Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

(TO READ MY REVIEW OF THE BODY FINDER CLICK HERE)

THE MISSING DEAD CALL TO VIOLET.

THEY WANT TO BE FOUND.

Violet can sense the echoes of those who've been murdered—and the matching imprint that clings to their killers. Only those closest to her know what she is capable of, but when she discovers the body of a young boy she also draws the attention of the FBI, threatening her entire way of life.

As Violet works to keep her morbid ability a secret, she unwittingly becomes

the object of a dangerous obsession. Normally she'd turn to her best friend, Jay, except now that they are officially a couple, the rules of their relationship seem to have changed. And with Jay spending more and more time with his new friend Mike, Violet is left with too much time on her hands as she wonders where things went wrong. But when she fills the void by digging into Mike's tragic family history, she stumbles upon a dark truth that could put everyone in danger.

Review:

I loved loved loved this book! Just as with its predecessor, Desires of the Dead is stunning on all counts. It's romantic, mysterious, suspenseful, funny, and very creative. Kimberly Derting'swriting is so fantastic, and her characters all so three-dimensional with such different and pronounced personalties that they, the plot, and the books themselves are so completely unforgettable.

Violet comes off just as strong as before, and her eerie ability becomes even more eerie in this novel, when it begins to involve characters closer to her and Jay. Violet's choice of working for someone, using her ability purposely to find murdered people and their killers, was easy to sympathize with--could you really tell someone something you'd spent your entire life keeping a secret, if it would benefit others? Even if it was something as dark as Violet's ability?

Jay is so sweet and protective--the ideal boyfriend/best friend--that you just have to love him, and I swear, I'm more in love with him than Violet is. The normal (well, semi-normal; most of us don't have to deal with the prospect of murderers coming and killing us,) issues that him and Violet face help with building the strong romantic focus, make their relationship very realistic and paced just right, unlike quite a few other young adult fiction novels of today.

I have to say, Derting does a fantastic job--even better, I think, than Kiersten White (author of Paranormalcy)--with supporting character development. My favorite character, actually, is Chelsea, Violet's closest girl friend. She's absolutely hilarious, and definitely has the most memorable personality in the two books. She's just so snarky and witty; I completely adore her! Claire is so sweet an innocent, too, that it just makes me laugh.

As with the first book, I really enjoyed the brief chapters in the supposed "killer"'s perspective, because you feel connected with her on a certain level, and sympathize with her emotions and the circumstances in which she lives . . . you can almost understand why she does the things she does. This adds to the book's suspense, because, in some ways, you almost wish that what it's telling you is wrong--she cant really be the killer, can she? This aspect of the book was very unpredictable, because you never really knew--not until the very, very end.

The seeds of doubt the events in the book planted in my mind drove me crazy with suspense and kept me reading until late at night, unable to stop. The romance reels you in from the very start, and the suspense doesn't let you go. I read for hours on end, staying up as late as I could, putting my homework aside, all along not even realizing how fast I sped through it, how quickly I passed each chapter mark. All in all, Desires of the Dead is another masterpiece by Kimberly Derting!

These books would be fantastic for fans of the 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series by Meg Cabot, Melissa Marr's stunning Wicked Lovely novels, and the Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong.

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In My Mailbox

Okay, so I haven't actually posted one of these in forever. But I am today, so I'll tell you all of the ones that I've gotten recently and I'll give you a list of the ones I'll be posting reviews for soon. IMM was started by Kristi of the Story Siren.

For Review:

Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting: The missing dead call to Violet. They want to be found. When Violet Ambrose's morbid ability to sense the echoes of those who've been murdered leads her to the body of a young boy, she draws the attention of the FBI. She is reluctantly pulled into an investigation that will endanger more than just her secret...but her relationship and possibly her life as well. This book is the sequel to The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting, and is fantastic. I just recieved it yesterday, and am almost done, so you'll see the review up soon! It'll be hitting the shelves March 15th of next year.

Sleepwalk Society by Kendare Blake: I just started this one, and I like it so far. Violet has a very strong, recognizable voice, and I love that.

Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill: Wicked Girls is a fictionalized account of the Salem witch trials based on the real historical characters, told from the perspective of three young women living in Salem in 1692—Mercy Lewis, Margaret Walcott, and Ann Putnam Jr. I really like this one so far, surprising when you consider how much I don't like books in verse.

Love Sucks by Melissa Francis: I haven't started this one yet; I've got to do a library run and pick up the first one, Bite Me.

UPCOMING REVIEWS:

*Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

*The Forbidden Game by L.J. Smith

*The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

*Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

*Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

. . . and a ton more!

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Book Review: Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz

click here to read my review of Deadly Little Secret, the first in the series.

Last fall, sixteen-year-old Camelia fell for Ben, a new boy at school who had a very mysterious gift – psychometry, the ability to sense the future through touch. But just as Camelia and Ben's romance began to heat up, he abruptly left town. Brokenhearted, Camelia has spent the last few months studying everything she can about psychometry and experiencing strange brushes with premonition. Camelia wonders if Ben's abilities have somehow been transferred to her.

Ben returns to school, but he remains aloof, and Camelia can't get close enough to share her secret with him. Camelia makes the painful decision to let him go and move on. Adam, the hot new guy at Knead, seems good for her in ways Ben wasn't. But when Camelia and Adam start dating, a surprising love triangle results. A chilling sequence of events uncovers secrets from Ben’s past – and Adam's. Someone is lying, and it's up to Camelia to figure out who – before it's too late.

Deadly Little Lies will be available in November 2009 in hardcover wherever books are sold. Published by Hyperion. Pre-order from Amazon. summary from www.lauriestolarz.com

Review:

For this book, I have compiled a list of five rules. Number 1: Trust no one. Number 2: Don't make any assumptions. Number 3: Try not to scream. Number 4: Don't believe anyone. And Number Five: Stolarz kicks ass.

I was blown away by this novel, even more so than by Deadly Little Secret. It sucks you in from the first page, and is very difficult to put down until the end. Stolarz was fabulous at displaying Camelia's fears, and that made the book even easier to get into. The story starts off with action, builds up a ton of suspense, and then BAM! You are left completely and utterly shocked by the conclusion.

The mysterious air from Deadly Little Secret most definitely returns in this fabulous sequel, and will have you hanging on till the end. Ben and Camelia's complicated, yet still very there, romance was a hooking subplot to the story, for you constantly are wondering if and when they will ever realize how much they both need eachother. But, throughout the story you begin to doubt Ben, which causes that urge to yell for Camelia to leave him alone. The eery attraction Adam seems to have for Camelia most definitely added conflict as well, making you wonder if maybe, just maybe, their relationship could survive longer than Camelia and Ben's.

The threat of another stalker, and the worry that Matt may be returning kept me turning pages eagerly, hoping that none of Camelia's friends would turn out to be just the opposite. The voices Camelia hears and eerie messeges she recieves only increase your suspcion, and make sure you are always pointing your finger at someone else.

Being a major fan horror films, I was very surprised by how much this novel exceeded my expectations, and even made me want to glance under the bed and lock all the doors. Deadly Little Lies is perfect for a late at night read, when the entire house is silent and the only noise is your fingers against the pages. It was like watching a horror film and screaming at the screen for the person to do something, but they can't hear you. This book? It's scary!

Deadly Little Lies and it's predecessors would be great reads for fans of The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting and the Darkest Power trilogy by Kelley Armstrong.

Grade: A+

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