Brighter than the Sun
Charley Davidson, Book #8.5
By Darynda Jones
ISBN# 9781250090201
Author’s Website: http://www.daryndajones.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi
*Beware of Spoilers*
Finally it’s here… what all of us Reyes fans have been panting for … well at least one of the things we’ve been panting for … another novella from Reyes’s point of view! This one isn’t a cute little extra story though, instead it’s showing how it all began only from his side of things.
I was really excited to delve into this book … its Reyes so of course I was excited!! But honestly in the beginning I really struggled with it because it’s what has already happened and it read like a journal of what’s happened. I’m a show me don’t tell me kind of girl when reading and he was telling me. But then we started seeing some real emotion from Reyes and I was hooked!
It was heartbreaking learning more of the horrors he endured at the hands of Earl Walker and how it made it difficult for him to associate with other kids his age. But his love for Kim made it all worthwhile for him, our tortured hero. My heart completely broke when Earl took her away from him.
But, despite his struggles with his peers, he never failed finding those that desired him, although I’m sure he wished most didn’t! Boys and girls of all ages lusted for him. This conversation comes after a who’s the best kisser contest he got drawn into …
“How old are you, anyway?”
“How old are you?”
“Seventeen.”
I raise a brow.
“Almost. I’ll be seventeen in two weeks. You?”
Part of me doesn’t want to tell her. She’ll be horrified. But part of me wants to know what she will do when she knows the truth. “How old do you think I am?”
She lifts a slender shoulder. “At first I thought maybe eighteen, but now I’m thinking at least nineteen. Maybe even twenty?”
“Why’s that?”
“You seem very … experienced.”
I nod. “You’re close. Today’s my birthday. I’m thirteen.”
Throughout the Charley Davidson series we were left wondering if Reyes was good or bad. Does he really love Charley or is it all some big joke he’s playing to get him what he needs in the end. This book puts all those fears to rest, if you still had any doubts after the last few books that is. I loved seeing the true emotions he felt for her. And his protective instincts never fail to entertain.
“Her dad shows up, and instead of getting mad at Denise, he wraps his arm around her and helps her to his car like she’s crippled. I could’ve crippled her. Missed my chance.”
And, despite all that Reyes has had to endure, he was able to keep his sense of humor … a dry humor, but one that had me chuckling periodically throughout the book.
“I also become the local computer nerd. The administration brings me in to fix all the computers, I create viruses to invade at a specific day and time. They call me in, and I eradicate my own virus, only to plant another one to go into effect a couple months later. They ask me why I can’t just fix the computers once and for all. I tell them to quit going to porn sites and it will stay fixed. That shuts them up every time.”
This is a nice little treat as we wait for the next full-length novel, The Dirt on Ninth Grave, to be released next month. So much has changed and I can’t wait to see what happens next! If you are a fan of the series, you should definitely check this book out!
