By Darynda Jones
Narrator Lorelei King
fiction, romance, fantasy, suspense
When I need something good and I’m not having much success finding something new I will reread a series. This is a series I have reread several times. I try to wait at least a year when rereading books or until a new book in the series is being released (if the series hasn’t ended).
This series is fun and hot. There are always several story lines going on at the same time. This keeps things fun and interesting. This series also has a supernatural element that I love. The main character is the grim reaper and the author does a wonderful job highlighting different souls lives as they pass. They are like little mini stories thrown into the mix. The female lead and male lead remain constant and their relationship evolves with the series.
When rereading a series I don’t always read them all or in order. I will just make some notes on each book, just in case next time I reread the series I don’t want to finish all 13 books.
Book 1 – A little slower than the rest of the series. Sets up the basics of the series.
Book 2 – Classic Charlie book
Book 3 – Skip chapter 24
Book 4 – Recovery from book 3, chapter 24
Book 5 – The one with the different navigation voices, sticky notes, skip chapter 19
Book 6 – Hole in wall
Book 7 – Caffeine withdrawal, Oshkosh, paper planes
Book 8 – Big plot development for the series. This book in my opinion is the pentacle of the series. The rest of the series starts to go down in quality. In the later books, story lines start to repeat. Also, Charley’s cluelessness is no longer explainable. I would like to see her be more competent. It becomes harder to forgive her suddenly becoming competent in the face of dire circumstances and finally recognize how to use her powers. Repeatedly.
Book 9 – back to basics
Book 10 – Secrets, defib app, strip show looking for wire. Bigger than a bread box? Still don’t understand the bread box, even after rereading this book several times.
Book 11- Ubie plot frustration – problem could be easily fixed with established skills. Okay really, this again? Dramatic sequences are repeating themselves.
Book 12 – R is Feral, Taft undercover, skip the last 7.5 mins of the book
Book 13 – Slow compared to the other books. Mostly just saying good bye and recapping characters in the series. The last 7 mins of the book are the most interesting in a unique kind of happily ever after.