Reaping The Immortal

Nocturne Falls Universe

by Pamela Labud, Kristen Painter (Foreword)

Holly Dent is one overworked Reaper. After receiving orders from the Reaper’s Guild, she’s arrived in the beautiful Nocturne Falls for her next assignment—to assist the passing of one Max Hyland. She quickly realizes he’s devilishly handsome, wickedly charming and, Immortal. Immune to her magic, he has only one real power—not dying! Careful with his heart Max is resigned to remaining alone for all eternity—until the beautiful Reaper appears on his doorstep. Even though she’s bent on helping him pass from this life to the next, he can’t help wanting to learn more about her. Torn between her growing affection for Max and completing her assignment, Holly calls upon her old mentor for help. However, as she and Max become closer, she learns that her former teacher has plans of his own, for taking the soul of an Immortal gives a Reaper great power—enough to destroy the Guild once and for all. Holly and Max must find a way to defeat him, for, if they fail, Max’s life is forfeit. Magic, intrigue and romance ensue—when it comes to Reaping the Immortal…

Genres: Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Audiobook, Witches

221 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 24, 2017

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cozy, cozy, cozy read. This is definitely my favorite Nocturne Falls Universe book that I have read so far. It flows and reads most closely to the original, I think.

I love the idea of a reaper being sent to reap an immortal and ending up trying to save his life. It is an enjoyable and cozy read. 3.5 stars

Things that you might want to know (WARNING: Spoilers below)
Happy/satisfying ending? Yes.
Love triangle? Cheating? Angst level? Other things to note? No, no, low.
Tears-worthy? No.
Humor? Quite a light-hearted read, but not really a book of humor.
Favorite scenes? Cozy scenes like when Holly eats at Max’s place and meets his employees, like the cook and the witch. Or when they go out to eat at Nocturne Falls.
What age level would be appropriate? Any age really.

[Kathleen Kurdziel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, was that bad! I didn't particularly like the characters, they had no chemistry between them and frankly, I did not understand what they saw in each other. The story was weird. The familiar who was just there, mostly in a birdcage. Big reveal about what she truly was, but she can't help. Why would his brother 'betray' him when his their life-force is tied together and if one dies the other does too? And finally, all the charm of Nocturne Falls is totally absent from this read. The setting could have been any small town. I was totally disappointed.

[Tiffany PSquared · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical of the Nocturne Falls Universe family of books - this one wasn't an ultimate favorite, but it held its own.

[Myriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! And this book was longer than others, full size novel, which is always a plus. Pamela Labud's writing is beautiful and she managed to project Nocturne Falls with minimal interaction with the place and the existing characters. I was quite surprised to see that she mostly writes contemporary and historical romance, as she did such a great job with paranormal, like that was her main thing.
There are two main characters, Max, a regular immortal and Holly, a reaper. Their story flows beautifully and you cannot help but feel for them and cheer them on. There are several very interesting side characters and a fantastic villain. Even the side characters are well developed and the main characters and the villain are as complex as they can get. Max's twin brother Mattie and his girlfriend Fiona play a significant role. I would love to see a sequel or another story involving one or two of the side characters, for example Mattie and Fiona. I would also like to read something else of paranormal genre written by Pamela Labud (not involving zombies or fallen angels).
The Nocturne Falls reading order is: The Vampire's Mail Order Bride (Nocturne Falls #1), The Werewolf Meets His Match (Nocturne Falls #2), The Gargoyle Gets His Girl (Nocturne Falls, #3), The Professor Woos The Witch (Nocturne Falls, #4), and The Witch’s Halloween Hero (Nocturne Falls #4.5) in Spell of the Ball Anthology, The Werewolf's Christmas Wish (Nocturne Falls #4.6) in Hex the Halls Anthology, The Vampire’s Fake Fiancée (Nocturne Falls #5), A Vampire's Valentine Surprise (Nocturne Falls #5.5), Miss Frost Solves A Cold Case : A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost #1), The Shifter Romances The Writer (Nocturne Falls #6), Miss Frost Ices The Imp : A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost #2), The Vampire’s True Love Trials (Nocturne Falls #6.5) in Taming the Vampire collection, Miss Frost Saves The Sandman : A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost #3), The Truth About Cats And Wolves: A Nocturne Falls Universe story by Alethea Kontis, Magic's Song: A Nocturne Falls universe Story by Sela Carsen, The Witch Rescues Her Werewolf: A Nocturne Falls Universe story by Cate Dean, The Vampire Bounty Hunter's Unexpected Catch: A Nocturne Falls Universe story by Larissa Emerald, Reaping The Immortal: A Nocturne Falls Universe story by Pamela Labud and Close Encounters Of The Alien Kind: A Nocturne Falls Universe story by Fiona Roarke. The Dragon Finds Forever (Nocturne Falls #7) is coming this year as well.

[Eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

2019 bk 351. This was the first book I purchased in the Nocturne Falls Universe. Nocturne Falls, Georgia was created by Kristin Painter and she allows other author/fans to play in her universe. I have not seen any other NFU titles by Labud, but wish there were more. Her story of an Immortal and a Reaper is well plotted, an excellent example of office politics at their worse, and love finding its way into the lives of individuals who thought they were not meant for love, plus most of it takes place in a funeral parlor. What fun!

[Deanie Nelder · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really want to like all the stories in the Nocturne Falls Universe as much as I like the ones in the original Nocturne Falls series. Most are too short, which isn't the fault in this book. It's just kind of blah. On the surface, it should be full of excitement, suspense, and romance, but despite interesting characters and a unique premise, the book just falls flat. If I hadn't needed to use it in another challenge, I might not have finished it.

[Melanie's · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one in a series of stories being released in the "Nocturne Falls Universe" and I'm not going to lie .... when I saw there was a reaper story I was excited. I personally have a soft spot for them, for some strange reason, so I was particularly pleased to see this appear.

Overall this was an enjoyable read. There were a few little things that bothered me about it but nothing that stopped the main story from being a good one. This is slightly longer than some of the other "universe" books and I think that works in its favor allowing you to get more involved with the characters.

A couple of little twists to keep you on your toes, a good couple that you are routing for, a bad guy you can instantly dislike, it definitely fits the criteria for a good read even though at times it didn't have the complete Nocturne Falls feel that I have had from some of the others, (which could in part be because we have met Nocturne Falls reapers and this reaper version was different) I wasn't disappointed.

A solid 4 stars from me!

V""V

[Naj · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't bring myself to give this 3 stars. I'm giving it 2 only because I like the concept in the ending. I honestly just could not bring myself to like the writing. I resorted to speed-reading (it's kind of like cheating, I know, but I just couldn't bear reading all the words).

There was no sense that this book was in Nocturne Falls. Beside -what- the characters are (a Reaper, an Immortal, a shapeshifter etc), this story might as well occur in any other universe. At some parts, I could almost hear Kristen Painter-like words jumping off the page but in others it just sounded rushed. Like all the author wanted was to see the two Mrs fall in love and screw world building.

I love world building. Especially when it's done skillfully through dialogue for instance. But I just couldn't -see- Nocturne Falls in my head. Besides that I think the last 10% of the book was sweet. There were too many under-used supporting characters. Many of them would have been so interesting, had they been fleshed out a bit more.

[Suzi G · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was fine, but I purchased this book as I believed it was a Nocturne Falls story. Just putting Nocturne Falls Universe on the cover was not enough for me. Not one place, street or Nocturne Falls resident was named in this book. So how was this a Nocturne Falls story and not any old paranormal romance? I had believed the author Kristen Painter sanctioned these stories, so why could it not have named places like Howler's or said Sheriff Hank Merrow instead of werewolf sheriff. I realize these characters could not interact with the true residents of Nocturne Falls as they are not her characters, but why not name them or places? Then it would have felt part of the Nocturne Falls I love.

[Deniz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kristen Painter has extended the Nocturne Falls Universe and got a bunch of authors to write novellas. I think they are a must read for fans of the Universe. And also a great way to discover new author- or at least to me they were all new authors.

It actually pains me to say this, but I didn't much care for Holly and Max.
I found their back and forths rather annoying. By the end of it, I didn't care if they got together or not. But let's just point out, this was sooo insta.
It's an interesting take on the world building. But not for me.

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I rate this book somewhere below "okay" but upwards of "dreadful". Somehow the feel of the Nocturne Falls series just wasn't there. The only continuity with the series was the narrator (Audible edition). I couldn't finish it.

[Creative_Mii · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one was almost a DNF! What utter tosh! Unengaging characters, a pathetic villain and innumerable typos and non sequiturs.

[Jillian Merritt · Rating 3 out of 5]

As will all my reviews there are no spoilers and no story recap. This short story is written in third person and has no explicit language or sexual scene. While this is a part of the Nocturn Falls Universe created by Kristen Painter it can be read as a standalone without having read any other book in the series and it can be read in no particular order if you haven’t (for some strange reason) already gobbled up all the other stories/books of Nocturn Falls.

I have not read any other stories by Pamela Labud. I will start by saying I love the Nocturne Falls series and have read all the books in the main series and all the universe books. I didn’t care for this one. While the premise of the story was on par with the overall theme Kristen Painter created, it was several little things that made the flow and feel of the story to be ‘off’. By 30% I wanted it to stop reading because the issues were just getting on my nerves and I couldn’t connect to the main people. I did read it all only because it was a short story in the NF Universe. The little things I’m talking about are the main people calling each other ‘the reaper’ or ‘the immortal’ in their heads the whole book seemed weird to me and they both seemed a little immature especially since they both have lived such long lives or the “Do you trust me?” question for nothing more than to walk across the street to a public park to eat. In addition, we get the POV of others, not just the main people – in a short story like this it only makes things feel more rushed, especially after a very slow start. I am giving this story 3 & ½ stars (rounded up to four because Amazon doesn’t allow ½ stars) I am NOT taking off any stars for the editing/missing words/ or name switches in my copy, while annoying the author can/will fix those and that issue become moot.

If you are collecting all the NF books then you will get this anyway, however if you want a place to start, this is not it, you should pick up the ‘main’ books in the Nocturn Falls series by Kristen Painter. You won’t be disappointed with those.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book; this book is part of the Nocturne Falls Universe. Nocturne Falls is a town that celebrates Halloween 365 days of the year. The town is a place where supernaturals can live with the humans and not have to hide what they truly are. I love the Nocturne Falls series by Kristen Painter and was so happy to get to read new to me authors but have the setting in one of my favorite series. Holly Dent is an overworked Reaper and has received orders from the Reaper’s Guild to reap Max Hyland who also happens to be an immortal. Torn between her growing affection for Max and completing her assignment, Holly calls upon her old mentor for help. However, as she and Max become closer, she learns that her former teacher has plans of his own, for taking the soul of an Immortal gives a Reaper great power, enough to destroy the Guild once and for all. Holly and Max must find a way to defeat him, for, if they fail, Max’s life is forfeit. This is a great book with a wonderful story and well developed characters. This book will keep you reading long into the night and you will not want to put this book down until you finish. This was such a great read and full of surprises. I am looking forward to reading the next book by this great author.

[Ashley (Red-Haired Ash Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 2.5 stars

Holly Dent, a reaper, is tasked with reaping the soul of the immortal Max Hyland. What she doesn’t expect is for him to be very handsome and to refuse to be reaped. The more they get to know each other, the more they realize that something is going on with the Reaper council.

This was a short and interesting story set in Nocturne Falls. Holly and Max were cute but their relationship was kind of overshadowed by finding out the truth of the death orders. How Max, and his brother, are immortals is still a mystery though which is disappointing. I was really expecting an explanation for how these two could be immortals but not a specific paranormal. Even with these issues, I did still enjoy the story. I just wish there had been more development and background.

[Kevin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Paranormal romance and mystery. Max is an Immortal, and is very surprised when Holly shows up to reap his soul. The story was much too long and uninteresting, and I gave up reading well before the end.
The writing was a disaster. Word use, punctuation, and sentence structure were extremely careless. The funniest to me was when Matty "died" his hair. There was also inconsistent spelling: "décor" then "decor," and "whiskey" then "whisky" were two I noted.
As others have noted here, although it is billed as taking place in Painter's Nocturne Falls, there is no mention of any Nocturne Falls characters or locations.

[Ceola · Rating 1 out of 5]

I generally read the reviews and see what others have thought of the book before i read it. I love the nocturne falls universe. This book was not very good. repetitive phrases . and it was way too long and drawn out. It may have been better if the two main characters would have divulged the half of the mystery to each other instead if trying to prove whose life was more important. Even his brother commented on the back and forth of who wasn't to die. I found myself yelling at the book not in a good way.

I ACTUALLY RETURNED THE BOOK TO GET MY CREDIT BACK!

[lisa langford · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointment

I was looking forward to another nocturnal falls love story but this book does not belong to nocturnal falls universe why you may ask because Bowlers is not a nightclub it's a biker bar the is only one dinner called Mummies where the good is to die for the werewolf sheriff has name Bank Marrow not that werewolf NetBeans never been railway station mentioned n any of the books either the author this book didn't edit about the magic of the town didn't even name the barmaid as Bridget was left feeling disappointed

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the Nocturne Falls Universe books set in Kristen Painter's Nocturne Falls.

Pamela did a wonderful job bringing in new characters to Nocturne Falls and respecting the magic and town that Kristen set up. We learn more about the town through her writings, and I really enjoyed reading her book.

Her characters are well rounded and easily related to.

I truly enjoyed her addition to Nocturne Falls and hope to see more of her work soon.

5 stars.

[Daphne McDaniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not at all like the Nocturne Falls OG

I found this book too much forced drama and too little plot. It spent too much time on frivolous parts and too little bringing an end to others. It barely mentioned Nocturne Falls itself and did not keep to the original places and abilities of the series. I found myself skimming the last half of the book just to get through. I am hoping the other books in the NFU won’t be so painful.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great as a stand-alone…

I love the Nocturne Falls Universe, but this book just didn’t fit well. The original NF reaper (Lucien) seems to be working with a completely different set of rules and powers. Also the city layout didn’t match, things like Howler’s being described here as an “edgy bar” when it’s always been a dive bar scene. I would give it 5 stars in its own universe, but not in the NFU.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but lacking spark

The characters were interesting in their own right, but the main relationship was insta-love and never really showed a true connection. Situations were repetitious and I couldn’t feel the desire the characters supposedly shared. As for the writing, there were missing words on occasion, as well as parts that seemed to be missing.

[Lokien · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has a film noir feel

I have to wonder if some of these guest authors have even read any of the original Nocturnal falls books. This one felt a little too dark for the light hearted feel Nocturn Falls has. Plus it was all over the place. Pacing was bad, plot was a see saw enought to give a girl whip lash. Not my favorite by a long shot.

[Bethanie Barth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Nocturne Falls books by Kristin Painter. So why not try these. This was the first one I read. And very much enjoyed it. The book could use some editing but it was a good story & really liked the characters. I have already purchased the other 5 to read. So on to the next...

[CJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Truly dreadful. The writing is poor and the dialogue is cringeworthy. Overly juvenile and it had very little to do with the Nocturne Falls world. I was left wondering if the author had even read any books from the series. Unable to finish.

[Sheryl Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!!

I just finished reading "Reaping the Immortal," and I am exhausted...in a good way.
There was a lot going on. It was definitely a lot of action, adventure, intrigue, and of course ROMANCE.
Definitely not what I was expecting...in a good way.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome read!

Oh I loved Holly and Max! They were so cute! This one is my favorite from the Nocturne Falls Universe.

[Edith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great

Another welcome addition to the Nocturne Falls Universe. I thoroughly enjoyed this installment featuring a Reaper, an Immortal and a feisty bird!

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the whole NF Universe. Fun way to have more books and oddball characters.

[Justin Knepper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clever spin-off story that is well placed in the Nocturne Falls town. The balance of romance (without being overly sappy or sexual) with the fantasy/mystery mix was well done and fun to read!