Darker Days by Jus Accardo (Review)

Genre:	Young Adult, Paranormal
Publication.Date	August 19, 2013
Pages:	332
Published By:	Entangled Publishing
Website	Jus Accardo
	Darker Days on Goodreads
My review copy:	From publisher for an honest review

Where to get:

Jessie Darker goes to high school during the day, but at night she helps with the family investigation business. Cheating husbands and stolen inheritances? They’re your girls—but their specialty is a bit darker. Zombie in your garage? Pesky Poltergeist living in your pool? They’ll have the problem solved in a magical minute. For a nominal fee, of course...

When gorgeous new client, Lukas Scott, saunters into the office requesting their help to find a stolen box, it sounds like a simple case—until the truth comes out. The box is full of Sin.

Seven deadly ones, in fact.

They’ve got five days to recapture the Sins before they're recalled by the box, taking seven hijacked human bodies with them. Easy peasy—except for one thing...

There’s a spell that will allow the Sins to remain free, causing chaos forever. When the key ingredient threatens the life of someone she knows, Jessie must make the ultimate choice between love and family—or lose everything.

(Goodreads)

  I couldn't believe it. Mom had sent me out here to deal with a zombie. A frigging zombie!
  She must have been really mad...

  Seven Sins.
  Six innocent people.
  Five days.
  Piece of cake...

  When he straightened, it was all I could do not to gasp.  His eyes previously brown, now blazed a furious blood red.  "Are you okay?" Dumb question.  Anyone with red eyes could not be classified as okay.

  I am a serious fan when it comes to Jus Accardo, her dialogue is witty and her characters are fun to read.  Though I was sure I would love the book, I was not sure it would compare to the boarder line obsession that I have with her Denazen series.  Turns out that with all of that talent Accardo can make another series that is just as amazing while still keeping it just as unique, exciting and fresh.  Darker Days does not hold the stereotypical bad boy and good girl but spices it up with a bad girl and well...kind of a good guy?

  Jesse Darker is your typical teenager paranormal investigator.  She goes to school by day and does what needs to be done in order to help her mother pay the bills at night.  That may not seem like a unique plot but what the author gives it is.  Take the paranormal ridding of pesky entities and throw in seven deadly sins on the loose and well you have something unique and interesting.  I can not say that I have ever read something that took the seven deadly sins and made them into something quite like Accardo did.  Turns out the sins take people that suit them over and create havoc through them, oh and not to mention that if you don't find them and get them back in the box before the six days is up the box will take them and the bodies they possessed.  Though paranormal investigators are not uncommon Jesse and her problems in this one are.

  When it comes to strong female leads Jesse is right up there with the best of them.  This is a girl that has to take care of herself and though she may not always do it in the most graceful way.  Jesse is not boy crazy because not only does her line of work not allow it but after watching her mother for years deal with her fathers absence she just isn't rushing into anything. She has a quick mouth and several quirks that made me smile, often. When the sins get loose her life changes...everything changes.  I have to hand it to her for not giving up but obviously she wouldn't because what kind of character would she be then but it is more the lengths that she is willing to go through in order to get things done.  One thing I learned while reading this is that there is no length too far or any means that Jesse wouldn't go through to accomplish what she wants.

  The romance end of this was not the main focus of the book but it did run throughout the story.  As stated Jesse was not boy crazy but we all know when that special someone shows up at your door step (and is one of the seven deadly sins) there is not much that you can do.  I would love to tell you that Lukas was not a bad boy but sadly I can not.  He is Wrath...ya you heard me the boy is a sin.  Despite that though her really is not your typical bad buy and is fairly level headed and a good guy on the inside...well kind of.  His entrapment in the box with the sins carries its own story that you truly have to read the book and find out because if I just told you I would ruin a good chink of the book on you and no one wants that.  Just know this: Lukas is the best bad guy I have met.  He even tolerates Jesse's attitude and quick mouth despite who he is.

  Darker Days by Jus Accardo is a fantastic start to a new series.  The only regret I have with this read is that there will be no pretty physical copy to buy as it will only be published in e-format.  I am really looking forward to the next book in this series and anything after that.  If you like paranormal mystery this is most definitely a read for you.  There is so much to love about the book and so much that has been opened up for the next book and the rest of this series.  With Accardo behind the writing there should never be a doubt about how amazing the content and characters will be, so just head on out and pick everything she has written up.