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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
Listening to audiobook.
OMG!! Darynda Jones and Lorelei King do it again. I will say this is my favorite series on audio. The way the snark is written so well with such a great storyline really makes this series wonderful. Lorelei King then acts it out with such great voices and is able to show the sarcasm to a tee.
This series has made me laugh out loud on many occasions (people at work are still trying to figure it out). This is the first time this series has made my eyes water. I wasn't expecting it. I've had in other series when some of my favorite characters died (The Hollows by Kim Harrison), but never expected it in this series. (Don't worry, that doesn't happen in this book). Charley is really put in the toughest spot she's ever been in. I was concerned at one point that she would break, but I should've know better. Charley might not be out kicking ass the way we see a lot of UF heroines, but she is a pretty tough chick and deserves to be right up them with them.
My favorite line in the entire book. Charley has gone over to Swopes' house. He goes to the kitchen to fix a drink. Charley then thinks in her head, "For some reason, every time I came over he felt the need to drink. It was weird." Comments like this in Charley's head is part of what makes this series wonderful. She is a tough chick, but keeps her spirits up with snark. How can you not love that? :)
Also, a little teaser. In the last chapter, there is a major bomb dropped at the very end of the story (like last sentence).
OMG!! Darynda Jones and Lorelei King do it again. I will say this is my favorite series on audio. The way the snark is written so well with such a great storyline really makes this series wonderful. Lorelei King then acts it out with such great voices and is able to show the sarcasm to a tee.
This series has made me laugh out loud on many occasions (people at work are still trying to figure it out). This is the first time this series has made my eyes water. I wasn't expecting it. I've had in other series when some of my favorite characters died (The Hollows by Kim Harrison), but never expected it in this series. (Don't worry, that doesn't happen in this book). Charley is really put in the toughest spot she's ever been in. I was concerned at one point that she would break, but I should've know better. Charley might not be out kicking ass the way we see a lot of UF heroines, but she is a pretty tough chick and deserves to be right up them with them.
My favorite line in the entire book. Charley has gone over to Swopes' house. He goes to the kitchen to fix a drink. Charley then thinks in her head, "For some reason, every time I came over he felt the need to drink. It was weird." Comments like this in Charley's head is part of what makes this series wonderful. She is a tough chick, but keeps her spirits up with snark. How can you not love that? :)
Also, a little teaser. In the last chapter, there is a major bomb dropped at the very end of the story (like last sentence).
dark
funny
hopeful
fast-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
It was so good I immediately went out and got the next one. Seriously, like immediately.
Fifth Grave Past the Light is book five in the Charley Davidson series. I'm so glad I am finally getting back into these, though I'm not sure why I stopped since they're so good. There is a ton of humor mixed into the story and it's also full of ghosts and mystery. As always, our leading lady Charley Davidson is working as a PI on a case to help the police but at the same time, she's balancing her grim reaper duties. I already know I'll be binge listening/reading this series so expect reviews for the following books up in the next week or two.
We start off with Charley Davidson, a PI that is also a grim reaper. She talks to ghosts and lets them cross through her on top of helping solve cases for the local police department. It doesn't take long to dive into the mystery elements when she wakes up one morning and finds a lot of female ghosts in her apartment that all have similar appearances in how they died. She's also quickly involved in figuring out who is behind several arson incidents that have the police stumped. That isn't all the plot threads weaved into this novel, though, we also have Charley's hunky love interest, Reyes Farrow moving into the apartment next to hers. After the romance aspect building up in the past few novels, I was so happy to see it finally happen. Reyes is a lust worthy character that has always protected Charley and you can tell her cares for her so much. The tension between the two has been electric and continues to be so.
Fifth Grave Past the Light is a perfect addition to this addicting series. I can't believe I forgot how hilarious DJones' books are. Between Charley and her assistant Cookie, I was laughing in every chapter. I seriously love when humor is mixed into the story and done correctly and this is a perfect example of how it's done. The characters and plot are done well and the story arcs are weaved seamlessly. All in all, this series is perfect for fans of Urban Fantasy with ghosts and romance mixed in.
I have to give major props to the narrator, Lorelei King. She really knocks these audiobooks out of the park with how she voices all the characters. You can easily distinguish between the different character voices and she brings them all to life. I've read one of these in paperback and enjoyed it but I have to highly suggest readers try the audiobook versions if you're open to that format since it adds another level to the story.
We start off with Charley Davidson, a PI that is also a grim reaper. She talks to ghosts and lets them cross through her on top of helping solve cases for the local police department. It doesn't take long to dive into the mystery elements when she wakes up one morning and finds a lot of female ghosts in her apartment that all have similar appearances in how they died. She's also quickly involved in figuring out who is behind several arson incidents that have the police stumped. That isn't all the plot threads weaved into this novel, though, we also have Charley's hunky love interest, Reyes Farrow moving into the apartment next to hers. After the romance aspect building up in the past few novels, I was so happy to see it finally happen. Reyes is a lust worthy character that has always protected Charley and you can tell her cares for her so much. The tension between the two has been electric and continues to be so.
Fifth Grave Past the Light is a perfect addition to this addicting series. I can't believe I forgot how hilarious DJones' books are. Between Charley and her assistant Cookie, I was laughing in every chapter. I seriously love when humor is mixed into the story and done correctly and this is a perfect example of how it's done. The characters and plot are done well and the story arcs are weaved seamlessly. All in all, this series is perfect for fans of Urban Fantasy with ghosts and romance mixed in.
I have to give major props to the narrator, Lorelei King. She really knocks these audiobooks out of the park with how she voices all the characters. You can easily distinguish between the different character voices and she brings them all to life. I've read one of these in paperback and enjoyed it but I have to highly suggest readers try the audiobook versions if you're open to that format since it adds another level to the story.
http://nyx-shadow.blogspot.fr/2013/10/charley-davidson-t5-fifth-grave-past.html
So...this book.
Wait, let me back the truck up a bit and talk about the series first.
The story thus far is that we have Charley who is the Grim Reaper. She is funny, has a completely irreverent sense of humor, has the propensity to name everything (her brain is named Barbara, her couch is named Sophie, her breasts are Danger and Will Robinson....you get the drift) and is also a PI with a complex series of relationships both friend and family. She is human but she is also other. She helps her cop dad (retired) and cop uncle (still active) solve cases at an unheard of rate. That is because all dead souls seek her out to cross over. And many of them will tell her who killed them (if it is a murder) or where to find their body etc. As they are passing through her she also "reads" their life story in milliseconds. She also routinely has dead people who are not yet ready to cross over simply seek her out to be near her or just talk to her.
Each book has 4 basic elements:
1) Charley working on a case or cases. This is the procedural part of the series and my favorite parts of the books honestly.
2) The continuing storyline. An over-arching story that winds through each book. There is something about Charley that is upsetting the underworld in general, Satan in particular. So far demons have tried to kill her and multiple people keep telling her there is something important she must do. But No one seems to tell her much of anything and Charley can't figure it out. This is an intriguing part of the books but had been tantalizingly frustrating because, imo, there has been so little movement or understanding of really what Charley is supposed to be/do.
3)Charley's somewhat torturous romance and Reyes Farrow. Reyes is the son of Satan, he is in love with Charley and he has horrific past in his human incarnation. Truthfully, this has been my least favorite aspect of the series until this installment...but I'll get to that in a bit.
and 4) Charley's mostly humorous but sometimes serious interactions with her family and friends -- some of whom are dead.
For me these books work best when we are heavy on #s 1,4 -- the cases, the dead people and Charley just being Charley -- and when #2 & 3 have some positive forward momentum and don't consume the book.
I am happy to say that this book had a good balance of all four things and we finally get some momentum and smallish answers to what is going on with Charley and why the demons are after her. Not the full story, but enough that I feel like we are going somewhere with that part of the plot.
The main case of the book involves a bunch of blonde (dead) women, all ages, all races, who start to show up one by one in Charley's apartment. They aren't trying to cross over and for once, Charlie can't even begin to communicate with them. It is clear that there is a serial killer who killed all these women and yet, Charley had heard nothing about missing blonde women. She inveigles her uncle to help with that investigation. I loved this case. It was meaty and had a satisfying (and emotional) resolution.
But probably most gratifying to me is how this book handled Reyes. I have not been a huge fan of the character or how the storyline with him has progressed. I thought that Charley's preoccupation with him tended to cannibalize a couple of the earlier installments of the series. I finally began to like him in the last book. In this book I think Reyes has finally clicked for me. He and Charley feel more like a true romantic couple instead of him having some enigmatic secret that he seemed to be holding over Charley's head. In turn he remains in the forefront of her thoughts, but it didn't feel like she was obsessing over him.
And finally there is a great scene with Charley, Reyes and Swopes that brings a lot of the paranormal stuff to a head. Most notably we get some concrete answers about what really is going on with Charley & the underworld stuff.
So in the end, I enjoyed this book but I still feel like it is a 3.5 star installment (rounded up to 4). Mainly because I felt the first half of the book kind of meandered, or rather lurched from thing to thing without any real coherent direction. However the book tightened considerably in the second half and the story really works on all cylinders for me.
And of course, the humor that is a hallmark of these books is in full effect. This book made me laugh out loud on a regular basis. especially the running gag of Charley' GPS.
Not a place for a beginner to the series to start.
This review was based on an ARC received via the Amazon Vine program.
Wait, let me back the truck up a bit and talk about the series first.
The story thus far is that we have Charley who is the Grim Reaper. She is funny, has a completely irreverent sense of humor, has the propensity to name everything (her brain is named Barbara, her couch is named Sophie, her breasts are Danger and Will Robinson....you get the drift) and is also a PI with a complex series of relationships both friend and family. She is human but she is also other. She helps her cop dad (retired) and cop uncle (still active) solve cases at an unheard of rate. That is because all dead souls seek her out to cross over. And many of them will tell her who killed them (if it is a murder) or where to find their body etc. As they are passing through her she also "reads" their life story in milliseconds. She also routinely has dead people who are not yet ready to cross over simply seek her out to be near her or just talk to her.
Each book has 4 basic elements:
1) Charley working on a case or cases. This is the procedural part of the series and my favorite parts of the books honestly.
2) The continuing storyline. An over-arching story that winds through each book. There is something about Charley that is upsetting the underworld in general, Satan in particular. So far demons have tried to kill her and multiple people keep telling her there is something important she must do. But No one seems to tell her much of anything and Charley can't figure it out. This is an intriguing part of the books but had been tantalizingly frustrating because, imo, there has been so little movement or understanding of really what Charley is supposed to be/do.
3)Charley's somewhat torturous romance and Reyes Farrow. Reyes is the son of Satan, he is in love with Charley and he has horrific past in his human incarnation. Truthfully, this has been my least favorite aspect of the series until this installment...but I'll get to that in a bit.
and 4) Charley's mostly humorous but sometimes serious interactions with her family and friends -- some of whom are dead.
For me these books work best when we are heavy on #s 1,4 -- the cases, the dead people and Charley just being Charley -- and when #2 & 3 have some positive forward momentum and don't consume the book.
I am happy to say that this book had a good balance of all four things and we finally get some momentum and smallish answers to what is going on with Charley and why the demons are after her. Not the full story, but enough that I feel like we are going somewhere with that part of the plot.
The main case of the book involves a bunch of blonde (dead) women, all ages, all races, who start to show up one by one in Charley's apartment. They aren't trying to cross over and for once, Charlie can't even begin to communicate with them. It is clear that there is a serial killer who killed all these women and yet, Charley had heard nothing about missing blonde women. She inveigles her uncle to help with that investigation. I loved this case. It was meaty and had a satisfying (and emotional) resolution.
But probably most gratifying to me is how this book handled Reyes. I have not been a huge fan of the character or how the storyline with him has progressed. I thought that Charley's preoccupation with him tended to cannibalize a couple of the earlier installments of the series. I finally began to like him in the last book. In this book I think Reyes has finally clicked for me. He and Charley feel more like a true romantic couple instead of him having some enigmatic secret that he seemed to be holding over Charley's head. In turn he remains in the forefront of her thoughts, but it didn't feel like she was obsessing over him.
And finally there is a great scene with Charley, Reyes and Swopes that brings a lot of the paranormal stuff to a head. Most notably we get some concrete answers about what really is going on with Charley & the underworld stuff.
So in the end, I enjoyed this book but I still feel like it is a 3.5 star installment (rounded up to 4). Mainly because I felt the first half of the book kind of meandered, or rather lurched from thing to thing without any real coherent direction. However the book tightened considerably in the second half and the story really works on all cylinders for me.
And of course, the humor that is a hallmark of these books is in full effect. This book made me laugh out loud on a regular basis. especially the running gag of Charley' GPS.
Not a place for a beginner to the series to start.
This review was based on an ARC received via the Amazon Vine program.
Argh! Now I have to wait till June to find out what happens next!
I can't believe I've completely caught up with this series in such a short period of time! I have this huge Charley shaped hole in my life now and am just not sure what to fill it with.
I've gushed so much about Charley...and all the other characters. This book is no exception, in fact it raised the bar so much. I will wait with bated breath for the next installment. Then I'll have an excuse to do a complete re-read. Darn.
I've gushed so much about Charley...and all the other characters. This book is no exception, in fact it raised the bar so much. I will wait with bated breath for the next installment. Then I'll have an excuse to do a complete re-read. Darn.