A Beginner’s Guide to Death, Demons, and Other Afterlife Disasters, Demonic Disasters and Afterlife Adventures #1 by Shannon Mae

A Beginner's Guide to Death, Demons, and Other Afterlife Disasters is a debut novel about demons, the afterlife and finding your perfect life once you're actually dead.  

From the blurb:

Adam:

Adam is not having a good day. First, he finds out his very long time boyfriend has been having an

affair. Then, his dramatic exit becomes a little too dramatic when he ends up dead. To top it off, he finds out that the afterlife isn’t at all what he expected (he has no desire to learn to play the harp, thank you very much). Fortunately for him, some afterlife bureaucratic screw up ends him up with the most smoking hot demon he’s ever seen, and he decides he’s keeping him. Maybe the afterlife won’t be so bad after all.

Minos:

As Judge of the Damned, Minos has seen all sorts of human depravity over his endless existence. When a beautiful, shining soul pops into his chamber for judgment, he knows it's a mistake. The human, however, seems quite content to hang around, and it isn’t long before Minos decides he just might decide to keep this one. Minos isn’t the optimistic or happy sort, but he can’t help but be caught up in the whirlwind that is Adam. When forces beyond his control want to return Adam to his designated afterlife, Minos decides that will not be happening, heaven and hell be damned.

Tags: A very grumpy demon meets his match in a snarky, sunshine-filled human; not all angels are nice; Limbo is the party place to be; the afterlife is run like a corporate office, complete with red tape, pointless memos, and high levels of frustration; Minos has a tail and knows how to use it.

Sheena's Review:

I picked this up based solely on the blurb, I love a good chaotic demon story, sometimes it's great to branch out and read something different.

At the start I wasn't sure what to make of Adam, but we don't exactly meet him in his finest moment, as it were, when he finds out about his boyfriend cheating on him. The story really starts though when Adam dies (not a spoiler, it's in the blurb!) and we get to see the real Adam. He's a complete chaos gremlin, and I loved him. I loved that he decided he was staying with Minos and that was that.

I loved that idea that in the afterlife, it's the demons that are the good guys and the angels are obsessed with perfection to the point of overbearing bureaucracy (I've watched Supernatural, I know the angels are d!cks!). As I understand it, this is a debut novel but you'd never know it, it's fun, well written and the story fairly moves along at a good pace.

I loved Adam and Minos together, Adam taking part in the punishments is hilarious and I'm down for spending more time in this world. I would like to know that Adam's boyfriend got his just desserts though, that kind of felt like a loose thread. Overall this is such a fun read, exactly what I wanted and I'm glad I took a chance.

Rating: 4 Stars

Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's Review:

A Beginner's Guide to Death, Demons, and Other Afterlife Disasters was a lot of fun! I'm so happy to have taken a chance on this debut. Adam is totally my type of MC. He's a blurter. Every thought that passes in his brain inevitably leaves through his mouth, no matter how inappropriate. He even manages to surprise a freaking Demon King with some of the things he says. As for said Demon King Minos, he's the strong, broody, silent type. A grumpy/sunshine pairing if there ever was one. It works out perfectly because Minos likes to be silent, while Adam tends to never shut up. A match made in Heaven...or was it Hell? Actually now that I think about it I'm pretty sure it was in Limbo they met.

The steam in this is, pardon the pun again, hot as hellfire. It's slightly kinky, but nothing too outrageous. Think spanking and dirty talk. Oh and Minos also happens to have a prehensile tail which he is not afraid to put to good use if you catch my drift. ;) The romance was definitely insta-lovey, but I don't mind it much in a PNR book. We also meet some other demons that I am so looking forward to reading about. We are given a sneak peek into book 2 and it's about a certain Lust demon who ironically appears to be getting paired up with someone on the Asexual spectrum. Talk about opposites attract, but I'm excited to see how their romance unfolds next.

Rating: 5 Stars

Angel's Review:

I have never read a story quite like this one before, but that's a good thing! 

Adam is a.. very talkative and colorful human being, something his now cheating ex doesn't seem to appreciate. After going for a drive after he broke up with the ex, he ends up in a very 'perfect' dimension, it sets his nerves on edge! And that is the beginning of the story between Adam, and his grumpy demon.

Minos's character is so great, he takes Adam's talkativeness in stride and encourages it. He wasn't expecting his human to be his soul but he's glad it worked out that way. 

I really enjoyed that Adam was his own person and didn't change for no one, and how he helped Minos and the other demons come up with new and creative punishments for the people who deserve them.

I really enjoyed and appreciated the uniqueness of this story, and how it was written. I don't think I've ever read about something where a character uses their tail.. for certain activities... That was a surprising turn of events. The only reason I didn't give this a 5 star is mainly because the relationship between these two 'developed' during their spicy times, and there was quite a few of those. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it was just something I noticed. 

Overall though a really great and creative read, I highly recommend!

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Nicole's Review:

This book is not for everyone, but if you love Jennifer Cody's or Alice Winter's over the top comedy this will be right up your ally! Adam is having a really bad day. He finds out his long term boyfriend is cheating on him in the most cliché way possible, and then he dies without getting any revenge or closure, and to add to that the first angel he meets is a raging b*tch!  

Minos is in a rut. As the Judge of the Damned, all he sees are the worst dregs of humanity. Even the demons think he needs a break. Enter Adam, who's nonstop mouth and instant attraction are just what he needs to spice things up.  

We meet lots of interesting characters, and deal with the hellscape that is the middle management of the afterlife, and lots of steamy smexy times. This was a very fun, fast romp and I'm looking forward to more in this series!

Rating: 5 Stars

Lori C's Review:

When his choices are harp lessons or gardening club, he asked for other accommodations. This makes his intake coordinator a little upset and she sends him to Minos, Judge of the Damned. Instead of being a horrible place, hell ends up being the perfect place for Adam! He and Minos are PERFECT for each other. Adam brings his sunshiny personality to hell and brightens up Minos’ world. He is even able to bring creativity back into the punishments that Minos hands out to all the bad humans that deserve them. In short, he makes hell a better place for all those around him especially Minos. 

I spent the entire book laughing at Adam or aww’ing at how cute he was with Minos. The entire cast of characters was so much fun: Pandora, Asmodeus, Arioch, Luce, and Yah. Completely enchanted with this book and its characters!!! I already want to read it again. I’m already looking forward to Asmodeusus’ book with Gabe after the short chapter that was included in this book.  This is my first read by Shannon Mae and it definitely won’t be my last. 

Rating: 5 Stars

A Beginner's Guide to Death, Demons, and Other Afterlife Disasters is available to buy as an ebook, paperback, or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.