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Everything was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt
Travis is Death in the modern world. He wears jeans and a T-shirt and lives in a small, grey town. His job is to offer people comfort in their final hours of life. He’s stoic, gentle, and a little naive, despite everything he knows. He’s young and handsome, despite who he is. Each death he witnesses is meaningful to him; he listens, never judges, and most importantly, never tries to change anyone’s fate. He knows that every life must eventually end to maintain the balance of the universe and he respects the cycle.
Then he meets Dalia, a midwife, and her boisterous eight-year-old daughter Layla, who live across the hall. As Dalia and Layla come to embrace Travis, it becomes more difficult to maintain the detachment that’s allowed him to function for so long. Their time together teaches him what’s truly important in life—and what might be irrevocably lost in death.
Written with radiant warmth, wisdom, and compassion, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is a timeless story about appreciating life, accepting its end, and finding our place in the universe—especially when it feels most impossible—that will resonate with anyone who has ever loved and lost or worried at time’s passing.
Then he meets Dalia, a midwife, and her boisterous eight-year-old daughter Layla, who live across the hall. As Dalia and Layla come to embrace Travis, it becomes more difficult to maintain the detachment that’s allowed him to function for so long. Their time together teaches him what’s truly important in life—and what might be irrevocably lost in death.
Written with radiant warmth, wisdom, and compassion, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is a timeless story about appreciating life, accepting its end, and finding our place in the universe—especially when it feels most impossible—that will resonate with anyone who has ever loved and lost or worried at time’s passing.
Hardcover
First published July 7, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,995 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
⭐️ 5 ⭐️ My father used to say 'We are not meant to be on Earth forever. We are transient beings; we come and we go. It's a never ending cycle in which time teaches us the importance of life'. I always appreciated his wisdom and outlook on life and death, especially in the last moments of his life. This book reminded me a lot about him and his desire to live to the fullest extent. I miss him dearly.
In this beautifully written novel, you are going to watch Death fall in love with life. This is a real tearjerker whose power lays in portrayal of fleeting moments. It's in these moments that the book explores hope and human connection despite life's impermanence.
Told from perspective of Death (Travis), Travis quietly visits those in their final moments of their life. Death doesn't change their fates, he simply walks alongside them, holding their hand and guiding them through their final moments. Unexpectedly, Death forms a bond with the next door neighbors, Dalia and her sweet, eight year old daughter Layla. Through that relationship, he learns what it means to live.
Love makes life more richer while also making loss more painful. But death should not be looked at as an enemy but rather a natural part of our existence. In death we learn what it's like to live and beauty of life comes not despite its ending but because of it.
I sobbed for majority of this book. It spoke to my soul and I highly urge you to read this masterpiece.
This beautiful book is featured on BOTM for July! Grab your first copy just for $5 using this link: https://www.mybotm.com/bgnrjn6qk0o
Super easy to sign up & easy to cancel.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Avid Reader Press and the author, Ben Reeves for an early eARC.
Publication date: July 7, 2025
In this beautifully written novel, you are going to watch Death fall in love with life. This is a real tearjerker whose power lays in portrayal of fleeting moments. It's in these moments that the book explores hope and human connection despite life's impermanence.
Told from perspective of Death (Travis), Travis quietly visits those in their final moments of their life. Death doesn't change their fates, he simply walks alongside them, holding their hand and guiding them through their final moments. Unexpectedly, Death forms a bond with the next door neighbors, Dalia and her sweet, eight year old daughter Layla. Through that relationship, he learns what it means to live.
Love makes life more richer while also making loss more painful. But death should not be looked at as an enemy but rather a natural part of our existence. In death we learn what it's like to live and beauty of life comes not despite its ending but because of it.
I sobbed for majority of this book. It spoke to my soul and I highly urge you to read this masterpiece.
This beautiful book is featured on BOTM for July! Grab your first copy just for $5 using this link: https://www.mybotm.com/bgnrjn6qk0o
Super easy to sign up & easy to cancel.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Avid Reader Press and the author, Ben Reeves for an early eARC.
Publication date: July 7, 2025
July 23, 2026
★ ★ ★1/2
It’s a weird thing to say, but I admired this more than I loved it. That’s because, while I appreciate the story, I had quite a few issues with its execution.
First of all, the title. For me, it feels like a beautiful promise. It's memorable not only because it's borrowed from Slaughterhouse-Five, but because it sounds almost impossible: the impossible wish that life could be full of beauty without any pain. Of course, the novel reminds us that the two are inseparable, and that perhaps beauty matters precisely because hurt is inevitable.
I went into this hoping to find another unforgettable story of Death as a storyteller, and while it didn’t dethrone The Book Thief, it still gave me a lot to appreciate.
Reeves’ Death wears baggy jeans and jumpers. He goes by the name Travis and lives in a small grey English town with his cat. He isn’t portrayed as a powerful, all-knowing force in the traditional sense. He’s a being who has spent so long observing human lives that he has become fascinated by them. He witnesses love, loss, memories, and ordinary moments, but he is always outside of them. He is gentle, lonely, curious, and almost envious of human experiences.
The irony of this characterisation is that Travis isn’t completely detached. On the contrary, he forms connections with the people he encounters, and there is a sense that he's searching for something through these interactions. Like he's trying to understand why people continue to love and live despite knowing that none of us will make it out of this hellhole alive.
Like most people, I have a complicated relationship with the passage of time. How do you come terms with the fact that people and moments slowly become memories, and that one day there may be no one left to remember them at all? This book captures that fear beautifully. The story is essentially a collection of Death’s chronicles: the souls he encounters and the people he comes to collect when their time is up. He relates their stories, as he witnesses their final moments.
The writing is both beautiful and lyrical.
𓇢𓆸 The mayflies, sweeping as one through the air, testing out their loops and dives, they realize this is it. This is what it was building to, this whole time. This one day. These few hours. We are here to dance, to meet, and then we’re gone. We have no mouths from which to eat – we were never meant to last. We are here for this one sacred moment. That’s all it ever was. 𓇢𓆸
I loved the prose, which is no surprise. While it does get heavy from time to time, I also think that the poetic, reflective writing goes really well with the tone of the book and the story that it’s trying to tell.
The narration choices, however, was where things became a little strange and kind of… interesting. The shifts in perspective reflect Travis’s unusual relationship with time and identity.
I get that he isn’t a normal narrator because he exists outside the human experience, but the constant shifts between third person and first person narration within the same paragraph or scene really bugged me for a while. The transitions didn’t feel seamless. There is one particular scene where an elderly woman is trying to boil water for tea. The scene begins in third person, as Death describes the scene to us though he isn't there with her. When he arrives at her home and she opens the door for him, it suddenly shifts into first person. I found myself having to pause and remind myself that Death is meant to be an omnipresent and omniscient narrator, able to move between perspectives.
Later, there are also moments where the narration shifts into second person, particularly when Death refers to Dahlia. I think for me, the technique created more distance rather than intimacy, because 1) I couldn’t always understand whose perspective I was actually following. The second person narrative made me wonder if I should be seeing things through Travis’s eyes or become Dahlia myself 2) I felt more than ever that Travis remains an observer rather than a participant - which I guess is kind of the point. It just didn’t work for me. It was distracting.
I also felt like I missed out on a lot of the development behind Travis and Dahlia’s relationship. Out of all the people he encounters, she and Layla are supposed to be his most significant connections. Yet, it felt as though a lot of their history and emotional connection existed off the page. By the time I was introduced to them, I felt like I was missing some important pieces that would have helped me become more invested in their relationship and understand why they meant something to Travis.
The stories in here are poignant. I loved all of them, but the pacing was kind of off. The plot moved at a gallop, sometimes too quickly for me to fully absorb the emotional weight of certain scenes. There were moments that really touched me, but I rarely had enough time to sit with those emotions before the story moved on to the next event. I wanted more space to process the characters, their losses, and the meaning behind certain things.
I know it sounds like I didn’t like the book because I have some complaints, but that’s not the case. I appreciated what the book was trying to do, which is why I said I admired it more than I adored it.
Updates while reading ༄˖°.☕️.ೃ࿔📚*:･
One of my most anticipated reads of the year! I LOVE Death as a narrator and the Slaughter-house Five reference, so I'm so bloody excited right now. I know it'll tear my heart out, but I'm ready. Let the chaos begin
It’s a weird thing to say, but I admired this more than I loved it. That’s because, while I appreciate the story, I had quite a few issues with its execution.
First of all, the title. For me, it feels like a beautiful promise. It's memorable not only because it's borrowed from Slaughterhouse-Five, but because it sounds almost impossible: the impossible wish that life could be full of beauty without any pain. Of course, the novel reminds us that the two are inseparable, and that perhaps beauty matters precisely because hurt is inevitable.
I went into this hoping to find another unforgettable story of Death as a storyteller, and while it didn’t dethrone The Book Thief, it still gave me a lot to appreciate.
Reeves’ Death wears baggy jeans and jumpers. He goes by the name Travis and lives in a small grey English town with his cat. He isn’t portrayed as a powerful, all-knowing force in the traditional sense. He’s a being who has spent so long observing human lives that he has become fascinated by them. He witnesses love, loss, memories, and ordinary moments, but he is always outside of them. He is gentle, lonely, curious, and almost envious of human experiences.
The irony of this characterisation is that Travis isn’t completely detached. On the contrary, he forms connections with the people he encounters, and there is a sense that he's searching for something through these interactions. Like he's trying to understand why people continue to love and live despite knowing that none of us will make it out of this hellhole alive.
Like most people, I have a complicated relationship with the passage of time. How do you come terms with the fact that people and moments slowly become memories, and that one day there may be no one left to remember them at all? This book captures that fear beautifully. The story is essentially a collection of Death’s chronicles: the souls he encounters and the people he comes to collect when their time is up. He relates their stories, as he witnesses their final moments.
The writing is both beautiful and lyrical.
𓇢𓆸 The mayflies, sweeping as one through the air, testing out their loops and dives, they realize this is it. This is what it was building to, this whole time. This one day. These few hours. We are here to dance, to meet, and then we’re gone. We have no mouths from which to eat – we were never meant to last. We are here for this one sacred moment. That’s all it ever was. 𓇢𓆸
I loved the prose, which is no surprise. While it does get heavy from time to time, I also think that the poetic, reflective writing goes really well with the tone of the book and the story that it’s trying to tell.
The narration choices, however, was where things became a little strange and kind of… interesting. The shifts in perspective reflect Travis’s unusual relationship with time and identity.
I get that he isn’t a normal narrator because he exists outside the human experience, but the constant shifts between third person and first person narration within the same paragraph or scene really bugged me for a while. The transitions didn’t feel seamless. There is one particular scene where an elderly woman is trying to boil water for tea. The scene begins in third person, as Death describes the scene to us though he isn't there with her. When he arrives at her home and she opens the door for him, it suddenly shifts into first person. I found myself having to pause and remind myself that Death is meant to be an omnipresent and omniscient narrator, able to move between perspectives.
Later, there are also moments where the narration shifts into second person, particularly when Death refers to Dahlia. I think for me, the technique created more distance rather than intimacy, because 1) I couldn’t always understand whose perspective I was actually following. The second person narrative made me wonder if I should be seeing things through Travis’s eyes or become Dahlia myself 2) I felt more than ever that Travis remains an observer rather than a participant - which I guess is kind of the point. It just didn’t work for me. It was distracting.
I also felt like I missed out on a lot of the development behind Travis and Dahlia’s relationship. Out of all the people he encounters, she and Layla are supposed to be his most significant connections. Yet, it felt as though a lot of their history and emotional connection existed off the page. By the time I was introduced to them, I felt like I was missing some important pieces that would have helped me become more invested in their relationship and understand why they meant something to Travis.
The stories in here are poignant. I loved all of them, but the pacing was kind of off. The plot moved at a gallop, sometimes too quickly for me to fully absorb the emotional weight of certain scenes. There were moments that really touched me, but I rarely had enough time to sit with those emotions before the story moved on to the next event. I wanted more space to process the characters, their losses, and the meaning behind certain things.
I know it sounds like I didn’t like the book because I have some complaints, but that’s not the case. I appreciated what the book was trying to do, which is why I said I admired it more than I adored it.
Updates while reading ༄˖°.☕️.ೃ࿔📚*:･
One of my most anticipated reads of the year! I LOVE Death as a narrator and the Slaughter-house Five reference, so I'm so bloody excited right now. I know it'll tear my heart out, but I'm ready. Let the chaos begin
April 30, 2026
Simon and Schuster putting me on this morning with this one. ARC provided for honest review.
In a quiet grey town, Travis moves through life like any ordinary guy -jeans, T-shirt, a stray cat for company. But his quiet presence brings unexpected peace to those facing their final moments.
When his warm, life-affirming neighbor Dalia and her spirited young daughter enter his world, long-held boundaries start to soften, stirring feelings he never expected to know.
A gentle, luminous story about the fragile beauty of being human, the weight of endings, and the quiet pull of connection.
Okay! 😭😭
You know that feeling you get early on in a story when you just KNOW it’s going to be a 5 star read so you just settle in for the hours and hours of pure enjoyment ahead?
Yeah. Got that at 19% in this book. By 30% I preordered my hard copy and before I was even finished with it, I was working on parts of my review for IG. I was so excited- I was literally bursting to get my thoughts out lol.
This book has me in a chokehold! Omgggg I loved it so much!
Honestly, I was so annoyed I couldn’t get my eyeballs to move faster and my brain to process faster lol. I wanted to embed myself within the pages of this story and squeeze the characters!
The writing? Lmao. No, the art that Ben Reeves has blessed us with? Be still my heart. It’s so lyrical and so poetic that there’s a rhythm to it, and I kid you not, that rhythm makes it impossible to set the book down.
Talk about dry eyes 😅 — until they weren’t 😭🥁
(Sobbing is likely)
I’m completely captivated and in love with Travis. Never ever did I imagine Death coming across so inviting, so comforting.
The beauty in which he drifts in and out of time and space… it’s something else. It’s so hard to extrapolate quotes from this book because I feel like you wouldn’t understand the context …it’s so much, it’s all of it. I could highlight the entire book.
Layla, the very old woman, and Dahlia 🤌🏻 — mint characters. Every single one of them felt so real and so deeply lovable in their own ways.
This is the kind of story that wraps itself around your heart and doesn’t let go. It’s tender, wise, and achingly beautiful. Ben Reeves has written something truly special here. A book that makes you feel everything all at once.
If you love stories that celebrate life while gently holding space for its end, this one is going to stay with you long after you close the final page.
For Fans of Sarah Damoff
For Fans of The Correspondent
For fans of Theo of Golden.
For Fans of Fredrik Backman
Exp pub date - July 7th, 2026
I’ll update with a little mini blurb shortly. Yeee I’m so excited to start this one.
I just started this one this morning- it’s so good so far! I can’t put it down- if you enjoy any of the authors below, I strongly urge you to add this one to your TBR!
I’m not going to shut up about this one for a long time. Omg wow. I loved this book so much! 😭
Full review shortly. Lemme collect myself 😅
✴︎a˚｡⋆ Connect with me on Instagram ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹
In a quiet grey town, Travis moves through life like any ordinary guy -jeans, T-shirt, a stray cat for company. But his quiet presence brings unexpected peace to those facing their final moments.
When his warm, life-affirming neighbor Dalia and her spirited young daughter enter his world, long-held boundaries start to soften, stirring feelings he never expected to know.
A gentle, luminous story about the fragile beauty of being human, the weight of endings, and the quiet pull of connection.
Okay! 😭😭
You know that feeling you get early on in a story when you just KNOW it’s going to be a 5 star read so you just settle in for the hours and hours of pure enjoyment ahead?
Yeah. Got that at 19% in this book. By 30% I preordered my hard copy and before I was even finished with it, I was working on parts of my review for IG. I was so excited- I was literally bursting to get my thoughts out lol.
This book has me in a chokehold! Omgggg I loved it so much!
Honestly, I was so annoyed I couldn’t get my eyeballs to move faster and my brain to process faster lol. I wanted to embed myself within the pages of this story and squeeze the characters!
The writing? Lmao. No, the art that Ben Reeves has blessed us with? Be still my heart. It’s so lyrical and so poetic that there’s a rhythm to it, and I kid you not, that rhythm makes it impossible to set the book down.
Talk about dry eyes 😅 — until they weren’t 😭🥁
(Sobbing is likely)
I’m completely captivated and in love with Travis. Never ever did I imagine Death coming across so inviting, so comforting.
The beauty in which he drifts in and out of time and space… it’s something else. It’s so hard to extrapolate quotes from this book because I feel like you wouldn’t understand the context …it’s so much, it’s all of it. I could highlight the entire book.
Layla, the very old woman, and Dahlia 🤌🏻 — mint characters. Every single one of them felt so real and so deeply lovable in their own ways.
This is the kind of story that wraps itself around your heart and doesn’t let go. It’s tender, wise, and achingly beautiful. Ben Reeves has written something truly special here. A book that makes you feel everything all at once.
If you love stories that celebrate life while gently holding space for its end, this one is going to stay with you long after you close the final page.
For Fans of Sarah Damoff
For Fans of The Correspondent
For fans of Theo of Golden.
For Fans of Fredrik Backman
Exp pub date - July 7th, 2026
I’ll update with a little mini blurb shortly. Yeee I’m so excited to start this one.
I just started this one this morning- it’s so good so far! I can’t put it down- if you enjoy any of the authors below, I strongly urge you to add this one to your TBR!
I’m not going to shut up about this one for a long time. Omg wow. I loved this book so much! 😭
Full review shortly. Lemme collect myself 😅
✴︎a˚｡⋆ Connect with me on Instagram ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹
July 28, 2026
4.25
This was quite literally a stream of consciousness... written in the most beautiful way. And when I say beautiful, I mean BEAUTIFUL! Have not read a book written this gorgeously in a long time, probably since Shark Heart.
We had such an interesting portrayal of Death in this book. I kept finding myself thinking how interesting it was seeing the different ways people perceived him. Those that weren't ready for death saw him as just a regular guy, but those who were closer to it immediately knew who he was. But he wasn't glorified as this all-powerful Death God type character... people mostly reacted to him the way they'd react to any other person, maybe even a friend.
This is one of those books that doesn't have a very full plot, but the character and thematic exploration is what keeps you in. The idea of the life cycle, and how life vs death, happiness vs sadness all happens simultaneously around us was a full VIBE and feeling throughout - and it was sad and heavy to read about, but also inspiring.
Such a beautiful reminder to live your life in the moment, and to choose to keep going.
This was quite literally a stream of consciousness... written in the most beautiful way. And when I say beautiful, I mean BEAUTIFUL! Have not read a book written this gorgeously in a long time, probably since Shark Heart.
We had such an interesting portrayal of Death in this book. I kept finding myself thinking how interesting it was seeing the different ways people perceived him. Those that weren't ready for death saw him as just a regular guy, but those who were closer to it immediately knew who he was. But he wasn't glorified as this all-powerful Death God type character... people mostly reacted to him the way they'd react to any other person, maybe even a friend.
This is one of those books that doesn't have a very full plot, but the character and thematic exploration is what keeps you in. The idea of the life cycle, and how life vs death, happiness vs sadness all happens simultaneously around us was a full VIBE and feeling throughout - and it was sad and heavy to read about, but also inspiring.
Such a beautiful reminder to live your life in the moment, and to choose to keep going.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
my number one favorite read of 2025🩵
this was one of the best books i had read in 2025, absolutely one of my top five reads of that year, and perhaps of all time. i cannot speak to anyone about this book without getting emotional, and i quite literally think about this book almost every day — i cannot express how deeply this book has altered my outlook on life.
it was such an honor to meet ben reeves, and to chat with him regarding his writing process for everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.
if only we all had twenty more minutes...
this was one of the best books i had read in 2025, absolutely one of my top five reads of that year, and perhaps of all time. i cannot speak to anyone about this book without getting emotional, and i quite literally think about this book almost every day — i cannot express how deeply this book has altered my outlook on life.
it was such an honor to meet ben reeves, and to chat with him regarding his writing process for everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.
if only we all had twenty more minutes...
July 10, 2026
4.25 I picked this up quite a while ago and have just finished it. I absolutely loved the title, had heard great things, and was eager to dive in.
Early on, I hit a section that I found particularly challenging to read through, which prompted a two-week hiatus where I didn't touch the book. Even after picking it back up, there were a few other moments where I thought, "Nope, can't do this, not okay."
Needless to say, this book completely ripped me apart, yet managed to thoroughly charm me during other portions. Life is tricky and messy, filled with both beautiful highs and devastating lows, and this story takes you through every single one of those points.
Did I mention that Death is the narrator?
While it is an incredibly heavy read, there is a deep, thought-provoking beauty woven into it. It's a story that stays with you long after the final page.
*ARC (Thank you, Avid Reader Press | Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster/ NetGalley)
Early on, I hit a section that I found particularly challenging to read through, which prompted a two-week hiatus where I didn't touch the book. Even after picking it back up, there were a few other moments where I thought, "Nope, can't do this, not okay."
Needless to say, this book completely ripped me apart, yet managed to thoroughly charm me during other portions. Life is tricky and messy, filled with both beautiful highs and devastating lows, and this story takes you through every single one of those points.
Did I mention that Death is the narrator?
While it is an incredibly heavy read, there is a deep, thought-provoking beauty woven into it. It's a story that stays with you long after the final page.
*ARC (Thank you, Avid Reader Press | Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster/ NetGalley)
July 26, 2026
"Travis is Death in the modern world. He wears jeans and a T-shirt and lives in a small, grey town. His job is to offer people comfort in their final hours of life. He’s stoic, gentle, and a little naive, despite everything he knows. He’s young and handsome, despite who he is. Each death he witnesses is meaningful to him; he listens, never judges, and most importantly, never tries to change anyone’s fate. He knows that every life must eventually end to maintain the balance of the universe and he respects the cycle."
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 1 Cor 15:55-57
This book brings wisdom and compassion through the eyes of Travis. He witnesses death but listens with no judgement. He challenges the living to appreciate your life, accept the ending while finding your place in society. The plea you can hear from the dying brought tears to my eyes as each one of us will face no escape, but I hope you live with no regrets. A gorgeous reminder of what really matters.
Thank you NetGalley and Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 1 Cor 15:55-57
This book brings wisdom and compassion through the eyes of Travis. He witnesses death but listens with no judgement. He challenges the living to appreciate your life, accept the ending while finding your place in society. The plea you can hear from the dying brought tears to my eyes as each one of us will face no escape, but I hope you live with no regrets. A gorgeous reminder of what really matters.
Thank you NetGalley and Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
January 19, 2026
This book will leave a forever impact on me. It made me look at life differently. This book is about death and the narrator is death itself. This book may be a tough topic to read, if you or a loved one is going through or have gone through something traumatic recently or right now. The main character (also known as death) is named Travis Smith and he also has a kitty companion. Travis begins to unravel, due to certain circumstances. The themes in this book are death and mortality, love and grief, life and death conversations, and ethics. It is a very heavy, yet powerful novel.
This is heartfelt in a way that it touched on the reason to love. It has strong character growth and lovable characters. It is very well written and thought provoking. Be sure to read the trigger warnings before reading the book itself, it does deal with heavy topics. If you want to skip the trigger warnings, that’s okay too. This gave me the movie “A Ghost Story” and the movie “Meet Joe Black” vibes! I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars rating!
Thank you yo NetGalley, author Ben Reeves, Avid Reader Press and Simon & Schuster for providing me with this eARC, in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
This book is set to be released on July 7, 2026!
This is heartfelt in a way that it touched on the reason to love. It has strong character growth and lovable characters. It is very well written and thought provoking. Be sure to read the trigger warnings before reading the book itself, it does deal with heavy topics. If you want to skip the trigger warnings, that’s okay too. This gave me the movie “A Ghost Story” and the movie “Meet Joe Black” vibes! I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars rating!
Thank you yo NetGalley, author Ben Reeves, Avid Reader Press and Simon & Schuster for providing me with this eARC, in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
This book is set to be released on July 7, 2026!
July 19, 2026
Wow what a profoundly beautiful story!! I loved it! It really pulls at your heartstrings 😭
July 14, 2026
A beautiful written story about how death falls in love with life and the living that forever changed his perspective on them.
Emotional, heartbreaking, very hard to read at times, having to stop and close my Kobo because I was sobbing so hard I couldn't see what I was reading anymore!
Everything unfolds from the perspective of Travis Smith (Death).
He's kind, compassionate, doesn't judge, doesn't interfere, doesn't tries to change their fates, he simply holds their hands, makes them a cup of tea, hears them, talks to them, helps them in their final moments, so they'll continue their journey to whatever that might be!
And he mourns ever single one he takes!
He restores old photos because, of course, he already knows many of them and will in the future meet the rest.
He remembers everyone and it's like the photos were just developed.
But due to a purring white cat that keeps coming back through his window, Travis crosses the hall and meets Dalia, a midwife, her daughters, Layla, who invites him to her 8th birthday because she thinks he's lonely, and the one years-old baby Neda.
And the small, common moments, just like watching TV, learning a video game, talking of everyday life occurrences, Dalia resting her head in his shoulder, day by day, this little family takes roots in his heart until he can't hide it anymore!
He has fallen for them!
They are little more than strangers but it feels like they're sharing a life, his own family!
He sees how amazing people can be, how they deal with grief, with pain, what is really important in life and how many wonderful things are lost when they die!
Of course I was sobbing throughout the lovely, twisty and surprising ending!!!
Emotional, heartbreaking, very hard to read at times, having to stop and close my Kobo because I was sobbing so hard I couldn't see what I was reading anymore!
Everything unfolds from the perspective of Travis Smith (Death).
He's kind, compassionate, doesn't judge, doesn't interfere, doesn't tries to change their fates, he simply holds their hands, makes them a cup of tea, hears them, talks to them, helps them in their final moments, so they'll continue their journey to whatever that might be!
And he mourns ever single one he takes!
He restores old photos because, of course, he already knows many of them and will in the future meet the rest.
He remembers everyone and it's like the photos were just developed.
But due to a purring white cat that keeps coming back through his window, Travis crosses the hall and meets Dalia, a midwife, her daughters, Layla, who invites him to her 8th birthday because she thinks he's lonely, and the one years-old baby Neda.
And the small, common moments, just like watching TV, learning a video game, talking of everyday life occurrences, Dalia resting her head in his shoulder, day by day, this little family takes roots in his heart until he can't hide it anymore!
He has fallen for them!
They are little more than strangers but it feels like they're sharing a life, his own family!
He sees how amazing people can be, how they deal with grief, with pain, what is really important in life and how many wonderful things are lost when they die!
Of course I was sobbing throughout the lovely, twisty and surprising ending!!!
Want to Read
June 17, 2026⬜🎀🎀🎀⬜⬜⬜🎀🎀🎀⬜
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⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜🎀⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜This is a timeless story about appreciating life, accepting it's end, and finding our place in the universe!!!!!!!!
🎀🌸🌸🌸🎀⬜🎀🌸🌸🌸🎀
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⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜🎀⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜This is a timeless story about appreciating life, accepting it's end, and finding our place in the universe!!!!!!!!
July 25, 2026
Forgive me while I swoon about this hauntingly beautiful story! Lyrical, tender, and life-affirming, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt made me feel all of the feels. You see, it was a devastatingly thought-provoking novel that required a full box of tissues to be on hand as I raced through the pages in one single go. Celebrating life while taking a close look at death, this debut novel explored mortality, grief, loneliness, and the beauty of everyday life with nuance, care, and emotional depth that few authors can pull off. In fact, I couldn’t help but think of how much this book reminded me of both Sarah Damoff and Fredrik Backman as it wove in a very Under the Whispering Door feel. With a quiet intensity, poignant observations, and a dash of bittersweet humor, Reeves blew me away on his very first dive into writing. I mean, how could it not when it had me questioning my own life by the time I flipping the last introspective page?
So what was my favorite part of this timeless literary fiction-slash-magical realism novel? Well, that would definitely have to be the profoundly moving side to the character-driven storyline. A deeply human story that changed how I looked at life, I’m having a hard time putting into words how special this quick, heartfelt read really was. After all, I was spellbound from beginning to end as I lost myself in the poetic prose. I do have to warn you, however, that this is one book that definitely needed a list of triggers. Examining death closely, it could be gut-wrenching for anyone who has recently lost someone they love. That being said, I also strongly feel that it’s an absolute must-read. Sure to hit every reader differently due to their own life experiences, it will have you reevaluating your life by the end. So go on. Order it now. Both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, you need to read this book ASAP. Rating of 5+ stars.
Read if you love:
- Thought-provoking reads
- Literary fiction
- Books that make you cry
- Character-driven plots
- A found-family vibe
- Bittersweet love stories
- Emotional depth
- Hauntingly lyrical prose
- Evocative metaphors
- Books under 250 pages
- Memorable narrators
- Magical realism
- Sarah Damoff-like reads
SYNOPSIS:
Travis is Death in the modern world. He lives with his cat in a small, gray town. His job is to offer people comfort in their final hours of life, which he does without complaint or judgement. He’s stoic, gentle, and a little naive, despite who he is, but he never tries to change anyone’s fate. He is responsible for maintaining the balance of nature, and every life must eventually end.
Then Travis meets Dalia, a midwife, and her boisterous eight-year-old daughter Layla, who live across the hall, and despite his best attempts to keep his distance, he finds himself wholeheartedly embraced by other people for the first time. So it is with this seemingly unremarkable family that Travis begins to understand what it means to be truly alive—and what might be irrevocably lost in death.
Thank you Ben Reeves and Avid Reader Press for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: July 7, 2026
Content warning: child death, death, grief, death of a parent, suicide, suicidal ideation, car accident, terminal illness, drug use/abuse, blood, chronic illness, alcoholism, animal death, cancer, pregnancy, child abuse, violence, miscarriage, gore, medical content/trauma, mention of: eating disorder, domestic abuse, sexual assault, pedophilia
So what was my favorite part of this timeless literary fiction-slash-magical realism novel? Well, that would definitely have to be the profoundly moving side to the character-driven storyline. A deeply human story that changed how I looked at life, I’m having a hard time putting into words how special this quick, heartfelt read really was. After all, I was spellbound from beginning to end as I lost myself in the poetic prose. I do have to warn you, however, that this is one book that definitely needed a list of triggers. Examining death closely, it could be gut-wrenching for anyone who has recently lost someone they love. That being said, I also strongly feel that it’s an absolute must-read. Sure to hit every reader differently due to their own life experiences, it will have you reevaluating your life by the end. So go on. Order it now. Both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, you need to read this book ASAP. Rating of 5+ stars.
Read if you love:
- Thought-provoking reads
- Literary fiction
- Books that make you cry
- Character-driven plots
- A found-family vibe
- Bittersweet love stories
- Emotional depth
- Hauntingly lyrical prose
- Evocative metaphors
- Books under 250 pages
- Memorable narrators
- Magical realism
- Sarah Damoff-like reads
SYNOPSIS:
Travis is Death in the modern world. He lives with his cat in a small, gray town. His job is to offer people comfort in their final hours of life, which he does without complaint or judgement. He’s stoic, gentle, and a little naive, despite who he is, but he never tries to change anyone’s fate. He is responsible for maintaining the balance of nature, and every life must eventually end.
Then Travis meets Dalia, a midwife, and her boisterous eight-year-old daughter Layla, who live across the hall, and despite his best attempts to keep his distance, he finds himself wholeheartedly embraced by other people for the first time. So it is with this seemingly unremarkable family that Travis begins to understand what it means to be truly alive—and what might be irrevocably lost in death.
Thank you Ben Reeves and Avid Reader Press for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: July 7, 2026
Content warning: child death, death, grief, death of a parent, suicide, suicidal ideation, car accident, terminal illness, drug use/abuse, blood, chronic illness, alcoholism, animal death, cancer, pregnancy, child abuse, violence, miscarriage, gore, medical content/trauma, mention of: eating disorder, domestic abuse, sexual assault, pedophilia
July 27, 2026
"Then she smiles, as though she's thought of something. As if everything is beautiful and nothing hurts, and she closes her eyes. She is peaceful."
Death as a character. It gives you the impression that it has been done before, but I can't really think about a novel where Death is actually the protagonist and not only just a moment from the book. (I didn't read The Book Thief.) The best I can think of is the movie Meeting Joe Black, which is a flawed movie at best.
Actually, this book is also a flawed book, and that is because once it establishes that Travis, Death itself, is passive in his job, it does very little to change its atmosphere, which is close to something like The Midnight Library. Every chapter starts with Death meeting new people with a new life lesson to learn, which continues to show the undiscriminating nature of its job. For Travis it doesn't matter if the people he visits are good or bad, old or young. So it is easy to expect that this book is about the way this pattern is gonna be broken.
When Travis starts to get close to his neighbours, a mother with two girls, the book followed my expectation, until it didn't.
'Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt' has two good twists that push those depressive feelings that you would also expect from the rest of the novel, but that aren't really there because of the numbness of the protagonist.
"You deserve to be lonely. You make people lonely, Travis."
I think that when Travis decides to act, the impact is less powerful than it should have been. And the book barely asks this great character the tough questions. It wants us just to accept it as it is, and I just couldn't. This remains a correct book about being old and lonely, and maybe the gift or the burden of getting old, but it should have done more with such a character.
Death as a character. It gives you the impression that it has been done before, but I can't really think about a novel where Death is actually the protagonist and not only just a moment from the book. (I didn't read The Book Thief.) The best I can think of is the movie Meeting Joe Black, which is a flawed movie at best.
Actually, this book is also a flawed book, and that is because once it establishes that Travis, Death itself, is passive in his job, it does very little to change its atmosphere, which is close to something like The Midnight Library. Every chapter starts with Death meeting new people with a new life lesson to learn, which continues to show the undiscriminating nature of its job. For Travis it doesn't matter if the people he visits are good or bad, old or young. So it is easy to expect that this book is about the way this pattern is gonna be broken.
When Travis starts to get close to his neighbours, a mother with two girls, the book followed my expectation, until it didn't.
'Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt' has two good twists that push those depressive feelings that you would also expect from the rest of the novel, but that aren't really there because of the numbness of the protagonist.
"You deserve to be lonely. You make people lonely, Travis."
I think that when Travis decides to act, the impact is less powerful than it should have been. And the book barely asks this great character the tough questions. It wants us just to accept it as it is, and I just couldn't. This remains a correct book about being old and lonely, and maybe the gift or the burden of getting old, but it should have done more with such a character.
July 20, 2026
Trigger! *su1c1de, “compassionate death”
Me on This Book in Eight Ironic English Words: Everyone begging for Death, but only getting “Travis.”
Rating: ⭐.5
“A town’s quietness is heavier. Not simply a lack of sound, but a thing to be noticed and appreciated. The world is switched off, on standby, but I can smell the before-world—the grease from the takeaways, the sick in the doorway, the perfume and cigarettes. A cold scent of dew from unseen grass, the lingering exhaust fumes of a bus. From the smells alone, someone might think the town is in the full throes of an afternoon.” p. 41
In Short: My favorite part was the very last page! No, I’m not being a smartass. I really liked it. The rest of the book I found sort of meandering and pointless, I’m sorry to say.
And also, nearly every human character “Travis” encounters begs him to kill them.
At some point, I stopped asking why they wanted to die and started asking why the novel wanted them to. Why does everyone think this is beautiful?
This book is heavy on concept and very light on plot. So if you like “Travis,” the anthropomorphized and personalized grim reaper in this story, maybe you’ll like this. If you can’t forget that Travis is a harbinger of death—the end of all one’s days? Well, it just doesn’t hit quite the same.
Especially if you’re disabled or on familiar terms with death, like I am, this book might strike you as downright silly: all these people waiting around so impatiently to breathe their last.
This will be a good one for fans of Claire Keegan and readers who like dark ideas told through a nostalgic lens.
Preread: I’m worried this one is pretty but too sentimental about the one thing no one really wants to do, which is die. Romanticizing death goes awry awfully fast in fiction and in real life.
That concern held.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! 📚
Content Warnings:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
death, dying, romanticized death, romanticized suicide, pathologizing suffering and normal life processes, “compassionate death”/eugenics
Me on This Book in Eight Ironic English Words: Everyone begging for Death, but only getting “Travis.”
Rating: ⭐.5
“A town’s quietness is heavier. Not simply a lack of sound, but a thing to be noticed and appreciated. The world is switched off, on standby, but I can smell the before-world—the grease from the takeaways, the sick in the doorway, the perfume and cigarettes. A cold scent of dew from unseen grass, the lingering exhaust fumes of a bus. From the smells alone, someone might think the town is in the full throes of an afternoon.” p. 41
In Short: My favorite part was the very last page! No, I’m not being a smartass. I really liked it. The rest of the book I found sort of meandering and pointless, I’m sorry to say.
And also, nearly every human character “Travis” encounters begs him to kill them.
At some point, I stopped asking why they wanted to die and started asking why the novel wanted them to. Why does everyone think this is beautiful?
This book is heavy on concept and very light on plot. So if you like “Travis,” the anthropomorphized and personalized grim reaper in this story, maybe you’ll like this. If you can’t forget that Travis is a harbinger of death—the end of all one’s days? Well, it just doesn’t hit quite the same.
Especially if you’re disabled or on familiar terms with death, like I am, this book might strike you as downright silly: all these people waiting around so impatiently to breathe their last.
This will be a good one for fans of Claire Keegan and readers who like dark ideas told through a nostalgic lens.
Preread: I’m worried this one is pretty but too sentimental about the one thing no one really wants to do, which is die. Romanticizing death goes awry awfully fast in fiction and in real life.
That concern held.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! 📚
Content Warnings:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
death, dying, romanticized death, romanticized suicide, pathologizing suffering and normal life processes, “compassionate death”/eugenics
June 3, 2026
ARC review | ⭐️⭐️| General Fiction
Release date: July 7th, 2026
Publisher: Avid Reader Press | Simon & Schuster
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Welp — this one just pissed me off.
First and foremost this book was a lesson in contradictions (derogatory). I felt absolutely no connection to Dalia or Travis as characters. There was zero explanation of how Travis’s work/magic/power worked which left a lot of unnecessary questions.
Reeves meanders in overly flowery prose that attempts profundity and instead just leaves you floating and bereft. Really unsure what about this resonated so deeply with others. There’s no real commentary to be had here and a “celebration of life” was nowhere to be found.
At seemingly impactful moments the author will mention a “coil of shit” or a “tiny cock” and manage to rip you right out of the story. There’s also an insidious undercurrent of misogyny throughout that I found distasteful and unchecked.
I can see this having landed across some man’s desk and he thought “wow he’s really done it” — but all that’s been done here is another masturbatory attempt at relevance by having a deep take that’s so shallow you couldn’t drown in it.
Yawn. Boring. Tired. Skip it and save yourself the trouble.
Release date: July 7th, 2026
Publisher: Avid Reader Press | Simon & Schuster
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Welp — this one just pissed me off.
First and foremost this book was a lesson in contradictions (derogatory). I felt absolutely no connection to Dalia or Travis as characters. There was zero explanation of how Travis’s work/magic/power worked which left a lot of unnecessary questions.
Reeves meanders in overly flowery prose that attempts profundity and instead just leaves you floating and bereft. Really unsure what about this resonated so deeply with others. There’s no real commentary to be had here and a “celebration of life” was nowhere to be found.
At seemingly impactful moments the author will mention a “coil of shit” or a “tiny cock” and manage to rip you right out of the story. There’s also an insidious undercurrent of misogyny throughout that I found distasteful and unchecked.
I can see this having landed across some man’s desk and he thought “wow he’s really done it” — but all that’s been done here is another masturbatory attempt at relevance by having a deep take that’s so shallow you couldn’t drown in it.
Yawn. Boring. Tired. Skip it and save yourself the trouble.
July 19, 2026
5 🌟
Death is the narrator of this book. Death’s name is Travis, and he is an ordinary guy with an unordinary job. He meets people on their final moments of life.
We meet people who are dying. Young and old; because we never know when our time will be done on earth. We touch on characters that are so real that you feel you know them personally. Death spends time with them before their journey into the next life. He makes them a
cup of tea, he holds their hand. He does not let them die alone.
There are parts in this book that are extremely hard to read. Very emotional. Trigger warnings are everywhere. The writing - sublime and poetic. You can feel the despair in the words when someone is grieving.
I don’t think this is a book that will ever leave me. After finishing this book, I prefer to think of death as an angel. A guiding light who ushers us onward.
I listened to this on Audio but will be buying the physical copy to re-read some of the excerpts that were absolutely stunning.
Highly recommend. This will be in my top 5 this year
Death is the narrator of this book. Death’s name is Travis, and he is an ordinary guy with an unordinary job. He meets people on their final moments of life.
We meet people who are dying. Young and old; because we never know when our time will be done on earth. We touch on characters that are so real that you feel you know them personally. Death spends time with them before their journey into the next life. He makes them a
cup of tea, he holds their hand. He does not let them die alone.
There are parts in this book that are extremely hard to read. Very emotional. Trigger warnings are everywhere. The writing - sublime and poetic. You can feel the despair in the words when someone is grieving.
I don’t think this is a book that will ever leave me. After finishing this book, I prefer to think of death as an angel. A guiding light who ushers us onward.
I listened to this on Audio but will be buying the physical copy to re-read some of the excerpts that were absolutely stunning.
Highly recommend. This will be in my top 5 this year
July 14, 2026
5⭐️ I loved this beautiful tearjerker of a book about life, death, love, loss, and connection, and our brief little moment on earth. I feel like whatever I write here doesn’t capture the depth of emotion I was left feeling at the end of the book.
Told from the point of view of Travis Smith who is “Death”. Travis visits those nearing the end and eases their passing. He’s seen it all and knows everyone. Until… he meets a little family across the hall, Dalia and her daughters, 8 year old Layla, and baby Neda. Travis does what he’s never done, becomes attached.
We meet several of Travis’ people along the way with brief snippets of their lives. The writing is poetic and emotional and has a beautiful ending. I really enjoyed the haunting story of the Mayflies told in bits between chapters.
Thanks to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster Publishers, and author Ben Reeves for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Told from the point of view of Travis Smith who is “Death”. Travis visits those nearing the end and eases their passing. He’s seen it all and knows everyone. Until… he meets a little family across the hall, Dalia and her daughters, 8 year old Layla, and baby Neda. Travis does what he’s never done, becomes attached.
We meet several of Travis’ people along the way with brief snippets of their lives. The writing is poetic and emotional and has a beautiful ending. I really enjoyed the haunting story of the Mayflies told in bits between chapters.
Thanks to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster Publishers, and author Ben Reeves for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
August 1, 2026
A love letter to life, written by Death.
"And it sneaks up on me - this sensation. A sensation of deepest comfort. Here we are, doing small things, nothing really, just talking, watching television. And yet in the nothingness there is a life more real than any wedding or christening or birthday party. In these tiny moments, when the spectacle is stripped away, when there is no reason for the day, what's left appears to be something true, something fundamental to being a person."
This is the second novel I've read in recent months featuring an angel of death - or, in this case, Death himself - after Vigil by George Saunders. And while that, too, was a five-star read for me, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves managed to leave an even deeper impression.
Move over, Joe Black. Travis Smith is the new guy in town.
Travis is Death personified: gentle, compassionate, quietly observant, and unfailingly respectful of the lives that pass through his hands. His role is not to judge or interfere, but simply to accompany people through their final moments. Yet when he befriends his neighbors, midwife Dalia and her spirited young daughter Layla, the careful distance he has maintained for eternity begins to erode. Watching Travis grapple with the bewildering, contradictory, and often irrational experience of being human is both deeply moving and, at times, unexpectedly funny.
Despite its premise, this is far from a bleak novel. Yes, there is an early scene involving a death that is genuinely harrowing and has stayed with me long after I turned the final page. But the overwhelming feeling the book leaves behind is one of hope. Again and again, Reeves reminds us that life isn't defined by milestones and grand gestures alone, but by the countless ordinary moments in between: quiet conversations, shared meals, evenings spent watching television, the simple comfort of another person's presence. The value of those seemingly insignificant moments becomes the novel's greatest revelation.
Beautifully written and quietly profound, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is less a novel about death than it is a celebration of life. It asks us to look more closely at the everyday, to appreciate the people beside us, and to recognize that even the smallest moments often become the ones we treasure most.
The ending was exactly what I hoped for - and, perhaps more importantly, exactly what I needed.
Heartbreaking, thought-provoking, comforting, and ultimately life-affirming, this is a novel that acknowledges grief without ever surrendering to despair. A love letter to life, wrapped inside the story of Death falling in love with humanity itself, it is one of those books that I know I'll return to again and again in the future.
Many thanks to Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
"Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt" was published on July 7, 2026, and is available now.
"And it sneaks up on me - this sensation. A sensation of deepest comfort. Here we are, doing small things, nothing really, just talking, watching television. And yet in the nothingness there is a life more real than any wedding or christening or birthday party. In these tiny moments, when the spectacle is stripped away, when there is no reason for the day, what's left appears to be something true, something fundamental to being a person."
This is the second novel I've read in recent months featuring an angel of death - or, in this case, Death himself - after Vigil by George Saunders. And while that, too, was a five-star read for me, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves managed to leave an even deeper impression.
Move over, Joe Black. Travis Smith is the new guy in town.
Travis is Death personified: gentle, compassionate, quietly observant, and unfailingly respectful of the lives that pass through his hands. His role is not to judge or interfere, but simply to accompany people through their final moments. Yet when he befriends his neighbors, midwife Dalia and her spirited young daughter Layla, the careful distance he has maintained for eternity begins to erode. Watching Travis grapple with the bewildering, contradictory, and often irrational experience of being human is both deeply moving and, at times, unexpectedly funny.
Despite its premise, this is far from a bleak novel. Yes, there is an early scene involving a death that is genuinely harrowing and has stayed with me long after I turned the final page. But the overwhelming feeling the book leaves behind is one of hope. Again and again, Reeves reminds us that life isn't defined by milestones and grand gestures alone, but by the countless ordinary moments in between: quiet conversations, shared meals, evenings spent watching television, the simple comfort of another person's presence. The value of those seemingly insignificant moments becomes the novel's greatest revelation.
Beautifully written and quietly profound, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is less a novel about death than it is a celebration of life. It asks us to look more closely at the everyday, to appreciate the people beside us, and to recognize that even the smallest moments often become the ones we treasure most.
The ending was exactly what I hoped for - and, perhaps more importantly, exactly what I needed.
Heartbreaking, thought-provoking, comforting, and ultimately life-affirming, this is a novel that acknowledges grief without ever surrendering to despair. A love letter to life, wrapped inside the story of Death falling in love with humanity itself, it is one of those books that I know I'll return to again and again in the future.
Many thanks to Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
"Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt" was published on July 7, 2026, and is available now.
July 11, 2026
this was in fact beautiful but it also hurt.
and you know what, i knew it was going to just from reading the blurb, but i lost a tiiiiny bit of hope for a while there because something wasn’t clicking. i was reading it and enjoying it and feeling like the story was so sweet, i liked the writing and the structure and the pacing, but there was just something that wasn’t there. i don’t know when the switch was flipped and when my heart was invaded by the book, but it happened, and thank god it did! i got the tears i wanted!
definitely made me reflect and think about life, and i love how ben reeves approached a topic like the fragility of life and never knowing what moment will be your last and how everyone’s lives and deaths are so different, but always so impactful in one way or another. hit me right in the heart. the last page made me 🥹
── .✦ pre read
this is either going to bore me or rip my heart out and i fear there will be no in between 🧍🏼♀️
and you know what, i knew it was going to just from reading the blurb, but i lost a tiiiiny bit of hope for a while there because something wasn’t clicking. i was reading it and enjoying it and feeling like the story was so sweet, i liked the writing and the structure and the pacing, but there was just something that wasn’t there. i don’t know when the switch was flipped and when my heart was invaded by the book, but it happened, and thank god it did! i got the tears i wanted!
definitely made me reflect and think about life, and i love how ben reeves approached a topic like the fragility of life and never knowing what moment will be your last and how everyone’s lives and deaths are so different, but always so impactful in one way or another. hit me right in the heart. the last page made me 🥹
── .✦ pre read
this is either going to bore me or rip my heart out and i fear there will be no in between 🧍🏼♀️
July 14, 2026
BOTM selection that should have been marked as an “offset” selection. The nontraditional writing style made it confusing to read, vacillating between fragments, run-ons and poetic musings. At times I felt like I was reading a creative writing assignment versus a novel. Not my speed and I was actually disappointed because the summary sounded promising.
July 16, 2026
6 ⭐️. Wow wow wow. Finished this book, had a good cry, then got up to start LIVING!!!
Similar vibes to The Midnight Library, but even more existential and brutal. I loved it.
Similar vibes to The Midnight Library, but even more existential and brutal. I loved it.
July 27, 2026
This was a 6 star read for me and I would give it more books if I could! This book was exactly what I needed right now in my life. I sobbed throughout almost the entirety of this book and it was amazing.
This book is about death and follows Travis, otherwise known as death, in his day to day life. The care that is put into this book is incredible and all of the characters are so nuanced. This book is very heavy so please read the trigger warnings when reading as it deals with a lot of darker topics. I highly recommend picking this book up it deals with so much and I will definitely be reading this again!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This book is about death and follows Travis, otherwise known as death, in his day to day life. The care that is put into this book is incredible and all of the characters are so nuanced. This book is very heavy so please read the trigger warnings when reading as it deals with a lot of darker topics. I highly recommend picking this book up it deals with so much and I will definitely be reading this again!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
July 13, 2026
I'm sure by now you've seen a lot of hype surrounding Ben Reeves debut novel. After finishing it myself, I'm delighted to report that it does live up to the excitement it's receiving, plus some!
Death personified and made into a character always makes for a fascinating premise ( think The Book Thief). In Ben Reeves debut, we get Death as a main character named Travis mixed with many poignant moments detailing the human condition, so as a result, we get a beautiful tale that's sure to tug at your heartstrings.
Highlighting how short and unpredictable life can be, while balancing out the beauty of life and how the small moments turn out to be the most important, we get a truly unforgettable and eloquent tale. I highly recommend this one to all!
I alternated between reading the book myself and listening to the audiobook. The audiobook is read by Mike Frankland who did a brilliant job bringing the story to life.
Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves was published on July 7 so it's available now!
Death personified and made into a character always makes for a fascinating premise ( think The Book Thief). In Ben Reeves debut, we get Death as a main character named Travis mixed with many poignant moments detailing the human condition, so as a result, we get a beautiful tale that's sure to tug at your heartstrings.
Highlighting how short and unpredictable life can be, while balancing out the beauty of life and how the small moments turn out to be the most important, we get a truly unforgettable and eloquent tale. I highly recommend this one to all!
I alternated between reading the book myself and listening to the audiobook. The audiobook is read by Mike Frankland who did a brilliant job bringing the story to life.
Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves was published on July 7 so it's available now!
July 23, 2026
Hi this was beautiful and it hurt my heart. I can’t really think of what to say but I’ll come back when I find the words.
July 11, 2026
This was sad and depressing. It should have been titled “Nothing Was Beautiful and Everything Hurt”.
July 28, 2026
4.5 stars.
This was equally beautiful and heartbreaking, as many of the best books are. I never thought I could feel sorry for Death, but when Death is humanized, it's hard not to feel the loneliness and isolation of his role. At times devastating. At times hopeful, this novel will have you experiencing all the feels.
This was equally beautiful and heartbreaking, as many of the best books are. I never thought I could feel sorry for Death, but when Death is humanized, it's hard not to feel the loneliness and isolation of his role. At times devastating. At times hopeful, this novel will have you experiencing all the feels.
January 15, 2026
You would think a book about death, narrated by Death would be depressing. The opposite is true which makes Ben Reeves’s debut novel, EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NOTHING HURT, all the more extraordinary. This is an uplifting, gorgeously human story.
Let’s first talk about the writing style. Lyrical, flowing, verse-like at times; there was a soothing rhythm to his prose. I felt buoyed by it; almost as if it was ethereal. Reeves’s use of phrasing, structure, and descriptive language added to the experience. And this book is just that—an experience.
His depiction of Death as an ordinary man you might pass on the street without a second glance is brilliant. It drives home the point that death does not discriminate. It comes for us all regardless of our circumstances. Death cannot be bargained with or swayed. It is inevitable.
The takeaway for me from this thought provoking book is that how and when we die matters far less than how we live and the legacy we leave. This struck a very personal note for me as I faced my own mortality a few years ago. That experience brought about a fundamental change in the way I live my life and the things I prioritize.
The book was recommended by the talented Sarah Damoff whose books both left me a sobbing mess with a heart pieced back together with hope. EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NOTHING HURT had the same effect. Brilliance recognizes brilliance.
This is a book about death (occurring at all ages), so some may be sensitive to the content.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.
Let’s first talk about the writing style. Lyrical, flowing, verse-like at times; there was a soothing rhythm to his prose. I felt buoyed by it; almost as if it was ethereal. Reeves’s use of phrasing, structure, and descriptive language added to the experience. And this book is just that—an experience.
His depiction of Death as an ordinary man you might pass on the street without a second glance is brilliant. It drives home the point that death does not discriminate. It comes for us all regardless of our circumstances. Death cannot be bargained with or swayed. It is inevitable.
The takeaway for me from this thought provoking book is that how and when we die matters far less than how we live and the legacy we leave. This struck a very personal note for me as I faced my own mortality a few years ago. That experience brought about a fundamental change in the way I live my life and the things I prioritize.
The book was recommended by the talented Sarah Damoff whose books both left me a sobbing mess with a heart pieced back together with hope. EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL AND NOTHING HURT had the same effect. Brilliance recognizes brilliance.
This is a book about death (occurring at all ages), so some may be sensitive to the content.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.
July 9, 2026
Unpopular opinion, bu this just wasn’t for me. The prose felt rambling and meandering, and the story jumped through short snippets that were often too brief and out of context for me to fully appreciate. I also found Travis to be a fairly uninteresting main character, which made it difficult to stay invested. Overall, I finished feeling more confused than captivated. The premise was interesting but I got a bit lost along the way.
July 13, 2026
Oof! This debut novel, especially the last chapter, what a punch to the gut. It will leave you thinking about things. The book description lets you know that the main character, Travis, is a modern day version of death, so clearly there's a fair bit of death and dying involved. You may be thinking well, that just sounds depressing but don't let that dissuade you because when all is said and done, it isn't. Not to sound cliche but it is actually a book about death that will leave you reflecting upon life
The story has an interesting narrative structure, mostly told from a first person perspective but there are also parts told from second and third person perspectives. Again, don't be put off by this, it all comes together in a beautifully crafted way. Won't say more about the plot so as not to ruin anything for other readers, just that this one is worth picking up.
Rate 4.5 Stars Rounded Up to 5
Disclosure: Received an uncorrected ARC of this book through NetGalley from Avid Reader Press/ Simon & Schuster LLC (Thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.
The story has an interesting narrative structure, mostly told from a first person perspective but there are also parts told from second and third person perspectives. Again, don't be put off by this, it all comes together in a beautifully crafted way. Won't say more about the plot so as not to ruin anything for other readers, just that this one is worth picking up.
Rate 4.5 Stars Rounded Up to 5
Disclosure: Received an uncorrected ARC of this book through NetGalley from Avid Reader Press/ Simon & Schuster LLC (Thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.
July 17, 2026
It's such a wonderful feeling when one an anticipated read lives up to your expectations.
Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is a book whose beauty is in its mundanity and ordinariness. That coupled with the warm writing made this little book filled with death, life, love, loss and bittersweet last moments such a memorable read for me
Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is a book whose beauty is in its mundanity and ordinariness. That coupled with the warm writing made this little book filled with death, life, love, loss and bittersweet last moments such a memorable read for me
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