How to Escape Death

How to Be a Better Adult #2

by Jacque Aye

Mona Kitt has it all. A high-powered job at Kline Turner Solutions. Expensive taste. A revolving door of suitors. And…the ability to see the future.This has, of course, afforded her the luxury of staying three steps ahead of everyone around her. She sees future lovers, future opportunities, and future scandals to use as blackmail fodder. But unfortunately for Mona, she also sees Death, and she's in a race against time to save her soul. Can Mona confront her past to change her future?

This novella is the sequel to 2023’s How to Be A Better Adult!

Dark comedy & Afro-surrealism with a bit of romance. For fans of Atlanta, Severence, and Sorry to Bother You.

Genres: Fantasy, Adult, Magical Realism

131 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 2025

About the author

As a woman who suffers from depression and social anxiety, I’ve made it my mission to candidly share my experiences with the hopes of helping others dealing with the same. This extends into my fiction work, where I pen tales about woeful women trying their best, with a surrealist, magical touch. Inspired by surrealist authors like Haruki Murakami, Sayaka Murata, and Lemony Snicket, my stories are dark and humorous with a hint…well, a bunch…of absurdity.

Reviews

[Jacque · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm the author so I'm biased! But this short, strange novella is my weirdest book yet! Please read How to Be a Better Adult first, or you won't understand it 😆

[Tonya Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book better than I did the first. I didn't want to read it, feeling that the first was kind of slow. This kept my attention and I'm glad I gave it a chance.

[Fergie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Word

Mona's story is a word! I really enjoyed this read. Mona's looking to the future was going to kill her anyway. Hope definitely need to to spin the block again, lol. Loved the other scene with council, felt like a movie. We need to know what happened to Fate, now! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Lady Soulaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one! I saw familiar characters. Mona is so funny to me. It was a good story! Hopefully we’ll get another in the future!

[Bernice · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to Escape Death picks up on the story introduced by the characters in How to Be a Better Adult.

Mona is a futurist, she can see the future for almost anybody with some exceptions. Hope being one exception. Mona can see her own future and she knows she's about to die. There is another option but Mona must figure this out on her own with some vague clues from Death.

How to Escape Death is a short romp that ties up the stories of Mona and Hope. I enjoyed the use of Fate and Death in the storyline and it added an interesting storyline to how the paths of Mona and Hope collided.

Although, Mona is a human and I don't want to say she doesn't deserve to die, Mona sucks as a person. Even staring death in the face (literally and figuratively), her entire countenance as a person is less than desirable. At least she may have a shot at redemption if she works through the lessons she must learn.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Carra Girl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mona Kitt Has It All is an unapologetically sharp, surreal sequel that plunges readers deeper into the glamorous—and deeply unnerving—life of Mona Kitt. From her high-powered role at Kline Turner Solutions to her curated rotation of lovers and designer indulgences, Mona glides through life three steps ahead, thanks to her uncanny ability to glimpse the future.
But this isn’t just a story of power and foresight—it’s a meditation on consequence. Beneath Mona’s luxe exterior is a woman haunted not only by glimpses of what’s to come but also by the specter of Death itself. What unfolds is a dazzling, genre-bending chase against time, richly threaded with dark humor, spiritual reckoning, and romantic entanglements.
The writing is razor-sharp and drenched in Afro-surrealist flair—think dream logic layered with social critique. Mona’s visions blur the lines between divine insight and emotional sabotage, making her both prophet and prisoner of her own fate. The result is a narrative that’s part satire, part self-interrogation, and wholly unforgettable.
As a follow-up to How to Be a Better Adult, this sequel refuses to play it safe. Instead, it deepens Mona’s arc, forcing her to confront her past—not just to survive, but to evolve.
I could not put the book down.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating 3.5

This was the sequel novella to How To Be a Better Adult. We got to learn more about what happened to Mona, and how her futurist powers have predicted her imminent death.

My feelings were a little all over the place with this one. Based on the premise, I thought I would like this book more than the first. However, Mona and Hope were both portrayed as somewhat toxic & unlikable in this book, where as, I really cared about them both in the first one. So it was kind of hard to get into for me at first.

That being said, the ending revelations did change my initial opinion and made me enjoy this just as much as the first! The ending was also super high stakes and intriguing, and we also finally got answers as to where Hope and Mona’s powers came from. I’m now looking forward to whenever the next installment comes out and we can find out what happened to Fate!

[Rezzi Belle Beanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another banger of a book. I loved it! The ending was different than I expected, and in a way, I was disappointed. Not in a way that would make me like the book any less, though.
The writing was still very entertaining and easy to understand.
I thought the reveal to see who was behind everything was very well done, and I would love to see even more about this world.
Jacque Aye has made a world that I’m so interested and invested in, I would follow this series even if it got up to 20 books. Their writing style is casual, and to me, comes off more realistic and believable.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Ty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacque did her BIG one with this one- I mean to be such a short story it packed a lot. It was refreshing to get story about adulthood that still maintained a sense of whimsy. I felt seen in Mona, in Hope, in Nadia. The realness wasn’t lost on me- Adulting is about using your free will to have hope even when fate wields its hands.

[Simon Says Hellooo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect choice for first book of 2026

I really loved this series. The ending was interesting when we finally meet the voices. I wasn’t expecting how it would end. I loved all the characters. This is like a mystery that you’re trying to solve with the characters but with more supernatural elements. You’d love this series if you loved the movie stranger than fiction.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I liked this a little better than How To Be a Better Adult, maybe just because the unreal stuff seemed to make a little more sense. I also loved the messages the book seems to provide. Can’t wait to see what’s next!!

[Alex Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

I liked the storytelling of this book. It kind of went sci-fi or something like that, but I liked it! I feel like there is another book coming..

[Kimora Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this!

I enjoyed this second book so much! I hated that ending for Hope and genuinely look forward to a love that serves her in the future.

[Melisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the quirkiness in this book.

[Isis Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Book
that ending hmmm.

[Ms. E aka Ms. ECharm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

I hate to say it. I wasn’t a fan of the 1st book. But this one. Phenomenal!!! Extremely thought provoking, realistic and well written.