Author: Darynda Jones

Synopsis:

The fate of the world is not something a girl wants on her shoulders, and that is especially true for Lorelei McAlister. Unfortunately for her, that is exactly where the world's fate has decided to take up residence. Lorelei has seen firsthand the horrors that lie beneath our everyday world. And those horrors are getting her friends killed. Because of this, she agrees to leave the sanctity of her hometown and is sent to a different world entirely. A boarding school. But even here she is being watched. Someone knows what she is. What she carries inside her soul. And on top of that she's seeing visions. This is nothing new for Lorelei. But these visions are something more: death, destruction, and the end of the world. Lorelei must face the fact that there are people who want her dead, and no matter where she goes, no matter how far she runs, the lives of her friends and family are in mortal peril. Lucky for her, her friends and family include the handsome Angel of Death, a fiercely protective half-angel, and a ragtag group of loyal supporters who aren't afraid to get a little dirty in the name of fighting pure evil.

Review:

***Spoilers from Death and the Girl Next Door #1 & Death, Doom and Detention #2 – click the titles to see my reviews of the previous books***

Death and the Girl He Loves wrapped up wonderfully, and those last few chapters had me smiling from ear to ear. But to get there, I wasn’t the hugest fan of some the parts of the journey. Especially since the first third of the book, we are away from Jared. Again. I know I probably sound like a broken record, but I enjoy books where the couple are together a lot more. So while I loved the majority of the characters, the unique twist and that fabulous ending, I still struggled a little here and there. But my favorite aspects of this final book are:

✮A heroine who’s realistic, even though she’s been tasked to save the world.

I stepped to Jared, my heart breaking into a million pieces. “It’s today, isn’t it?”

While this trope has been used countless times, I loved how relatable Lorelei was. She didn’t want this burden. She just wanted her normal life back. So while she expressed her concerns about her being competent enough, she didn’t wallow in self pity. Lorelei continued to step up to the challenge at hand!

✮Strong friendships.

“…..Since when does logic enter into anything we do?”
“Exactly.” – Lorelei and Brooke

If you’re a fan of strong friendships, then you’ll probably adore the ones that fill this series. Lorelei, Cameron, Glitch and Jared created such a tight bond and they trusted one another with their lives. Their friendships withstood everything from betrayal, a battle, and the test of time.

✮A sexy book boyfriend.

Humans are unpredictable. Prophecies are not. So even though you believe with all your heart you’re going to fail, failure—” He looked up in thought. “How do they say it in the movies?” After a second, he fixed a mirthful grin on me. “Failure is not an option.” – Jared

Jared’s power, knowledge, secrets he revealed, the confidence in himself and Lorelei, and a question he asks Lorelei…..aww I loved Jared!! He was commanding, confident and I loved when he graced the pages with his presence.

✮A fabulous twist.

Fear didn’t consume me. It was there, but it didn’t consume me. Regret consumed me. The realization that we had failed consumed me. The war was starting and I didn’t stop it.

The huge twist in this book will definitely go one of two ways for you. I fell into the category of ‘oh my gosh I absolutely love this’, but it definitely won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. Some could be disappointed per say, but while I can’t explain why without giving it all away, just know that I loved this twist. It felt like a new idea to me, and I’m so glad the book went down that path!

So, all in all, this was a fun series and I’m glad I finally picked up this trilogy. It’s left me interested in her other series, Charley Davidson. But I’m adding that series to my “borrow from the library instead of purchasing” list, since I had some issues with this series. And the only thing I have left to say is, what in the world happened in the woods between Glitch and Cameron?! Oh. My. Gosh. For three books we heard about this incident, and then we never got to find out what happened?! Madness I tell you, madness lol! If you have any guesses, I’d love to hear them!!

Synopsis:

***Spoilers from Death and the Girl Next Door***

The normal part of Lorelei MacAlister's life didn't just slip away quietly the day Jared Kovach came to town. Nope. The normal part of her life shattered. It exploded. It burst into a gazillion shards of fleeting light.

It went out with a bang.
Goodbye normal.
Hello dark and eerie.

While her best friend, Brooklyn, is focusing all of her energy on helping Lorelei hone her abilities, Lorelei is dealing with the reality that Satan's second in command has taken up residence inside her body. Oh, and the fact that she has a crush on the Angel of Death. But what a beautiful death it is. If those weren't bad enough, something sinister has come to town and it wants nothing more than to hear Lorelei's dying breath as it strangles it out of her. Thank goodness the gang has a supernatural champion. But what happens when the only being who can save them switches sides midstream? How can a group of misfits capture one of the most powerful beings ever created? And will they find out how to bring Jared back to them before it's too late?

Review:

***Spoilers from Death and the Girl Next Door***

With sarcasm, intriguing characters, a wonderful pace and some twists and turns, Death, Doom, and Detention made for a pleasant second installment.  While I still didn’t care for some of the characters *cough Glitch and the twins cough*, and I was saddened that Jared didn’t fill the pages nearly enough, it was still a fun book to read!

My vision blurred as hot tears pooled between my lashes.  I gazed straight ahead.  “I don’t want to do this anymore,” I whispered to myself.

This time around, Lorelei was struggling.  Bad.  First, she had Satan’s second in command, Mal as she refers to it lol, inside her body.  Second,  her bestie Brooklyn was making her practice her abilities at every single chance she could get.  And third, the one boy she was madly in love with, Jared aka The Angel of Death, turned their relationship into just a friendship.  At the request of her grandparents.  And while I loved what a huge role her grandparents played in the books, they were definitely hurting Lorelei with their decision.  It felt as though life couldn’t be worse.  Or could it?  Wellll, it did get worse.  Because there seemed to something hunting Lorelei, and someone switched sides midstream *break my heart won’t you!*.  

“I’m sorry I woke you up,” I said to him as my lids drifted down.
“You didn’t.” he looked out into the darkness.  “Something else did.”

With all of those pressing issues, there was a lot more action in this book!  And I’m grateful that there was more going on, because we didn’t get to spend as much time with Jared.  Oh, this made me heartbroken, because I loved him.  I wanted moments filled with chemistry and kisses, so I felt frustrated at times.  And it didn’t help that I could care less about Glitch or the twins.  When they were on the pages, I just wanted to scream give me Jared instead!  What can I say?  I get super attached to characters I love.  

I felt a sprinkle then, a drop of rain, and I knew everything I’d ever known was about to change.

Thankfully I enjoyed Lorelei, Brooklyn and Cameron, and we spent lots of time with them!  With new presences, a new ability, and a lot of unknowns, they constantly had to count on one another.  It was fun watching their trust and respect for each other grow.  Strong friendships for the win!  There’s also an element of who’s bad and who’s good thrown in throughout the book.  It didn’t feel as though they were safe around anyone.  Even the kids they went to high school with.  So I was always on edge wondering what was going to happen next.  So while yes, it was a fun book, I definitely struggled at times.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the final book flows a little bit differently, because I am nervous and excited to see how this series wraps up!

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
Death and the Girl Next Door #1 Reviews: Jen	Death, Doom and Detention #2 Reviews: Jen	Death, and the Girl He Loves #3 Reviews: Jen

Synopsis:

Ten years ago, Lorelei's parents disappeared without a trace. Raised by her grandparents and leaning on the support of her best friends, Lorelei is finally beginning to accept the fact that her parents are never coming home. For Lorelei, life goes on.

High school is not quite as painful as she thinks it will be, and things are as normal as they can be. Until the day the school's designated loner, Cameron Lusk, begins to stalk her, turning up where she least expects it, standing outside her house in the dark, night after night. Things get even more complicated when a new guy―terrifying, tough, sexy Jared Kovach―comes to school. Cameron and Jared instantly despise each other and Lorelei seems to be the reason for their animosity. What does Jared know about her parents? Why does Cameron tell Jared he can't have Lorelei? And what will any of them do when Death comes knocking for real? Thrilling, sassy, sexy, and inventive, Darynda Jones's first foray into the world of teens will leave readers eager for the next installment.

Review:

Death and the Girl Next Door was so much fun and a quick read.  The story-line was easy to follow, and within those first few chapters I knew some of the characters and I would get along just fabulously.  There was  a wonderful mix of personalities, and I loved how many of them had sarcasm as their form of humor.  While I had a few hangups with some of the people, and not wanting info dragged out longer than should need be, Death and the Girl Next Door was still exactly what this paranormal lover was looking for.

Nothing would ever be fine again.

Lorelei has had visions for as long as she could remember and it would occur, at times, when she touched someone.  The visions would be a peak into that person’s life, whether it was a glimpse into their past or their future.  There were also times when the visions didn’t make any sense at all.  But regardless, I loved how she accepted that this was just a part of who she was.  And her two best friends, Brooklyn and Glitch, did too.

“Oh my god,” Brooklyn said.  She swung her surprised look at me.  “Just what did you two talk about this morning?”
I beamed, not daring to breathe as he walked towards us. “Oh, you know, the usual.  School.  The weather.  How many children we want.”
I expected Brooklyn to at least giggle, but apparently her current state of shock had immobilized her vocal cords.  What I hadn’t expected, however, was the faint laughter from Jared.  He lowered his eyes like before, as though embarrassed by what someone had said.  As if embarrassed by what I’d said.  No way could he have heard me.  Not from that far away.

But things started to get weird when the class loner Cameron, who they’ve known since grade school, started appearing everywhere Lorelei was.  Including outside her house all night long.  Creepy!  And then things become even stranger when we met the new hot guy at school, Jared.  Jared had a lot mystery surrounding him from just his name (I was like uhhh really, that’s how you’re going to play it?! Lol) to how he made Lorelei feel.  So when push comes to shove, and Lorelei’s whole world explodes on a city street, things got a lot more interesting!

He leaned forward and whispered in my ear.  His warm breath sent shivers cascading over my body.  “You intoxicate me, Lorelei McAlister.  You will be my downfall.”

I absolutely loved Lorelei.  So I was happy to struggle right along with her, with not only trying to figure out what some people were, but also who was good and who was bad.  Because while she’d always known Cameron, he acted a little psychotic lately.  And while she didn’t know anything about Jared, he made her heart do crazy things and I wanted him around just as much as she did.  So be warned, there was a little bit of insta-love going on in this book.  But regardless, I loved both of those boys!  Cameron and Jared were broody, grumpy, held on to their secrets extremely tight and I just wanted to learn everything about them.  And don’t worry, there wasn’t a love triangle at all.

“…..My desires are a bit more…self-serving.” he said with a wry gleam.  “So, no, Lorelei, I should not be here.  In a thousand different ways, I shouldn’t be here.”

Normally friends can fade into the dark when supernatural elements get involved, but thankfully Brooklyn and Glitch got to learn right along with Lorelei.  Btw, I loved Brooklyn.  She was funny, warm and I saw a lot potential for a possible future love interest for her.  But Glitch? *shrugs*  He never won me over, I never connected with him and I just didn’t care about him.  I’m sorry Glitch.  Another thing I never connected with were the twins, Ashlee and Sydnee, and I didn’t get Lorelei’s hatred towards Brooke – those were people they all went to school with.  But even with my issues towards not understanding feelings or not caring about certain characters, it was still so easy to become lost in their world.  I absolutely adored this book, and I can’t wait to see how the rest of the series goes!  Plus I can’t wait to spend more time with Jared so I can fall even harder for him, and Cameron too!

PS Yes, I know I didn’t talk a lot about what happened in the story, but but but spoilers.  It’s hard to say anything without giving everything away. 😉

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
Death and the Girl Next Door #1 Reviews: Jen	Death, Doom and Detention #2 Reviews: Jen	Death, and the Girl He Loves #3 Reviews: Jen