Review: Three Days to Dead

Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding

Book description provided by goodreads.

They’ll never see her coming. . . .


When Evangeline Stone wakes up naked and bruised on a cold slab at the morgue—in a stranger’s body, with no memory of who she is and how she got there—her troubles are only just beginning. Before that night she and the two other members of her Triad were the city’s star bounty hunters, mercilessly cleansing the city of the murderous creatures living in the shadows, from vampires to shape-shifters to trolls. Then something terrible happened that not only cost all three of them their lives but also convinced the city’s other Hunters that Evy was a traitor—and she can’t even remember what it was.

Now she’s a fugitive, piecing together her memory, trying to deal some serious justice—and discovering that she has only three days to solve her own murder before the reincarnation spell wears off. Because in three days Evy will die again—but this time there’s no second chance. . . .

Thoughts:

This book has to have the best first sentence I've ever read.

“I don't recall the first time I died, but I do remember the second time I was born.” -Evy

With that we begin our fast past tale with Evy waking up in the morgue, no idea how she dies only knowing last time she was alive people wanted her dead. Clearly someone succeeded.

This book is on a time line as Evy only has 3 days to live before she returns to the world of the dead. Each chapter is titled with a count down of how many hours she has left, which really added to the suspense. There is a lot of back story and missing memory to cover, and Meding lets it all fall into place perfectly. I never felt bored having to be taken away from the current story line to get updated on the back story. Not to many authors have been able to pull that off for me.

There is a wide variety of supernatural creatures in this book. Fairies (Faye), Garlgoyles, Vampires, and so much more! It was a real treat learning about the myths of Three Days to Dead, Meding definitely adds her own flare to the legends. The humor is dark and fits well with the world and makes it more believable.

The character depth is great in this book and Meding exploits human vulnerability just as easily as her villain. The love story is hard won, as Ivy believes she is an unworthy killer, and incapable of emotions. I love how she grows into herself and eventually decides that she is worthy. She has a moral compass, which is hard to keep when you kill things for a living. Clearly dying was one of the best things to happen to her. Recovery is another adventure, Ivy doesn't just bounce back after her remembered torture, she also has to deal with being in a new body. Meding made it very convincing at how awkward it would be waking up in someone else's skin.

The book ties up the main plot lines so that the reader isn't dying for the next book because of the cliffhanger, but because you just have to know what is going to happen to the characters next. Even though the book is setup for a fast pace thrill ride, I felt like it dragged on longer then it should be, but some of the information given was very important to the story and characters.

The body count was terrible. Don't get me wrong, I love shoot'em up books. Always anticipating who's going to get it next. The head explosions were over the top, I mean one head explosion probably would have been good (because a lot of characters were already dying), but three was just pushing it. Meding had some great characters and I was so excited to get to know them, and then they died. So, every time a new character was introduced, I just couldn't stand it! The death tole does add a little humor for the character who has obviously surpassed his nine lives limit. (But then I'm afraid he's going to die in the next book.)

This book was fantastic, really great. There was one thing, however, that really rubbed me the wrong way. No, actually two.

First. The characters kept telling me I'd never guess who the mastermind was, so I started to believe them. At last when the big climax comes and the evil villain emerges, it's exactly who I thought it was after page 50, and I'm vaguely ticked.

Second. Ivy's handsome love interest dies and then comes back to life. The whole die and come back to life thing is the novelty of this book, for sure, to use it again to add drama to the love tension was sloppy. I was bitterly disappointed to a point where I flung the book across the room. (Which is a no-no because I have a heart attack if I even drop a book.) If the love interest dies, by cheesecake I want 'em dead, in the ground and nonreturning!

Bottom Line:

This is a great action booty-kick 'in book, the whole idea around it was really great. Meding exploits human flaws to a point, that make you wonder if anyone could do anything without a personal agenda. At times it dragged (which was weird as the character was running on a deadline) and clearly annoyed me with the back from the dead boyfriend ploy. Clearly, Meding has created a dark and addicting story here. I wouldn't miss the next book.

Sexual Content:

Undetailed sex scenes, hot kisses, and shocking point leading up to Evy's rape.

4/5- Great, really enjoyed it.