The Stray Reader

Author:	M. A. Savino
Genre(s):	➡️ Christian horror ➡️ Mystery
Series?	❎ No
Goodreads Rating:	⭐ 4.35 (60 ratings; 42 reviews)
Personal Rating:	⭐ 2 / 5 Overall

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🛑 Spoiler Warning 🛑

I might be recounting events, characters, and themes so THIS MIGHT BE FULL OF SPOILERS.

If you’d like to read a review with the spoilers hidden, kindly scroll to the bottom to read my spoiler-free summary in the ‘Final Thoughts’ section or head to my Goodreads post for a more detailed version with spoilers removed. You don’t need an account to read it. 🙂

🌟Review (2/5) 🌟

The Grim Reaper was supposed to take Libitina the night she was born but she wouldn’t let him; a first for the eternal creature that has been doing this, presumably, for centuries. Her discomfort affects him. He’s not supposed to get involved with the living, but he needs answers. And so he intervenes to make sure she lives long enough to give them. Who or what is she?

This intriguing premise drew me to pick this book up. Yes, the questions will be answered, and it was personally…a long journey to get there.

The Good

The mystery surrounding Libitina is certainly a great hook. It grabs you right away, drops hints here and there, and gives it all out at the second half of the book in good pacing. No cliffhangers.

Seeing Libitina’s childhood unfold through the reaper’s eyes was a great narration device because he was just as itching to get as much answers as the readers.

There are many interesting and realistic characters in the story and they, for the most part, are consistent with their motivations throughout the book.

Lastly, while I think a religious person would enjoy this better, the religious atmosphere really only overtakes the plot in the last few chapters.

The Not-So-Good

The characters felt one-dimensional, and it shows in the dialogue exchanges because no one really evoke any emotion in me. The circumstances made me feel the worry, the sadness, the relief… but the dialogues themselves feel too scripted.

I found the flow of the narration monotone. A lot of things happen in this book, and I mean A LOT. There are deaths, there are cult appearances, there are narrow escapes from abuse, a hurricane, an adoption, a wedding, a kidnapping… but I didn’t feel any buildup. Things happened, appropriate words for the situation are said, and then we just jump to the next thing. I even felt the switch of the narration from the reaper’s to Libitina’s POV jarring because it was so sudden.

What I like least is the reaper’s insignificance to Libitina’s life at the end of the day. He was such a huge part of the book since we started in his POV but it turns out there wasn’t anything special linking her to him. At the end I just found myself questioning why the other reapers didn’t have the same uncomfortable reaction every time she cried if he wasn’t specifically chosen for something. What did make him a special reaper than the rest? They didn’t even develop any sort of strong relationship for the reaper’s part in the ending to matter. He just said he likes his job to a teenager who has nothing for him but irritation growing up, yet Libitina was supposed to feel something about that and include that in her consideration. I didn’t love that.

Final Thoughts

‘Libitina’ has a really interesting hook, but it felt both fast-paced and slow-paced at the same time due to the lack of atmosphere building between significant events. While that is unfortunate, at least I can say that a lot of things do happen – enough to keep the reader interested to stick around and solve the mystery of Libitina’s identity.

I recommend this to readers who enjoy interesting mysteries/theories surrounding the end of times from a Christian perspective without the heavy religious atmosphere. You can grab a free copy of ‘Libitina’ by m. A. Savino from Kindle Unlimited.