When I Was Death

It's been a year since the death of Roslyn's older sister, Adeline. Roslyn has a difficult time as she continues to struggle with her sister's absence. Then one summer, a caravan of girls comes to town. Curious, Roslyn finds herself a part of the group. Even more startling is the presence of an individual, Death, who expects her to be a part of the girls and do his bidding. Roslyn finds there is a connection between one of the girls, Shiloh, and her sister. She makes a deal with Death that if she does his bidding, he will share the truth about Adeline's death. Roslyn ends up going on a cross-country trip to reap souls, and along the way, she discovers not only more about Adeline but also about herself.

What worked: Unique, haunting tale of dealing with grief after the loss of a sister mixed with a paranormal twist. Only in this case, it's a group of young teen girls who are reapers. They do the bidding of Death. I love a good paranormal story, and this one goes above the usual tale. There's grief of losing a close sister to death. There's also an atmospheric feel that shows each of the girls, including Roslyn, before and after their reapings.

Roslyn's pain is felt on each page as she ends up having more questions than answers. Each of the girls has their own story of how they meet Death and became one of his helpers. The only complaint I have is that I felt Shiloh's reapings felt too abrupt, but the author does do a great job showing the pain each of those reapings left.

The chemistry between Roslyn and Shiloh is a slow burn. Roslyn finds herself attracted to Shiloh, even when she's evasive about answering any questions about Adeline.

Gorgeous writing with chilling backdrops of each encounter the girls, including Roslyn, have with those they end up reaping. But more chilling is Death, who isn't a person but a spirit who takes on the persona of different individuals. One haunting reveal is his admission that time is fluid. There is no past, present, or future. This plays a big part later in the story.

A must-read for fans of the paranormal and especially for those who love a story with a good twist.