Monday, May 18, 2015

*Book Review* Eighth Grave After Dark by Darynda Jones (Paranormal Romance)

Series: Charley Davidson # 8
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: May 19, 2015
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: E-Book, 352 pages
Genre: Paranormal Romance

With twelve hellhounds after her, pregnant Charley Davidson takes refuge at the only place she thinks they can’t get to her: the grounds of an abandoned convent. But after months of being cooped up there, Charley is ready to pop. Both metaphorically and literally since she is now roughly the size of a beached whale. Fortunately, a new case has captured her attention, one that involves a murder on the very grounds the team has taken shelter upon. A decades-old murder of the newly-vowed nun she keeps seeing in the shadows is almost enough to pull her out of her doldrums.

Charley’s been forbidden to step foot off the sacred grounds. While the angry hellhounds can’t traverse the consecrated soil, they can lurk just beyond its borders. They have the entire team on edge, especially Reyes. And if Charley didn’t know better, she would swear Reyes is getting sick. He grows hotter with every moment that passes, his heat scorching across her skin every time he’s near, but naturally he swears he’s fine.

While the team searches for clues on the Twelve, Charley just wants answers and is powerless to get them. But the mass of friends they’ve accrued helps. They convince her even more that everyone in her recent life has somehow been drawn to her, as though they were a part of a bigger picture all along. But the good feelings don’t last for long because Charley is about to get the surprise of her crazy, mixed-up, supernatural life.



"Some days I look back on my life and I'm extremely impressed I'm still alive." 

Eighth Grave After Dark, Charley Davidson # 8, takes the series to an entirely different level. This is the book that answers a whole lot of questions, while leaving readers with even more after a brutal turn of events that one could call a cliffhanger, or a bridge to the next step in Charley's evolution as a character. Charley is on the brink of giving birth to Beep, the baby prophesied to change everything.

She and Reyes have moved to a convent where the ground is sacred, and the hounds of hell can't get to her, or Beep. On top of being pregnant and spending quality time with her sexy son of Satan spouse, Charley is also maid of honor for her best friend Cookie's wedding to Uncle Ubie. You would think that being constrained to the convents grounds would put a crimp in Charley's style. Have you met Charley?

If THAT weren't enough stress, FBI Special Agent Kit Carson arrives asking Charley for assistance in finding a missing girl; there is strangeness found in and around the convent itself; and, there are more than enough secrets and revelations to spread around from here until Independence Day. The most thought provoking secrets are about Charley, which most of us have been waiting for since the beginning. But, the most shocking reveal is Mr. WONG who has been hanging around in Charley's apartment refusing to answer anyone's questions.

If you've read this series from the beginning, you know that Charley is not one to say no to anyone. She's usually the one chomping at the bit, or storming into dangerous situations without engaging all her facilities. She uses sarcasm and Cookie to keep her sane, and Reyes to keep her motor revved up. She doesn't even care that she isn't supposed to leave the convent. IF a friend needs help, she'll find a way to get the job done even if it pisses Reyes off.

Charley's cast of supporting friends and allies include Cookie's 13-year old daughter Amber, who is something special, Resident Daeva demon Osh, who knows Charley's true name, Private Investigator Garrett Swopes, who has been trying to unravel the truth behind the prophecy, Charley's investigator & ghost Angel, and the usual ghosts from Rocket, Blue, and Strawberry. Let's not forget the surprising guest appearance of Donovan the Biker that Charley once had a crush on. 

Apparently, the next installment "The Dirt on Ninth Grave" won't release until January 5, 2016. If you don't want to be spoiled by what happens in THIS book, please revert your eyes from reading the synopsis for book # 9.

**I received this book for free from (St. Martin's Press) in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!! This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**



No comments:

Post a Comment