Thursday, February 27, 2014

Laura’s Review of First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1) by Darynda Jones


If you have read and enjoyed Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress, #1) by Jeaniene Frost,  Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1) by Charlaine Harris, and One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, #1) by Janet Evanovich then you are going to LOVE this book!!


Basic Summary
             This whole grim reaper thing should have come with a manual.  Or a diagram of some kind.  A flow chart would have been nice.

                Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator and full-time grim reaper.  Meaning, she sees dead people.  Really.  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 (like 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.  But what does he want with Charley?  And why can’t she seem to resist him?  And what does she have to lose by giving in?

                With scorching-hot tension and high-octane humor, First Grave on the Right is your signpost to paranormal suspense of the highest order.


What I Loved
                Okay first of all Charley Davidson is completely bonkers and hilarious.  The things she says to people and the random crap she thinks had me cracking up every other page.  She’s awesome on so many different levels I can’t even explain how awesome she is.  From the very beginning of this book I was instantly team Charley and I have a feeling throughout this series that will only grow stronger. 

                There is so much going on in this book, and apart from the various different plots this book also lays it all out for you.  Darynda has a very colorful way of explaining what Charley is and what that means, as well as showing you parts of her childhood and past.  You don’t just get to see the all the useful stuff Charley does by being the grim reaper, you also see the downside of it; what it was like growing up with this gift and how lonely she was because of it.  Her life has been put in danger time and time again throughout her past, so when it happens about a dozen times in just this one book it starts to become kind of funny.  Not only is she a beacon for dead people, she’s a beacon for trouble and it’s hilarious and suspenseful. 
              
                  Charley isn't just a grim reaper, and she is also a P.I. because her abilities to talk to the dead help solve unsolved cases.  She is a portal to heaven but only to souls that have some unfinished business on earth and usually that unfinished business is due to the fact that they were murdered.  From the very beginning of this book when Charley crawls out of bed she converses with dead people.  One of the many storylines in this book revolves around three murdered lawyers and that case kind of spins into something larger ending with her getting a man out of jail that was unjustly accused of murder. 

                While this murder investigation is going on, she has these very sexual and heated dreams that turn into the mystery that is Reyes Alexander Farrow.  At the very end of the book you finally figure out just what he is, but there is still so much mystery involved with him.  He never seems to give a straight answer and whenever his soul is around Charley he’s more into sex than talking.  I don’t know what it is about Reyes but I want more of him!  I got so giddy whenever he was in a scene and I couldn't wait till I got to see him again.  There are no words to explain just how sexy this man is, and just how dangerous he really can be.  I hope I get to find out more about him as the books go by and in turn find out more about Charley. 



Not So Much
                This book was freaking awesome, I loved it.  I loved Charley, I want Reyes naked immediately, and Cookie is bestest friend a girl can have.  But there was just so much going on in this book.  It seemed a little chaotic at times.  I kind of wish they would've maybe stripped away one of the storylines or made it simpler that would have been great.  There were so many different directions this book went in I didn't know what to concentrate on.   

                Also I did feel like some of the schemes Charley thought of were a little too ridiculous and I found it a hard to believe a police officer would okay it.  I get that Charlie’s Uncle is aware of Charley’s talents and is in his position because of her, but there is no way a cop would allow some of this crap to happen.  It just made it all a little too hard to swallow and unrealistic. 

                Another not so negative, just an element of the story that made me angry was Charley’s dad.  I do not like him at all!!!  I get that she believes Charley and in her immediate family was the bright light in the darkness because her sister ignored her and her step-mother hated her but he did nothing.  The book goes back to Charley’s childhood a couple times but I can’t stand a parent that would put their spouse before their children and to me that’s what he did and does presently.  He’s just a passive weak man to me and it gets on my nerves. 


Overall
             Yes!!!  I usually only like paranormal books that involve vampires but I am the number one fan of the grim reaper now!  Charley Davidson is probably one of the funniest women I have ever encountered and I hope this series only gets better.  Reyes Farrow is one of the most intriguing characters I have ever read about and I just need more of him in my life.  The sexual chemistry between the two is truly electrifying and I just pray that he is good for Charley and not some evil entity that will kill her.  I don’t want to hate Reyes but if he tries to hurt Charley I totally will hate him.  The character development in the book was pretty good; by going back to Charley’s past you got see how she grew to be the person she is.  This book had a lot of funny moments in them but also had a lot of touching moments and even though Charley drips with sarcasm you also see how loving she can be and even though she is the grim reaper she can have hurt feelings too.  I loved her banter with her Uncle Bob and especially Garrett Swopes, he is definitely another intriguing character in this book and if Reyes can’t treat Charley right I know he can step up and take over.  The pace of the book was great, even when the book would talk about Charley’s childhood I never felt like it got slow or boring.  This book really laid the ground work for the rest of the series pretty well, outlining Charley’s abilities without giving too much away.  


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