Reviews

First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

adelle_bookworm's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Docela zklamání. Od tří čtvrtiny už to šlo, konec mě dokonce bavil, ale pořád to není to, co jsem čekala. Charley ze sebe sype hlášky, ale většinou je na přesdržku, co se týče jejího věku, a Reyes je... no, Reyes. Co víc k němu říct.
Fakt by mě zajímalo, co k tomu hodlá napsat dál, ale jestli udrží vtipnou laťku, klidně ten čas obětuju.
3*, protože to pořád bylo dobré.

sarahlchaps's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

stuckinafictionaluniverse's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

Never knock on death’s door. Ring the doorbell then run. He totally hates that.
- T-shirt.


This was a bloody hot mess, and I loved some parts of the book and hated many.
After reading only two books from the genre, it seems like the only difference between adult and YA urban fantasy is that the former has R-rated steamy scenes.
Otherwise, we have the same old thing. ’’Feisty’’ heroine, alpha hero with a tragic backstory, all kinds of logic thrown out the window.
But the most annoying thing about this book is that it’s almost so bad it becomes good.
Almost.

27-year-old Charley Davidson is hilarious, confident and very clumpsy. She has a hero complex and works as a private detective. Did I forget to mention she’s also The Grim reaper?
Some will love her, some will hate her. Overall I really like Charley, despite the flaws.
She’s clever, quick in taking action and responding with snarky comments but incredibly dumb when it comes to boys. And that’s where it goes wrong.
The romance in this book is so cheesy and cringe-worthy.
The chemistry was there but their silly interactions ruined it, not to mention the complete lack of logic and legit conversation between them.

What kind of fucking love interest is Reyes? When they met years before that, asshole indicated that he would rape her if she wouldn’t leave him alone. That’s not even a red flag, that’s when you run for your life and never look back.
I haven’t seen any other reviews bring this up, so I’m not sure if I interpreted the scene correctly. Basically Reyes wanted Charley to leave so he could protect his sister from being abused by his dad, if I remember correctly, but it still seemed extremely shady to me and should not be forgiven.
Charley couldn’t care less about that meeting because he has magical nether regions in her dreams. I kid you not.
Charley worships the ground Reyes walks on, because he’s, quote the most glorious man she’s ever seen.
Not to mention his skin tastes earthy and exotic
Jesus. HE’S A PERSON, NOT A PALMTREE. o.o

Reyes is God’s best creation if you ask Charley,
Spoilerwhich is ironic since he’s the son of Satan. :)))

For the first time, I realized his eyes looked like small galaxies with a billion sparkling stars.
Like this?


His body glistened beside mine, and I couldn’t help but let my eyes stray to the hills and valleys that made up his exquisitely molded form.

description

And so on, and so on. I can’t go into detail because it feels awkward to discuss her sex life but I had to put the book down and take a deep breath when I saw the words ’’steely buttocks’’
I needed a lot of good music and a lot of patience to get through this book.

It’s so bloody ironic that the most interesting character and storyline is a creepy alpha male who’s only in the shape of a mist/spirit for most of the book and says two sentences.
The other plot consists of two mysteries, both unbearably slow, boring and confusing. There are too many characters who are named but then completely forgotten.

I laughed a lot while reading this, both from hilarious comments and the so-called poetic descriptions of the love interest.  
I really liked Garret, Charley’s sarcasm and badassery as well as her habit of naming things. Example:

My fore-parts, as you so ineloquently put it, have names.”
I pointed to my right breast. “This is Danger.” Then my left. “And this is Will Robinson. I would appreciate it if you addressed them accordingly.”
After a long pause in which he took the time to blink several times, he asked, “You named your breasts?”
I turned my back to him with a shrug. “I named my ovaries, too, but they don’t get out as much.

*snorts*

The humor and slightly addictive tone saved this book from being a complete train wreck. I don't know how to feel about it.
Buuut of course the book ends on a cliffhanger. Now I need to read the next book, no matter how frustrating this was. Oh well, at least it’s narrated by a funny yet annoying main character. Could work as a comfort read for rainy days.

sdeeim's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

dejalu's review

Go to review page

4.0

The very humorous tone of this reminded me a lot of the Queen Betsy series. I'm looking forward to reading the next two.

bookdevouringmisfit's review

Go to review page

4.0

3.5-4 stars

thepagelady's review

Go to review page

4.0

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?

So I know I already read this but I didn’t do a review. I have been trying to get better about doing reviews on the books I read. So here we go! I started the First Grave on the Right on Saturday at 11 pm and was done with it Sunday evening. So just like the first time I was hooked for the first chapter. Charley is full of spunk and then some. The mystery is a normal mystery, well if you count the ghosts as normal. But Charley’s personality is just wonderful. And then there’s Reyes the mystery that surrounds him is a whole other reason to keep reading. I truly loved this book! Even if you are just looking for a good laugh you can find it here. Happy reading everyone!!

ironskin's review

Go to review page

3.0

Certainly a product of its time, but a great urban fantasy.

sarcastic_cat's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

speedbumpnreads's review

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The humor is on point…….but it was lacking something for me and felt like it lasted longer than it needed to……
I struggled to want to pick it back up and finish the story…….but I did.