3 1/2 stars

Could not put this book down. I didn't love all of it & them giving up Beep about killed me but talk about an ending. Cannot wait until the next book. I think it's due this year and I CANNOT WAIT!!!

No rating/review after the first read.

This one is probably closer to 4 than 4.5. Definitely not my fave of the series. I kinda wish I was reviewing the first time I read the series because I think I'm a bit more critical now.

I had more little things pop up in this one that either were irritating or made me question if Darynda remembered what happened previously. It's also one of those series that doesn't give you a full background of the characters. I don't know if it was on purpose. It allows the author to mold it as needed in future books, for better or worse, that's for you to decide.

This series almost needs books from Reyes' POV because of all the things he does that Charley has no idea about until he's force to reveal.

Another reason I wished I reviewed it? Back then, I wasn't bothered by things that I am now. Like pregnancy/children. I mean, it does have a point in this series. But I typically avoid books advertised as "secret baby" or "single parent" now.

I am still enjoying rereading the series. I still have trouble putting them down, even though I might be questioning things more this time.

.........How?........

How can nothing happen in eight months and then so much happen in less then a week!!!
Although this really makes my brain go crazy, I enjoyed this book sooooooo much.
It was very very close to be a five star, it really stood out to me compare to others in the series.

My predictions were right, we really focus more on the supernatural aspect more now and less on investigation. Of course it would have been hard knowing Charley's situation in this one. The more books I read in the series the less I want to put in the reviews so I'll make it simple.

This book brought the laughs, the worry and the complete heartbreak. It also brought back some of my favorite characters! I could not believe they were there but they were! For a very short time but I am hoping we will get more of them because I can't get enough.

The ending...I do not have words...I can't wait to see what happens in the next one. It better be handled well or I might scream.

I have been hooked on this series from the start! The suspense builds from one book to the next, as I wait for answers to my many questions. This installment answers sooo many of those questions. Each book in the series gets better as the storyline progresses. How does Darynda Jones keep the unique plots coming? Great in Kindle and even more life-like in audiobook/.

Book 8 was a bit different from previous books. Charley is pregnant and to keep little Beep (the baby) safe, her, Reyes and her posse all moved to an abandoned convent. The convent is on sacred ground and would keep her and the baby safe from the Hellhounds that are hunting her. Since Charley can't leave the grounds without getting attacked, her private investigation was almost brought to a halt. However, this is Charley we are talking about and she still found a way to help some of the departed.

Cases involved:
-Finding out what happened to the missing priest and nun from that abandoned convent many years prior
-helping FBI Agent Carlson find a missing girl that happens to be the niece of the agents ex.

There was actually a lot that happened in this book despite them being limited to one location. I'm sad about the ending of this book but there is just so much more to discover and I know things don't always turn out they I think they will. On to the next book...

OVERALL SERIES DESCRIPTION: Heroine, Charley Davidson, Private Investigator and Grim Reaper. She's a portal for the dead to pass through to heaven. Hero, Reyes Alexander Farrow, Son of Satan and portal to Hell. Since Charley can see and talk to the dead, she has helped her former cop father and current cop uncle solve cases. The main focus in each book are the cases Charley solves with the help of her best friend Cookie, her uncle and the dead victims. The side focus is the romance between Charley and Reyes and the impending war with the demons that is predicted.

So, yes, I did read this series before. This is a long spoiler review.

I remember being so angry at the BS

Spoiler

amnesia ending that I put this book in bad-book-hell (AKA the freezer). Don't judge me. At some point after, I donated the paperbacks to my library. I am mad I didn't update here; it would have saved me a lot of money from repurchasing and the opening of old wounds.


This was a conclusion book where we were supposed to wrap up all the lingering questions ... Right? But I have many questions. Like what happened to all the different personalities of the rest of the characters? They used to have them. I remember reading previous books where they had them. But in this book, it was just Charley being reckless Charley and Reyes being not Reyes. Neither talks to each other, which has not changed; they still do anything but talk to each other. I feel like Reyes's despair over the unsafe world Beep was coming into was sprinkled on him. It didn't carry any depth. His physical manifestation was no sleeping... And Charley had no idea for 8 months. Really?

Who the heck is who in the army of what? Can anyone explain this? I reread that about 10 times.

Didn't the hounds scratch Charley up really bad last book?

Mr. Wong's tiny part... Was that just to wrap him up? I feel like he deserved a little more page time.

Oh, and let's bring the pedophile back. That's always a good idea. It doesn't matter how he was previously disposed of in prior books.

Let's send the baby away with regular old humans, because that's what we would all do with the supernatural pedophile on the lose.

Frickin Denise? I could not believe Charley fell for that sh*t. Denise abused her emotionally as a child, and still let this woman near her after... And near her child. So then she's turned into a demon possessed employee of Lucifer. What? Did that give anyone whiplash or was that just me?

Last but not least, I always feel like the amnesia schtick is more of a cop out to add filler books. I do not like filler books. This was why I didn't continue reading the series before. When a series is great, I will reread it. I don't want to read a book about two characters who have already connected (partially, as C&R have in 7 books in that non-adult-completely-lacking-even-the-tiniest-morsel-of-trust between them way) as the writer tried to reconnect them because of fricken amnesia.

I don't know if I will continue after this. This would have been a 2.5 star rating if not for the amnesia malarkey tacked on the end.

***SPOILER ALERT***The new setting of this book, an abandoned convent, was refreshing. Cookie's marriage to Robert was lovely, the mystery of a kidnapped girl was cool, and Charley's pregnancy was really fun to read about.

However, there are some plot twists here that left me a bit baffled. I figured the baby would come through some sort of traumatic event, but the fact that Charley was down a well, Reyes wasn't right there with her, and Denise was the one who helped her through her labour, all made no sense. Especially in light of the later revelation about Denise being possessed. She's unlikeable regardless.

Also, the heart wrenching separation of Beep from her parents was logical, but the immediate disappearance of Charley, who woke up with amnesia in a town in New York, again makes no sense. Nor does the fact that Reyes wants to go get her and Gemma instead explains her fragile brain needing time to remember everything.

It's totally unbelievable to me that with all that Reyes and Charley mean to each other and all they've been through, her amnesia will keep her from remembering even him. It's a tired plot twist, but I'll reserve judgment on how it plays out until the next book.

Good book, not great.