Review: Smitten With Death - Sharon Saracino

Title: Smitten With Death
Series: Max Logan Series Book 3
Author: Sharon Saracino
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Release Date: February 20, 2015
Pages: 230

A year after the death of her ex-husband and boyfriend, Roger-the-Proctologist, Max has accepted the loss and moved on. Well, at least she’s tried, but a dating pool consisting mostly of weekend golfers in plaid polyester has left her unenthusiastic about her prospects. When Morgan Kane, the sexy Hellhound Grim Reaper, suddenly reappears seeking her assistance to rescue the bumbling teenage Zombie King from Cerberus' filthy paws, Max realizes that maybe she was holding out for snug denim all along. But a trip to Hell during Vegas Week, with Lucifer masquerading as a tone-deaf Wayne Newton and Kane’s psychotic mother as Satan’s Showgirl Bride, isn’t exactly her idea of the perfect date. In Hell, everything has a price, and though Max discovers she’s already paid dearly, if she and Kane are to succeed, another sacrifice is required. Will Max finally get her happily-ever-after or will she lose the man she loves to the Sweet Hereafter? Again.

Reviewed by: Linda Tonis

Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team

Maxine (Max) Logan has spent the last year trying to adjust to her ex-husband Roger’s death and her new found supernatural abilities. Thanks to the mistake by the Grim Reaper in training Buddy, she was taken in error, which is why the powers her parents had bound came free. She is now a Retriever, returning the poor souls who don’t belong in the Between and returning them back to their bodies. It was the Hellhound Grim Reaper, Morgan Kane, who returned her soul to her body so she could go back.

Fortunately for Max, she is not called on very often to retrieve a soul and she goes about her normal life as best she can and has managed to avoid Morgan. The story opens up with Max attending the wedding of her cousin, dressed in a hooped pink dress with layers and layers and of course, leading to any manner of comments on her part. The appearance of Morgan causes her to fear that someone in her family could die, right here and right now at a family wedding. Mixed in with her fear is her anger that Morgan couldn’t wait until the party was over. She had nothing to fear because that was not why he was there. He needs Max’s help and it is help she is not anxious to give.

Morgan wants Max to go to Hell with him to bring back Buddy the bungler, the same Buddy who killed her off before her time. It isn’t until Morgan advises Max that Buddy is the King of the Zombies and could very possibly cause a Zombie Apocalypse that she comes on board. She tries to convince herself that poor Buddy is just a misunderstood teenager who needs someone to believe in him, well that is as good a reason any to enter Hell and free him.

Max tries very hard to deal with her feelings for the Hellhound Grim Reaper, but to no avail. She is convinced she could never attract a gorgeous man like Morgan, but she could be wrong. Since Max is known for doing things her way, when she is left at the Timekeeper’s home for her own safety, she manages to jump out a window and follow Morgan. Now his plan for sneaking Buddy out is gone. Everyone in his family will know he was there, especially after Max found herself being humped by a Hellhound with a big mouth.

Who Morgan’s family is proves to be quite a shock, but that still doesn’t stop her from opening her big mouth and saying whatever comes into her brain. Insulting everyone around her does not seem to be the right way to go about freeing Buddy, but when her mouth starts going there is no stopping her.

I absolutely love Max Logan and I would pay any price to get admission to her story. Although this is book three, there is no need to read the other two since the author does an amazing job of updating the reader on what occurred. However, missing out on some of Max’s antics would be a shame. She says things that actually made me laugh till I cried some of which I could totally relate to i.e. “It really sucks that when I exercise the only thing I seem to lose is my ability to breath” so true. The story is all told in her POV and there are times when she is actually addressing the reader. My congratulations to Ms. Saracino, who like a ventriloquist, is the voice behind Max. I don’t want to leave out Morgan who in spite of being a Hellhound Grim Reaper is a hunk-a-hunk of hot man.