This is the autumn of the Grim Reaper romance, and Daniel sure is one to celebrate.
Love You To Death is the story of Lucy, who meets her tragic end by way of bus accident only six weeks before her sister’s wedding. Lucy has always struggled with getting things done successfully, and has always felt like she’s letting her little sister down, so when her Grim Reaper comes to take her soul, she does the only thing she can think of: beg him to talk to his supervisors to give her just a bit more time, let her go to her sister’s wedding, and then she’ll go without argument. And it works.
Despite the heavy topics of death, self-image, regret, and living life to the fullest, I found this to be a very cute and oftentimes funny and lighthearted romance novel. I found it to be very ‘floaty,’ in the sense that it never felt too complicated or like I had to really dig deep emotionally to read it. The concept of the afterlife functioning as a corporation with promotions, break rooms, and accounts receivable had a lot to do with this, and I found the concept really funny and interesting. It may sound like another very popular novel that came out recently (and it is very similar), but it was just different enough to feel unique and fun.
I really enjoyed the romance between Lucy and Daniel, and the way they immediately feel some sort of connection to each other without really being able to explain it. And yet, the pacing still felt realistic and enjoyable without moving too quickly or too slowly.
One thing that frustrated me about this novel was the frequency of Lucy’s self-hating comments. I would have liked for these to lessen throughout the novel, ESPECIALLY once Lucy finds out about Daniel’s life and why he earned his punishment of being a reaper, but instead she tries to equate being clumsy and a little goofy and not-put-together with a lifetime of crime. I did appreciate the representation of someone with major self-confidence issues, as well as someone who realistically is not doing the best things for herself, but I would’ve liked to see character growth throughout the novel for Lucy, and unfortunately I didn’t feel like that happened.
Overall, this was a fun read to get into the spooky spirit, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a silly, spooky read. Love You To Death is available on October 13th, 2026. Thank you so much to Jenna Levine, Berkley, and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!