Croak [Paperback]

Ahhh, why didn't I read this sooner? <3 <3 <3!! It was so awesome! I couldn't put it down. I'm so glad I had a copy of Scorch on hand because I almost started it immediately after finishing this. I don't even know what to say about this one, it was just too good! Definitely one of my favourite books of the year! Thank you so much Gina! You are amazing and made it so I was completely unable to put this down! It was just so different from any other book I've read, very unique and funny! so many times I was laughing out loud.

So we have Lex, a 16 year old who has a problem with everyone and everything. She uses her fists to slove her problems and it really doesn't really know why she is so violent, she hasn't always been this way. She just knows she can't help it. So she is shipped off to her uncles and becomes a teenaged Grim. She actually really enjoys it and it does wonders for her temper. Finally she has friends and seems to fit in.

Next there is Driggs, the sexy boy living with her uncle, the boy whom she immediately hates and punches in the eye the first night. He hits back of course, and they start down their rocky slope towards love. Driggs is quite the guy, he has two differently coloured eyes and is apparently extremely hot. He is hard not to like and I was just waiting for them to get together the whole time.

Needless to say, I thouroughly enjoyed Croak. It's my first book about Grim Reapers and I couldn't be any happier with it. I did guess the "bad" gut pretty early on though. I'm not at all disappointed by that though. I'm hoping for great things in Scorch, I've enjoyed what I've read so far. If you are at all interested in a laugh out loud, original, unique coming of age story, read this one! Please don't wait forever like me, you are missing out big time! Just make sure you have the next book on hand, you're going to need it. Also, the ending is very sad, I was in tears for much of it. Clearly an amazing and emotional, can't be put down book that you HAVE to read!

Absolutely 5 SHINY (like this cover) STARS! Sometimes I think I read so many books that finding an original and captivating gem in the bunch gets harder by the day, but Croak reminds me why I love to read. It's knee-slappingly fun but still dark at the same time!

As a huge Soul Screamers fan, I already have a weakness for reapers but Gina Damico still brings something new to the table! These reapers carry actual scythes and only have the job of carting souls off to the Afterlife, where quirky ghosts like Elvis and Edgar Allan Poe can wallow in peace.

Lex has to be one of the most spunky, temperamental, and stubborn heroines I've ever met -- but she's also one of my favourites! She doesn't take crap from anyone, not even her twin sister Cordy, but her fair heart still makes her wince when she has to reap the souls of a murdered victim. Along with her swoon-worthy partner Driggs and a whole group of misfit apprentice reapers, they will make you want to move to Croak ASAP!

But it's not just all fun and games. The mysterious murders in the novel add a serious undertone, along with how Lex is wholeheartedly against unfair deaths. And that twist at the end... Break my heart, why don't you, Gina?? Intense is only the beginning of this amazing debut!

With a hilarious cast, a mysterious plot, and creativity packed to the max, it's safe to say that I love Croak to death! Like Adam Rex said, there are so many books with worlds that I would love to live in, but dying in this one doesn't sound like such a bad idea. ;)

BUY or BORROW?: If my five stars aren't enough to convince you, maybe me adding this to my Favourites shelf will? I usually don't pre-order books this far in advance, but I'm already planning on buying the sequel, Scorch! :)

I must admit that prior to reading this book I thought hat it would be a more serious take on the paranormal, not unlike Lilith St. Crow's "Strange Angels" series- however, it was anything but. If I had to describe this book I would say that it reads like how Stephanie Perkins (author of "Anna and the French Kiss" and "Lola and the Boy Next Door") would write a paranormal (or how I imagine she would)- an intentionally humorous book chock full of fun and feisty paranormal beings.

While I did enjoy the humor of the book (I can't recall ever having rolled my eyes at it, finding it to be too cheesy/ overdone, something I admittedly do quite often), I did find myself rolling my eyes at Lex on multiple occasions primarily because I found her to be a bit too feisty/ quick on the draw with her "Look-at-me-the-wrong-way-and-I-will-beat-you-to-a-pulp-while-a-smile-adorns-my-face-the-entire-time" attitude. During many of these times she didn't feel real to me- she almost felt like a parody of a 'tough chick' character or that she had an impenetrable wall built up around her. While the circumstances surrounding the end of this book were quite sad I must admit that I liked seeing said wall come down, letting us see the real Lex.

Furthermore, I also had a bit of a problem with the villain. I not only wish that they had been less obvious, but that they had been more developed/ complex (in fact, now that I think about it, I believe them to be one of the least developed characters in the book).

That being said, I LOVED the additional secondary characters of this book- from Uncle Mort to Driggs (seriously, all of the awkwardness between Driggs and Lex made my heart SO HAPPY), to the rest of the junior reaper gang. Each of them had well developed personalities, helped to perpetuate the storyline (unlike with other books where the secondary characters, especially the best friend characters, are just there for the sake of being there), and were people I'd like to know in real life.

All in all, I think that if Lilith St. Crow's "Strange Angels" series, Rachel Vincent's "Soul Screamers" series and a little dash of Stephanie Perkins books were to have a baby, this book would be the result. Despite my complaints I eagerly away to see what the next book in the series, "Scorched", has in store for us!