Audiobook Review: Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones, Narrated by Lorelei King

My love affair with Charley Davidson continues with Third Grave Dead Ahead. Maybe it is not so much love as it is idol worship. Charley is smart, sexy and hilarious. She is such a smart alec and always says the perfect thing in each situation. Even if I could think of that perfect wise-ass comment, I'd never be brave enough to utter it when faced with a knife-wielding criminal. Maybe that is one of Charley's many grim reaper superpowers – a smart comment for every occasion.

In Third Grave Dead Ahead, a guilty doctor hires Charley to find his wife. When I say guilty, I mean that Charley uses her empathic ability to determine the doctor can't be trusted. The hunt for his wife takes both supernatural and natural detective skills and is marked with several twists. Nothing is what it seems.

I have to mention Artemis. Artemis is one of the motorcycle gang's guard dogs. Guard dog – yeah right. If you have ever had a Rottweiler for a pet, you know how sweet and playful they can be. Unfortunately, they get too much bad press. So thank you Ms. Jones for your portrayal of this wonderful breed.

After reading Third Grave Dead Ahead, here is what I have decided:

1. Charley's dad cannot be trusted. He proved that in Second Grave on the Left and does nothing to disprove that opinion in this story.
2. Cookie is a sweetheart.
3. Uncle Bob always comes through.
4. Garrett always comes through.
5. Reyes (aka Son of Satan) is an ass. I mean it. I don't care if he is gorgeous. He is mean, manipulative and pissy. Really, what does Charley see in him?

In Third Grave Dead Ahead, there were a lot of things that happened that I did not like. See numbers 1 and 5 above. Also, a main character dies. However, upon further reflection, I have come to the conclusion that these events are a necessary part of the Charley Davidson lore and will come to be important to the ongoing story.

Reading the Charley Davidson series in order is the best way to enjoy them. But if Third Grave Dead Ahead is your introduction to the series, it can still be enjoyed. There is enough background provided to avoid getting lost.

My favorite way to enjoy the Charley Davidson series is by listening to audiobooks. As usual, Lorelie King delivers a narration full of nuance and heart. Her interpretation is perfect and I really can't imagine this series being experienced in other way other than audiobook.

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Review: Side by Side by Wendy Louise

Side by Side is the first book that I have read by Wendy Louise and it is also the first book in her Side by Side series. This book is a standalone, and the next book in the series will be about characters that the reader first meets in this story. While there were a lot of things that I liked about this story, I also had some problems with it. I am curious to read the next book, but I hope that things are a bit different in the next book. 

Katy Lou has been dating Jacob on and off for two years, and while she loves him she is no longer in love with him. Things between them are comfortable, bu Katy still loves her childhood best friend Elijah Trent. Katy and Elijah had always looked out for one another, and they knew that the love between them would get them through anything. But things changed for them both when Elijah suddenly left with no word to Katy when they were fourteen. When Katy and her boyfriend Jacob go to an underground fight, she is surprised to see Elijah fighting. Katy and Elijah begin to reconnect and they both realize that the love and connection between them is stronger than ever, but is it enough to risk leaving behind a comfortable life for Katy? 

I liked Katy and Elijah a lot. The connection and chemistry between these two was amazing. You could see and feel the love between them right from the start, and it was clear that these two were meant for each other. Elijah and Katy had both had a tough childhood, but they had each other to make things better. If it wasn't for the other, their childhoods would have been completely miserable. But when Elijah was forced to leave, it broke both of their hearts. I felt badly for both of them, but was so glad that they were able to reconnect and everything was explained. Katy and Elijah might have been separated for years, but their relationship picked up right where they left off and it felt really natural. 

My problems with this story weren't the characters. I loved Elijah and Katy, and I really liked their friends. I am looking forward to reading Mindy and Caleb's story next! But I did have some issues with how this one was written. As I was reading words and phrases seemed off, and I couldn't figure out why the dialogue was so weird at times. All the characters lived in and were from the US, and yet it almost seemed as though they spoke as though from another country. That is when I went searching and found out that the author is Australian. I think that this book could have been much better if it would have been gone through by an editor that pointed out some of those odd wordings. That was relatively minor, but still threw me off and hurt my enjoyment of the story. My biggest issue with this story is that it seemed as though the author was determined to throw every single cliche for drama into this story, and it was beyond predictable. After the first few things happened, I got extremely frustrated and I couldn't believe that each time things would get resolved a new and ridiculous problem would pop up for them. It just got to be too cliched and over the top, and it was unbelievable. I do think that this story could have been really good, but unfortunately beyond the great characters and story potential, there wasn't anything new or different here. If this one wouldn't have tried to throw in everything and the kitchen sink I think it would have been a much more enjoyable story.

**Review Copy Provided by Inkslinger PR**

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ARC Review: Dream of You by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Dream of You is a standalone novella in Jennifer L. Armentrout's (J. Lynn) Wait for You series. This novella features Reece's brother Colton Anders. Colton and Abby Erickson went to high school together, but haven't seen each other in years. But when Abby witnesses a horrible crime, she finds herself face to face with her Colton who she always had a crush on. But can Colton keep her safe from danger? 

I really liked Abby and Colton. Colton was honest and sweet, and I loved him right from the start. He was great with Abby, and I liked that he had always had a thing for her. She never knew how he felt, and it was nice to see a guy be interested in someone that wasn't always perfect and put together. Abby had experienced a lot of loss, and I felt bad for her. She also had issues with self esteem, and I thought that Colton was exactly what she needed. These two had a lot of chemistry and I really enjoyed them together.

My biggest complaint with this book is length. I wish that we had been given more of these two because it seemed a bit rushed to me. There were several things that I felt could have been expanded, and I wish that they hadn't been so quickly dealt with. Though it was easy to see Abby and Colton had a connection and chemistry, I would have liked to have seen their relationship really develop. It all happened pretty fast and I felt like we missed out on seeing a lot of it happen. I enjoyed their story though, and I think it was a good addition to this series. I will definitely read more from JLA in the future, and I hope that we might get to see more of these two as the series continues.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

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Surf, Sand & Books Event with Jessica Lee

Jessica Lee is an EPIC eBook Award winner and international bestselling author of paranormal romance. She lives in the southeastern United States with her husband and son. In her former life, Jessica was a science geek and spent over twenty-five years as a nurse. But after the birth of her son, she left her medical career behind. During that transition, she discovered her passion for writing romance and has never looked back. Jessica Lee is currently published with Entangled Publishing and Resplendence Publishing. Plus she has several self-published titles available.

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ARC Review: The Spring Bride by Anne Gracie

I am so happy that I was given the opportunity to read this book. Honestly, Anne Gracie was nowhere near my radar, and not reading this book would have been a tragedy for me in my opinion. Being this is the only book of hers I’ve read, I can’t say she’s on my must buy list of authors, but I have ordered a copy from Barnes and Noble, and I plan to read the two previous books in the series.

The story begins like a fairy tale. Jane Chantry is begging her mother to tell her the story of the day she was a princess. The day she met and fell in love with her father. Jane is very young and doesn’t seem to completely understand that her mother is sick. Jane’s older sister, Abby, does understand though and is trying to care for her mother the best she can. The family is one full of love but also full of struggle. Jane’s parents were disowned by their parents because they both left arranged marriages and eloped together.

We learn that the girls’ parents both die while they are very young. Somehow though through actions of Abby, the two girls along with two friends are in the care of Lady Beatrice. She claims the four girls are her nieces and wants them all to debut in the coming season. Jane’s focus for a husband is one of safety. Because of her difficult childhood, she believes love is the cause of their struggles and doesn’t believe it’s worth it.

Zachary has been serving England the last twelve years as a spy. His supervisor calls him back from the continent and informs Zachary that his cousin is trying to legally proclaim him dead so that he may take over the title. It’s more complicated than just proving he’s alive, however, because he also has a murder charge on his head. Until they can prove his innocence he must remain in disguise.

Jane and Zachary meet in a dirty alley both trying to save a poor dog from getting tortured by some street children. From this point forward the two are drawn to each other. Jane feels this attraction is just a distraction from her goal of a comfortable safe future. Zachary knows it isn’t good to get attached to a lady, but he can’t help himself. It’s all so very sweet, and the story picks up speed later.

One person I loved in this book was Lady Beatrice. If you have read Julia Quinn’s books you will be familiar with Lady Danbury. These two would be well matched. Especially with how often they stomp their canes! Oh how I loved it!

I would highly recommend this book to historical romance readers. I do think that reading the first two books in the series would be beneficial because the backstory was rushed a little in this book. The unknown of those books though has me wanting to read the first book, The Autumn Bride, so I can see what led them to where they are. The Spring Bride swept me away!

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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