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Showing posts with label charley davidson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label charley davidson. Show all posts

16 October 2013

Audiobook Review: Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones

Author: Darynda Jones
Narrated by: Lorelei King
Publication Date: August 16, 2011
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, Audio by Brilliance Audio
Genre: Adult Urban Fantasy
Find It: GoodreadsAmazonB&NBook Depository, Audible
Source: Library

If you hang around with dead people, life can get pretty complicated. Take it from Charley Davidson, part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper. Complicated is her middle name. The deceased find her very sparkly. Demons find her irresistible. And one entity in particular wants to seduce her in every way possible.

When Charley and Cookie (her best friend/receptionist) have to track down a missing woman, the case is not quite as open and shut as they anticipate. Cookie's friend Mimi disappeared five days earlier. Mimi then sends Cookie a cryptic message telling Cookie to meet her at an nearby coffee shop. The coffee is brewing, but Mimi's still missing. There is, however, a clue Mimi left on the bathroom wall: a woman's name. Mimi's husband explains to them that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old high school friend had been murdered. The same woman whose name Mimi had scribbled on the bathroom wall.

Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He's left his body because he's being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can't let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they'll have a portal to heaven...well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty.

Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Can she keep those she loves out of harm's way? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel her as she does?

Here is your signpost for the most hilarious read of the year: Second Grave on the Left.

I read and really liked First Grave on the Right, the first book in the Charley Davidson series. Charley’s sarcastic wit and self-deprecating nature really appealed to me and had me laughing out loud. The super hot romance with Reyes was an added bonus and I was really happy to find a fun new series to get into. I don’t know what happened between when I read the first book and when I read the second one, but Second Grave on the Left was not fun and I really had to push myself to finish it.

The main problem for me with the book was Charley herself. I remembered that she was super sarcastic in the first book and the jokes felt a little forced at times but, overall, I liked her and enjoyed the sarcasm. This time around though, I really noticed how every sentence and word out of her mouth was a sarcastic quip or catch phrase. It’s like she could not utter a normal sentence. Because she would only speak in wisecracks, nothing that came out of her mouth seemed sincere. She also used “like,” “duh” and “totally” too much and I kept wondering if she was a grown woman or a testy teenager. She is also described as being a great PI but I did not see any evidence of this. At least 3 people tail her during the book and she doesn’t notice a single one of them. Later she ends up leading the bad guys to a witness. She makes really dumb decisions and barely manages not to get herself killed every few hours.

I was hoping that Reyes would save this book for me but I didn’t like him either. His interactions with Charley in this book consist of threatening her and saving her life. He even calls her a “whore” at one point, which isn’t a good sign in a relationship. The two still have physical chemistry but the book doesn’t go anywhere with it. And if I have to hear about Reyes’s “liquid brown eyes” one more time, I may scream. There is a reason that I have avoided audiobooks with a lot of romance. Lines that sound swoon-worthy when reading often sound cheesy when read aloud.

Then we get to the ending, which really annoyed me. I don’t want to give it away but Charley’s actions at the end of the book just show how immature and selfish she is. I really can’t think of any other reason why she does what she does.

Lorelei King read the audiobook of Second Grave. I have heard good things about King but this is the first time I have listened to her. King is very talented, giving life and expression to the words and dialogue. However, her voice didn’t quite match what my image of Charley. As I said, Charley is very immature and speaks more like a teenager than an adult. King has a really rich, deep voice that is incongruous with how I perceive Charley. It just wasn’t a good fit for me.

Sad to say that I won’t be continuing on with this series. I don’t think I can take another book of Charley’s one-liners and pouty quips. It’s unfortunate, too, because I really enjoyed the first book in this series. But Charley’s schtick gets old fast and, without a viable plot or other likeable characters, the humor simply isn’t enough.




Visit the author online at www.daryndajones.com and follow her on Twitter @darynda

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12 July 2012

First Grave On The Right - Review


Publication date: 01 Feb 2011 by St. Martin's Press
ISBN 10/13: 0312662750 | 9780312662752
Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Indiebound

Category: Adult Urban Fantasy
Keywords: Urban fantasy, grim reaper, ghosts, private investigator, funny
Format: Hardcover, paperback, eBook, audiobook
Source: Library


Synopsis:

A smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper.

Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light.” But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.

Review:

I don’t think I have ever laughed so much reading a book in my life! I want Charley Davidson to be my best friend. She’s the type of person who would make any occasion more fun, be it a barroom brawl, a slumber party, or a funeral. How can you not love a woman who names her breasts “Danger” and “Will Robinson?” She takes snark and sarcasm to a whole new level. But she isn’t all quick quips and jokes. She’s also incredibly brave, smart and compassionate. She helps people, even in the face of extreme skepticism and hostility.

The murder plot drew me in and kept me guessing. The bickering ghost lawyers were pretty funny in their attempts to help Charley solve their murders. I admit I was a bit creeped out by Charley’s “roommate” so it’s a good thing he lives in Charley’s apartment and not mine. Cookie is a fantastic character. A little crazy but also totally sweet. I wasn’t a huge fan of Garett. He was openly hostile to Charley and then changed his mind a few times. He just came off as somewhat obnoxious.

And then there’s Reyes. Dark, intense, and super hot, he is another mystery that Charley needs to solve. What she finds out isn’t what I was expecting and I can’t wait to see how it all plays out.

One of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much was the humor in it. The snark and sarcasm was right up my alley and I loved Charley’s great one-liners and dialogue. There were a few times when the jokes felt a little forced but, overall, I enjoyed the humor a lot.

With a unique twist on the Grim Reaper story and a heroine you can’t help but love, First Grave on the Right is a must read for fans of urban fantasy and smart writing.



Visit the author online at www.daryndajones.com and follow her on Twitter @darynda

02 February 2012

Hot Books Blog Hop - Giveaway


Hi everyone and welcome to the Hot Books Blog Hop! We are hosting our very first blog hop and it is an 18+ hop. With Valentine's Day right around the corner, we figured we'd give you something to warm the bed at night. This hop runs from Feb 3-10, 2012 and signups for it will remain OPEN during the duration of the hop.  We'd like to give everyone the chance to participate and are allowing signups even after the hop starts. So please tell your friends.


Up for grabs is a book of your choice from the Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones. Jones just released Third Grave Dead Ahead, the third book in the series. I've read the first book and can already tell that it's going to be a favorite. Winner will be able to pick from their choice of any book in the series. Giveaway is International so just make sure Book Depository will ship to your country. And if you'd prefer an ebook, we can do that as well. Thanks for stopping by and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Start hopping!