Death and the Girl He Lovesby Darynda Jones
Rating: ★★★★
isbn: 9780312625221
Series: Darklight #3
Publication Date: October 8, 2013
Pages: 255
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
WARNING: If you haven’t read the first two books in this trilogy – there are spoilers ahead. But no spoilers for this book.
I don’t read a lot of YA – usually only if someone I trust highly recommends it and if it’s paranormal. But I picked up the first book in this trilogy based solely on the author, Darynda Jones. I love her work. I LOVE her snark. She writes some of the best snarky banter around (Chloe Neill – also a favourite).
This trilogy didn’t disappoint. If the fact that I choose paranormal didn’t give it away, I’m not looking for the realistic portrayal of teens. All that angst and melodrama – Yuck! These are teens I can thoroughly enjoy reading – smart asses every one of ’em! But all thicker than thieves.
The trilogy, in a nutshell, focuses on Lorelei – she’s the last in a line of very powerful prophets, the one foretold to stop the end of the world before it starts. She has a nephilim to protect her and the Angel of Death by her side along with her two best friends. She has no idea how to stop the end of the world before it starts. Adventures are had and information is gleaned. Much snark and witty banter is exchanged.
I didn’t know until I finished this one and went searching for information that this was, in fact, a trilogy. But the book ended in such as way that it could be the final wrap up or it could continue. It was only when I turned to Google in confusion that I saw references on her site to it being a trilogy. Boo and hiss.
I read through this final instalment in a day – I stayed up too late on a work night because no way was I going to put this book down. It starts of a tiny bit slow – Lorelei is attending a boarding school in Maine, hoping to hide out from the chaos and forestall the inevitable until she can figure out what she’s capable of. It picks up pretty fast though – she can run but apparently she can’t hide. I was happy to find that the gang is only separated for a short time, and once they were reunited I became completely absorbed in the book.
It’s a fast, fun read with a final showdown that isn’t kind to anyone, but ultimately fulfils the prophecies. The aftermath took me a bit to figure out – the transition was very abrupt and so left me feeling disoriented (which might be just what the author intended…) for a few paragraphs before I had my Ahhhh…. moment. After that – fun.
And that last chapter… it left me hoping….