Love You to Death

• Author: Jenna Levine
• Genre: Romance
• Publication Date: October 13, 2026
• Publisher: Berkley

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with an ARC of this e-book.

A jaded grim reaper and a woman who wants another chance at life give ‘til death do us part a new meaning in this paranormal romance from bestselling author Jenna Levine.

Lucy McKenzie’s life has always been a disaster. So it should come as no surprise when one day she’s hit by an inconveniently-timed bus—and dies. Unfortunately for the handsome grim reaper who shows up to take her to the afterlife, Lucy is not about to go quietly.

Daniel is tired of his job collecting souls. While working for the Agency beats the heck out of going to Hell, he’s been doing this for literal ages. The drudgery has him yearning for more. Touched by Lucy’s plea for more time on earth, he convinces the Agency to make a Lucy can have six more weeks of life if Daniel can observe her and report back on humanity.

But as Lucy and Daniel navigate the chaos of life and afterlife together, they discover that a second chance at living might be their real chance at love.

I’m not a big reader of romance, but this one just caught my attention and I had to check it out. Levine is a new-to-me author, and I have to say I was impressed. It turns out that I really liked this and think that maybe paranormal romance is where my taste lies. But let me tell you more about this gem.

By the time I had read a couple of chapters, it was clear that this is a grumpy/sunshine story and it also gave heavy star-crossed love vibes. Grumpy/sunshine pairings are my favorite types of romance, since the characters have such different personalities and seeing them find common ground and accommodate each other which makes it feel more like a realistic relationship, at least the emotional aspect. When his human life ended, Daniel was headed to Hell, but was given the option to become a grim reaper to collect souls in order to stay out of Hell. It sounds like an easy decision to me, and it was to Daniel as well. However, after more than a century as a reaper he is jaded and grouchy and bored with having to keep doing this for eternity.

Meanwhile, Lucy is an awesome character. She’s basically a chaotic gremlin and I loved getting to know her. With no other family than her younger sister Jess, she always feels like she’s coming up short. Jess accepts her as she is, but it becomes clear that Lucy isn’t exactly reliable even in the very first chapter. Rather than Lucy being the responsible one who looks out for her younger sister, Jess takes on the older sister role. She is a fun character, but it’s clear that there are some deeper issues: she is constantly feeling badly about herself not being more reliable and falling short when it really matters to herself. With Jess getting married in six weeks, Lucy is ready to really step it up and be there as a support … until she steps off a curb and winds up getting hit by a bus. Daniel shows up to take her soul, but she fights him with everything she’s got. The two of them come up with a bargain—Lucy gets another eight weeks to live, and Daniel is to observe her so that the Agency can update their outdated ideas of humanity.

But as they get to know each other, it isn’t a big surprise to see them start to warm to each other and eventually develop a mutual attraction. Except Daniel is a reaper and she’s living on borrowed time. Neither of them understand why she can touch him since most people instinctively stay away from him without knowing or realizing, but Lucy’s ability to make physical contact with Daniel really catapulted personal growth in both of them as well as their situation. I really enjoyed watching them break down emotional walls to connect with each other, especially as he is tasked with making observations about human behavior for the Agency. In order to really understand human behavior, he has to immerse himself in human life, and as usual, Jess sees the connection far before either of our main characters do.

I loved that there are alternating chapters between Daniel and Lucy, allowing us insight into what each of them are thinking and how their emotions change. Knowing that Lucy only has a set amount of time, I couldn’t help viewing their relationship as star-crossed, and while I shipped these two right away, I struggled to understand how this book was going to end with an HEA, or at least an HFN, but fortunately this is ultimately a paranormal romance and I loved how Levine ended the book.

Overall, this is a fun and snarky romance developing between Lucy and her grim reaper, Daniel. It was a fun story and the end was everything I hoped for, tying up all loose ends in the most perfect way. Honestly, I had no idea how this was going to end, and I was pleasantly surprised with how the story ended. The characters are complex and layered, so it was fun to get to know them, even the side characters. The romance developed naturally and was so enjoyable to watch, including how the changes spilled over to the relationship dynamics between Lucy and her sister, as well as her self-esteem and the other people who are important to Lucy. The pacing was steady throughout, although the ending did pick up a little bit. This was exactly the book that I needed this month, and even if you aren’t a big romance person, this might just be the book for you. I don’t read a lot of romance, but this was heartwarming and funny and witty and super enjoyable.

Bottom line: This is a fantastic addition to the paranormal romance genre, and if you like witty banter, star-crossed lovers, and the kind of book you can’t put down, this is one I highly recommend.

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