“Never knock on death's door. Ring the doorbell then run. He totally hates that.- T-shirt” First Grave on the Right is a concoction of everything. It turned the cliched story line of grim reapers into that of a novelty. Have you ever considered a grim reaper being a cocky girl with an attitude? I certainly didn't. I found the story line to be fast – paced, filled with humor and mystery. I also found the mixture of characters a little confusing but I got used to it. Jones has created an incred

Charley Davidson is like white chocolate. You either love it, or you think it's an abomination of nature. I love white chocolate, I love Charley Davidson, and I am not ashamed.She's got such a great narrative voice - she is, dare I say it, a lot like me. A lot of deadpan humor. A lot of inappropriate thoughts at the worst possible times. “Well, I was kind of kidnapped, though not really kidnapped so much as led away.”A hand shot to her mouth to squelch a gasp.“God, all this sounds so awful whe...

First my over all impression of this book. Then I'll give some detail as to why I feel as I do. I picked this up because it got a...."whole passel", of 4 and 5 star ratings here. My over all impression of the book????It's crap.Why do I think that? Well at first I was thinking it would be okay if not one I really liked. It opened with an account of the protagonists dream where she was having intercourse with a "hot" shadowy figure. She made sure to tell us she'd had an orgasm.I sighed and went on...

3 stars! “Never knock on death's door. Ring the doorbell then run. He totally hates that.- T-shirt” This is where I use this review to rant about Goodreads a bit. 3 stars is NOT A BAD RATING!! I enjoyed reading this so even if you mean well, please do not say sorry or better luck next time . Remember a 3 star rating according to Goodreads means I liked it . 4 stars is for REALLY liked and 5 is for LOVED. Back to the real part of the review.Charley Davidson can see dead people. Te

You know, I love a well-written, well-constructed, complex urban fantasy world as much as anyone. I love beautiful writing, jam-packed plots and wild twists that I never would have seen coming. But sometimes, just sometimes, I have a real need for something lighthearted, nonsensical, silly and sexy. Like the Bridget Jones version of urban fantasy. Paranormal "chick lit" one might say. First Grave on the Right is a girls' night in watching your all time favourite romcom whilst eating ice cream. I...

3.5 (ish) stars “Don't fear the reaper. Just be very, very aware of her.” Well, personally, I have mixed feelings towards the reaper. Confused. Befuddled. Puzzled. Disconcerted. Call it what you like, it's still the same. While First Grave on the Right was a gripping and funny story, I had some issues with it, especially with Charley.Let's take it from the start. “Just a girl, a few ghosts, and the entire human race. What could be easier?” The creepy guy we call the reaper is...

I think it's time someone let the author of this book into a little secret: Ms. Jones, stringing together a thousand-odd wisecracks does not make a novel. That is more commonly known as a Joke Book. In fiction, we like our wisecracks accompanied by an actual plot, plot development, sub-plots and character development. Say it with me, Sto-ry-line. You know that teen movie trope about a nerdy guy trying to be popular by joking around with the jocks? Only his jokes always sound rehearsed and fall f...

First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones is a 2011 St. Martin’s Press publication. Uproariously funny and Unique!! This is the first book in the Charley Davidson series. I’ve noticed a few of my GR friends have read books in this series and it seems to be popular, but I was not sure about diving into a paranormal/ urban fantasy series after burning out on the genre during the ‘Twilight’ craze. So, I initially passed on it. But, I am craving something otherworldly right now, so when I noticed a

Oh there's so many reasons why I didn't enjoy this book... His features darkened. He stepped closer, pressed the length of his body against mine, leaned into me, and whispered in my ear. "What's your name?""Charley," I said, suddenly afraid, too afraid not to answer....He was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. He was solid and strong and fierce. And vulnerable. "No," I said in a whisper as his fingers drifted down and brushed intrusively over my breasts."Have you ever been raped, Dutch?"....

Don't you just love it when the majority of your friends love a book and keep telling you to read it but for some reason you don't get around to it. Then when you finally do...the only question that begs asking is why didn't I read this sooner?? That's this book exactly! But beware...if you do not like snark, do not read this book. It is loaded with snark with more snark on top and even some snark sprinkles but any girl that names her boobs "Danger" and "Will Robinson" and her ovaries, "Beam me

I'm making my way through the most popular urban fantasy books with a rating higher than 4. And I must say, I haven't read anything 4 stars worthy recently. I have yet to find a series that shares the level of what I read a couple of years ago. I'm not asking for the level of Kate Daniels nor another Fever but maybe an enjoyable first in a series that will make me want to read the sequels. And enjoy them looking at you Archangel's Kiss. Is this too much to ask? No. I'm a loyal fan of this genre,...

Garrett chose that moment to join the conversation. “I appreciate your forethought,” he said, his tone distant, as if his mind were elsewhere. “Not as much as your fore-parts, but still…”I twisted around in my seat to face him. “My fore-parts, as you so ineloquently put it, have names.” I pointed to my right breast. “This is Danger.” Then my left. “And this is Will Robinson. I would appreciate it if you addressed them accordingly.”After a long pause in which he took the time to blink several tim...

2016 is the year of 5-stars for me. I used to be so picky about handing out the 5-star rating, but then I realized that life is too short to be stingy with the stars. If I like it a lot, then all the stars for you! YOLO! (sorry for saying YOLO, but YOLO)So, this book is like a rom-com that is more com, with the MC being the Grim Reaper. A sarcastic, funny, slightly crazy Grim Reaper. Who is a private investigator, because why not? She sees dead people and that is very helpful in murder investiga...

This book was so, so, so awesome! I don't know how to describe how happy I am right now!We have Charley...Charley is THE Grim Reaper...Not the guy with the black hood and scary face but the 27 year old brunette, full of attitude and snark. Can I just say that Charley went right up there with my favorite heroines? She isn't a badass like Kate Daniels or Elena Deveraux, in fact she mostly gets her ass kicked through the book but she is so full of sarcastic comments and hilarious innate dialogs tha...

. . . So. I was browsing in the New Fiction shelves at my library the other day — you know, just like every bookaholic does — and I came across debut author Darynda Jones' First Grave on the Right. I flipped through it, thought it sounded interesting but decided to put it back for the moment, since my bag was already giving me a shoulder cramp. Just as I was putting it back on the shelf, I noticed the blurb on the cover: "The best debut novel I've read in years! Hilarious and heartfelt, sexy and...

Guilty pleasure read!

HA! What a crazy-fun read! Definitely not my usual fare, and honestly, I almost threw in the towel...more than once...prior to the half-way point, but then Reyes, his difficult family life and the BIG BAD caught my attention.PI Charlotte "Charley" Davidson is a 27 year old beauty. She drives a jeep named Misery..."in honor of the master of horror"...has a cop for an uncle...an ex-cop for a dad, and an evil step-mother. Most importantly, though, she has very special abilities...abilities not ever...

Sale Alert January Book Deal for $2.99 on Amazon4.5 Stars “If I couldn't be a good example, I'd just have to be a horrible warning.” I want to be Charley Davidson….I can’t say that I have ever read a book and was like omg I want to be that girl. I mean I love characters in other books don’t get me wrong but who really wants to be Katness, or Georgina Kincaid, okay okay I maybe want to be MacKayla Lane (cuz seriously Barons would be worth it) but I totally wanted to be Charley. If it wasn’t for...

Snark, snark, grim reaper, snark, light mystery, hot supernatural sex, snark.I alternated between listening to this one via Libby and reading a digital review copy. Narrator Lorelei King does a phenomenal job with the voices in this, and she nails the snark levels. A new fave narrator to add to my list :)I raced through this book and barely caught my breath before jumping into the second book in the series! Charley is a very fun character and I cannot wait to spend more time with her. There were...

I got so damn sick of people recommending this book to me. "Sheesh, peeps!" I'd say to myself if I were the kind of person to use the word "Peeps". "It's $12.69, peeps! I can't afford that!" some alternate universe version of myself would exclaim. Out of sheer desperation for something to read, I finally buckled and bought it. You know what? I don't totally regret it.Firstly, I have the most massive crush on Charley. She unequivocally made this novel. She has more personality than a Jung and Bri...