With twelve hellhounds after her, pregnant Charley Davidson takes refuge at the only place she thinks they can’t get to her: the grounds of an abandoned convent. But after months of being cooped up there, Charley is ready to pop. Both metaphorically and literally since she is now roughly the size of a beached whale. Fortunately, a new case has captured her attention, one that involves a murder on … on the very grounds the team has taken shelter upon. A decades-old murder of the newly-vowed nun she keeps seeing in the shadows is almost enough to pull her out of her doldrums.
Charley’s been forbidden to step foot off the sacred grounds. While the angry hellhounds can’t traverse the consecrated soil, they can lurk just beyond its borders. They have the entire team on edge, especially Reyes. And if Charley didn’t know better, she would swear Reyes is getting sick. He grows hotter with every moment that passes, his heat scorching across her skin every time he’s near, but naturally he swears he’s fine.
While the team searches for clues on the Twelve, Charley just wants answers and is powerless to get them. But the mass of friends they’ve accrued helps. They convince her even more that everyone in her recent life has somehow been drawn to her, as though they were a part of a bigger picture all along. But the good feelings don’t last for long because Charley is about to get the surprise of her crazy, mixed-up, supernatural life….
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This book just tears at the heartstings . T.T
I didn’t know what to think after the last book and now, this one left me even more with my mouth agape. Seriously? The secrets and twists just keep coming harder and faster. Much of the book I spent shaking my head over Charley’s antics. She has a good heart and means well, but…sigh. She has that complex that she knows best and disregards everyone else’s advice. Then again, Reyes ran around with his secrets in an all out effort to protect Charley and their baby causing some of it, too.
I have no idea what to say about this installment. I both loved it and hated it. It feels like the series is going into the homestretch and so a lot of what is going on makes sense. But its hard for me to watch as Charley leaps headlong into danger without a lot of thought. And that ending? Not sure what to make of where things seem to be going now. I like not knowing and the excitement. I like that the opposition is formidable.
So, there was Cookie and Uncle Bob’s wedding, Charley sneaking around Reyes as she has a hired PI locating his birth parents against his express wishes and looking into her dad’s murder against everyone’s express wishes, spies, dangerous hellhounds surrounding the convent where they are holed-up in, an ages old murder mystery at the convent, a new mystery in which the FBI need Charley’s help, the mystery of Mr. Wong revealed, more about everyone- just wowsers! And an epic family reunion involving Reyes’ real dad from down under. And always, time with Charley and the hot, sensual Reyes. And Beep!
As much as I was left knocked off my beam by this one, I can only admire the author for writing one twisting, exciting book and series as a whole. It’s a strong Urban Fantasy series that I still eagerly want to pursue each new installment.
This one had so many twists and surprises. I was just shocked. I still love the series and can’t wait to read more. I highly recommend this series!
This series has been on my radar for a very long time. But for some reason, I just hadn’t gotten around to reading them. So when I was asked to do a feature on Eighth Grave After Dark , I knew it was time to finally jump into the paranormal world of Charley Davidson. I’m have to start out by saying that there were moments when I was pretty lost since I hadn’t read the previous books in the series. There was a storyline that had continued from earlier in the series. I didn’t quite understand all the relationships between people… and there were a lot of characters. If I could go back and read this book in order of the series, it probably would have been a bit more satisfying.
All that said, I did enjoy the book. The world that Ms Jones has created is odd, unique and actually pretty interesting. And there is a whole lot going on. The book opens as Charley is helping her BFF Cookie get ready for her wedding to Charley’s uncle. The wedding is going to start soon when a cop that Charley has worked with in the past comes to her for some help find a missing girl (here’s the mystery part of the story). If that wasn’t enough, throw in the fact that Charley is VERY pregnant and her life and that of her unborn daughter’s as well are in danger. As I said there’s a lot going on and it kept me on my toes trying to keep up.
Ms Jones has an interesting writing style with a touch of snarkiness to it. She was able to touch my emotions. I laughed out loud and found myself tearing up. I was surprised by this fact considering I wasn’t as invested in the characters as I would have been if I had read the rest of the series. That said, I felt more often than not that Ms Jones assumes that the reader has read the series and therefore while she does a little “catch up”, she really jumps into the action and leaves the reader to sink or swim. A few times I had to stop reading and try to figure out if I’d missed something and then just chalked it up to not having read the series.
In the end, I enjoyed the book. It caught my attention and kept me turning the pages. The mystery was a little light, almost as a little filler to the overarcing plot. I’ll definitely have to go back to book one to see what I missed and how the characters got to where they are. But I got the feeling that this was a privotal book in the series and having not read those earlier books I’ve missed all the building to this point. I wouldn’t recommend jumping into the series as I have, but do recommend trying this series.
My review originally posted at Romancing the Book.
I got bored with this series. This was the last one that I read.
I have been hooked on this series from the start! The suspense builds from one book to the next, as I wait for answers to my many questions. This installment answers sooo many of those questions. Each book in the series gets better as the storyline progresses. How does Darynda Jones keep the unique plots coming? Great in Kindle and even more life-like in audiobook/.
If you’ve enjoyed the first seven books, I don’t think this book will disappoint — lots of suspense and tension; lots of love (romantic and familial); lots of heartaches; a great, you-have-to-read-the-next-book ending.
There’s not much else to say about this series that I haven’t already said (I suggest reading my earlier reviews), but I will add that I love the emphasis on family and friendship/familial bonds. There’s a lot of heat between Reyes and Charley, but this series wouldn’t be the same without the full cast of characters (including some that I was SO excited came back in this book!).
I’ve already put my name on the waitlist for the next book.
R-rated for language, sex, and violence.
Another great addition to the Charley Davidson series! So many shocking wow moments along with the great humor.
Okay, this book was entertaining and engaging with the plot, but I’m actually kind of ticked now. The last book was like a downward spiral of everything reckless Charley could do (while pregnant) and continued this in this book with Reyes jumping on the bandwagon of being reckless.
They’re lying to each other, hiding things from each other, and both of them are doing such reckless BS I’m surprised they’re still alive. They’re BOTH too stupid to live.
But the lying, hiding, and no personal growth whatsoever? They may as well be back in book one where they just met again. There’s no trust. It’s just hot lust at this point. LUST.
No one is trusting Charley anymore, NO ONE. She’s proving that point in spades by doing incredible dumb crap in this book, yet it’s totally okay Reyes is doing dumb crap like staying up for 8 months straight and attacking hellhounds.
This is a trainwreck, not a romance. I hope number 9 is better or brings back the ROMANCE and some dang trust.
Things are heating up and changing in the 8th book in the Charley Davison series. Charley, Reyes, and their crew have been hiding out in a Covent as they await the birth of Charleys child…and hide from the 12 hellhounds who are after them.
Changes are coming….will they be ready?
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. My thoughts and opinions are my own and without bias or favor.
Love this series. Always buy as soon as they come out.
Unfreakingbelieveable! Finally! Some frikkin ANSWERS!
I am way late in getting this review done. I think part of me didn’t want to finish the book. I was excited to get to the end, but almost afraid of how it would turn out. We are now eight books into the series and I couldn’t imagine where it was going to go next. A small part of me feared I would lose interest.
But I didn’t.
Not even close.
Darynda Jones has done it again, and let me tell you! You will NEVER guess how this one plays out.
It’s getting harder and harder to write reviews of this series without spoilers. I’m going to try my hardest to avoid them, but let this banner serve as a warning that there might be some in here.
Spoilers
Our story picks up months after the ending of Seventh Grave and No Body. Charley is hellapregnant and due to pop at any moment, and they’re all hiding out at a convent to keep The Twelve from succeeding in their mission to take out Beep before she’s even born.
Tissues.
You’re going to need tissues.
There are a lot of answers in Eighth Grave After Dark that we have been waiting for. In this one book, you find out what Charley has been up to with her time in the last eight months, you find out the truth about Charley and who/what she really is, you find out what happened to her dad and why, you find out more about Reyes and his dear daddy, you find out the truth about Mr. Wong, and so, so, soooooo much more. In fact, there are so many answers in this book that it seems a lot longer than it really is because you’re being hit with info left and right.
One thing I will say, the goldfish in book seven, aka Charley’s crash course training in the fine art of motherhood, did not prepare her for Beep’s entrance into the world. Nor was it necessary. She’s a natural.
Eighth Grave has a special guest I was not at all expecting and I was PSYCHED to see him/her there. No, I’m not telling you the gender. You’ll have to see for yourself.
As always, the humor in this book is enough to make you laugh out loud. As with almost all of the books in this series, I listened to the audio book (series narrator Lorelei King is the SHIT!) and listened on my way to and from work every day. I am sure my fellow commuters turned it into a spectator sport, watching the chick in the car laughing one day and crying the next.
Finally, the ending. The ending is going to leave you all staring at the page dumbfounded. You’ve been warned.
Overall, I loved the book. I felt like the action which was a slightly lacking in book seven was more than made up for in book eight. Fans of the series will LOVE finally being in the know concerning some things that have been questioned in earlier books.
Urban fantasy / paranormal romance fans will not be disappointed. I do want to caution, for those who have not read the series, start with book one. There is too much going on with our cast for you to jump in at book eight and have any clue what’s going on. However, the eight-book binge read will be one of the best you’ve ever experienced!
Kind of enjoyable. The snark, as always is there, but this story is a little convoluted. I feel sorry for Charley, this chick just can’t get a break, bad and worse are always happening to her. This so far is my least favorite of the series. Charley has to live in a old convent (sacred ground), has Beep, takes a trip down below, loses Beep, mentally breaks and ends up in Sleepy Hollow, NY, where a really bad and previously dead guy resides. And then we have the “God’s”, turns out Charley is a God, there are ghost gods, seven gods, etc. my head is spinning.
This is one of my favorite series!
I laughed and cried reading this book. Reyes and Charley are staying at a convent to protect their unborn child from the hellhounds. Reyes does everything in his power to make sure everyone is safe but nothing can stop the inevitable.
I loved spending time with the crazy crew and I couldn’t put this down. This story also ends with a jaw dropping scene that has me going crazy for the next book!
Eighth Grave After Dark was a mix of emotions that ended in a heck of a cliffhanger. While it started out slower than usual I have no complaints because of all the revelations and events. This book was a treat to read and I am starting the next book immediately.
I read and reviewed a copy courtesy of NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, all opinions are my own.
My least favorite book of the series.
1. Omnipotent character. The powerful baddie of the last seven books was swatted like a fly.
2. Long, bitter, family arguments.
3. The increasing physical near-violence of Reyes towards Charlie.
4. The cases were too simple.
5. The characters’ petulant and petty lies.
6. Worst of all, not a funny book.
Holy heck!!! I just thought this series had been a wild ride but it is nothing compared to what this book is setting us up for. Wow! So many questions are answered and in the same turn there are more questions. This one has some explosive revelations and in one sweep we are neck deep in more mystery. This author is crazy wicked and the way her brain works kind of scares me. Lol! I’m not going to say more because I refuse to spoiler this for anyone. If you’ve read this far then you’re totally engaged as I am and I suggest you go into this one just as blind as I did. It makes the journey so much better, at least in my opinion. I will say it’s best to start this one when you can invest the most reading time to it because once you get past the first little bit, you are not going to want to stop.
P.S. Be prepared to want to jump immediately into book 9!
Heart pounding, action packed and emotional adventure filled with danger, dark secrets, unexpected twists in the fight to save our world. Charley and the amazing circle of family/friends she has are in danger once again as they await the arrival of Beep! Loved every exciting moment and looking forward to what is next.
Witty and hilarious!