Scorch by Gina Damico

Note: This review contains no spoilers of Scorch, but may contain spoilers of the first book in the series, Croak, a review of which can be found here.

Gina Damico's debut novel, Croak, about the teenage grim reaper Lex, absolutely blew me away with its intensity and hilarity, and so I was incredibly excited to pick up the sequel Scorch. It did not disappoint!

In Scorch, Lex is left behind to pick up the pieces after Zara– off on a murderous rampage– takes her twin sister's life, and her own ability to damn. Combined with Zara's thirst for vengeance, things aren't looking good. But Lex has her own craving, and no matter what it costs, she's going to make Zara pay for killing her sister.

Like the best sequels, Scorch builds on the foundation Damico laid in Croak but ups the stakes, the action, everything. The result is incredibly exciting, but also clever, well-written, and heart-wrenching. It's the kind of mix that Damico manages to balance so well. In less skilled hands, Scorch would have been a confusing mess. There are a lot of elements at play, and a lot of twists and turns along the way. But what Damico has written is a complicated and thrilling story that will keep the reader turning the page, and will definitely offer up some surprises in the well-structured plot.

There's a lot more history and background in Scorch, and the reader also gets a chance to visit another Grim city, which I loved– although it was around then that I found the story slowed down and became temporarily about Lex getting dressed up and not about catching a serial killer. Luckily, the pace picks right back up, and ends with a huge punch in the gut that has left me gasping for the final book in this trilogy. There is an element of the story, that whole punching in the gut part, that I'm not totally in love with yet and so I'm excited to see where Damico takes it and if she wins me over like I expect she will. After having been thrilled by the awesome wit and exciting story that Scorch provided, I will absolutely be picking up the final book in 2013. So far, this is a great series from a talented new author. Damico has definitely earned her place on my 'must read' list.

Release Date: September 25th 2012  Pages: 352  Format: ARC
Source: Thomas Allen & Son Ltd  Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 
Also By This Author: Croak (Croak #1)  Buy It: Book Depository

Croak by Gina Damico

Croak (Croak #1) by Gina Damico

Release Date: March 20th 2012
Pages: 311
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Buy It: Book Depository

Sixteen-year-old Lex Bartleby has sucker-punched her last classmate. Fed up with her punkish, wild behavior, her parents ship her off to upstate New York to live with her Uncle Mort in Croak for the summer, hoping that a few months of dirty farm work will whip her back into shape. But Uncle Mort’s true occupation is much dirtier than that of shoveling manure.

He’s a Grim Reaper. And he’s going to teach her the family business.

From the instant I heard about this novel, it made me think of the television show I loved, but lost too soon, Dead Like Me. The fact that I was a huge fan of the show, meant that not only was interested to pick up Croak, but I had fairly high standards for what I wanted out of it as well. If it was just going to rehash what I'd seen on TV, then what was the point?

Luckily, Damico has taken the familiar concept in a totally brand new direction, and besides for the fact that George (from Dead Like Me) and Lex are both teenage grim reapers, the similarities end there. Lucky for Lex, she didn't have to die to become a grim reaper, though she did have to get sent away to the tiny and mysterious town of Croak to live with her over-the-top and scary uncle, appropriately named Mort. Mort's not the only one with a convenient name, Croak is jam-packed with them, everything from a gym named "Dead Weight" to other Grim towns like DeMeyse and Necropolis. Somehow, Damico manages to stop before going overboard, and instead just make the subtle death references really entertaining.

Lex isn't one of those main characters that is instantly likeable– she's violent and rude. Once she gets to Croak, it's not like her love of punching people suddenly makes her somebody I'd want to befriend, but it does seem more understandable given her career of killing people. Plus, fulfilling her destiny does mellow Lex out a bit. Still, I loved her angst and her dark twisted humour. Lex has such a sharp, clear personality, and I felt a connection with her that is hard to achieve in third person point of view, but which Damico executes* flawlessly.

As much as I enjoyed the relationship between Lex and her reaper partner, Driggs, there was one instance near the end that had me rolling my eyes a bit. Their snark was irresistible, and I just kept wanting them to make out already. Saying more about the event I disliked would spoil part of the book, but it involved a photograph and felt like it cheated the authentic development Damico had written thus far.

Croak is also a flat-out hilarious book, which is incredibly refreshing among a sea of paranormals that take themselves too seriously. Croak is a well thought-out and believable world, all the details seem to have been considered, but it's also filled with people who swear and joke and make the novel, despite its fantastical elements, seem completely real. I'm just glad I only have to wait a few months for book number 2, Scorch, due out in September. Croak is a fantastic, hilarious, cleverly brilliant start to a brand new series from a talented debut author and I just hope Damico has plenty of fresh puns stored up because I'll be eagerly awaiting them.

*pun fully intended