Book Review: Dying by the Hour by Kory M. Shrum

Dying by the Hour by Kory M. Shrum
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the second book I've had the pleasure of listening to as I walked my dogs and drove to work. This book picks up where the first one left off, with Allie still in love with Jesse and Jesse torn between Allie and Laine. This time, however, we have the advantage of Allie's point of view added to the story. This structure added depth and breadth to a tale of life, death, reanimation, and the struggle between the demonized Necronites and a country following a madman who hides behind religion to advance his ambitions. More than ever, Jesse is called upon to confront and defeat this madman. Will she live or lose her head and truly die one final time?

Reminiscent of the rise of Nazism on the way to WWII and the cult of the Aryan nation, this story returns us to those times and tackles tough topics. The marginalized, the OTHER, persecuted and pursued, from LGBT youth to those who refuse to bow down to false gods who would use innocents and toss them aside as garbage are here. At times heartbreaking, this is not a story for the faint of heart. Prepare to be catapulted back into this world and buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

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Review: Dying for a Living by Kory M. Shrum

Dying for a Living by Kory M. Shrum
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I listened to this book on my many dog walks and car rides and couldn’t wait to take my mutt and pug for a drag just so I could hear the next installment. The talented narrator kept me snickering with her well-acted roles with just the right amount of sarcasm for the main character.

This snarky, quirky, inventive story had me at hello! Jesse Sullivan has a unique occupation. A death replacement agent (do NOT call them zombies!) with attitude, Jesse has a handler, two love interests (male and female) a posse of friends and a cute little dog named Winston. Did I say he’s a fawn pug? And I have a fawn pug. Not often you have a pug in a story, so happy dance for me with that!

Her characters are fun, larger than life and full of piss and vinegar. The plot kept me guessing (short version, no spoilers from me: someone is trying to off all the death replacement agents think BIG CONSPIRACY) and Jesse also happens to have an angel in her corner. But since her former mentor was institutionalized after she started seeing angels, Jesse thinks he’s a hallucination and keeps his sightings to herself. She has no desire to eat mashed bananas for the rest of her life.

I loved the fact that this book is about a non-traditional love triangle. It’s important for all readers to have people to relate to in a story. This author has given us a fresh, insightful perspective on what love is, and that does not just mean the traditional M/F. She has a lot of choices to make, none easy.

Five bright shiny stars covered with black feathers! This series is an auto buy for me!!!

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