Reviews

Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones

zaza_bdp's review against another edition

4.0

Avec ce deuxième tome, Darynda Jones nous offre des moments de lecture qui décoiffent !!

Charley est d’une telle intrépidité que j’en ai parfois eu des sueurs froides. Cette façon qu’elle a d’aller au cœur du danger au mépris des blessures éventuelles est vraiment bluffante. Et Charley est tellement drôle ... J’ai franchement ri à de bien nombreuses reprises, et du coup j’ai d’autant plus apprécié les moments où on perçoit la fragilité et la vulnérabilité de notre Faucheuse.

Cookie est une amie en or, son personnage est vraiment réussi, j’avoue que j’aimerais bien la voir « sur le terrain » histoire de voir comment elle se débrouille. Les autres personnages secondaires sont toujours aussi réussis, les défunts comme les vivants. Et Reyes ? Toujours aussi magnétique et mystérieux, ses motivations se dessinent peu à peu, mais il garde cette part de mystère qui renforce son côté bad boy.

Les deux intrigues menées en parallèle ne sont pas là pour faire du remplissage, elles sont aussi soignées l’une que l’autre, l’auteur nous a gâtées une fois de plus !

J’ai vraiment craqué pour ce tome 2, et vu la fin je n’ai pas pu m’empêcher de démarrer dans la foulée le tome 3 !

sdeeim's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

ironskin's review

3.5

Still very much a product of its time, but I really like Urban Fantasy and I feel like this is mostly a pretty good example. And a surprisingly good ADHD rep (while also reflecting the time it was written).
I’m enjoying the series over all, there are a few moments that are yikes, but mostly this is fun and funny

ktavenue's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

bhookjunkhie's review against another edition

5.0

Wow! That was an awesome read.. Like the first one I read it super fast not being able to put it down...I just had to find out what happened next!! It kept me guessing and laughing all the way through! And that ending!! Seriously!!!! Argh it's gonna hard to wait for the next one;)

devansbooklife's review against another edition

4.0

Charley, is a fantastic heroine! This book cracked me up just like the first one did. Charley is unique because she seems tangible and I can relate to her in many ways. She keeps the stressful situations in check by whipping out wise cracks. And I love her for that. I found the plot intriguing and it kept me glued to the pages until the end. There was never a dull moment. My only request is that we get more Reyes. He is like the ultimate forbidden fruit. I mean he is lethal, a complete mystery, and hotter than hell. Literally. I cannot wait for more!!!

lakea's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

parpacifica's review against another edition

4.0

He he he Charley Davidson.

He.

He.

katyanaish's review against another edition

3.0

I just finished, and I can't make up my mind about it. On the one hand, I wasn't bored by it - I read it every chance I had (it has been kind of busy the last 2 days), and I liked the Mimi storyline, so that was all good. But on the other, I feel strung along. We're two books in, and I still feel like I have no idea about Charley's abilities, limitations, role, ... who in holy hell is she? So, okay. Reyes is the son of Satan, as we found out in the last book. He carries on him the key to hell. He elaborates on that a little bit at the end of this book:

Spoiler

apparently, he's like Charley's darker mirror image. Whereas she is a portal to heaven, he's a portal to hell. If the forces of hell got ahold of him - remember, he has essentially run away - they'd control the gate, and could enter our world at whim. Soooooo... what does this mean Charley is? If Reyes is the Antichrist, the son of Satan... is she... the Second Coming, the daughter of God? I hope I haven't lost you all, so please bear with me. Reyes's big revelation in this book is that the two of them are essentially the same - both portals. And connecting some dots... how bright she is, her seemingly limitless superpowers, her role in sending the departed on to heaven... I could see it.

And actually, if something like that is the case, I'm interested. It's a cool storyline. But thus far... I just feel like I don't know anything. And two books is a pretty large amount of time to invest and still not know anything.

Here's the other thing I am of two minds about. Alright, everyone is going to hate me for this, but I am just not fond of Reyes as her love interest. Don't get me wrong, he's hot for sure. He's got a great bad-boy thing going on. But... he's a bit of an emo douchebag. Eh. He spends this entire book

Spoiler

suicidal

, for crying out loud, and doing this really obnoxious schizophrenic song and dance of "I am dying horribly, being tortured... and btw, you have major superpowers and could kill all the demons" and "Don't find me! Don't even look for me! Don't you dare! I will kill you and everyone else if you do!" WTF Reyes, seriously. He needs to be put on medication, because I am getting whiplash. Other schizophrenic Reyes douchebaggery: he spends the first 40% or so of the book insisting that he's evil, and Charley should stop looking at him with rose-colored glasses... and threatening her friends, saying he has no problem hurting innocent people, etc melodramatic menacing etc. But then when Charley finds out that

Spoiler

he's the Antichrist and was born to bring about The End

, he gets all kinds of offended that she is concerned about it. That she would believe that of him. You can't have it both ways, buddy. You're either some big badass who has no qualms cutting down fields of innocent bystanders and she needs to open her damn eyes, or you are a good guy at heart and are looking for a way to change your destiny. But he, in this book, simultaneously insists that he is both. WTF. >.<

He's an interesting character. The overall story - what he his, what he'll do, what Charley is, what she'll do - is an interesting one. But if you want me to buy him / root for him as a romantic lead, you need to make him more consistent, less emo, and just less of a general bitch. Seriously. Also, what was the "whore" thing? That was so out of left field that it ... it just doesn't even make sense. I don't know what the fuck happened there.

Though to be fair, I don't agree with what Charley did in the end.

Spoiler

Though I of course didn't want him to kill himself - that would kind of kill the interesting story - binding him to his body? That was... waaaaaaay too far. Because in the end, it just isn't her call. Try to persuade him, blackmail him, whatever... but she has no idea, really, what she just did to him. Can he even defend himself anymore? His robe and sword disintegrated. She doesn't get to choose to virtually destroy everything he is. She had no right.

If I were him, I'd never fucking talk to her again. Which is fine. Without him saving her ass, she'll likely be dead 15 pages into book 3 anyway. It sounds like that was pretty much a constant job for him over the course of her life, so she's kind of fucked now.

The stuff with her family... also left me baffled. Why would her dad not tell her?

Spoiler

I get the choice he made. Out of all of them, she is the most capable of defending herself. But WARN her! Fuck! Give her a fucking chance to prepare and defend herself.

It was a move that was fucking stupid - from a character that we have been lead to believe is very smart about this kind of thing - that I am just completely lost. And the stuff with Gemma... WTF, seriously.

Spoiler

She really never spoke to her or looked at her because they had some fight when she was 12, and Charley screamed at her to never talk to her again? REALLY? And Gemma is a Ph.D-holding psychologist? REALLY?! I can't count the number of times I have told my siblings to never talk to me again (or they have said the same to me). Thank goodness, I guess, that none of the 4 of us is that fucking dumb.

*eyeroll*

I don't know. Thus far, I like it well enough to keep reading, but I am worried that ... I don't know. That it will never pan out to be what it could be. I am feeling preemptively disappointed. Which is maybe unfair, but I don't care. I'll read the third out of morbid curiosity, but if there isn't some real development, I don't know how much longer I'll hang in there.

recreated's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0