Monday, September 24, 2012

ARC Review: Death and the Girl Next Door by Darynda Jones

Death and the Girl Next Door (Darklight #1) by Darynda Jones
Release Date: October 2nd/12. Pre-order HERE
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Source: ARC from Raincoast Books
Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:
Darynda Jones, author of The New York Times bestselling series that began with First Grave on the Right, brings us Death and the Girl Next Door, a thrilling Young Adult novel garnering high praise and early buzz from major authors

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 instalment.

My Thoughts:
Demons and possessions are on the loose with this one!

I haven't had the pleasure of reading Jones' Charley Davidson series yet, but I will say this about her new Darklight series- I can't wait for Book #2!

Death and the Girl Next Door was a great introduction to what is sure to be, an amazing series! Lorelei is a great narrator, I enjoyed her humourous wit, especially the banter between her and her BFFs. I feel that Jones has left a lot of room open for Lori, and all her friends, to grow as characters, and can't wait to see where she takes them next.

There's a bit of action in DatGND, one racing scene, in particular, involving an 18-wheeler, do they all make it through it? Well you'll just have to read to find out :).

One thing that irked me a bit, though, were the boys of this novel. Their actions left me really puzzled at times. For example, David - What is his animosity towards Cameron all about, why is he so secretive? Each boy seems to be hiding something. And the two leads- Cameron and Jared, I feel like these two took a total 180 in there attitudes. Definitely some role reversals between these two heros towards the middle of the book.

I feel like the cover is a little misleading, because I do think there is a Love Triangle brewing in book 1, but not with the characters you'd think. Leave a comment below if you agree or disagree with this. 

I'm completely, 100%, Team Jared he's mysterious, dangerous, sexy and a great fit for Lori in my opinion. Although there really wasn't enough time allotted to these two's relationship, I'm eager to see what happens in Death, Doom and Detention (Darklight #2) whom's cover, by the way, makes much more sense haha.

And the ending. What can I say, it came to soon, I was thirsty for more and still am! Lori, and her friends, are left with some major, game-changing news. I can't wait to see where they'll go from here, and the lengths Jared will go to keep Lori safe *swoon*.

Overall, Death and the Girl Next Door is a great, face-paced, novel that fans of Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers series are sure to enjoy.

Happy Reading!!!

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