Grim Life

Reaper Files #2

by Nicky Graves

Find the red stone, they say. It will help you, they say. “They” suck!
Training to be a reaper is a challenge in itself. Add the king of death and the loathsome elder council to the mix and it’s a disaster.

My only hope is to gather the life stones and use them to protect not only myself, but mankind. However, things don’t go as planned. In fact, they go completely sideways.

I have reapers, demons, and vampires after me. And that stone? Yeah, it’s got a serious side effect that makes me sorry I ever found it.

“They” can kiss my immortal ass.

If you like action-packed books filled with enthralling characters, a deadly plot, a lustful crystal, and enough twists to keep the pages turning, read Grim Life.

236 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 7, 2020

About the author

If you want to keep in touch or find out more information about Nicky Graves, head over to https://www.nickygraves.com/

Also, please make sure to click the follow button so you get notifications on all new releases.

Have a grim day! (But smile, too. The world needs it!)

Reviews

[Cath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book two of the Reaper Files series and continues the story of Riley Graves, the first ever female reaper, who is now officially being trained as a reaper, even though she has some huge enemies, including the king of death himself and the newly appointed Supreme Elder Buzzarly, head of the elder Council, who wants her dead! She should never have been chosen to be a reaper, it was far too early for another reaper to be chosen and she is female, which has never been allowed before. Lawson was put in charge of her training and another reaper Boomer was assigned to train her, in the last book. This all led to some serious problems and the deaths of a large number of other reapers, as those opposed to her position fell. She has bonded with the blue life stone and this has given her Azrael, the Grim Reaper, so as such she is his heir, not that he wants to acknowledge her.

The one life stone she has, she absorbed into her body, which has never been seen before and stops Buzzarly from being able to take it back from her. He wants her imprisoned so she can’t get any more powerful, but not everyone else agrees. Riley still has to worry about going to school and living at home, then going out reaping every night. She also has a half demon called Ranger dating her mum, when he is supposed to be protecting her from Azrael. Having a parasite of a life stone called Treble the Blue, who doesn’t want her to have any sort of life because she is female and certainly isn’t happy to let her out and about or date, and definitely not kiss a boy! There are seven life stones and it looks like Azrael has already started searching for them, so he can kill Riley. Now she has to get on the track of these life stones and use them to protect not just her but mankind as well. Only problem is that each stone has a different personality attached to it. Treble, her current stone is stubborn and prefers to hibernate and ignore her. The next stone she is advised to find is Bastole the Black, who is definitely not one they want Azrael to get. It would make him too powerful by far!

Matters don’t go as expected, as Riley ends up imprisoned by the council, loses out on gaining the Black stone and has reapers, demons an even vampires after her. She gained one more stone, but that was supposedly an easy one, not, and it just made it easier for both the owners of the stones to desert her at the most opportune moments. Treble would never answer her and wasn’t keen to even listen to her never mind help her. And Wiltone the Red, just wants to have some passion in her life, yep, another female, when all the legends state the stones were seven brothers! Buzzarly is after Riley even harder now and keeps trying to get the Elder Council to agree to his plans, calling her a rogue and a danger to all of them! The stones are causing loads more problems than they solve and are ruining her chance of a real life, while she can still exist on the mortal plane. A great second book in the series, with Riley having to do a lot more collecting of souls, after some very disturbing incidents, and loads more action with the council and Azrael trying to get rid of her. There are a few surprises but also some losses as well, which are hard to take. Another book to come, so I can’t wait to see what happens. Definitely a book to recommend with a different twist on the paranormal and a real page turner. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

[Emily Pennington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Riley Graves is currently in the challenging training to be a reaper. She has interference from the king of death and the Elder Council which makes it even more difficult to succeed. She has bonded with the blue life stone, absorbing the stone into her body, which gives her enormous power that should have never been granted to her, and the Supreme Elder is worried. There is no way they can take it back from her. So he suggests they imprison her before she gets even stronger. One of the elders reminded them of the rumors that Riley Graves is Azrael’s daughter, which means she’s the heir. But the Supreme Elder dismissed that comment and called for a vote. He was disappointed he didn’t get all of the votes, but he got enough and she would soon be out of his hair!

Riley had been told to obtain some life stones to protect herself and all of mankind. Instead of protection, she is chased by reapers, demons, and vampires. And the red stone she went after has its own set of side effects she now has to deal with!

We have a great cast of characters and an action-packed story line. So grab your copy and follow along on the adventure as Riley’s training amuses her trainer when she can’t seem to remember the skills she has that would have made the transitioning of souls so much easier!

[Katheyer]

“Grim Life” Nicky Graves’ second book in her “Reaper Files” series follows Riley into her new stage in life as a Reaper in training. Being the first female Reaper is not only unheard of, it requires a whole new set of….. difficulties 😊

Riley’s already hard training it further hinder by the interferences by the elder council and his deathly majesty. It should get better, when she finds the red stone, which will protect her (and humanity) for about everything that goes bump in the night (and mornings and afternoons for good measure), with reapers, demons , vampires after her, and the stone more burden than help. Riley’s does what she can best… take everything with grim witty humor, what it’s an immortal girl to do otherwise 😉

Nicky Graves’ Reaper-verse is a fantastic, intelligent and entertaining world, populated by unique, relatable and fully distinctive personalities. Riley combines your typical 17-year old traits with enough wit to keep you spinning, teenager-angst takes into a fully new dimension, when you are immortal and a job forever… death should not be that enticing… not really… it shouldn’t 😉.

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

✴️✴️ONE THRILLING JOURNEY✴️✴️
Blazing buzzards! Nicky unleashes one helluva storm with this skillfully spun debacle, weaving a tangled web around us so intricately and precise, drawing you deeper until everything else ceases to exist, wrapping this jewel up sleek shiny and tight. Anarchy runs rampant and havoc is rife, shattered boundaries and crushed limitations are amplified and expanded, drawing deep for every ounce of strength in a fierce surge of self preservation, powering through with such intensity and vigor, propelling this jewel to life flawlessly. The characters, banter, dialogue, interactions and charged atmosphere along with relatable qualities and individual traits, blend and flow adding depth and diversity, transforming into outstanding personalities. The scenes are abundantly descriptive with colorful details that blend and flow, creating one vivid backdrop that's so rich and lively it feels as though you were transported to ground zero with them. Awesome job Nicky, thanks for sharing this little guy with us.

[Andra Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picking up where Grim Girl left off, Grim Life continues taking us on Riley's journey as she adjusts to being a reaper and Azrael's heir apparent. This installment in the series is enjoyable, humorous at times, and as engaging as the previous book. Riley is maturing as a young woman and growing in her role as a reaper and continues to juggle her human life. She does have to make some difficult choices that put her in situations that do not always turn out as planned. Action and intrigue are abundant, as is the suspense as Riley tries to figure out how to keep her father at bay. There are many more twists and some moments that tug at the heartstrings-hard. Both the epilogue and prologue let us know who the real bad guy is, yep, Lucifer, and Azrael have company. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Y/A or maybe an N/A book. While it held my attention for the most part, there was a little too much high school angst in the story for my taste (I’m nearing 60 years old). I’m sure the younger crowd will appreciate this more than I did. There was a time or two that I thought about quitting the book altogether -just my being frustrated with it. The flow was decent, & it was a fairly fast read. There were a few places that felt a bit predictable & a few places I think were intended as humor but didn’t work out as humorous. The main female character is ok, just not well developed IMO, I didn’t feel I knew her any better at the end of the book than I did at the beginning & nothing drove me to see what happens next. I didn’t hate the story, but it just didn’t leave me wanting to continue with the series.

[Caroline Doig · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story it’s book 2 of the Reaper Files it’s even better than book 1. Riley knows who her father is and he wants to kill her she is the only female reaper and she’s being judged by the other reapers who of course are male there are rumours about her the craziest one is that she slept with the first reaper Azrael gross but it is Lawson who she wanted to be with but he is her trainer she thought that nothing would ever come of it so she went on with her reaper life and her human life but she wasn’t human was she?. There is so much more going on in this story but that’s all I’m going to give, I love this story/ series and I definitely recommend this book.

[Rachal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not put down.

What would you do if your life was turned upside down? While learning to deal with a blue man living in her body and then other situations escalating rapidly. I think this book makes me not like Boomer because he's been a bit MIA and sus. Then there is the whole situation with Vance. While people might not like him, he isn't as terrible as people think he is.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2* This is a quick and easy read, but geared more towards Y/A or N/A. The Reaper in training is a fun concept, but fell a little flat for me because of all the "teenage angst", you'd imagine that a reaper would be more mature. All in all, a decent read with good main characters.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Scarolet Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grim Life by Nicky Graves is an awesome story that I have read. This is book number two in this awesome series that I have loved reading very much and I can not wait to read more from this author. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading reading about fantasy.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Billie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and action with wonderful world building.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Arrendle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun I enjoyed the pace and the idea of the reaper reminded me a little of "dead like me" which I enjoyed

I hate writing these reviews 'cause of the amount of words I am for Ed to write
Can't wait for book 3

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read, love the characters. Waiting for #3.

[Bonnie Dale Keck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kindle unlimited

Too much chick lit twilight yuck, too much teen angst crap, too much too much, not bothering with other 2, going into other better books.

[ᥫ᭡ P A T T Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoying this. The sequels are just as good as the original.

[Serra Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down