BOOK REVIEW - SECOND GRAVE ON THE LEFT by DARYNDA JONES - CHARLEY DAVIDSON # 2

By: Darynda Jones
Published By: Piatkus, St. Martin's Press, Hachette
Released : Available Now
Details : Paperback , 307 Pages

RATING : 4.5 SMOKIN' HOT REYES STARS!!

Book Blurb : Taken From Goodreads

Charley Davidson, Grim Reaper Extraordinaire, is back in this sexy, suspenseful novel of supernatural shenanigans .

When Charley is rudely awakened in the middle of the night by her best friend who tells her to get dressed quickly and tosses clothes out of the closet at her, she can’t help but wonder what Cookie’s up to. Leather scrunch boots with a floral miniskirt? Together? Seriously? Cookie explains that a friend of hers named Mimi disappeared five days earlier and that she just got a text from her setting up a meet at a coffee shop downtown. They show up at the coffee shop, but no Mimi. But Charley finds a message on the bathroom wall. Mimi left a clue, a woman’s name. Mimi’s husband explains that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old friend of hers from high school had been found murdered a couple weeks prior. The same woman Mimi had named in her message.

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. And if they 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? Will Cookie ever get a true fashion sense? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel them as they do?

Here is your signpost for the most hilarious read of the summer: Second Grave On The Left.

BOOK REVIEW:

People...... I say to you all, if you want the funniest dialogue from a couple of  characters, mainly Charley, chapter titles that get you giggling and actually wanting a T-shirt with it written on , or a bumper sticker, whatever, then this is the series for you.

I just laugh my way through this series and I have so much to do but I have started ‘Third Grave Dead Ahead’ cause, why not?? I feel like having a fun time reading a book series. The only other series that has made me laugh so much is Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger, another must read series that is hilarious good fun and well written.

Charley sometimes reminds me of my humour..... help us all, I just so relate to the way she looks at life and sees it her way. Cookie is her sidekick and she is just hilarious. When cornered or in dire straits, send the fear to the background, bring out the humour, not that I have been in dire straits, but you know what I mean. Humour is a great way to balance out your fears.

Reyes is still OMG!!!! but he is getting a bit of a demon style beating and has hidden his corporeal body from Charley. She is determined to find it no matter the cost to her life. Reyes and that bloody big sword of his , don’t want Charley to save him. But at what cost to humanity will Reyes’s decision be?

......well a bloody major one!!

Darynda keeps us entertained with several cases that need to be solved, throw in cranky pants Garrett Swopes, Reyes and his smexi ways * waggles eyebrows* plus the bonus of quotes galore that spill from Charley’s lips and you have a book that just gives you the best high of laughter. Even though there is serious stuff going on, Charley just says it like ...well...not many..ha!

I love Angel when he pops up at the most interesting times and what is with Owen?? Like the dude is a major cranky pants in a major, major way, he needs a stinky dead fish slap and that chip knocked off his shoulder.....well it’s probably a tree, but who is counting?

Rocket , I am not sure I want to be scared of him, or give him a great big mummy hug....jury is still out.

So,  we have this underlying small mystery about Mr. Major Cranky Pants, Owen. We learn more about Reyes, but not a lot. Charley starts to figure a bit more out about herself and has that Matrix thing going on.  You know the slow mo, dodge the bullet see everything in front of your eyes, do some mind mojo calculations and whallah you dodge the bullet/bad guy. Or....Reyes has a convo with you about what you are discovering about yourself, cause he ain’t going to tell you and make it easy. Something about a mama birdie not telling a baby birdie how to fly, just throw it out the nest and sit back with your popcorn and see what happens, whilst the bullet is hovering in front of your heart....good time for a convo about birds and flying, hehe. Mistress Marigold has something of a mystery about what she may know about the mystery of things..your guess is as good as mine! And, Garrett is getting a bit flirty and protective and all things manly.

I am in love with this series...and then I started book 3.....oooo * waggles eyebrows* Reyes has donned the uber cranky t-shirt and shows Charley just how cranky he is......his way * fans one self and tips a bucket of ice cubes on my head at same time*

Do I need to point out I highly recommend this series.......do I?

Every chapter title is a fave quote , so I won’t put them in cause in the words of Giselle from Xpresso Reads....”baaaaaahahahahaha.” Click on link to read her Goodreads review.

FAVE QUOTES:

   Andre’ just looked like a big bear. I was certain he needed a hug, but he had a gun as well. All this muscle and metal for little ole me. I felt important. Illustrious. Majestic. Or I would have, had my ass not said “Juicy.”

   “Besides,” Uncle Bob said,  pushing past Cookie, “I heard your voice.”

   He levelled a chastising glare on me. “Shameful, asking Cookie to lie for you. What did you do to those Jehova’s Witnesses?”

   “Nothing. They started it.”

   He sat across from me. “I need your statement about last night.”

   “No worries. I typed it up.”

   “Oh.” He brightened and took the paper I handed him. His face fell as he read. “I heard a sound.  A bad guy swung a knife at me.  I ducked and cut his throat.  The end.” He breathed in a heavy sigh. “Well, that needs some work.” 

   “ What?” he asked, swiping at his jeans. “When? What happened?”

   “I can print my statement out for you, if that would help.”

   He sat back down, eyeing me warily. “ Sure.”

  I printed my statement, happy that all the work I’d put into it wouldn’t go unnoticed. He took it , read my four sentences for a really long time that had me wondering if he was dyslexic, then looked back at me. “Wow, that’s a lot to take in all at once.”

   “It was for me too,” I said, the sarcasm dripping from my tongue unmistakable.

   I jumped out of bed, stumbled a bit when a sheet plagued with separation anxiety attacked my foot, then hopped to the bathroom to sit on the throne and tinkle.

Michelle