Grim Tidings by BK Borison

B.K. Borison is a master craftsman of storytelling.

Whether writing about a small town Christmas tree farm, or about chasing down memories with the ghost of Christmas past, Borison solidifies her place as one of the most delightful romance writers of our time. If you told me I’d be crying about a Grim Reaper and a Guardian Angel on a beach in the Bahamas, well…. I’d believe you because I’m softie!

These two beautiful souls captured my heart immediately, and they will have me thinking about life (and death) for long after this review is done.

The Department of Hauntings and Spirits

“Death clings to me like a second skin. I am the goosebumps on the back of his neck. The whisper in the back of his mind that warns him of danger.”

Darcy is a Grim Reaper. She’s tasked with the most somber, sobering task of escorting someone at the end of their life to… well, to whatever comes next for us. It’s a beautiful sentiment and an important job, but it’s also an extremely heavy weight to carry alone. At some point, enough is enough, and you need to regroup, refill your well, and trade the sadness for joy. We meet Darcy when she’s on the cusp of burn out, and my heart breaks for her. I think yours might, too.

“I’m tired of the doom and gloom and the tears and the bargaining. I don’t want to be there at the final moments. I want — I want the middle ones. Lazy mornings in bed and cups of coffee gone cold. Flowers in bloom and lipstick smudged on the edge of a glass. A single candle wedged crooked in buttercream icing. Towels fresh from the dryer and junk mail shoved through the crack of a door. My entire existence is defined by the end. I want the beginning back.”

Gabriel also works for the Department of Hauntings and Spirits, but his job is so different from Darcy’s that they’re actually each other’s counterpart. Gabriel is a Guardian Angel, tasked with keeping the humans of his territory safe and sound. He can’t possibly let a Grim Reaper haunt his small-town bar while she waits to collect her next soul. That would go against everything he’s worked for over during the last few thousand years.

The worst of all? They’re so inconveniently attracted to each other but can’t trust one another. They are either going to set themselves or the world on fire.

The (Eternal) Rat Race

The one thing that I feel like I can’t forgive B.K. Borison for? Insinuating that even after we leave this mortal coil, we’ll still potentially have to work for the rest of our afterlife. You mean to tell me that the “eternal slumber” is actually just working the proverbial nightshift from now until eternity?

No thank you. I would like to submit my opt-out application now to speed up the process.

I can’t even imagine having a job for thousands of years. How depressing.

Final Thoughts

My biggest takeaway from “Grim Tidings” is that it’s not too late to change your mind, or change the path you’re on. It’s okay to stop, rest, and take in the small joys people can sometimes miss while rushing toward the end goal. The middle is sometimes the best part of the journey. Life moves fast, and the end comes for us all. We need to spend as much time as we can appreciating the little wins, the beauty in the ordinary, and the comfort of having our people around us.

“I lived a lonely life. If I had moved on in death, I would have lived a lonely afterlife, too. Instead, I became a Reaper and experienced hundreds of tiny miracles.”

“Grim Tidings” is going to be talked about everywhere you turn. You won’t be able to escape people raving about the soft, sweet story about two beings who shouldn’t have such a strong connection. Do yourself a favor and grab your copy of “Grim Tidings” now. Meet Darcy and Gabriel. Fall in love with them like I did. Then, go back and read all of B. K. Borison’s backlist. Find the Easter Eggs she’s dropped along the way. You won’t regret it.