I think I’ve ghosted books this year as reading has been a struggle! Anyone else in a reading slump? 2024 is the first year I haven’t posted regular book reviews (you can find links to earlier years here: 2023 and 2022 ). I won’t bore you with the details of my year…at least not in this post. I have been reading and I’d love to just right in to a new chat that includes multiple recs for paranormal cozies. BTW, I should get bonus points as most of the Book 1’s below are FREE (do check the price before downloading).
I didn’t take a direct path into this subgenre though so let’s start with a UF classic and I’ll follow the more detailed Book Chat structure of previous blogs before we explore paranormal cozies.
The Charley Davidson series comes up on several recommended read/ best lists for urban fantasy. It had been on my list for a few years now so that’s where I originally decided to start my Book Chat blog return this year.
First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
Book 1 of 13
Published Feb 2011
Amazon score of 4.5; 5800 ratings
Goodreads score of 4.0; 88,352 ratings
First Grave on the Right is the smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper.
Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light.” But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e., murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life…and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.
This is a thrilling debut novel from Darynda Jones, an exciting newcomer to the world of paranormal romantic suspense.
First Grave on the Right is the winner of the 2012 Rita Award for Best First Book.
As usual, let’s focus on the few negative reviews in a well-received, award-winning book.
- cliche and inconsistent
- shallow characters
- one-liners/ attempts to be funny
It is the last one that I truly agree with and will focus on for this blog. I’ve had this happen a few other times so I’m a little wary when books are considered hysterical or laugh out loud. It comes off too much like a bad stand-up comedian routine and simply turns me off.
There is another part that didn’t work for me though I didn’t see it mentioned often in the negative reviews. I very much enjoy a romantic subplot in urban fantasy, but I couldn’t get behind the love interest here. I actually looked ahead as I was a little confused by the set-up. I don’t like to share spoilers and won’t do that here but…
There are a lot of dream sex sequences that are built into more without actual consent. If this subject is a trigger for you, I’d suggest you do a little more research. Feel free to message me and I’ll answer questions as best as I can.
We’ll move right along to what I enjoyed and that was the potential of the magical world with a focus on Grim Reapers. That was a new area for me and I did very much enjoy that aspect. I might have continued the series if not for the fact that I looked ahead for spoilers and decided it wasn’t for me.
The ghost thing is what launched me into the paranormal cozy world!
Here’s a quick breakdown of some of my reads with Amazon links so you can check them out. Most are show as FREE reads but do check the price before downloading!
Witchy Reservations by Stephanie Damore
wrapped up a bit for me; fun/ easy ready but didn’t continue
Ghost Mortem by Jane Hinchey
Interesting read and continued further with the series
Grave Mistake and Found Objects
Grave: a bit repetitive; slow burn romance; kinda fun
Found: interesting take that was more Paranormal Women’s Fiction [divorced and just gaining gifts]; disabled MC [he did use some magical assists, but I didn’t read far enough to see if there was a magical cure]
I have continued with other books by Christine Pope.
Pet Psychic Magical Mysteries: boxed set
I loved the world as the FMC can hear animal thoughts and it was well done and what kept me reading; the romance didn’t work for me as the MMC was a little too much of a boy scout for me; the FMC also started with no working shower and references to rat nest hair (yuck)
Sometimes, we just need lighter reads and if that’s where you are, definitely try the paranormal cozy subgenre. The stakes are typically a little lower than ‘save the world’ so they can move more slowly than I’d like at times. However, each of the ones above were comfortable, easy reads that were just what I needed at that time.
Now, we’re going to flip from readers to writers for the next section. You can skip down to the end and I’ll let you know what’s coming next though.
The easiest writer takeaway here is the importance of reading in your selected subgenre. I was able to notice similarities between the reads and even the covers that would help guide me to meet reader expectations if I wanted to give paranormal cozies a try.
Low stakes
Again, this was a new thought to me. I enjoyed it as a reader, but I’m not sure I’ll seek it out as a writer. I do think there are some great ideas for working magic/ plot into everyday life though that I will take with me in my writing.
Pacing
With those lower stakes came a different pacing. While we’ve discussed this in previous Book Chats, I will be diving into it even more in the next ones.
Unique spins
Whether I agreed with the rat nest hair or not, it was unique and still stands out in my mind. In a sea of sleek haired main characters, that’s pretty impressive. As I also noted the Grim Reaper and hearing animals spins were also new for me and both kept me reading.
Each of us need to balance reader expectations with our own personal writing style. It’s something I’m still working on. I will say that each book I read and each story I write give me more to work with going forward. Some are large, heavy tropes I favor and others are smaller pebbles of character quirks, magical world building, pacing, and many more.
For all the research and planning we do though, there also has to be a life in our characters and worlds that develops and grows separately from us. At least that’s one of the things I tell myself when I release my book babies into the wild where readers may absolutely hate them.
Yes, writing is a job, but it’s also an art and a passion. Finding the right balance may mean picking up new things and dropping old ones as we learn and grow as writers.
Life, on and off the pages, is also often about balance and managing expectations. I am still working on that in so many ways. I’d like to encourage anyone else struggling and doubting themselves to not let one small pebble throw off everything you’re working on and are working for. Sometimes, you just have to kick that pebble aside and keep moving. Other times, you may take a detour from your original plan. The bottom line is: even when we stumble, we can take a breath and then start moving again!
What’s next on this blog? While I won’t publish a list of the books I’ve read/ am reading, I will be posting more regularly again. I even plan to apply the ‘book report’ style analysis I use on a book or two. It really helps pinpoint more pacing truths.
I hope you’ll join me for the fun!
However 2024 is going for you, there’s still time to make a change and start a new book or chapter. Take care, my friends!
-RSJ
Of course, I had to at least include one cat picture!
Rennie St. James 