SAMAEL Blackwell is a reaper but doesn’t exactly follow the rules. He is supposed to lead the soul to its proper place with calmness and compassion. But after hundreds of years, his compassion is deader than the people he must deal with. The son of Death, himself, his father has finally had enough. If his son will not follow the rules he will give him one final chance or else feel his wrath.

SAMAEL must lead one soul with the compassion they deserve or lose everything. Dumped with a few hundred bucks and little else. Sam finds himself in a little nowhere town. Thinking – this should be easy find the soul, reap the soul with the compassion he no longer feels and be redeemed in his father’s eyes. Until he meets Adrianne Sharp and learns she is the soul he must reap. How can he watch her die? Is his “job” worth going through that pain?

Adrianne, though hiding from a stalker and not exactly a trusting soul, finds herself connecting with Sam in a way that she never imagined. She doesn’t know that the clock is ticking for her – and for Sam.

SAMAEL is the first offering by author N.J. Walters’ new Blackwell Brother’s Redemption series. SAMAEL has grown tired of his duties, cold toward the souls he reaps and his father, Death (aka The Grim Reaper) decides it is time for him to relearn how to do the job he was born to do. So, he pops him down in a little town called Redemption where a soul will soon need to be coaxed into the afterlife.

The dilemma that Sam faces is he falls in love with Adrianne and quickly becomes protective of her. She is hiding from a stalker in her old hometown and though Sam is a stranger, she quickly finds herself attracted to him. If love at first sight isn’t your thing, then be prepared as Sam and Adrianne do just that.

There is quite a bit of soul searching (not the reaper kind) but the kind that has you looking at yourself for answers. The danger and intrigue are paced out perfectly with a sweet romance. Sam isn’t exactly likeable in the beginning as he comes off as a typical rich boy, bored with everything. He does grow on you as I am sure the author had planned. Adrianne is a strong woman who is learning to face her fears, and her past and look to the future. You have to admire anyone who is working on being a better, stronger person.

For a first in the series, SAMAEL lays down quite a bit of very good background information that will have readers loving the book and looking for more about his siblings.