Monday, October 16, 2017

Book #Review: Second Grave On The Left by Darynda Jones

Book Title: Second Grave On The Left ( Charley Davidson #2)
Author:  Darymda Jones |WebsiteTwitterFacebook|
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series/Standalone: Book 2
Format: Hardcover 
Cost: $7.99
Pages: 307
How I got it: Purchased 
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BAM
Publication Date: August 06,, 2011
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Synopsis:
If you hang around with dead people, life can get pretty complicated. Take it from Charley Davidson, part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper. Complicated is her middle name. The deceased find her very sparkly. Demons find her irresistible. And one entity in particular wants to seduce her in every way possible.
When Charley and Cookie (her best friend/receptionist) have to track down a missing woman, the case is not quite as open and shut as they anticipate. Cookie's friend Mimi disappeared five days earlier. Mimi then sends Cookie a cryptic message telling Cookie to meet her at an nearby coffee shop. The coffee is brewing, but Mimi's still missing. There is, however, a clue Mimi left on the bathroom wall: a woman's name. Mimi's husband explains to them that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old high school friend had been murdered. The same woman whose name Mimi had scribbled on the bathroom wall.

Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He's left his body because he's being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can't let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they'll have a portal to heaven...well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty.

Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Can she keep those she loves out of harm's way? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel her as she does?
While I enjoyed this I can see there are going to be several things that are going to bother me if Charley doesn't grow out of them.  I ended up giving this 4 stars because of several issues in the books.

We are back in Charley's world and she has two cases she's working on, the overall case of Reyes and the case her best friend brought her of a missing woman.  What should be a simple missing persons case quickly evolves into more as bodies start turning up, and of course there is the case of the Dead Trunk Guy.  I really love Charley's voice she's so sarcastic and funny.  She feels really relateable, however at times she share some thoughts that make me want to slap her, especially when she does shyt after being told not to. 

As the story progresses Charley finds herself dealing with so many people who want to hurt her and she is left clueless by many of the attempts especially because it appears her case isn't going anywhere at all.  Charley keeps secrets from everyone especially when she shouldn't then wonders why they do the same to her.

In the first book we learned that Charley is a bit of book genius and really smart, sometimes in her actions I have to wonder is she really smart because she makes really bad choices way more than a competent adults should.   The things that annoy me in this book maybe minute to others but you can't expect me to believes she's been doing this since birth and she's never done any research on what it means to be a Grim Reaper, no fairy tales no myths, nothing??? You never tried to see what you could do with your gifts at all?? Your telling me you're a teenager with special gifts and you never tired to see what you could do with them to freak your friends out?? To make yourself cool?? Yeah Okay. Also for someone who is a magnet for trouble you never considered learning any kind of martial arts?? Self Defense?? No you just figured your dad and uncle will save you ever since time??

I get that Charley and her stepmother don't get along especially because the stepmother is a terrible excuse of a woman but for Charley to say she made the SS salute to her, wasn't ok and I didn't find it funny, yeah she did it as a child, but that's a symbol of serious hatred that aided in the death of millions that isn't a joke anyone should be making at all.  Like who the hell raised you???  Then there are times she makes these comments about some characters especially whens he met a character who as of Asian descent but was from Texas and made the internal comment that her face didn't match the accent. What the fuck does that even mean??  Are you trying to say Asians can't be from parts of the country with strong accents or are you saying they look too other to be American???

The story otherwise flew by quickly with different small cases being solved while the two major cases were being worked on.  Charley is trying to balance sharing enough information with those that need it and keeping what she thinks will change their lives forever We have hijinks, witty conversations, steamy moments with Reyes and then Charley discovering so much more about him and his world than before.

I like the way the series is setting up and how it seems everything is going to go. Hopefully Charley takes her head out of her hind parts and quickly because I can only do with so much clumsiness when it comes to your life being in danger. Get it together girl. It ain't cute or funny after a while, nope after a while you're just a mess that no one needs.
 ★★★★☆
RECOMMENDATIONS
  • The Croak Series by Gina D'amico: Croak, Scorch and I'm reading the 3rd one this month. 
  • Dead Like Me TV Series

I still recommend and I'm super excited to see where this series goes.
Happy Reading my loves, 

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