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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The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself.

summary from goodreads.com

This book was suspenseful and unique in many ways, only one of which was the plotline. There were a few instances when I felt myself slipping from Derting's grip--and at the most suspenseful times, which was odd, such as when Violet could sense the echo of the killer, or discovered the murdered girls--but the book definitely kept my interest throughout the whole time I was reading it. I'm not going to lie, I did sneak it under my desk in class for just a few minutes of reading. I loved the subplot of romance because, after all, who doesn't like a book with romance?

I especially enjoyed seeing the story from the killers’ eyes--it drew more attention to the mysterious, dark side of the novel, and gave both of the killers very distinctive qualities. I couldn't help but find myself very intrigued by them and what it was, exactly, that drove them to commit such hideous crimes. Despite its flaws--which, I'm glad to say, there were very few of--I cannot deny that I loved this book, because I loved it so, so much. One thing for sure: Derting has got some definite talent up her sleeve! What an amazing novel!

The characters were all very developed, which, in my opinion, is key to a great book, and there were little to no questions left unanswered by the end, which is the general thing that makes me sad to finish stand alones, and made me especially sad to finish this one. Violet's unique ability definitely increased my interest, because I wanted to know more about it, and Jay is the ideal boyfriend; let's face it, girls, we all want a Jay in our lives.

This book would be a great choice for fans of Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi, The Darkest Powers trilogy by Kelley Armstrong, and the Wake series by Lisa McMann. What an incredible debut from Kimberly Derting! I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next. If I were you, I’d grab this book the second it hits the shelf at your local bookstore.

Grade: A+

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