I love Darynda Jones' Charley Davidson series and was very excited toget a copy of the first book of her series aimed for a younger
audience on NetGalley.
The Cover isn't bad but it screams „this is a young adult book
including the ohh so popular love triangle and just so you know: it is
set at a high school“ a bit too loudly for my taste.
10 years ago Lorelei's parents vanished without a trace and she has to
face the upcoming 10th sad anniversairy. She grew up with her loving
grandparents and has two great friends. She also has a strange gift
she can't really make sense of. When she touches people she has
visions, usually nothing big or disturbing. But when she touches a
stranger in the dark hallway of her favourite café, she has a
confusing vision about this beautiful stranger that seems to be set in
a different world.
Cameron is quite an outcast at the school and evidently starts to
stalk her out of a sudden and Jared, a new pupil shows up at school
and is strangely interested in Lorelei, he turns out to be the guy she
accidentally touched in the hallway and Lorelei feels drawn to him..
They both seem to be hiding something and their hatred for each other
seems to be more than just rivalry over Lorelei.
I enjoyed the book a lot, although the story line is a bit flat around the middle of the book and the ending seems to be missing some action. It felt more like the pilot of a series to me, than a novel, that can be enjoyed in itself, even as part of a series.
There is a lot of the charme and spice that I love in the Charley
Davidson books going on here. Lorelei is fun and has a special kind of
dry humour.
The story seems a bit too much picked out of the „handbook for young
adult paranormal novels“ and the ending is a bit flat and yet I really enjoyed reading this novel, the characters are lovable and the (outer and inner) dialogues are just a fun ride. I was glad, that the love triangle wasn't as featured as the cover suggested and I hope it won't be in the sequels.
I am not sure whether I liked this book more or less being a big fan of the Charley Davidson series, it has a lot of its wit and quirkiness but it seems so much like a similar story but cut and altered for a teenage audience.