Eighth Grave After Dark: A Novel (Charley Davidson Series, 8) Mass Market Paperback – Coloring Book, October 6, 2015

As a matter if courtesy there will be many *SPOILERS* ahead so please so not read further if this will destroy your enjoyment of this book.OK, down to business. This is the first book of the Charley Davidson series I have taken the time to comment on. I came across the artist not so formerly known as Darynda Jones fairly late in the game and ended up reading all books in the series thus far back to back finishing up last night.I have loved loved loved this series and the writing quite literally makes me 'lol' at times. With that love in my heart for the series I feel it made what should really be a three star rating for this particular book into a four star one.Other reviewers have complained about the pace of this book as all the characters were pretty much stuck in one location the whole time(except for a side trip to hell by Charley). I didn't mind this, after all she's 8 months pregnant and it's realistic that she wouldn't be gallivanting around town.The plot is basically this - there's the wedding of Cookie and her uncle (Charley's not Cookie's), an investigation into missing girl by the FBI, a murdered nun investigation, birth of BEEP, some reveals, a semi showdown with Lucifer and the cliff hanger ending.Whilst the writing was still very enjoyable, I think in this book the author fell into the trap of continuity issues and rushed/weak plot explanations which frankly felt a little insulting to the reader. This is my pet peeve with books and I can understand a few continuity issues after 8 books but some of these were unforgivable. For example:- the 12 hell hounds that have ripped Charley and all her allies to bits in the previous book are now revealed to actually be Charleys/Beeps protectors. Uhhh.... Can anyone say the worst bodyguards in history. If I recall, the first time Charley met them whilst they did rescue her from a homeless guy killer she was also seriously gouged by them. These 'body guards' then later proceeded to incapacite her friends who came to rescue her the Dealer, Reyes and Swipes. Ummm....wtf?- Charley tracks down Reyes' parents and they demand to accompany her PI to meet him. She stresses for the whole book about telling Reyes only to find out at the end that he had contacted months ago. So why did they act so surprised when Charley first met them and said her husband didn't want to meet them? Also wouldn't Charley have sensed something with her superpowers of detection?- Earl Walker ( Reyes' evil father) is now apparently the human host of one of Lucifer's servants and swanning around in a limo. Why is he not in jail for obstructing the course of justice when he faked his own death ten years ago?- why did her second in charge Mr Wong have to hang around the corner of her apartment doing nothing for so long when he was charged with protecting her? Couldn't he have been more useful actually protecting her rather than standing in the corner like a lump? Best example when she was being tortured by Earl Walker?I also felt a little cheated in terms of emotional relationships between characters such as:- the meeting between Reyes and his biological parents was not fleshed out and brushed over. I was looking forward to that storyline playing out and having it unfold that way was so dissatisfying.- the baby steps of reconciliation between Denise and Charley which could have really added to character development turned out to be fake since Denise was possessed by a demon at the time. The fact she has since been killed off pretty much puts a dampner on that ever happening genuinely- Reyes and Charley kept so many secrets from each other throughout the book and stupid ones too.- Reyes was sorta annoying in this book which I never thought I'd sayI was also disappointed that Charley continually placed herself at risk while she was pregnant. I mean it's ridiculous that on one hand she gives up coffee for the sake of her baby but then has no qualms running through a forest meters away from hellhounds that she thinks want to kill her and her baby. Not only that she seriously falls one time but this doesn't stop her from going out again and this time falling into a well! Seriously.Then as a brand new mum without any thought of possibly leaving her daughter motherless she decides not to take any back up and traipses off to hell AND to a dangerous hostage situation alone. Dumb decision after dumb decision.Beep now also has her 13 warriors but for the life of me I can't work out who's who. I'm sure this will become clearer as the series goes on. Mark my words though.. I feel a beep/osh romance in the future. Not sure how I'd feel about that... Inappropriate or not?Anyway despite the above I really enjoy the series and can't wait for the new book. I can only hope it returns to the tight and witty writing of the previous books.

2.5 Why Don't I Love This StarsThis is one of my favorite series to read so it totally pains me to say ‘I didn’t really like it’. I’ve pondered my feeling about this for a few days now and there are a few things that I just can’t let go. Have you ever read a book in the series and wondered if you remembered everything from the previous book incorrectly? As we were wrapping up this book that is totally how I felt.There is one glaring thing that happens in this book and even after it is explained I didn’t buy it. I looked at my notes from book 7 and still didn’t buy it. It is one of those things that I either loved everything else in the book so much that you just let it go….or the book is just ho-hum so it is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. I’m so sad to say it was the later for me.BUT….I have loved many of the books in this series so while I didn’t like a lot of stuff in this one I will still read the next book. In a series this long there is bound to be one possibly two that I didn’t adore.❣ Some of the Good Stuff ❣Charley is still funny and punny and full of spunk. She has an A.D.D. quality that really makes me laugh and if you are at book 8 with me well then I’m pretty sure you feel that way too. There is still some fun dialogue and antics between her and the other characters. “Do you need anything else?” “Pitocin?” One corner of his mouth rose. “What’s that?” “It induces labor. It’s about time for Beep to move out. Cut her hair. Get a job. I need a flat belly.” “Have you tried crunches?” “I just don’t get it. I’m supernatural. You’re supernatural. Why can’t we have one of those quick pregnancies like Bella and Edward? Gwen from Torchwood. Scully. Deanna Troi. Or even Cordelia when that demon impregnated her. Twenty-four hours later, bam! Demon child.”The Chapter headings still always hilarious. -- My death will probably be caused by being sarcastic at the wrong time. – TRUE FACTThe side characters are always wonderful. I adore Cookie, Amber and Quinton. There are a plethora of others and Osh is becoming more interesting all the time.BEST PART OF THIS BOOK – I finally know who/what Mr. Wong is. I mean I needed to read eight books for him to finally do something but FINALLY, one question answered. There are a few more answered about the Army and the Twelve but honestly some of that was just confusing, I had a hard time picking out who was supposed to be who. That might have been done by the author on purpose so she could define them better later, but I read that area of the book multiple times trying to figure it out.I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the ending of this book. I both liked and hated it for practically the same reason. But…I hope that it leaves a really good set up for book 9 which I will definitely read but no commitments past that.☁ And now to Rain on the Parade☁I was a little worried about this because anytime you write a baby into a story you have a chance of becoming a little boring or losing that thing that made you character interactions great. Charley used to run around town solving crime and getting into all sorts of trouble. But that is really hard to mimic when you are trapped in a convent and 8 ¾ months pregnant. All the characters have to come to Charley since she can’t leave and even though everyone comes to the convent….and I mean everyone it just wasn’t the same.Charley still gets into plenty of trouble even when on the grounds but some of it just seemed stupid to me. I mean for someone who just had a baby she makes some very un-motherly choices.There was a ton of time spent being all lovey dovey. Reyes is totally to most understanding a puppy love husband ever. WHERE IS MY SON OF SATAN.....he just lets Charley walk all over him and get herself into dangerous situations with no consequences and not being really mad. GRRR….I miss Reyes of books 3,4,5 and 7. He seems like he went from a Wild Tiger to a housecat.There was a little situation that was supposed to introduce some contrived tension between Reyes and Charley but that ended up being nothing at all in the end. It was almost like D.J. changed her mind half way through and went a different direction in the story. I just didn’t even understand why it was even in there. Charley is keeping secrets from Reyes and Reyes is keeping secrets from Charley and both of them had stupid secrets to be keeping so I didn’t buy into it.The ending is a little jumbled some big revelations are made. I’m just going to say that I didn’t buy into the revelation with the Hell Hounds at all. It didn’t make much sense even after rereading my notes from book 7. Also who is who in Beep’s army was also not well defined as mentioned above, but I guess we definitely know who the 13th warrior to tip the scales will be. There was also the Denise of it. I’ve never cared for her but I also wonder about the timing in her plot line.I also don’t think I like most of the ending. Holding out final judgment until the next book though.∞ Hope for the Future ∞With how everything ends in this book there is a lot of hope for the next. The story might have a more clear direction for the future. Reyes might get to be a PoV because of what happened there at the end and all in all things might shake out for the better.I’m really hoping D.J. has a definitive plan and plot moving forward as I’ve enjoyed most of this series and I really hope my dislike of book 8 is just a fluke.

Well I downloaded this one month ago and it was so good I read all 12 books to date in one month. They were epic! without giving any spoilers away, let me just say, this series was refreshingly different. A grim reaper who is funny, empathetic and has a gorgeous sexy counterpart. Both main characters and main sub characters progress throughout the series to the point that I felt I knew these people. I miss them - waiting on the final book to be released in a couple of weeks - and then I'll be despondent without them. Each book progressed not only the characters but the story without too much repetition - just the right amount that it kept new readers in the loop and didn't bore the pants of serial readers. It was laugh out loud funny in places -you don't get much of that in books - and I really empathised and felt in tune with Charley. It had it all - romance, naughty bits (just the right amount), suspense, complex storyline, and storyline progression throughout the series. These books would make an excellent transition to TV or film. A good director and producer could make these great on this medium. They are also well written. Written from Charley's POV, you get the inside view of what it's like to be Charley and you get her reactions to her circumstances, relationships both normal and paranormal and how she feels about what she does. You love Reyes as much as she does, what's not to love? And the suspense is a page turner. A series not to be missed and one to ensure you put aside time to enjoy.

Brilliant reading as always, the latest book in the charley Davidson series has everything we loved from the previous seven books - mysteries, ghosts, killer humour, quirky loveable characters, romance and elements of dark fantasy - plus hard hitting emotional impact. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it yet, but the end is incredibly sad and shocking. Poor charley has been through so much and always come through it still smiling, so it was really hard to read her go through something so genuinely,devastating.it feels like this series is nearing its end, as a lot of secrets were revealed in this book, and its obvious the final battle is coming. I cant wait to find out what happens next.my only criticism of this book is that charley does, at times, come off a bit more callous than we are used to, especially in the beginning of the book, and sometimes i think the descriptions of Reyes are a bit OTT. Read charleys thoughts about him during cookies wedding ceremony and you will see what i mean.but overall, amazing. Would recommend to anyone.

Once again, life is put on hold whilst I read the latest wonderful instalment of Charlie and Reyes. Thank you Ms Jones for not making us fans wait too long between books. Anyone who has got to no. 8 in the series will not need to know any of the back story (but anyone reading this who has not read the ones before, I say "STOP, go back and read from book 1" - don't worry, you can thank me later). The writing, as always, thoroughly witty and extremely passionate with the layers being revealed like one gigantic onion and a hero and heroine (along with other characters, Cookie, uncle Bob & Amber .... and at last Mr Wong, yippee) who you just can't help but love. I adore this series so much that, although I have them on kindle, I seriously need them in corporeal form on my book shelf. Can't wait for number 9.

This is the Eighth book in the series & you have to start at the first to work through to get the full understanding of what is happening.This book brought Beep into the world & pulled together a lot of threads but has also created more lines to follow. It ends on a cliffhanger as they all tend to taking us on the next leg of the journey.A lot of roles were revealed in this one & I'm onto the next one now!

As a fan of this series I was eager to get started on the latest offering and was I in no way disappointed only that the book came to an end. It moves the main characters onto a new chapter in there life and I for one can not wait for book nine. The story as normal is very well written and Darynda makes you fall.in love with the characters so easily. Well worth buying just introduced a friend to this series and she's hooked so suggest if your going to start reading them buy the complete set save the waiting in between for the next one to arrive as it will drive you mad. Look forward to book nine.