Monday 5 August 2013

DOA: Third Grave Dead Ahead (Charley Davidson #3) by Darynda Jones...


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Paranormal private eye. Grim reaper extraordinaire. Whatever. Charley Davidson is back! And she's drinking copious amounts of caffeine to stay awake because every time she closes her eyes she sees him: Reyes Farrow, the part-human, part-supermodel son of Satan.

Granted she did imprison Reyes for all eternity, but how is she supposed to solve a missing-persons case, deal with an ego-driven doctor, calm her curmudgeonly dad, and take on a motorcycle gang hell-bent on murder when the devil's son just won't give up on his plan of seduction..... and revenge?




My complaints for THIRD GRAVE DEAD AHEAD are pretty much the same as they were for book two; I love the mysteries and exploring Charley's relationships with her friends [especially poor old Garrett] and family. Unfortunately Charley herself is very annoying with her constant selfishness and attempts at humour, whilst Reyes and the anti hero/alpha combo crap he has going on is such a boring turn-off.

The entire romance that has become a big part of this series is just so shallow - Reyes threatens people with death etc, but flash Charley some flesh and practically force himself on her and all is forgiven. Charley's brain switches off whenever he shows up, and the attraction on her part seems purely based on his looks.

As well as the shallowness, it is a borderline abusive relationship - by book six I'm expecting her to have to begin to make up stories about falling downstairs and walking into cupboard doors - their relationship is that grim and unsettling to read. How the hell am I meant to root for such a toxic pairing?


I want to love this series, but Charley, Reyes, and the whole tragic romance the author is aiming for is DOA, and it just distracts me from the other subplots. Also - the author wastes too much space this time repeating events from the first two books.


Its really quite frustrating; the ingredients for a fantastic series are all here, but the author seems unsure of what kind of series she actually wants to write. She is trying to cram a bit of everything into the book, but ending up leaving the mysteries and fantasy sides rather thin whilst overplaying the 'romantic' elements. The result is a uneven balance, with a ton of forced one liners to wade through.

I'd only recommend this to readers who are primary looking for that Bad Boy romance, rather then those of us who are looking for a gritty urban based fantasy series.


***

Paperback: £5.99
Kindle: £5.49

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