Book Review: This Is Your Afterlife

This Is Your Afterlife by Vanessa Barneveld
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Publication Date: October 21, 2014
Source: Netgalley review copy

Keira is a high school girl who suddenly has the ghost of a classmate show up in her room. He has been missing for a few days, so obviously they figure out he must have died. Her and the boy, Jimmy, decide that have to find out how he died in order for him to "move on". She enlists the help of Jimmy's brother, Dan, who she has been friends with for a long time.

I liked Keira well enough. She seemed to take the events that came at her fairly well. But as a detective solving a mystery she was pretty horrible. The romance that built up between Keira and Dan was nice, and it was nice to read a YA novel without a love triangle for a change.

This was a very short, easy read, which is nice if you're looking for something that doesn't require a lot of time commitment or brain power. I don't know if I'd seek out more by this author in the future, but I would be averse to reading another of her books if it sounded good.

Book Review: Nice Girls Don't Bite Their Neighbors

Nice Girls Don't Bite Their Neighbors by Molly Harper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publication Date: February 2012
Source: Review copy from the publisher

I read this entire series back to back, and one good thing I can say about it is that I didn't get tired of it. A lot of times when I read a series (or even a couple books in a series) all at once, I get sick of the story, the characters, and the whole thing. This just felt fun.

I can't say I loved everything about the story, though. I just didn't find it believable. Not because of the vampires, werewolves, ghosts, etc. But because the main character, who is a book lover and former librarian, throws books when she's mad. SHE THROWS BOOKS! Sorry about the yelling. As fellow book lovers, I'm sure you see where I'm coming from. It's not even the bad ones. It's not like she read a horrible book she didn't like and threw it against the wall in a fit of anger. No, someone makes her mad, and she throws things like Lord of the Rings at them. Sorry, I just don't buy it. Her character is utterly unbelievable.

Now that I've got that out of the way, I did enjoy this book and the previous books in the series. I (mostly) like the characters, and they're varied enough to not all seem like the same person called different names. There's nothing deep or really thoughtful here, but it's a fun and easy way to spend a few hours, and have a few laughs, so I'd probably recommend the whole series, especially if you're a fan of urban fantasy.