Death's Daughter - Review

Death's Daughter by Amber Benson. Ace (February 24, 2009)

Calliope Reaper- Jones is a quirky character with weird things happening in her life. Which is to be expected since her father is Death - the real Grim Reaper. She doesn't remember any of this, however, because of a magic spell she put on herself. She longs for a different sort of existence. She loves the Big Apple. Sadly her work in New York City has not turned out to be the glamour job she had hoped. Her dating life sucks, and worse she finds a huge dragon blocking the exit of her apartment building. She waits all day for animal control to show up, and fails to remember the blind date arranged by a friend.

Then her problems really start. The faun Jarvis, her dad's executive assistant, surreptitiously feeds her an enchanted cupcake which eliminates the forgetting spell. Her desire to escape her immortal family and its business no longer holds sway. Calliope's mother had sent Jarvis with news of her father's kidnapping. Now she must return and take over the family firm. One problem - well, actually, more than one - she must perform three difficult tasks (like enter Hell and get one of Cerberus's puppies) to prove her worthiness to run things in dad's absence. Plus she must contend with the arrogant, hunk Daniel, the Devil's protege, who argues that Death's job should be his.

At one point, as she puts intense mental effort into figuring out a problem, she tells herself, 'I can do this. I'm not Paris Hilton'. But in many ways Calliope is a Paris clone. Rather superficial, self-centered and naive, but not without a certain charm. In the end there does seem to be some maturing. Death's Daughter is a goofy, funny fantasy that falls into the category of the lightest sort of reading. If you enjoyed Ms Hilton's antics you will like this story. This is book one in a series.

The author Amber Benson has had a varied career as a writer and actress. She has collaborated on several books with writer Christopher Golden. Benson is best known for her role of Tara Maclay in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.