Death and the Girl He Loves
Grade : C

The apocalypse is upon us and the world’s only hope is sixteen-year-old Lorelei McAlister. Can a sweet teenager from Arizona stop the doom that awaits us? The conclusion to the Darklight answers this question and the ending may surprise you.

Due to events in prior books, Lorelei has changed her name and relocated to a girls’ boarding school in Maine. The move requires a huge adjustment on Lorelei’s part since she no longer has her circle of friends or beloved grandparents to support her when her visions start getting freaky. She has the “gift” of seeing a person’s death - always something gruesome - when she has physical contact with them. Her visions now are filled with the impending apocalypse in which there is a horrific storm and everyone dies in a terrible manner.

Being the descendant of a line of female prophets, she knows she has the existence of the world as we know it on her shoulders. With so many people aware of her identity, she becomes the target of a madman and must return to Arizona after he makes an attempt on her life. With T minus 3 days and counting, Lorelei knows that if she does not figure out how to stop the demonic storm to come it will literally be the end of the world.

Being the third book of the series, it took me a reading through the first few chapters to understand what was happening and the players. Once I did, I enjoyed the interactions between Lorelei and her best friends. They were fun and supportive of her and banded together when she needed them.

I was disappointed that there was not more introspection from Lorelei though. The fate of humanity in her hands should have inspired more of a reaction than “Woe is me. I am going to fail.” Which is what her thought process consisted of for the most part. It grew tiresome quickly. I don’t mind some self doubt in a heroine, but a little more determination to succeed would have gone a long way toward making the heroine a more sympathetic character.

Lorelei’s boyfriend is Jared Kovach, also known as Azrael, the angel of death. In this book he is, at most, a bit player. There is no relationship development. Jared just shows up every now and then to put in his two cents regarding the upcoming events. They end up together, but it felt like a token happily ever after. She could have been going steady with the fence post and it would have elicited the same reaction from me.

The book isn’t bad, but the resolution was odd. I had trouble buying into how the events surrounding the world’s end played out. I expected a rip roaring battle for the ages, but the ending fell flat for me. I had not read the previous books, so I was not as invested in the characters and world as someone who had followed the series from the start, and I still felt cheated by the ending. I was confused by a lot of the prior events as well, like how her grandfather Mac broke out of prison and why the sheriff didn’t just throw him back in jail.

But on the bright side, the story moves quickly. The dialogue between the characters is snappy and fun. Lorelei’s best friend Brooklyn is quirky and provides some much needed comic relief.

All in all, Death and the Girl He Loves was a mixed bag for me. The premise and much of the execution was good and kept me interested and engaged. But I really felt like the characters and the situations they found themselves in could have been fleshed out more. It would have made the book stronger and a more fitting end to the series in my opinion.

Reviewed by Heather Stanton
Grade : C
Book Type: Young Adult

Sensuality: Kisses

Review Date : February 4, 2014

Publication Date: 2013/10

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Heather Stanton

I read romance of any sub-genre, but particularly love contemporaries. Well-written stories of any variety interest me though and I'm always on the hunt for my next favorite book. I love smart-mouthed heroines and tortured heroes, unusual time periods and just about anything medieval. On a personal note, I'm a political junkie, Cushing's Disease survivor, mom to 11 rescued dogs and too many cats to actually count.
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