Title: Eighth Grave After Dark
Series: Charley Davidson, Book 8
Author: Darynda Jones
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Sensuality Rating: Steamy
Source: bought
Published: May 19, 2015 by St. Martin’s Press
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….
Reviewed by: Sara
Why I Read This Book: I love Charley! Darynda Jones has been an auto-buy since First Grave on the Right, book one of the Charley Davidson series, which came out in 2011.
What I Liked: There are elements of a Charley Davidson novels that are simply genius. The hilarious T-shirt quotes at the beginning of each chapter, Charley’s fantastically hilarious dialogue, well-developed side characters, and the hot, hot, heat between Charley and Reyes for example. All are once again present in Eighth Grave After Dark.
What I Also Liked: Eighth Grave after Dark has some resolutions to long time story arcs and plotlines. The mysterious Mr. Wong is revealed and Charley and her (wicked) step-mother finally have it out. Plus, there’s a wedding and a baby! Who doesn’t love weddings and babies?
What I Didn't Like: Argh! The story, if that makes sense. Eighth Grave After Dark had all the elements that have drawn me to The Charley Davidson series since day one, but they were subdued. I found the story lacked the humour, wit, and usual heat that Charley, Reyes, and the gang are known for.
The story itself seemed to start slow and drag and then jumped the train to crazy town at the end. No lie, the ending turned into the storyline from a terrible soap opera. (Does anyone remember Passions?) There were possessions, imprinting, amnesia, surprise relatives, bikers coming out of the woodwork, and conspiracies all over the place and the crazy doesn't seem like it's going to let up in book 9.
Overall Impression: First, don't read this book if you haven't read the first 7. Just don't bother, you will be lost, lost, lost! Second, this was probably my least favourite of the Charley Davidson series for the aforementioned reasons and that made me sad.
Sara’s Rating:
I'm only through book 4 in the series. I feel like the fast pace these books are put out might hinder what readers love most. I'll probably still read this one since I like the series, but a bit of a bummer to hear.
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