Review: Death and the Girl Next Door by Darynda Jones

Title: Death and the Girl Next Door
Author: Darynda Jones
Series: Darklight, Book 1
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Release Date: 2 October 2012

Things get turned upside down for sophomore Lorelei MacAlister when the Angel of Death starts high school in her small town. What she doesn’t know is that she has been slated to die. It’s simply her time. And Death has been sent to do the deed.

But when he touches her, when he peers into her eyes and reaches into her heart, he realizes she is more than what he was led to believe, and he disobeys his orders. He brings her back from the brink of death when he was supposed to push her into it. Because of this, he gets trapped on this plane.

And that’s when all hell breaks loose.

Literally.

This review is a long time in coming, and I'm sorry for that. I'd honestly forgotten that I had it to write; went through a bit of a reviewing hiatus for a while at the end of last year. I'll also apologize because I don't remember most of the specifics about this book - only general feelings now.

Because I have such weird responses to Darynda Jones hit series, Charley Davidson, I thought I'd give something else of hers a try. Everyone (I swear it feels that way) but me is getting on with her style, humor, and books. I've come to the conclusion after this book that she's just not for me.

This is Charley Jr. The snarky, constant, humor is there - just like in Charley; the somewhat campy/mysterious relationships feel like they could come out of the same thing. The paranormal elements even feel the same (though they are, IIRC, slightly different).

I persevered with this book mostly because I wanted to know if she was going to throw in a crappy love-triangle - is that bad of me? - but lo and behold! Ms. Jones didn't!! In fact, the only other character that could have qualified seems to be interested in the MC's best girlfriend - that's right she has a friend that's a GIRL and she doesn't constantly berate/snark about her.

Honestly, the above is a huge plus for me, and made me consider reading forward to see if something different came up for the characters and their development. I feel like I have a better chance of that happening in this series because it's only a trilogy, I think, instead of the never-ending saga that is Charley Davidson.

I can't honestly recommend this, but I think that's more a case of me and my issues with Darynda Jones writing. If you loved the Charley Davidson series, it's highly likely that you're going to like this as well. Conversely the same is true if you disliked Charley...

Grade: C-

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Review: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

Title: First Grave on the Right
Author: Darynda Jones
Series: Charley Davidson, Book 1
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Release Date: February 1, 2011

Charley Davidson was born a reaper. The Grim Reaper, to be exact. She convinces the dead to go into the light. They’re drawn to her, and she to them. Because of this she often ends up investigating the deaths that happened under unusual circumstances – like murder. Which is good, since being a reaper doesn’t really pay the bills.

When three attorneys turn up dead, Charley helps out the PD with their case, through her Uncle Bob who’s a detective. While she’s searching for the culprit, and trying to help her other clients, Charley is also trying to figure out if her nightly visits from a phantom lover are more than they seem. This phantom has been following her all her life, and he just might not be dead. In fact, he could be something a whole lot more disturbing.

First Grave on the Right is sarcastic, humorous, quick and fun. There’s the two mystery threads – the attorneys murders, and the spectral visitor – that serve to move the story along, though Charley’s phantom is given much more credence and is much more interesting because of it.

Charley herself is extremely sarcastic. Extremely. She uses it to keep people and situations at arms length from her. I think this is a realistic defense considering what she is, but it also served to keep me at a distance. I think that I would have liked to be able to delve a little bit more into her, get some more depth and gotten to know her. I had a hard time connecting with her.

That being said, I caught myself laughing out loud a few times, even if I wasn’t loving the fact that she named her breasts which just seemed absurd to me. There were times when it felt like she was being witty for the sake of being witty.

The ending I absolutely loved. The resolution of the Big Bad that's been haunting Charley is a fantastic hook. It completely pulled me in and made me want to find out what happened next, making me think that First Grave on the Right is really more of an introductory book to get us into the world and life of Charley Davidson. I will be picking up the second book, Second Grave on the Left when it’s released to see if I can connect more with Charley.

First Grave on the Right is an enjoyable, witty ride with an interesting premise. I really enjoyed the idea of a grim reaper and what that meant for the world. I’m definitely interested in seeing where Darynda Jones takes Charley, and us, next.

Grade: C

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