touching on this subplot because of major spoilers, but let’s just say it has much to do about their mysterious soulmate connection.

Emma is one of the most realistic characters I’ve ever read in a book. I could tell because I actually ended up disliking her a bit towards the end of the story, and I won’t say why because of major spoilers. I will say that I disliked her because her reaction to a turning point in the story is something a person in real life would very much do, and I absolutely love that. Her best friend Ellie is also a very realistic character, and so is pretty much everyone in this book. Even Blake, the Grim Reaper, seemed like someone I would meet in real life. Just how well-developed the characters are is easily this book’s greatest strength, and I can say the same for character relationships.

Now, touching on the romance aspect of A Grim Affair, I can say I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t that ecstatic about it. I do love the soulmate cliché, and I do love the twist the author put on it, but the pacing for me was still a bit too quick. Still, that is the only criticism I have personally on the romance. Other than the quick pacing, I found the main couple’s interactions to be funny, cute, and sweet.

I also appreciated how the steamy scenes scattered throughout the book weren’t written in great detail. In fact, I could say that what they did was heavily implied more than it was written out. So, if you’re not a big fan of steaminess but still like that hint of adult action, this book does a great job of doing that.

The only other criticism I have besides the quick pacing of the romance is how easy it was to figure out who Emma’s stalker was. This is obviously something that would vary from reader to reader, but for me, right when her stalker appeared, I knew that person was her stalker. There was no doubt in my mind. Still, what her stalker ends up doing was something I wasn’t expecting, and that made up for my early revelation. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and all of the characters in it, and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel!

So, A Grimm Affair rating:

8/10 and interested in reading its sequel because I seriously want to learn more about the supernatural subplot hinted throughout its entirety. I definitely recommend this book, especially if you’re someone who loves reads that combine romance and the supernatural.

That is all for this book review!

Thanks for reading!