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Cheating Death #1
Going Rogue
We all die. Some of us sooner than later. Alexa Cross never thought her existence would revolve around death. In life, as a nurse, she helped save people. But life has a funny way of throwing the unexpected because, in the afterlife, she spends her time watching people die and collecting their souls. As much as she wants to stop the deaths, she knows death is inevitable, and it cannot be stopped. However, when a serial killer decides to take up shop in her district, Alexa can't sit back and do nothing. No one should die like that, and she's determined to alter Death's timeline. But, to do that, she needs to embrace who she is now and break some rules. It's the only chance she has of stopping the person responsible for the vicious murders.
- GenresParanormal
120 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 1, 2020
6 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Ashley Stoyanoff
21 books704 followersRomance author Ashley Stoyanoff is the recipient of two Royal Dragonfly Book Awards for young adult and newbie fiction. Her first book, The Soul’s Mark: FOUND, came out in 2012. Her other passions include reading and shopping for the latest fashions. Learn more about Ashley and her work at ashleystoyanoff.com.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 2, 2018
Find This and Other Reviews At Craves The Angst.
5 Reaping Stars!
The Review:
Alexa Cross helps guide souls to the other side.
Reporter by day and grim reaper by night, Alexa sees some pretty brutal scenes. She reports on them to earn money for food and shelter. And she reaps the souls of lost lives when their time is up.
But after six months of watching senseless murders happen while she does nothing to prevent them, she decides to intervene as much as she can without completely breaking all the rules and chancing Death sending her straight to purgatory.
But searching for a serial killer isn’t as easy as the television shows make it out to be and she’s in a race against the clock to stop The Clown Maker before he adds another soul to her list. And all the while, trying to avoid becoming a suspect or victim herself.
I really enjoyed this short, fun, exciting read. Alexa was snarky and witty and she’s a rule breaker so that’s an instant win in my book. The author gives us a tiny taste of romance as a potential, future love interest makes a couple of moves on our heroine but mostly I loved the idea of this character. I loved what she represented and I loved the whole premise and promise of Alexa’s journey as a grim reaper with feelings and a conscience. We’re also introduced to her boss, Death. I loved the way he’s written as he’s intriguing, to say the least.
This was an excellent first book in what I hope will be a long-running series by this author. Unique world building, interesting characters, and amazing writing leave you smiling at the end of this read and I can’t wait for the next installment!
5 Reaping Stars!
The Review:
Alexa Cross helps guide souls to the other side.
Reporter by day and grim reaper by night, Alexa sees some pretty brutal scenes. She reports on them to earn money for food and shelter. And she reaps the souls of lost lives when their time is up.
But after six months of watching senseless murders happen while she does nothing to prevent them, she decides to intervene as much as she can without completely breaking all the rules and chancing Death sending her straight to purgatory.
But searching for a serial killer isn’t as easy as the television shows make it out to be and she’s in a race against the clock to stop The Clown Maker before he adds another soul to her list. And all the while, trying to avoid becoming a suspect or victim herself.
I really enjoyed this short, fun, exciting read. Alexa was snarky and witty and she’s a rule breaker so that’s an instant win in my book. The author gives us a tiny taste of romance as a potential, future love interest makes a couple of moves on our heroine but mostly I loved the idea of this character. I loved what she represented and I loved the whole premise and promise of Alexa’s journey as a grim reaper with feelings and a conscience. We’re also introduced to her boss, Death. I loved the way he’s written as he’s intriguing, to say the least.
This was an excellent first book in what I hope will be a long-running series by this author. Unique world building, interesting characters, and amazing writing leave you smiling at the end of this read and I can’t wait for the next installment!
February 14, 2021
Not so grim reaper
A very good quick mystery. The book was fun yet suspenseful. The characters were interesting and easy to interact with.
A very good quick mystery. The book was fun yet suspenseful. The characters were interesting and easy to interact with.
May 13, 2019
This book was fantastic! The plot was unique and engaging.
Alexa was a Grim Reaper. It's an easy enough job. All she had to do was collect the soul when someone died. That meant she had to be there as the person was dying. Being in the violent deaths division was hard on her because watching murders was gruesome. It was especially hard on Alexa knowing she couldn't stop them. She really wanted to help people so when she realized there was a serial killer on the loose, she wanted to stop him before he killed again. Doing that without breaking any of Death's rules would be tricky.
I liked Alexa. She was a strong, compassionate woman who wanted to do the right thing no matter the consequences. I liked her determination to save souls from being added to Death's list even when she knew she could be sent to Purgatory for doing this. Not only did I like the main character but there are some great secondary characters I am eager to discover more about....like the other reaper, Alexa's best friend and mentor, Kristen, and hottie Detective Cameron Kelley. Death was quite the character. He wasn't always the big, bad man you would expect.
Seriously, this was a great book and I'm looking forward to reading more in this series. A paranormal suspense I'd recommend to those looking for a mystery that will leave you smiling.
Alexa was a Grim Reaper. It's an easy enough job. All she had to do was collect the soul when someone died. That meant she had to be there as the person was dying. Being in the violent deaths division was hard on her because watching murders was gruesome. It was especially hard on Alexa knowing she couldn't stop them. She really wanted to help people so when she realized there was a serial killer on the loose, she wanted to stop him before he killed again. Doing that without breaking any of Death's rules would be tricky.
I liked Alexa. She was a strong, compassionate woman who wanted to do the right thing no matter the consequences. I liked her determination to save souls from being added to Death's list even when she knew she could be sent to Purgatory for doing this. Not only did I like the main character but there are some great secondary characters I am eager to discover more about....like the other reaper, Alexa's best friend and mentor, Kristen, and hottie Detective Cameron Kelley. Death was quite the character. He wasn't always the big, bad man you would expect.
Seriously, this was a great book and I'm looking forward to reading more in this series. A paranormal suspense I'd recommend to those looking for a mystery that will leave you smiling.
August 3, 2019
A well-written story with a unique spin on the Grim Reaper. This murder/mystery paranormal fantasy captivated me from start to finish.
Death has certain rules which Alexander Cross has found a loop hole around to do good in a world full of death.
Death has certain rules which Alexander Cross has found a loop hole around to do good in a world full of death.
June 30, 2025
BEST COMPLIMENT I CAN GIVE IS THE 2ND 3RD. IT WAS REALLY GOOD.
PREMISE: In this book we follow Alexa Cross, a grim repear hired by death to capture a free souls post mortem. However, of late there seems to be a pattern with the souls she needs to collect. The latest one Levi was killed in his sleep and Alexa knows who the murderer is. It's the same guy that killed the last soul she collected. Levi is not satisfied not knowing why had had to die, so Alexa decides to solve the mystery of why this killer is killing everyone with Levi's help.
THOUGHTS: Ok so the first half of this book was really unappealing and I found myself distracted quite easily. I picked up the book because I thought it would be interesting reading a cozy set in the afterlife, but honestly... despite being a 'grim reaper' and technically being dead, our MC Alexa still lives a normal human life, which I did not enjoy. I loved her interactions with Levi however and this is where my interest picked up. Prior to the reveal I was going to give this book 3 stars, but then the reveal happened and honestly, it couldn't have been any more dissappointing! For that reason I docked another star.
I think the idea of a cozy mystery set in the afterlife is a good one, I just hope the next book I read with this theme does it in a much more intriguing way.
2 Stars.
xoxo.
PREMISE: In this book we follow Alexa Cross, a grim repear hired by death to capture a free souls post mortem. However, of late there seems to be a pattern with the souls she needs to collect. The latest one Levi was killed in his sleep and Alexa knows who the murderer is. It's the same guy that killed the last soul she collected. Levi is not satisfied not knowing why had had to die, so Alexa decides to solve the mystery of why this killer is killing everyone with Levi's help.
THOUGHTS: Ok so the first half of this book was really unappealing and I found myself distracted quite easily. I picked up the book because I thought it would be interesting reading a cozy set in the afterlife, but honestly... despite being a 'grim reaper' and technically being dead, our MC Alexa still lives a normal human life, which I did not enjoy. I loved her interactions with Levi however and this is where my interest picked up. Prior to the reveal I was going to give this book 3 stars, but then the reveal happened and honestly, it couldn't have been any more dissappointing! For that reason I docked another star.
I think the idea of a cozy mystery set in the afterlife is a good one, I just hope the next book I read with this theme does it in a much more intriguing way.
2 Stars.
xoxo.
October 24, 2020
Going Rogue by Ashley Stoyanoff a five-star read that will come for you. This is number one in the Cheating Death series and makes a great spooky read. In life Alexa Cross wasn’t up to much, she helped people by being a nurse, but that was all that was in her life, now she is so much more. Was it something to do with her death that caused her to see the pattern, or just the injustice of it all? This was a great story, and the comedy was sublime, the will they wont they adds an extra layer, I was so excited to re-read this and I loved it, especially as I was able to read number two straight after. What a great series, I can only hope for more.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews