Very creepy,atmospheric with a good story line and good characters. Enjoyed the concept and the style of writing

This book is a really short, really fun read. Haden is a very unique character: as a kid he can see ghosts, a skill his mother tries very, very hard to beat out of him. After being taken in by the Ministry of the Wraith, he's taught to use those skills to essentially transport himself into a corpse, gaining all of that person's knowledge and memories. There's a downside though: while transporting his consciousness into a corpse, his own body is left vulnerable in a comatose state, and any injury he takes as a corpse transfers to his living body.

I honestly grabbed this book based entirely on the cover. It just caught my eye as I was browsing, and I HAD to read it! At 142 pages, it isn't a huge time-sink either. It would make a great one-sitting book, especially since it moves pretty quickly. I did sometimes get a bit bogged down by the sheer number of missing/extra commas, but given that this is a galley I guess I can't hold it against the book too much.

Its short length was a bit of a downside for me though. The story is fairly well fleshed out, but still I wanted more. I wanted to know more about Nyah's past assignment, about the intervening years between Haden being recruited and when the reader meets him again as a full-fledged Reaper. The author touches briefly on the mysterious Avernus Collective, but they never really get involved in the story. In a way it could be seen as a positive that I want so much more from this book: I'm definitely going to be eagerly awaiting the sequel!

Review: THE BLOOD SINGER by Patrick McNulty

A delightfully comic horror with an engaging protagonist, a solemn and cynical foil as the protagonist's wise ghost mentor, a premise particularly imaginative and engrossing, combines in a very fast page-turning supernatural novel. There's nothing funny about Haden Church's childhood; his mother is horrid and Haden himself is, if not one of a kind, close to it. Haden sees ghosts, they congregate to him, and his abusive mother considers that the work of Satan and believes it her God-given mission to thoroughly exorcise her son. 

As an adult, Haden is in the employ of the Ministry of Wraiths, but he might as well be freelance, he is so obstinate and stubborn, following his own ethical code. When his mentor-companion Moses brings to Hayden the ghost of an elderly lady vitally (and rightly) concerned for her wayward son and her young granddaughter, Haden leaps into the fray irregardless of his personal safety, in order to rescue the child.

Okay... this book was very... unusual - for me, at least. I've never read anything like this before.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The beginning was extremely interesting and promising but then... the story somehow lost the mysterious vibe. Haden Church - The Reaper with supernatural abilities who works for an organisation called Ministry of Wraith? I mean, what an idea! But unfortunately, the potential of this book was just thrown away... so i am pretty disappointed.

The overall development of the story sucked. The characters were still the same, we didn't know their past or anything, they just appeared and that was it. Yeah, we knew something about Haden's childhood but nothing significant. Haden Church, The Blood Singer, Moses, Nyah or the doctor... who were these ppl? I mean, srsly... some family history, backstories? Nothing. There was no depth to them.
The plot's development was better, but still nothing special. It was way too fast and simple.

While reading, I found some editing/grammar errors and i thought: okay, this can happen to anyone... but NOT almost on every fourth or fifth page. Soon enough i was pretty annoyed... but i kept going bc, lol, i really hoped and believed that it will get better. It did not.

In my opinion, this book is a piece of shoddiness. And that's why i am even angrier... it could have been so much better. The author could have played with the story way FUCKING more.

apart from this - I did still enjoy the book. I really liked the idea and everything. Regrettably, Patrick McNulty just didn't put much work into it.

The second half of this book was better than the first in my opinion. At first the change in narration from character to character can be jarring and awkward in the beginning. However in the second half when we are getting the perspectives of those who are involved in the action then it becomes a lot easier and flows much better. This book is a quick read once the search for Charlotte begins. Definite trigger warnings for child abuse which is graphic and within the first couple of chapters! Overall, I am giving this book 2.5 stars, not a REALLY bad read but with some changes small changes this could be a really good book which fills a gap in the market!

Written by Patrick McNulty, this novel follows Haden Church, a reaper who goes off the books. Apparently all the time? And what is a reaper in this world? Someone who can see and speak to ghosts, and can take over their recently deceased bodies.

I really wanted to like this book, but between the editing/grammar errors and the fact that the characters had no depth, I just wasn't interested. Haden was a bit interesting, but it just didn't go any where for me.

The story of the man who kidnapped his child and killed himself, his ex-wife's boyfriend, and his mother was interesting. But even then the characters were so... flat. 

I honestly don't know who I would recommend this book to. I didn't like it, and couldn't get into it.

The dark arts take center stage in this book. It was written in such a unique way, too. Haden was a wonderfully written and relatable character, even with his extra abilities. I found myself wanting everything for him. The mysteries kept me on the edge of my seat and the supernatural aspects were so interesting I read through this one in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down!!!
I can't recommend this one enough!