The 5 Series Topping My Must-Read List

Happy Friday Everyone!

I've found that quite a bit recently I seem to be leaving comments along the lines of "I need to read this series!" on my favorite blogs, so I thought it would be fun to list for you the top 5 series that have had me leaving such a comment of late.

1. The Rephaim Series by Paula Weston

With the exception of Jessica Shirvington's Embrace series, YA angel novels have been largely misses for me. I can't pinpoint why exactly, they just don't seem to draw me in the same way other epic paranormal or fantasy titles do. I've heard nothing but outstanding things about this series though, particularly about one intriguingly sexy guy named Rafa. I must meet him.

2. The Red Rising Series by Pierce Brown

This is probably the one series on this list that I've said I need to read most often, and dammit, this year I'm going to do it! I said it last year about The Others series by Anne Bishop, and with the help of Nick, I devoured it earlier in the year and loved every minute. I feel like this doesn't have quite as much romance as I might want, but I think Darrow and his journey will more than make up for it!

3. The Charley Davidson Series

I've actually read this first book, and while I thoroughly enjoyed it, I didn't LOVE it the way I expected to given the hype, so I've delayed reading the rest of the series out of fear I'll be disappointed. And thus the black sheep of the Charley Davidson fandom. Boo. This might be a series that just gets better as it goes though (I'm looking at you Kate Daniels), so I'm thinking I need to give it another shot!

4. The Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews

Ilona Andrews. The creators of Kate and Curran. WHAT AM I WAITING FOR? *runs off to Amazon*

5. The Kingmaker Chronicles

Okay, so this isn't quite a series yet as there's only one book out, but the second is well in the works and due to release early next year, so it counts. I've been seeing this around a lot lately with all sorts of delicious talk about the chemistry between Cat and Griffin, and I know it's going to be a read that's right up my sexual tension alley.

Have a great weekend you guys!

Giveaway: Charley Davidson Series

To help celebrate the 8th book in the hugely entertaining Charley Davidson series, I have a very special giveaway (prizing and samples courtesy of St. Martin's Press) to share with you all today! I've only read the first book in this series (SHAME ON ME!), but if you have yet to meet Charley (and Reyes!), then you're going to want to make time for them immediately. So. Good.

Before we get to the giveaway though, here's a brief introduction for those of you who are new to this series:

First Grave on the Right is the 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.

While 8 books is an intimidating number, I have little doubt they'll all fly by, so I can't wait to get caught up! Eighth Grave After Dark is out now, so here I come with the binge-reading Charley and Reyes!

 

Sometimes I wonder if the purpose of my life
is to serve as a cautionary tale to others.
--T-shirt

Charley Davidson has enough going on without having to worry about twelve hellhounds hot on her trail. She is, after all, incredibly pregnant and feeling like she could pop at any moment. But, just her luck, twelve deadly beasts from hell have chosen this time to escape onto our plane, and they've made Charley their target. And so she takes refuge at the only place she thinks they can't get to her: the grounds of an abandoned convent. Of course, if hellhounds aren't enough, Charley also has a new case to hold her attention: the decades-old murder of a newly-vowed nun she keeps seeing in the shadows of the convent.

Add to that the still unsolved murder of her father, the strange behavior of her husband, and Charley's tendency to attract the, shall we say, undead, and she has her hands full…but also tied. While the angry hellhounds can't traverse the consecrated soil, they can lurk just beyond its borders like evil sentries, so Charley has been forbidden from leaving the sacred grounds. Luckily, she has her loyal team with her, and they're a scrappy bunch who won't let a few thirsty hellhounds deter them.


While the team scours the prophesies, searching for clues on the Twelve, for a way to kill them or at least send them back to hell, Charley just wants answers and is powerless to get them. But the mass of friends they've accrued helps. They convince her even more that everyone in her recent life has somehow been drawn to her, as though they were a part of a bigger picture all along. Their presence is comforting. But the good feelings don't last for long because Charley is about to get the surprise of her crazy, mixed-up, supernatural life….

Read an excerpt!

• • • • • • • • • • •

DARYNDA JONES

Photo: Donita Massey Privett

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author DARYNDA JONES won a RITA Award for best first novel for First Grave On The Right. As a born storyteller, she grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike. Jones lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Pinterest • Goodreads

• • • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the generosity of St. Martin's Press I have a No Rest For the Dead prize pack to give away today! One lucky winner will receive:

• Branded coffee mug and Grim Reaper nail decals
• The complete Charley Davidson series!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Death and the Girl He Loves

DEATH AND THE GIRL HE LOVES
Darklight #3
Darynda Jones
Paranormal Young Adult
272 pages
St. Martin's Griffin
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
The fate of the world is not something a girl wants on her shoulders, and that is especially true for Lorelei McAlister. 

Unfortunately for her, that is exactly where the world’s fate has decided to take up residence. Lorelei has seen firsthand the horrors that lie beneath our everyday world. And those horrors are getting her friends killed. Because of this, she agrees to leave the sanctity of her hometown and is sent to a different world entirely. A boarding school. But even here she is being watched. Someone knows what she is. What she carries inside her soul. And on top of that she’s seeing visions. 

This is nothing new for Lorelei. But these visions are something more: death, destruction, and the end of the world. Lorelei must face the fact that there are people who want her dead, and no matter where she goes, no matter how far she runs, the lives of her friends and family are in mortal peril. Lucky for her, her friends and family include the handsome Angel of Death, a fiercely protective half-angel, and a ragtag group of loyal supporters who aren’t afraid to get a little dirty in the name of fighting pure evil.

MY THOUGHTS
Death and the Girl He Loves reunites us with the trademark humor of Ms. Jones, her characters sparking with sarcastic fire and delighting us with the casual barbs and witty taunts they toss back and forth throughout. Though imminent death hovers quite literally on the horizon for most of this book, the story never loses the qualities that so drew us to it in the very first installment, the emphasis on family and friendship–as well as just a touch of romance–as strong as ever to keep us hovering on the edge of our seats, waiting to see just if and how Lorelei is going to fulfill all that is prophesied.

Though Lorelei is endlessly funny and has us wishing we could live in this world simply to be a part of the banter between her, Brooke and Glitch, she can be more frustrating at times in this final book than she has books past. We find ourselves swinging back and forth between sympathy for her given the sheer amount of pressure placed on her young shoulders, and frustration given her tendency to wallow in self-pity. She’s severely lacking in the self-confidence department, so convinced she’s going to fail the entire time that she shakes our confidence in her as well, and we end up wondering if she’ll be able to step up to the plate when the time comes. That being said though, she’s at least not ignorant to her own pessimism and owns up to it on a number of occasions, we just can’t help but wish she’d dare to believe in herself as much as those around her so clearly do.

Given Lorelei is in no way, shape or form the type of heroine who would win in any sort of hand to hand combat situation, the way the final battle goes down is both beautifully fitting and completely unexpected, Ms. Jones forcing us to tip imaginary hats in acknowledgement of how many steps ahead of us she’s been all along. There are a few lingering questions with regard to some things Jared mentions about his relationship with Lorelei, but they’re questions that don’t necessarily demand answers, and we’re left more than content with a rather fascinating conclusion.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find Darynda

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads • Amazon

This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Review: Death and the Girl Next Door

DEATH AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR
Darynda Jones
Paranormal Young Adult
274 pages
St. Martin's Press
Available Now
Received from publisher via NetGalley for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Ten years ago, Lorelei's parents disappeared without a trace.  Raised by her grandparents and leaning on the support of her best friends, Lorelei is finally beginning to accept the fact that her parents are never coming home.  For Lorelei, life goes on.

High school is not quite as painful as she thinks it will be, and things are as normal as they can be.  Until the day the school's designated loner, Cameron Lusk, begins to stalk her, turning up where she least expects it,  standing outside her house in the dark, night after night.  Things get even more complicated when a new guy—terrifying, tough, sexy Jared Kovach—comes to school.  Cameron and Jared instantly despise each other and Lorelei seems to be the reason for their animosity.  What does Jared know about her parents?  Why does Cameron tell Jared he can't have Lorelei?  And what will any of them do when Death comes knocking for real?  

Thrilling, sassy, sexy, and inventive, Darynda Jones's first foray into the world of teens will leave readers eager for the next installment.

MY THOUGHTS
Death and the Girl Next Door is a bit of a surprising read, the synopsis preparing us for a very familiar setup as we assume a love triangle is imminent between Lorelei, new stalker Cameron, and new student in general Jared, but instead we are refreshingly treated to an entirely different dynamic that has us devouring the pages like word consumption addicts. While Jared and Cameron are both competitive to a fault, the conflict causing them to continually and violently clash is thankfully not romantic in nature, allowing us to breathe a sigh of relief even as our anticipation over the true cause of their seemingly mutual hatred grows each time they face off. Every time we worry the story may be crossing into well-known territory, Ms. Jones either throws a road block in our paths to force us to change direction or she has one of her highly entertaining characters charmingly mock whatever situation they’ve found themselves in, thus ensuring we’re either too surprised or too amused to grow complacent.

Lorelei is a joy of a main character, an often self-deprecating woman with wit in spades who has us easily wrapped around her finger in the opening chapters. She at times exhibits typical teenage girl behavior, namely an intense appreciation for Jared’s physical attributes and the effect those attributes have on the butterflies currently taking up residence in her belly, but she prefaces these moments of swooning with a warning to us as readers that we’re about to witness what she calls a “sad part”, something that consists of heart palpitations and general feelings of fluffiness from her burgeoning crush. She’s absurdly adorable and manages to keep calm under stressful situations, and even on the rare occasion when that calm evaporates, she owns up to her reactions and takes responsibility for the mistakes she makes when she acts out of fear.

The highlight of this story is by far the relationship between Lorelei and best friends Brooke and Glitch, friends she’s had since elementary school who match her sparkling wit with enormous personalities of their own. They have a camaraderie that feels authentic and utterly genuine, the easy banter they toss back and forth attesting to the length of their friendship, and we are instantly at ease with all three of them knowing the casual insults they pass back and forth will never be taken as anything other than what was intended. They have no secrets from one another (except for one I believe may exist on Glitch’s part with regard to his feelings for Brooke) and it never once occurs to any of them to keep any information, however extraordinary or unbelievable it may seem, to themselves, instead opting to include the other two in anything and everything they do.

The only minor criticism of this humorous and engrossing first installment is the story at times seems to jump quickly from one plot point to another; a few extra spokes existing in the larger plot wheel than are necessary to move the story forward. There’s a brief snippet with a poltergeist causing problems for two of Lorelei’s classmates that feels a touch superfluous, and we can’t help but want to do away with any such small impediments that keep us from getting back to Jared and his relationship to both Lorelei and Cameron. Overall though, Death and the Girl Next Door is fun and flirty but not without an edge of darkness to balance the light, and Darynda Jones has just become an auto-buy author for me with this hugely gratifying young adult debut.

Rating: 4/5