Scorch

by Gina Damico

Croak Series, Book Two

Book Description

Sixteen-year-old Lex Bartleby is a teenage grim reaper with the bizarre ability to damn souls. That makes her pretty scary, even to fellow Grims. But after inadvertently transferring her ability to Zara, a murderous outlaw, Lex is a pariah in Croak, the little town she calls home.

To escape the townspeople’s wrath, she and her friends embark on a wild road trip to DeMyse. Though this sparkling desert oasis is full of luxuries and amusements, it feels like a prison to Lex. Her best chance at escape would be to stop Zara once and for all—but how can she do that from DeMyse, where the Grims seem mysteriously oblivious to Zara’s killing spree?

MY THOUGHTS: 5 OUT OF 5 FLEURS DE LIS

Scorch by Gina Damico

Lex has returned to the comfort of Croak after the death of her twin sister, Cordy. But even though she’s suffered this tragedy, no one in town is going easy on her. They all blame her for the fact that Zara, the rogue reaper, is Damning innocent people all over the country. Since she’s gone off the grid, no one seems to be able to stop her–but Lex is determined to find a way.

Along with the help of her friends and her ever so sexy boyfriend Driggs, Lex works to unravel clues that lead to a mysterious book. Lex does not want to allow Zara to get her hands on the book, but she may not have a choice–because to get what she wants, Zara is attacking everyone that Lex holds dear.

I LOVED Croak, and its’ sequel was no disappointment!

Lex is back but obviously not the same as she was in the first book. Some (but not all!!) of her snark is gone, and she’s dealing with so many things–the loss of her twin, being an outcast, and having to control her ability to Damn. I’m so glad she had a few loyal friends, and of course Driggs to take her mind off of things.

A huge part of the reason I love this series is its’ cast of entertaining characters, and we get a few new ones in Scorch. There are two rookies, Pip and Bang, who are just very SPECIAL and come to blend in with the rest of the Junior Grims perfectly. Sadly, we also see the loss of a few beloved characters.

The villains in this story are well deserving of that status. Norwood and Heloise are so nasty, and I really wanted something bad to happen to them as payback. Zara will stop at nothing to get the book she wants, and killing innocent people is just a step in the right direction for her. Though, Lex seems to be having issues controlling her Damning…so good and evil aren’t as clear cut as we would like them to be.

Scorch is full of the same humor and originality that Croak had. From King Tut talking about benchpressing a camel, to Lex and Driggs being caught in a, er, compromising position, Gina Damico has portrayed her weird and random sense of humor. Which is perfect for me, because I am rather weird and random. The humor in the book won’t be for everyone, though, since nearly all over it revolves around death.

Gina Damico has quickly become on of my favorite authors, and Croak one of my favorite series!

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Thanks to Around the World ARC Tours for allowing me to review this ARC.