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ohwowanotherone's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
katieinca's review against another edition
4.0
I'm loving this series, and I didn't expect to. The woman who does the audiobook versions, Alyssa Bresnahan, is just wonderful. I think I might like the audio versions better than I would the hard copy, and I'm not sure I've ever thought that about an audiobook before.
geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
'Grave Surprise' by Charlaine Harris and Royal McGraw with art by Ilias Kyriazis is an adapation of the second book in the Harper Connelly series. I wasn't familiar with the series, but I found it easy enough to pick this up and read.
Harper Connelly gained strange powers when she was struck by lightning. She has the ability to find the dead and ascertain their last thoughts. There are skeptics, so when a professor invites her out to a graveyard in memphis, she only expects to find the grave of a man buried for centuries. Along with the man, she finds the body of a girl from a missing persons case she wasn't able to solve in a distant city. How did the body get here, and why do so many people seem to have a motive for her death.
I enjoyed the story well enough. It's a weird psychic power, but it serves the story ok. There is a more than friendly relationship between Harper and her best friend, who acts as her helper and sidekick. The art for the story was not too bad. I'm not familiar with the series, but these are interesting characters, and I wouldn't mind reading more of their adventures.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dynamite Entertainment, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Harper Connelly gained strange powers when she was struck by lightning. She has the ability to find the dead and ascertain their last thoughts. There are skeptics, so when a professor invites her out to a graveyard in memphis, she only expects to find the grave of a man buried for centuries. Along with the man, she finds the body of a girl from a missing persons case she wasn't able to solve in a distant city. How did the body get here, and why do so many people seem to have a motive for her death.
I enjoyed the story well enough. It's a weird psychic power, but it serves the story ok. There is a more than friendly relationship between Harper and her best friend, who acts as her helper and sidekick. The art for the story was not too bad. I'm not familiar with the series, but these are interesting characters, and I wouldn't mind reading more of their adventures.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dynamite Entertainment, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
luciearan's review against another edition
4.0
V tomto případě musím přiznat, že jsem docela dost překvapená.
Je to už poměrně dlouho, co jsem četla první díl a upřímně přiznávám, že jsem z něj byla celkem zklamaná. Hodně jsem váhala a ještě déle odkládala rozečtení dílu druhého, ale nakonec mi to nedalo - ano, nerada nechávám rozečtené série. A to byl asi ten jediný důvod, proč jsem se do četby tohoto dílu dala. Pasti ze záhrobí jsou však ucelenou četbou se zajímavým dějem, kniha se čte dobře a příběh odsýpá. Věci, které mě vyloženě vadily a rozčilovaly, jsou v tomto dílu sice stále zmiňovány, ale v daleko menším a podstatně snesitelnějším množství. A stejně tak i Harper je o něco málo snesitelnější. Uvidíme, jak na tom nakonec bude díl třetí.
Je to už poměrně dlouho, co jsem četla první díl a upřímně přiznávám, že jsem z něj byla celkem zklamaná. Hodně jsem váhala a ještě déle odkládala rozečtení dílu druhého, ale nakonec mi to nedalo - ano, nerada nechávám rozečtené série. A to byl asi ten jediný důvod, proč jsem se do četby tohoto dílu dala. Pasti ze záhrobí jsou však ucelenou četbou se zajímavým dějem, kniha se čte dobře a příběh odsýpá. Věci, které mě vyloženě vadily a rozčilovaly, jsou v tomto dílu sice stále zmiňovány, ale v daleko menším a podstatně snesitelnějším množství. A stejně tak i Harper je o něco málo snesitelnější. Uvidíme, jak na tom nakonec bude díl třetí.
alanaleigh's review against another edition
3.0
Harper Connelly is back in Grave Surprise, the second in a series written by Charlaine Harris about the lightning-strike-survivor who finds corpses through a strange sixth sense. This time, Harper and her step-brother Tolliver are traveling to Memphis for what's supposedly just a college class demonstration -- though they assume (correctly) that the professor is out to prove they're frauds. They all get a bit more than they bargained for when Harper not only correctly explains the cause of death for every person buried in the small college cemetery (take that, professor), but finds that one additional body has been buried there. The body is that of a little girl who went missing two years prior from Nashville... and the twist comes with the fact that Harper had been hired to find the girl, but met with no success at the time (without a hint as to the body's location, she could never find the girl in the places they searched). Now, nearly two years later, she meets success... in the town where the bereaved family has relocated to try and make a fresh start. While the family can finally have peace, no one thinks these facts add up to a coincidence.
Harper and Tolliver are drawn in to the case, though obviously her peculiar talents are somewhat limited in terms of finding out the who's of things... which makes it helpful when bodies keep showing up as a means of providing clues. The tie here is almost more emotional and it's unsurprising that little things keep popping up to keep Harper in town... not the least of which is yet another fresh body, this time that of the professor originally calling her to Memphis.
I wasn't as thrilled with Grave Surprise as I was with Grave Sight, mostly because I feel it was a transition novel, getting us to a point with character development so that the next book could get interesting (aka the relationship between Tolliver and Harper being weird). You probably should read Grave Sight first before this one, even though I feel like we were treated to a lot of repetition as far as their backgrounds were concerned. The mystery itself was intriguing, but also somewhat predictable in the end, which was a disappointment. Still, it was an amusing enough quick read and if you liked the first, you'll likely still enjoy the second to some degree.
Harper and Tolliver are drawn in to the case, though obviously her peculiar talents are somewhat limited in terms of finding out the who's of things... which makes it helpful when bodies keep showing up as a means of providing clues. The tie here is almost more emotional and it's unsurprising that little things keep popping up to keep Harper in town... not the least of which is yet another fresh body, this time that of the professor originally calling her to Memphis.
I wasn't as thrilled with Grave Surprise as I was with Grave Sight, mostly because I feel it was a transition novel, getting us to a point with character development so that the next book could get interesting (aka the relationship between Tolliver and Harper being weird). You probably should read Grave Sight first before this one, even though I feel like we were treated to a lot of repetition as far as their backgrounds were concerned. The mystery itself was intriguing, but also somewhat predictable in the end, which was a disappointment. Still, it was an amusing enough quick read and if you liked the first, you'll likely still enjoy the second to some degree.
atully's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
I forget how much I like Charlaine Harris' books. Grave Surprise was an easy to read book with a good ending, although it was a little rushed (just the ending part - the rest wasn't rushed) but, you get all your questions answered.
There was a lot of foreshadowing when it came to the killer in this one so I had already figured it out before the reveal.
All in all, a good book!
There was a lot of foreshadowing when it came to the killer in this one so I had already figured it out before the reveal.
All in all, a good book!
heroineinabook's review against another edition
2.0
Per my review for the first book, I expected the second book to be more polished than the first.
It wasn't.
I simply cannot sympathize with Harper Connolly's plight nor can I even say I really like her. The characters are so wooden, the plot convoluted and the writing so stilted that I cannot even begin to fathom why people like this series even as a guilty pleasure.
My reluctance to read the Southern Mysteries is now even more intensified because if I cannot even invest time into Harris' secondary series, why should I invest in her first?
It's a shame, as I said before, as I like the premise of the series but it's just so badly done! I now wonder if Harris is hurting for cash and is using the fan base of her primary series to fund her other series' as a means to gain popularity?
It wasn't.
I simply cannot sympathize with Harper Connolly's plight nor can I even say I really like her. The characters are so wooden, the plot convoluted and the writing so stilted that I cannot even begin to fathom why people like this series even as a guilty pleasure.
My reluctance to read the Southern Mysteries is now even more intensified because if I cannot even invest time into Harris' secondary series, why should I invest in her first?
It's a shame, as I said before, as I like the premise of the series but it's just so badly done! I now wonder if Harris is hurting for cash and is using the fan base of her primary series to fund her other series' as a means to gain popularity?
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
3.0
Another easy read but not one of my favourites from Harris. I don't think there were enough 'clues' for the reader to guess 'who did it' which I prefer in a crime mystery. The revelation seemed a bit sudden.
kmnewton89's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
elegyeldritch's review against another edition
1.0
Too predictable. I guessed the ending a little over halfway through. Had to force myself to finish.