Desires of The Dead - Kimberly Derting

TITLE: Desires of The Dead

AUTHOR: Kimberly Derting

SUMMARY: 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. - From Publisher

REVIEW: This series has got to be one of the best out there. The style and plot is right up my alley. I love that while it is teen/ya I feel that the characters don't fall into the pitfalls of annoying teen.

The plot for this sequel moves at the perfect pace. I enjoyed how we got to see the repercussions from the first book and how it has affected Violet. Nothing was swept under the rug and I enjoyed reading, and being shown how Violet dealt with the previous event and how these new events affected her and her decisions. Often her choices felt authentic, sometimes a bit stupid (had a few moments where I wanted to yell at her to run the other way), but if she always made the right choice it wouldn't read realistically.

Violet and Jay have to be the cutest book pairing. (Sidenote: am I the only one who pictures Jared P. off Supernatural as Jay??) I liked the course that Derting is taking these two on, I sense some huge moments in the coming books for these two. They are strong, but life isn't always easy on young love. Their relationship in both books seem to add and enhance the story, and again they are just so darn cute!!

The plot was good, however I found the mystery element of it a bit weak and lacking the previous books punch. Bringing in the FBI filled the void that the murder left, at least for me, and again I am loving where Derting is going with this series.

It has such potential for growth and story line progression along with spinoffs into other characters backgrounds. If you haven't picked up this series you need to!

RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

The Body Finder - Kimberly Derting

TITLE: The Body Finder

AUTHOR: Kimberly Derting

SUMMARY: 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 left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer-and Violet is unnerved by her hope 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. - From Publisher

REVIEW: A kudos to Derting for writing a strong female lead.

Violet has captured my heart and she's the sorta female lead that I love. The struggle she has with these new-found feelings for her best friend Jay was beautifully written and so realistic. The push and pull and fear of 'outing' herself and ruining their lifetime friendship was a thrill to read. There were so many aspects that made me love their story. How long they'd been friends and the comfort they had with one another along with Jay knowing her secret ability and him never viewing it as creepy or doubting it. Finally, we had a female that wasn't going to be walked on. There are scenes where Jay and her are arguing and I love that Violet didn't back down. She wasn't annoying stubborn or written in a way that rubbed you the wrong way, she just wasn't a pushover or a lovesick puppy. What clinched my love for this character was that when Jay was being obtuse or they was friction between the two she didn't allow him to walk over her or push her into anything. Often, I feel like the female lead allows for poor behavior because she loves him. It was refreshing to see how healthy and strong a female she was. To appreciate what he did but still not excuse bad behavior.

The plot itself was amazing! It had a far more adult feel to it and that often came from chapters being written from the villains point of view. It gave it a grittier, darker edge to the book, which I loved. Plus, Violet and her family had already come to terms with her special skill. It wasn't a taboo topic or something they shunned. In fact her parents worked around to try and discourage her searching out some of the 'echos' but at the same time finding answers (the little cemetery) to give her peace. The parent child dynamic was very refreshing. They were as normal as you could be considering that their child could hear the echos of those (human and animals) that were murdered. The way the book started off with Violet (at a young age) going for a walk with her father and her discovery was chilling and the perfect answer to set the stage of her skills. I love when an author shows us rather then tells us.

All the characters were well rounded. I enjoyed that Violet wasn't an outcast with one or two friends, but rather she was like most kids in school. She had her own group of friends, she wasn't in the 'it' group but she wasn't the kid that got picked on. It gave the book a far more realistic feel to it and it allowed for you to connect with the characters.

Derting's debut novel knocked it out of the park! I'll be eagerly awaiting her second book Desires of the Dead and highly recommend that you all pick up The Body Finder.


RATING: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥