Review - Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

Title: Desires of the Dead
The Body Finder #2
Author: Kimberly Derting
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publish Date: February 15, 2011
Hardcover, 368 pages

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I reviewed the Body Finder #1 here.

Violet continues in her destiny to find out why she has been given this gift and whether it really is a gift or a disease. She picks up where she left off in book #1 with Jay, her long time friend and (could it be?) future lover.

I won't go in to too much detail because I highly recommend these books and this author.

She meet Sara, a supposed FBI agent who starts to inquire about how she was able to identify a missing body no one else could find that was behind a very large and very secure door. Will Violet confide in Sara or will Sara use her gift as a beacon to FBI abuse? Or is Sara hiding a few secrets of her own as well?

New characters, new cases to solve and of course, a new murderer following and hoping to kill Violet before she finds out who dun' it. I am just love struck with this series and could find myself enjoying these books for years to come. I hope it will be more than just a 3 book series. It would be sad to see these end. The possibilities are endless with this character and her gift.

Check out my review of Kimberly Derting's new book The Pledge
AND
Pre-order the next in the series, The Last Echo, Body Finder #3 due out April 2012.

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.

Review - The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Title: The Body Finder
The Body Finder #1
Author: Kimberly Derting
Publisher: March 16, 2010
Publish Date: Harper Teen
Hardcover, 336 pages

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Because I would like to be a published author one day and know how frickin hard it is to write, I can't stand those people who complain about how slow an author is to come out with the next book. However, with that being said, I LOVE KIMBERLY DERTING!! I am now officially a HUGE fan of her writing and for the love of god, PLEASE TELL HER TO WRITE ANOTHER BOOK!

I read both the books in the series up to this point in probably two days. I am hooked!!

Violet is a girl with a special, secret power of being able to detect dead bodies. Animals and humans call to her when dying of unnatural causes. Ever since she was a little girl they have pulled her to them. Her family has spent massive amounts of time and energy trying to keep her secret, but when a serial murder enters the area and she starts feeling the echos off not only the victims, but the murder himself, it gets interesting.

I usually do not like scary topics. I like to sleep at night, but I was so fascinated with this book. The topic was so well written too. It made it completely believable and I loved every moment.

Violet also has a love interest that even she is unaware of until he starts to become the center of attention at school. The attraction and friendship that Jay and Violet share is wonderfully youthful and hopeful. They have been friends all their lives and as we learn about Violet, we also learn about Jay. Kimberly Derting crafts the intertwining relationship that I too, fell in love and hoped for a love connection.

She also wrote The Pledge which I reviewed as well.

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 that 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 the 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.

Review - The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Title: The Pledge
The Pledge #1
Author: Kimberly Derting
Publish Date: Nov 15, 2011
Hardcover, 320 pages

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I am so bummed I waited so long to read this book. I truly got stuck in the book. I couldn't put it down and now I have to wait til the next one. What a bigger bummer.

I loved Charlie. She was fantastic. Her character was heart warming. She was kind, honest, protective of her family, hard working, sweet and someone I would have been friends with. Her friend Brooklyn was a nightmare. She is selfish and always looking to gain everyone's attention. Charlie's youngest sister, Angelina (I think?) was pure joy. I loved that she was silent. The fact that she didn't speak was well portrayed in this book and I quite admired her independence and spirit. Ugh, to fall in love with a man like Max is a great work of literature, but I won't even tell you if Charlie does. Max is just a hunky, nice seemingly fellow. His friend are not so much.

Derting did a wonderful job keeping the reader in the dark and hinting at just the right amount to keep my peeked through the entire book. I wanted so badly for a specific type of ending and even though it wasn't exactly how I imagined, I wasn't disappointed and cannot wait for more.

This reminded me of Phillipa Gregory, but a bit lighter and cautionary for teens. It didn't have all the violence and cussing. I liked that it was clean and I could easily see any teenager reading this.

I read the ebook version of this book and was lucky to catch sight of the hardcover at work and OH MY is this cover spectacular. I love the lace and the darkness of it, but it's still very romantic and historical. A great cover!!

Summary -
In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.