First Grave on the Right

This book and Second Grave on the Left are the first two books in Darynda Jones' Charley Davidson series. There are five so far, the next three being Third Grave Dead Ahead (2012), Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet (2012), and Fifth Grave Past the Light (2013). I'll check and see if the library has the other three. If so, I might pick them up, but I'm not too concerned.

Charley Davidson is a reaper. Well, she's “the” Reaper. There's only one at a time. (“And to each generation, a slayer is born...” well, not quite like that, heh.) As the Reaper, she sees dead people, can talk to them, and can touch them. They can pass through her into the beyond - what she realizes at some point is, actually, heaven. She appears like a bright light to ghosts all over the place, so they usually show up at her door, or out in the street, or in her bathroom, looking to pass to the great beyond. She has a few other minor powers, like understanding every language, to help her with this task.

The books largely revolve around her solving murders (her father and uncle are both with the Albuquerque Police Department and often ask her help, since being able to ask the deceased “so hey, who killed you?” is actually quite helpful.)

There are complications, as there always are. Charley's comes in the form of Reyes Alexander Farrow. Reyes is a smoking hot convict (who may or may not be guilty of killing his own father) but who is DEFINITELY more than he seems.

The books are decent, for fluffy paranormal romance. My main beef with them comes from two glaring editorial errors. The police station is almost certainly not a “melting potty.” I'm pretty sure the author meant “melting pot,” unless they were going with some really weird imagery! That error could be chalked up to a typo, but the one that actually made me yell at the book was the quote heading up Chapter Two of Second Grave on the Left:

“Don't cross the streams. Never cross the streams.” - Bumper Sticker. 

...bumper Sticker? BUMPER STICKER?! That's from Ghostbusters! Misattributing a rather famous quote (it is rather famous, right? It's not just because I'm a geek?) is a cardinal sin in my book.

So I'm not sure how to feel about these books. My strongest emotion is the indignation at not properly attributing the Ghostbusters quote. Other than that, the story flows well, and fast (I read both books in one afternoon). The characters are interesting and the concept is interesting. The sex is pretty hot, and I like that Charley is portrayed as promiscuous but without slut-shaming her for being so. (Though for her always saying she likes sex, and talking about guys and SAYING she's promiscuous, we only ever see her have sex with one dude in the first two books.)

I think my final verdict is they're worth reading if you're looking for something fluffy, but I wouldn't go out of my way to pick them up.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

3.5 stars. Enjoyable. Great book to satisfy my sweet tooth. The narrative voice was strong but the abundance of clichés left me rolling my eyes often. The dry humor was well written but sometimes it was too much. And the repetition was not helpful but felt it was there to fill word count. I think the book suffered from first in the series syndrome. Still a good, easy, fun read.

Ho deciso di leggere questo libro spinta soprattutto dai pareri un animatamente positivi. E poi vedevo questo Reyes vincere agli Alpha showdown al pari e talvolta sorpassando (il mio amato) Barrons. Al che mi aspetto che il libro che sia almeno bello, non ci ho riposto molte aspettative. La trama era carina e insomma ero curiosa.
Ma alla fine è stata una storia travagliata finita male.
Partiamo daaa..vediamo..cosa mi è piaciuto in questo libro? NIENTE.
Nemmeno l'idea di partenza, nemmeno come è scritto. Mio dio, sembra scritto da uno sceneggiatore di commedie all'americana. Anzi, è tutto come una commedia americana. Mancano soltanto le risate in sottofondo quando si presume che quella scena abbia fatto davvero ridere.
Forse è un'ironia che io non capisco, dato che sono la voce fuori dal coro, ma io avrei pianto dalla vergogna, dalla pena per quei poveri personaggi.
Idea di partenza: OK, avrei preferito un angelo della morte al maschile (magari anche saccente e sadico). una ragazza mi ha fatto storcere il nado ci sta per cambiare. Ma non una cosi dai! Ripeto, sembra una protagonista di una commedia americane, una delle figlie del sig. Robinson (non ricordo il nome della serie TV) .
Veniamo alla trama:sostanzialmente un caso poliziesco. Raramente gia di base mi coinvolgono. Anche quelli dei film non mi coinvolgono, a meno che ci sia qualcosa di scientifico in mezzo. Di questo quindi non mi importava niente. Meno di zero.
Reyes: l'unico su cui avevo riposto delle aspettative. La prima cosa che ci viene detta dilui è che si manifesta/ manda segnali a Charley con degli orgasmi. ORGASMI? Cara Darynda, mi stai prendendo in giro? Gia il libro fa schifo, in piu quello che rimane viene ricondotto al sesso? Per favore!
Per la mia sanita mentale e per conservare il piacere di leggere, io questa serie non la voglio piu vedere.
Addio Darynda, mi dispiace, ma io e i tuoi libri abbiamo chiuso qui.

Charley kan de doden zien, en niet alleen zien, maar ze kan ook met ze communiceren. Op deze manier hoopt ze de doden te kunnen helpen oversteken naar gener zijde. Haar oom is politieagent en die maakt maar al te graag gebruik van haar gave om zo moorden op te kunnen lossen. Er zijn niet veel mensen die van haar gave weten. Naast haar oom heeft ze een beste vriendin Cookie, die tevens haar buurvrouw is. Zij weet ook van haar gave en vind het maar al te spannend.
Vooral wanneer Charley steeds vaker ‘droomt' van een speciale mysterieuze man. Deze man brengt haar behoorlijk van haar stuk. En misschien is hij niet eens dood...
Dit boek is een paranormale roman/young-adult. Een genre waar ik nog niet veel van had gelezen. Ik was erg nieuwsgierig of me dit zou trekken. Het is een boek voor de wat oudere jongeren gezien de erotiek die best expliciet beschreven wordt, maar niet op een vervelende manier. De personages worden heel mooi uitgeschreven, waardoor je een goed beeld krijgt van ieder persoon.
Ook blijft het erg mysterieus wie of wat die man nou is die Charley in haar dromen zo van haar stuk brengt. Dit blijft tot het einde spannend, en zelfs dan is het nog niet helemaal duidelijk.

Het is een heerlijk geschreven boek met de nodige spanning, erotiek en mysterie. Een paranormale roman/young-adult die me erg deed denken aan The Ghost Whisperer. Geen verkeerde link voor mij, aangezien ik daar wel van houd. Darynda weet hoe ze de karakters goed kan uitdiepen zonder van het verhaal af te wijken. Het is vlot geschreven, waardoor ik er doorheen vloog. Ik begon er zelfs zelf in te geloven dat ik echt kan. Deel 2 is gelukkig net uit in Nederland en ligt bijna klaar om gelezen te worden. Ik moet weten hoe dit verder gaat!

La muerte es una perra.

Charley Davidson es detective privado a tiempo parcial y, la Muerte, para su desgracia, a tiempo completo. Durante toda su vida ha visto fantasmas, algo con lo que no está contenta pero aprendió a vivir.
Hace aproximadamente un mes recibe en sueños a un misterioso hombre que le hace pasar los mejores momentos pero cuando su hombre misterioso la llama por un apodo muy especial, estando ella casi despierta, es cuando un nuevo propósito se marca en su cabeza: Encontrar a su hombre. Solo que cuando esto ocurre, es para llevarse una dolorosa sorpresa.


Para leerlo completo: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Charley Davidson is the Grim Reaper. She is also a P. I. Her ability to see dead people keeps her in business, and also makes her an asset to her uncle, Detective Davidson. Charley has a new case, and it will take more than the living to solve it. This is another book that has been on my TBR pile for way too long. I loved it!! Now I have ten more to read without the wait. Yay!!

After hearing an interview with Darynda Jones on the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books podcast, I decided to give this book another try. I'm enjoying it more this time around, now that I have the context from listening to Darynda talk about the series. She was funny and playful and, though the overall subject matter of this book is a little heavy (death, murder, grim reapers, “the big bad”) I have the sassy tone in which Jones had intended.

I'm officially hooked and will seek out the next installment. Must know what happens next!

Alright, well this was.... OK. I kept going back and forth in the middle with how vested I actually was in finishing this. Mostly it was to find out about Reyes, the actual plot of the book, I can tell you NOTHING about. The other side characters, besides the Uncle and Garrett, I don't even remember. So... will I read more? Maybe. If I can't find something else at the library to borrow, or if my Aunt borrows the next one. I get a feeling she will like this.