Friday 26 October 2012

Review: Death and the Girl Next Door by Darynda Jones


 Death and the Girl Next Door
 Author: Darynda Jones
 Publisher: St. Martin's Press
 Publication date: October 2nd 2012
 Source: Netgalley
 My rating: 3.5 stars


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?  

Darynda Jones is an author whose books I’ve always been curious about. With my friends singing high praises of her Charley Davidson adult series, I was given the extra push when I heard she was dipping into the YA, something that was completely new to her. I like it when authors try something outside of their comfort zone.  So I was willing to give it a try.

Lorelei has been living with her grandparents for the last 10 years after her parent’s disappearance; there’s never been any clear evidence as to what happened, so Lorelei lives in the hope that one day they will return. Lorelei is lucky to have two best friends Glitch and Brooke to help keep her sane through the stressful times. They know what she’s been through and what she’s capable of yet are still there for her constantly. When strange things start happening with Cameron Lusk the school loner suddenly stalking her and a gorgeous boy Jared starting their school, Lorelei is creeped out but excited at the same time. She’s happy as she likes Jared and he seems to want to spend time with her too, but Cameron constantly keeps butting in, she has no clue what’s up with these two and she doesn’t really want to find out. But despite this she is dragged into the middle of it, if Lorelei thinks her life was bad it takes a turn for the worse.

What I loved about this book was that I was immediately drawn into Lorelei’s world. Books which take such a long time building up to something big which isn’t even big at all I tend not to have the patience for. But Jones sure knows how to get things kick started; she’s not one to beat around the bush. Lorelei finds herself smack bang in the middle of a tug of war competition between Jared and Cameron. Usually I’m quite quick to pick sides between two male characters, but I found that neither Cameron nor Jared were fully able to win me over. As the book progressed I did like the character development of both characters but neither of them made a massive impact on me. I admit Jared occasionally made me swoon (one favourite scene which comes to mind is the shower scene ;). He was always the gentleman in my eyes despite Cameron’s accusations. Cameron on the other hand just bugged me; he had this huge big secret which I’m still constantly thinking about. He seemed to know everyone’s life story but didn’t seem to want to share it. Consequently most of the time Cameron had me utterly baffled! I think another reason Cameron and Jared didn’t work for me was because they were constantly in each other’s faces, not one time did they agree with each other, the constant manning up and puffing their muscles did eventually lead to a few eye roll moments.

This book was definitely made for me by Lorelei’s friend Glitch and Brooke, with these two around there was never a dull moment, the constant banter, winding each other and Jared and Cameron up lightened the mood loads, when you had two big giants squaring off all the time, a joke from these two would have me cracking up.

Despite the great start, this book did drop off quite a bit in the middle I found it hard to pay attention with the repetitiveness, but thankfully the book picked up its brilliant pace it originally started off with in the last 30% or so. It also threw a nice couple of surprises in the mix which I for one didn’t foresee. Death and the Girl Next Door was a very promising to start to this series, I’m quite eager to find out how things will pan out in the next book; Death, Doom and Detention.

Thank you Sam for reading this with me!

21 comments:

Unknown said...

Glad you liked this book too. I can't wait to see what happens next on Death, Doom and Detention.

-Dannielle

Anonymous said...

I like the punny title =)) Especially the sequel's. I have heard mixed reviews on this one though so I'm still on the fence. Especially now that you mention its repetitiveness. Still, great review, Jasprit :D

Celine said...

I've seen a couple of reviews on this book and the book does sound interesting! I'm really curious of Lorelei's story so I might read this book if I get the chance ;) PS: I love the second book's title!

Awesome review, Jasprit ♥ Glad you enjoyed it!

Sam (Realm of Fiction) said...

I completely share your thoughts on this, Jasprit. I lost a little bit of interest halfway through but I did enjoy it overall. Glitch and Brooke made this book for me too. Awesome review! :)

Shirley said...

I'm glad the pace picked up towards the end...unfortunately, I'm having trouble with the first half of the book :( Neither Jared nor Cameron won me over in the beginning either...I'm hoping I'll warm up to Jared soon though! Great review Jasprit!

P.S I still find it eerily coincidental that you share the same name as my friend...hahaaaa
x

Jenny said...

Weren't Glitch and Brooke awesome? I loved them so much, and it was just so nice to see a friendship take up as much of the limelight as the romance. I'm really looking forward to seeing how all of them handle things in the next book. I know this wasn't your favorite story ever, but I'm glad you at least enjoyed it for the most part Jasprit!

Book Passion for Life said...

Sounds like a good one - I'd be interested to read this after seeing your thoughts! =)

Eunice said...

Fantastic review, Jasprit! I'm glad to see that you enjoyed this despite some of the flaws in the middle part and with the boys. Haha! But it's nice to see that the heroines friends made this book for you. :)

Leanna Elle said...

I've seen some mixed reviews around for this one, but it definitely sounds like fun to me!

Shooting Stars Mag said...

I think this is the first review i've seen of this. I'm glad it was a good one overall. I really want to read her adult books...probably get to those first. :)

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

This book is good but it pales in comparison to Charley, I know the middle was a bit slow and the ending was jagged. Please please try Charley! I love Darynda she is just awesome!

Keertana said...

I've seen so many mixed reviews for this one, so I really do feel as if yours is one of the most balanced I've come across. From the issues you describe with this novel, I almost think I'd experience them two-fold, so perhaps I'll give Jones' adult series a try first. Everyone seems to have LOVED those, so I'm curious to see what all the hype is about. Amazing review, hun!(:

Jasprit said...

I will definitely be trying Darynda's Charley series, I just checked my library has copies, I may have to go on a request binge ;)

Jasprit said...

Oh that's a shame Shirley, I hope it picks up for you soon! I know! Is she a blogger too? :)

Teresa Mary Rose said...

See the moment two guys were mentioned in the summary I kinda just steered clear of this book. From what you said I'm glad I did. That constantly bickering would have really bothered me. The rest of the story sounds interesting, but i just know I will be too frustrated with it. Thanks for the review!

Jen (Books and Other Happy Ever Afters) said...

I have been quite excited to pick this one for awhile now! It's sad that you weren't able to fall for EITHER boy--I'm excited to read that shower scene though. ;) I'm glad that the main character's best friends kept the book happy and exciting though. Lovely review! :)

Unknown said...

I haven't read any of Jones' books, but have been very curious. A lot Of the aspects that bugged you would probably irritate me too. I still want to read this one, but will probably read her adult series first. Great review, Jasprit!

WinterHaven said...

Great review Jasprit! I was disappointed with this one, but you are right the end totally picked up! I am very curious how the sequel will be =)

Anonymous said...

I've seen many reviews of this ranging from readers who were rather underwhelmed to readers who loved it, so I find it interesting to see that you found a comfortable spot in the middle, Jasprit. :) Great review, as always!

Vegan YA Nerds said...

It's a shame about the pacing but the fact that the ending was strong is a good thing! So glad you enjoyed this, Jas, now I want to read it, too!

Vegan YA Nerds said...

ETA: I love that you and your sis watch my vlogs, I'll try and make sure I always have at least one cat appearance! ;)

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