Grim by D.J. Krimmer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

We thought death was the end, turns out it’s just the prologue.

RUE

I died, briefly. Then I came back. Now I’m determined to make the most of every minute I have left.

Only problem is I’ve been saddled with supervision. Kane Deveraux is handsome, smug, and cold as a tombstone. So why does he make me feel something more powerful than death?

KANE

As a reaper, I have helped crossover thousands of souls. And not one of them have touched mine…until Rue Chamberlain. She’s stubborn, reckless, and maddeningly radiant.

And for this centuries-old spirit, she’s a living woman that is absolutely off-limits. If I follow the rules, I will lose her. If I break them, I might lose everything.

Grim is a darkly romantic, wickedly funny tale of life, death, and a love that refuses to rest in peace.

Grim

Death Has Never Been This Romantic

The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💙💛💚🖤❤️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Chemistry: 🧪🧪🧪🧪
Story/Plot: 📕📗📘📙📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌍
Character development: 😋🙂😁😎🥰
Narrator(s): 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Narration type: Full Cast Duet Narration

Character Backgrounds and Plot Summary

I went into Grim expecting a dark paranormal romance about a Grim Reaper falling for a mortal woman, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much heart was tucked inside this story. Rue Chamberlain is already living with the knowledge that her time is limited, which makes her outlook on life especially interesting. She is sick, but she refuses to spend what she has left simply waiting to die. Instead, she visits elderly residents, plays chess with Seek, the ghost haunting her home, and generally tries to find joy wherever she can.

Then Rue actually dies, only for Kane Deveraux to realize that her death has come too early. Kane is a centuries-old reaper who has spent hundreds of years ushering souls into the afterlife without allowing any of them to affect him emotionally. Rue is supposed to have nine more days, and Kane makes the unprecedented decision to send her back.

Of course, bringing someone back from death is not exactly something the OtherWorld takes lightly. Death, also known as Big D, is furious, Time and Fate are unhappy that their carefully planned tapestry has been disrupted, and Kane is punished by being assigned to supervise Rue until her actual death date.

The catch is that Rue’s brief trip beyond the veil changes her. She can now see, hear, and even touch ghosts and reapers. Watching Rue react to this new ability while Kane desperately tries to maintain his patience was one of my favorite parts of the story. Their relationship begins with Rue enthusiastically poking at Kane’s carefully constructed emotional walls, while Kane is basically a walking scowl who has absolutely no idea what to do with her.

Highlights and Limitations

The biggest strength of Grim for me was the way it balanced genuinely emotional material with humor. Rue has nine days left, so there is an unavoidable sadness hanging over everything she does, but the story never turns her into someone readers are simply supposed to pity. She is stubborn, curious, reckless, and determined to experience as much life as she can.

I especially enjoyed the scenes where Rue drags Kane into her world rather than quietly accepting her fate. Their banter works because Kane’s centuries of cold detachment are constantly being challenged by someone who refuses to be intimidated by him. There is something incredibly satisfying about watching a man who has escorted thousands of souls toward death become completely undone by one very determined woman.

Kane’s character arc was probably my favorite emotional element. This is a man who has spent centuries believing himself numb, only to discover that Rue can still make him feel. The forbidden nature of their relationship adds real tension because Kane is not just risking heartbreak. He is breaking rules established by powerful beings who are already angry with him for returning Rue to life.

I also loved the supernatural supporting cast. Big D brings a surprising amount of humor to a story centered around death, while the Weaver Sisters make the consequences of Kane’s choices feel much larger than simply whether Rue and Kane can be together. The banter between Big D and Kane is really funny.

My one personal limitation was that the tonal shifts occasionally took me out of the story. Some moments are beautifully reflective and genuinely heartbreaking, particularly when the countdown reminds you exactly what Rue stands to lose, while other scenes lean heavily into playful rom-com style banter. I enjoyed both sides individually, but there were a few moments where the transition between them felt abrupt. Still, the emotional payoff and the characters were strong enough that it never stopped me from wanting to know what happened next.

Narration

This audiobook was absolutely made for a full-cast production. With Joe Arden, Maxine Mitchell, Andi Eloise, June DeBorahae, Sean Masters, and James Cassidy bringing the OtherWorld to life, the listening experience feels much bigger and more immersive than a standard dual narration.

The casting works particularly well because Grim has such a wide emotional range. Rue needs to sound vibrant and funny without losing the vulnerability underneath her determination, while Kane needs that centuries-old weariness and emotional restraint that slowly begins to crack. The narrators make the back-and-forth between Rue and Kane especially entertaining, and the larger cast gives characters like Big D and the OtherWorld figures their own distinct presence.

Joe Arden also has the unique advantage of being one of the book’s authors, and I think that connection to the material comes through in the performance. The production never felt like narrators simply reading lines. It felt more like being dropped directly into Rue and Kane’s strange, funny, dangerous world.

Final Opinion

Grim ended up being much more than a simple paranormal romance for me. Yes, it has a handsome, brooding Grim Reaper. Yes, it has forbidden attraction, chemistry, ghosts, and plenty of supernatural chaos. But underneath all of that is a story about what it means to truly live when you know your time is running out.

Rue and Kane worked for me because they change each other in very different ways. Rue teaches Kane that centuries of emotional numbness do not mean he is incapable of feeling, while Kane becomes part of the reason Rue starts wanting more from the life she has left.

I laughed at the banter, loved watching Kane lose his composure around Rue, and found the countdown hanging over their relationship increasingly difficult to ignore. By the end, I was completely invested in whether these two could somehow find a way to defy the rules that were determined to keep them apart.

If you enjoy paranormal romance with grumpy/sunshine energy, forbidden love, witty banter, ghosts, and an emotional story hiding underneath the humor, I definitely recommend experiencing Grim in audio. The full cast takes an already imaginative story and makes it feel even more alive, which is honestly the perfect irony for a romance about death.

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