Accidents Happen

by Sharon Karaa

[chymerra]

Tabitha wasn’t having a good day. Her wedding is within a week and she is running behind on errands. On her way to her next errands, Tabitha witnesses an accident. While checking on one of the victims, Tabitha is crushed by a sign. Confused, Tabitha freaks out when approached by Mort. During her freak out, she pushed Mort into her body. Tabitha is soon summoned to Death’s office. There she finds out that her fate is to be determined by a council. Until that day, she is to work with Cooper. The only thing…Cooper is resentful for babysitting her. Cooper also thinks that Tabitha is a selfish person who is only out to do things for herself. Will Tabitha get her body back in time for her wedding? Will Cooper change his mind about Tabitha?

When I started reading Accidents Happen, I wasn’t in a very good mood. I was desperate for a book that would make me forget the reasons why I was in such a bad mood. I wanted a book that would make me laugh out loud. I prayed that this book was the one to do it. And guess what? It did. By the end of the first chapter, I was giggling and grinning. What I also liked about this book was that there were plenty of sad scenes. The laughter and crying parts of the book were evenly distributed.

I disliked Tabitha at first. She came across as self-centered and spoiled. But as the book went on, she grew on me. I started to realize that how she acted was not how she was as a person. That events in her life shaped her. Like Cooper, I misjudged her. The only thing I didn’t fault her for was her attitude towards her mother. That I could understand. By the end of the book, I loved her. She realized that she had to live the life she wanted instead of the life she thought she wanted.

I thought Cooper was a jerk at the beginning of the book. I understood that he didn’t want to be babysitting Tabitha. But he didn’t have to be cruel to her. He made her collect the souls with Mort’s scythe. Later, it was disclosed that he could have used a taser-like instrument that stunned those souls. He was rude to her too. He jumped to assumptions about her too. I was kind of irritated about that. He thought that she was bad news by the choices she was making in her life. He didn’t bother to get to know her better or even to ask her why she was doing these things. I was surprised when it was revealed why he was collecting souls for Death. That’s when I started to think more of him. I wouldn’t go as far to say that I liked him at the end of the book but I didn’t dislike him.

I loved the storyline with Cooper, Tabitha, and Death. I thought that it was original. I liked that when the souls were collected that they were brought back to meet with their loved ones. I thought it was fascinating that Cooper and the other Collectors existed in Purgatory. Same with the people who worked at the desk. They stayed long enough to work off their sins and then they were reincarnated.

I thought that the storyline with John, Tabitha and John’s secret. I figured out early in the book what John’s secret was and why it was causing him grief. But, I loved seeing the storyline evolve. I can’t much more on the storyline except that I was a little sad for John at the end of the book. It seemed like he lost out on everything.

The storyline involving Mort and Tabitha’s mother was hilarious. I didn’t expect to learn what I did about Tabitha’s mother. But once it was explained, it made sense. I felt awful for her. She had to make a hard choice and if affected her greatly. The bonding that Mort (as Tabitha) stayed. Tabitha’s mother more than made up for the past.

The sexual tension in this book zinged. Oh. My. Lord. Did it zing. Tabitha was attracted to Cooper. I didn’t get a feel for how he felt about her until Silvia’s party. That kiss was scorching. I was hoping for them to have sex to release it. But they didn’t. Which, in hindsight, was a good thing.

The end of the book almost gave me a heart attack. All I have to say is thank God that she picked up on what Mort (I assume) was trying to tell her. I cried at the ending. Sooo, romantic. But it was the epilogue that got me. The author threw in a neat twist that made me go “WTF” as I read it. But it made sense.

I gave Accidents Happen a 4-star rating. I enjoyed reading this book. It was a fast read with characters that I came to care for. The plotlines were interesting and kept my attention. I will admit that I didn’t care for Tabitha and Cooper at first, but they grew on me. The plot twist in the epilogue was worth the wait.

I would give Accidents Happen an Adult rating. There is no sex (there are sexual references/innuendos). There is violence. There is language. There are triggers. They would be suicide and cheating. I would recommend that no one under the age of 21 read this book.

I would reread Accidents Happen. I would also recommend this book to family and friends. I would include a note about the triggers.

I would like to thank Sharon Karaa for allowing me to read and review Accidents Happen.

All opinions stated in this review of Accidents Happen are mine.

**I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book**