Review: Death and The Girl He Loves by Darynda Jones

Title: Death and The Girl He Loves by Darynda Jones (Darklight #3)

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Release Date: October 8, 2013

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal

Medium: Paperback, Received For Review. Thanks Bauer Teen!

Here's my preamble: I absolutely adored this novel! Even though I haven't read the previous two novels in this series, I will be quick to correct that mistake. This novel is just one delicious novel in a page-turning series full of the paranormal, drama, action and romance.

The fate of the world is not something a girl wants on her shoulders, and that is especially true for Lorelei McAlister.  Unfortunately for her, that is exactly where the world’s fate has decided to take up residence. Lorelei has seen firsthand the horrors that lie beneath our everyday world. And those horrors are getting her friends killed. Because of this, she agrees to leave the sanctity of her hometown and is sent to a different world entirely. A boarding school. But even here she is being watched. Someone knows what she is. What she carries inside her soul.  And on top of that she’s seeing visions.  This is nothing new for Lorelei.  But these visions are something more: death, destruction, and the end of the world.   Lorelei must face the fact that there are people who want her dead, and no matter where she goes, no matter how far she runs, the lives of her friends and family are in mortal peril.  Lucky for her, her friends and family include the handsome Angel of Death, a fiercely protective half-angel, and a ragtag group of loyal supporters who aren’t afraid to get a little dirty in the name of fighting pure evil. -From Amazon.com

The plot of this novel is riveting from beginning to end. It grabs your attention from the very first page, first sentence, and envelopes you in a world so believable, yet so unlike our own. You are dropped into the spellbinding tale of Lorelei McAlister, a girl with amazing powers who begins her tale in the foreignness that is a boarding school. You are then introduced to the main plot: the nearing of the End of The World. You are then introduced to a cast of memorable characters, all of who are crucial to the plot and make every page exciting. And I feel that I should mention the handsome Angel of Death, a character that keeps the action and steamy romance going endlessly. Strewn throughout this novel is perfectly timed bits of humor, romance, action, and drama, all within an action-packed plot that is sure to please any fan of the fantasy and paranormal. Not only is there certain wizard-like qualities and time travel, but there is also angels and demons, a mix that is sure to keep you flipping pages way into the night. I know I did!

The writing in this novel also blew me away. For the first time in a long time, I read a piece of literature that was not overdone, unnecessarily complicated, or fake. The writing was very real and raw, in the way that it seemed very down to earth. Nothing felt dragged out or missing from the novel, and I felt like all the best components of a novel were covered. And though this novel was the third installment of a series I had not yet read, I felt like Jones wrote it so that you could pick up on the story from any point. It didn't matter that I hadn't read the first two. I was instantly hooked. The plot was fresh and exciting, the characters were intriguing and new, and the writing made this novel an instant favorite of mine! I have literally fallen head over heels for this series.

Overall, I found Death and The Girl He Loves by Darynda Jones a masterpiece of epic fantasy proportions, and a series I will definitely be finishing. Even though I haven't read the first two, this story was easy to pick up on and definitely left me wanting more. The Darklight series is perfect for anyone craving a masterful story with small amounts of the paranormal, all housed within a skilledly-written novel. Darynda Jones weaves a tale both dark and mysterious, with a plot and characters sure to illicit more rave reviews from readers of every genre.