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halynah's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good, but not unputdownable. There were some funny situations and dialogues, but sometimes the pacing was too slow and repetitive.
rvmama's review against another edition
1.0
I really disliked this book. The storyline was confusing and when I finally figured out what was going on I hated it. None of the humor I expected. Really depressing .
laurenhunter143's review against another edition
1.0
I wanted to like this book so much, but honestly it felt like I was reading a unfinished draft of the story instead. There were good ideas and characters but the plot line seemed to jump all over the place and I had a hard time following along and falling into the story. I wasn't able to even finish it and will not be reading the rest of the series.
janina_reads's review against another edition
Meeh. Kind of weird and jumbled, plus I can already smell the love triangle. Main character is way too accepting of the situation and annoying me to no end. At the beginning, I was very curious to see where this would go, but that curiosity has been drowned in endless descriptions of and talk about a certain omigod-so-hot character and an unsubtle humour that just isn't my thing. Abandoned at 30%.
jeslyncat's review against another edition
3.0
I see what a number of other reviewers are talking about--this was fairly jumbled and kind of all over the place. 2.5 stars.
reddyrat's review against another edition
4.0
So many bloggers have raved about Darynda Jones's books that I've been dying to read them. I decided to pick up her YA series first. With the first book the Darklight series, I'm definitely a Darynda Jones fan and look forward to reading more of her YA and adult books.
Lorelai is your everyday small-town New Mexican teenager, except for the fact that she occasionally has visions when she touches people. She helps her grandma tend the family store, loves her iMac, stresses over tests, complains that she's too short, and spends most of her time hanging out with her two best friends. But everything changes when she meets Jared "supernova hot" Kovach.
I went into Death and the Girl Next Door blind. I didn't read the synopsis and I couldn't remember any specifics from reviews I'd read. It was fun to be surprised as the paranormal twist revealed itself. And so it did, with a literal death-defying bang as Lorelai was thrown to her death - except for the fact that she didn't die. This was followed up immediately by a crazed fight between Jared and Cameron, the school loner who's been stalking Lorelai. Needless to say, the book was full of action.
The highlight of the book was Lorelai's friends, Brooklyn and Glitch. Especially Glitch. They're the type of friends who will stand next to you and face any danger, no questions asked. Even better, they'll chime in with a few snarky, geeky quips that will make you roll your eyes and laugh. Cameron too quickly grew on me. He has a hard exterior that covers a painful past and a great responsibility. He has a dark sense of humor that I love.
I was a fan of Jared, although he was not my favorite character. He's your typical alpha, emo, dangerous, dark hero. He's likable and his passion for Lorelai definitely set my heart pounding a few times, but I think I've read a few too many books with his personality type. Plus, Lorelai went on Bella-style about his hotness(although not quite so bad).
Death and the Girl Next Door is a very fast read. Like I said earlier, it is chock full of action and jumps from one scene to the other - perhaps too quickly sometimes but at least it doesn't drag. Ms. Jones does a good job in giving us enough information about the characters and the paranormal world to make this first installment feel complete while leaving plenty of holes for future books to fill. The book doesn't break any new ground in the paranormal realm, but it does put a new spin on a frequently told world and managed to surprised me with some extra twists at the end. I'm looking forward to seeing where the Darklight series goes.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Lorelai is your everyday small-town New Mexican teenager, except for the fact that she occasionally has visions when she touches people. She helps her grandma tend the family store, loves her iMac, stresses over tests, complains that she's too short, and spends most of her time hanging out with her two best friends. But everything changes when she meets Jared "supernova hot" Kovach.
I went into Death and the Girl Next Door blind. I didn't read the synopsis and I couldn't remember any specifics from reviews I'd read. It was fun to be surprised as the paranormal twist revealed itself. And so it did, with a literal death-defying bang as Lorelai was thrown to her death - except for the fact that she didn't die. This was followed up immediately by a crazed fight between Jared and Cameron, the school loner who's been stalking Lorelai. Needless to say, the book was full of action.
The highlight of the book was Lorelai's friends, Brooklyn and Glitch. Especially Glitch. They're the type of friends who will stand next to you and face any danger, no questions asked. Even better, they'll chime in with a few snarky, geeky quips that will make you roll your eyes and laugh. Cameron too quickly grew on me. He has a hard exterior that covers a painful past and a great responsibility. He has a dark sense of humor that I love.
I was a fan of Jared, although he was not my favorite character. He's your typical alpha, emo, dangerous, dark hero. He's likable and his passion for Lorelai definitely set my heart pounding a few times, but I think I've read a few too many books with his personality type. Plus, Lorelai went on Bella-style about his hotness(although not quite so bad).
Death and the Girl Next Door is a very fast read. Like I said earlier, it is chock full of action and jumps from one scene to the other - perhaps too quickly sometimes but at least it doesn't drag. Ms. Jones does a good job in giving us enough information about the characters and the paranormal world to make this first installment feel complete while leaving plenty of holes for future books to fill. The book doesn't break any new ground in the paranormal realm, but it does put a new spin on a frequently told world and managed to surprised me with some extra twists at the end. I'm looking forward to seeing where the Darklight series goes.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
kyleechris's review
5.0
Where do I start? I loved this book so much! The characters, the plot, the everything!
Lorelei/Lor ~ I absolutely adored Lorelei, I loved how stubborn she was. When she wanted something she wasn't afraid to go after it. What she lacked in height she definitely made up for with her feisty personality! I really hated how everyone tried to keep things from her. I feel like everything they kept from her was who she truly was yet no one thought it was appropriate to tell her about anything. Even though she had no clue what was going on or why her world turned upside down after she met Jared she still pushed forward and found the answers she wanted and needed to know. I also love how she didn't put up with any of Cameron and Jared's crap. They're literally giants compared to her but she some how got them to behave, funniest thing ever! Boys, I would be scared of her shine kicks if I were you.
Jared ~ Oh, Jared. Let me love you and your swoon worthy self. I honestly can't say too much about Jared without giving things away but I will say I really did enjoy Jared as a character and it wasn't just because he's drop dead sexy! Even though he definitely has some issues, for lack of better wording, he was a really sweet guy and I loved the relationship he had with Lorelei. I'm so excited to see what's going to happen to him in the next book and I can't wait to see how Lorelei and Jared's relationship develops.
Cameron ~ Cameron, Cameron, Cameron. Oh how I loved him even though he could be a big jerk. I felt so bad for him, he's like this tough rugged guy on the outside but on the inside he's truly just a lost little boy. I wanted to crawl into the book and hug him so many times or just tell him everything would be okay. I loved how he was towards Brooke. I hope they get a happy ever after because they're so perfect for each other. I think she's sort of like his calm, she's perfect to keep him grounded and help him keep it together. So I'm also really excited to see where their relationship goes in the next book.
Brooke/Brooklyn ~ Brooke is one of Lorelei's bestfriend and she is such a great one! She is always there for Lorelei throughout the book and even when Lorelei asks if she can help with something that's really sketchy she doesn't hesitate to help in anyway she can. She's also hilarious and has a sassy attitude that went perfect with Lorelei's! I love how she always picked on Glitch, the third of the three musketeers. I also love how instead of her just having the hots for Cameron in the book she truly cared about him. It's so cute how the two bestfriends had it for the two bad boys.
Glitch/Casey ~ I loved Glitch so much. I think I laughed the most when he was talking. He is hilarious and also one of the greatest best friends ever. Even when he had his doubts about what Lorelei said he didn't hesitate to help her any way he could, just like Brooke. Whenever he had his little 'nerd' moments I cracked up, he was just a really cute likable character.
Lorelei's Grandparents ~ I adored Lorelei's Grandma and Grandpa so much. I love how they were so willing to trust Lorelei and supported her throughout the book even when they didn't really know what was going on. I didn't like how they kept things from her past a secret but I know it was out of love and they only wanted what's best for her.
After about getting 3/4 into this book I honestly thought I had figured out what was going on and who was who but I was completely wrong and I loved that. I was really afraid that this was going to be really similar to the Fallen series by Lauren Kate and I'm really happy it wasn't. Darynda took elements that are used a lot in YA today and made it her own! I definitely recommend you all read this book when it comes out. I'm really excited for the next book in the trilogy to come out.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy to read and review!
Lorelei/Lor ~ I absolutely adored Lorelei, I loved how stubborn she was. When she wanted something she wasn't afraid to go after it. What she lacked in height she definitely made up for with her feisty personality! I really hated how everyone tried to keep things from her. I feel like everything they kept from her was who she truly was yet no one thought it was appropriate to tell her about anything. Even though she had no clue what was going on or why her world turned upside down after she met Jared she still pushed forward and found the answers she wanted and needed to know. I also love how she didn't put up with any of Cameron and Jared's crap. They're literally giants compared to her but she some how got them to behave, funniest thing ever! Boys, I would be scared of her shine kicks if I were you.
Jared ~ Oh, Jared. Let me love you and your swoon worthy self. I honestly can't say too much about Jared without giving things away but I will say I really did enjoy Jared as a character and it wasn't just because he's drop dead sexy! Even though he definitely has some issues, for lack of better wording, he was a really sweet guy and I loved the relationship he had with Lorelei. I'm so excited to see what's going to happen to him in the next book and I can't wait to see how Lorelei and Jared's relationship develops.
Cameron ~ Cameron, Cameron, Cameron. Oh how I loved him even though he could be a big jerk. I felt so bad for him, he's like this tough rugged guy on the outside but on the inside he's truly just a lost little boy. I wanted to crawl into the book and hug him so many times or just tell him everything would be okay. I loved how he was towards Brooke. I hope they get a happy ever after because they're so perfect for each other. I think she's sort of like his calm, she's perfect to keep him grounded and help him keep it together. So I'm also really excited to see where their relationship goes in the next book.
Brooke/Brooklyn ~ Brooke is one of Lorelei's bestfriend and she is such a great one! She is always there for Lorelei throughout the book and even when Lorelei asks if she can help with something that's really sketchy she doesn't hesitate to help in anyway she can. She's also hilarious and has a sassy attitude that went perfect with Lorelei's! I love how she always picked on Glitch, the third of the three musketeers. I also love how instead of her just having the hots for Cameron in the book she truly cared about him. It's so cute how the two bestfriends had it for the two bad boys.
Glitch/Casey ~ I loved Glitch so much. I think I laughed the most when he was talking. He is hilarious and also one of the greatest best friends ever. Even when he had his doubts about what Lorelei said he didn't hesitate to help her any way he could, just like Brooke. Whenever he had his little 'nerd' moments I cracked up, he was just a really cute likable character.
Lorelei's Grandparents ~ I adored Lorelei's Grandma and Grandpa so much. I love how they were so willing to trust Lorelei and supported her throughout the book even when they didn't really know what was going on. I didn't like how they kept things from her past a secret but I know it was out of love and they only wanted what's best for her.
After about getting 3/4 into this book I honestly thought I had figured out what was going on and who was who but I was completely wrong and I loved that. I was really afraid that this was going to be really similar to the Fallen series by Lauren Kate and I'm really happy it wasn't. Darynda took elements that are used a lot in YA today and made it her own! I definitely recommend you all read this book when it comes out. I'm really excited for the next book in the trilogy to come out.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy to read and review!
snance's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this but it read like a rough draft. Not even close to Charley Davidson level. There was no humor and the plot was all over the place. It could have used about100 pages of details in between.
aspygirlsmom_1995's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0