The Graveside Bar and Grill (Charley Davidson, #13.7) by Darynda Jones – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, Darynda Jones, humor, mystery, romance, series

Review of The Graveside Bar and Grill

The Graveside Bar and Grill is a quick read with all the danger, romance and humor we expect from a Charley Davidson story.  It can be enjoyed as a standalone, but if you have read the series, you will appreciate it even more. It revolves around Donovan and Sia, with support roles going to Charley, Reyes and their daughter Elwyn, formally known as Beep, but now also known as Teacup.  Teacup is sweet.  Donovan is sweeter.  Sia is not quite human, trying to survive in the human dimension.  Prior to events of this story, Donovan and Sia have an un-discussed thing for each other.

Donovan St. James is one of my favorite characters from the original Charley Davidson series.  As I recall, Donovan had a thing for Charley, and maybe she did for him. While it didn’t work out, Donovan continued to play a strong supportive character.  It is so great to see him find love!  Plus, this story includes Artemis who was originally Donovan’s dog.  Until she died and became Charley’s favorite spirit dog. So happy to see Artemis again!

This story is part of the many stories includes in the 1,001 Dark Nights collection of tales by a multitude of authors telling sexy, romantic stories.

The Graveside Bar and Grill is the first Charley Davidson story I have read since the original #13 series ender.  This is actually the third novella in the series, so I have some catching up to do.  Soon!

I received a copy of this book from Social Butterfly PR, 1,001 Dark Nights and Darynda Jones.  My review is my honest opinion.

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About The Graveside Bar and Grill by Darynda Jones

When Donovan St. James’ precocious charge asks him—no questions asked—to tail the doctor who keeps their ragtag team patched up, he wants to refuse. Not because the saucy teen is getting too big for her britches, ordering him around like a mob boss, but because the woman stirs feelings in him he would rather not explore. However, when evil threatens the doc’s life, he realizes he has no choice. Sia saved his life once. He will try to return the favor. He just prays he can do it without losing his heart.

Running from the supernatural entity that has destroyed entire worlds to have her, Sia thought she’d found a haven on Earth with a motley team of warriors protecting the girl destined to save humanity. But when Sia’s found, she realizes something on this plane is more scrumptious than her: that very teen. So, she runs—and Donovan St. James follows. Nothing is more alluring than a scruffy biker with a lacerating gaze. And she vows to tell him that… if they survive.

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Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs – Series Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, Darynda Jones, fae, fantasy, Geroge Newbern, goblins, Lorelei King, Patricia Briggs, romance, series, trolls, urban fantasy, vampires, werewolves, witches, zombies

The World of Mercy Thompson

Mercedes is a Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. Her Native American heritage has gifted her with the ability to take the form of a coyote at will. She’s surrounded by far more powerful supernatural beings, including werewolves, vampires and an assortment of fae. 

Series summary from Patricia Briggs’ website.

Review

Before November of 2021, the only Patricia Briggs works I had read were a book called Dragon Bones and the awesome Alpha and Omega series, which is set in the same world as Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series.  With the Alpha and Omega series, there were enough references to Mercy Thompson to make me curious.  So last fall, I finally started the series.

The entire series was available through my library’s digital collection.  I was able to listen to most of the series on audiobook, with just two exceptions.

The audiobooks are read by Lorelei King, who is one of the most talented narrators out there.  I had previously listed to her read Darynda Jones’ Charley Davidson series, which made things a bit confusing at first.  I had so associated the voice of Lorelei King with Charley Davidson, that at first, I experienced some small difficulty getting my mind to realize that Mercy Thompson was the main character. 

By the end of the first book, I had made the shift in my mind and enjoyed the story enough to go for book 2 and 3.  Now, here is where I knew I was hooked on the series. 

I often find that authors adopt a formula to build each story in a series, leading to predictability and, at the very least, a need to take a break between books.  With Mercy Thompson, each book was entirely unique, and the story kept evolving.  I could discern no obvious pattern or formula.  This kept me fully engaged with the developing story.  So, I kept forging onward with the series, pausing only when I had to wait for the book to become available from the library. 

So, between November and last week, I listened to or read the first 12 books of the Mercy Thomson series plus one additional anthology set in the same world. The entire series is quality storytelling.  Let me tell you why.

Note: The summary I shared at the beginning of this post is very simplistic, but contains no spoilers.  What I share with you now may contain spoilers, but will, hopefully, not prevent you from enjoying the books anyway.

1. Mercy, as a coyote shifter, was raised, in part, by Bran Cornick, the Marrock – ruler of all the North American werewolves, who I first met in the Alpha and Omega series.  Bran is scary powerful, but for the good.  That Mercy often got the upper hand with Bran, is delightful, but also shows that their relationship was special and a good thing for both of them.
2. In addition to humans, so many of the typical urban fantasy paranormal types are present throughout the series.  Werewolves, vampires, sorcerers, fae, witches (white, grey and black), trolls, goblins, guayota (volcano god), zombies, ghosts, Coyote Trickster (and other Native American beings), Baba Yaga, the Golem of Prague, and walkers (which is what Mercy is).  Also, possible: combinations of any of the above.
3. The Columbia Basin werewolf pack is one big happy family.  Okay, not always happy.  But big and very much like family.  The Alpha, Adam, rules absolutely and the pack has a hierarchical structure.  Mercy’s role in the pack evolves over the series, but since she becomes the mate of the Alpha, she will be redefining the status quo.
4. The werewolves and other ‘monsters’ must interact with humans.  In a world where the werewolves have come out, Adam has become something of a celebrity.  His daughter Jessie, and Mercy’s employee Gabriel and one or two other humans help the wolves understand what it means to be human.
5. Mercy Thompson is a kind, compassionate woman that can get along with just about everyone she meets, as long as they don’t want to immediately kill her.  This is true whether they are fated to be friends, foes, or something inbetween.  (Okay, there is one exception, but husband’s ex-wives are fair game for a bit of spite.)  Since the stories are from Mercy’s viewpoint, this means the reader is able to connect with just about every character and care about them as much as Mery does.  This trait also puts her (and the pack) smack dab in the middle of trouble because Mercy needs to help.
6. Mercy’s infatuation with VW’s.
7. Mercy sees dead people.
8. Pack bonds/mate bonds.
9. A trip to Europe.
10. A fae artifact that, despite being returned the fae, always ends up near Mercy when she needs it. Called a walking stick, but rarely acts like one.
11. Bran, Charles and Samuel (from the Alpha and Omega series).
12. Zee (Siebold Adelbertsmiter) and Tad – Fae father and half-fae son. Zee is the original owner of Mercy’s garage. Both father and son continue to a) help Mercy in the garage and b) come to Mercy’s aid when she if fighting monsters.
13. Coyote Trickster – who is Mercy’s father, but not Mercy’s father.
14. Stephan – the vampire who loves Mercy.
15. Adam – who gets his own point of view in Silence Fallen – perhaps my favorite of the series. (In the audiobook, George Newbern narrates those chapters.)   Adam is handsome, powerful, protective, and loving. Also, Adam does not like to use foul language, which is adorable refreshing.

I really enjoyed ‘binge’ reading/listening to the first 12 books – plus Shifting Shadows, a collection short stories from the Mercyverse.  Shifting Shadows stories takes place throughout the Mercy Thompson timeline. Read after Night Broken to avoid spoilers. There are also a couple of Mercy-related graphic novels that I will have to track down.  I’ll have to wait for any future books, but I will be watching for them.  If you are an urban fantasy reader who has not been introduced to Mercy Thompson, I recommend you check this series out. 

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A Good Day for Chardonnay (Sunshine Vicram, #2) by Darynda Jones – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, Darynda Jones, humor, mystery, New Mexico, romance, series

About A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones

Running a small-town police force in the mountains of New Mexico should be a smooth, carefree kind of job. Sadly, full-time Sheriff—and even fuller-time coffee guzzler—Sunshine Vicram, didn’t get that memo.

All Sunshine really wants is one easy-going day. You know, the kind that starts with coffee and a donut (or three) and ends with take-out pizza and a glass of chardonnay (or seven). Turns out, that’s about as easy as switching to decaf. (What kind of people do that? And who hurt them?)

Before she can say iced mocha latte, Sunny’s got a bar fight gone bad, a teenage daughter hunting a serial killer and, oh yes, the still unresolved mystery of her own abduction years prior. All evidence points to a local distiller, a dangerous bad boy named Levi Ravinder, but Sun knows he’s not the villain of her story. Still, perhaps beneath it all, he possesses the keys to her disappearance. At the very least, beneath it all, he possesses a serious set of abs. She’s seen it. Once. Accidentally.

Between policing a town her hunky chief deputy calls four cents short of a nickel, that pesky crush she has on Levi which seems to grow exponentially every day, and an irascible raccoon that just doesn’t know when to quit, Sunny’s life is about to rocket to a whole new level of crazy.

Yep, definitely a good day for chardonnay.

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Review of A Good Day for Chardonnay

Small town police chief Sunshine Vicram has her hands full with a teenage daughter, mischievous parents, a town full of quirky residents, a capable, yet ornery law-enforcing staff and a dark, stormy, hunky man who just can’t seem to leave her alone.

First there is a bar fight involving hunky man Levi that results in injuries and worse.  Then Sunshine’s daughter, Auri and Auri’s friends try to solve a decades old serial murder case.  There is a missing boy.  If that’s not enough, Sunshine gets a possible lead from a convict – can he be trusted?

In typical Darynda Jones style, the story weaves in and out of storylines, creating a perfect mesh of a plot.  Irreverence abounds along with coffee.  Lots of coffee.  And there will be a major reveal of something in Sunshine’s past.

A particularly heartbreaking moment is followed by a heartwarming scene that brought tears to my eyes.

A Good Day for Chardonnay is one of the author’s best.  The mix of complex, interconnected story lines, family relationships, tumultuous romance, and so many laugh-out-loud moments is an impossible combination to resist. 

Thanks to the publisher who provided a copy through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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