Dead Girls Are Easy

Nicki Styx #1

by Terri Garey

There's something about almost dying that makes a girl rethink her priorities. Take Nicki Styx—she was strictly goth and vintage, until a brush with the afterlife leaves her with the ability to see dead people.Before you can say boo, Atlanta's ghosts are knocking at Nicki's door. Now her days consist of reluctantly cleaning up messes left by the dearly departed, leading ghouls to the Light . . . and one-on-one anatomy lessons with Dr. Joe Bascombe, the dreamy surgeon who saved her life. All this catering to the deceased is a real drag, especially for a girl who'd rather be playing hanky-panky with her hunky new boyfriend . . . who's beginning to think she's totally nuts.But things get even more complicated when a friend foolishly sells her soul to the devil, and Nicki's new gift lands her in some deep voodoo.As it turns out for Nicki Styx, death was just the beginning.

Genres: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Ghosts, Fantasy, Mystery

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 28, 2007

About the author

A Southern girl with an overactive imagination, Terri Garey writes award-winning and critically-acclaimed urban fantasy. Her novels have been described as "smoldering" by Publishers Weekly, and "sultry and upbeat" by Library Journal. Even though she's a big scaredy-cat who can't watch horror movies or visit haunted houses, she loves moonlit graveyards, moss-covered headstones and the idea that life goes on even after it's over. You can visit her on the web, friend her on Facebook and occasionally find her on Twitter.


Represented by Spencerhill Associates, Ltd.

Reviews

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book 10 of the 2024 Read Your Hoard Challenge

I started this book, got distracted, then picked it up again today when I needed a book that didn’t weigh down my purse. Nothing like a paperback to keep you company in a waiting room. I added this to my TBR way back in 2016 and boy was my life different back then--pre-retirement, pre-Covid… So I'm not really surprised that I didn't like this book nearly as much as I thought I would. I'm not the same person who added this book.

I'd give it about 2.5 stars. It probably would have received higher marks if I'd read it back in 2016. Don't get me wrong, there are lots of good points about it. Nicki, the main character, has had a near death experience which leaves her with the ability to see and communicate with ghosts. Both of these things would give anyone pause, but Nicki has also become romantically involved with her ER doctor.

Not every phantom is friendly and Nicki is drawn into a neighborhood drama, being haunted by a murdered frenemy. There are stereotypes galore: more voodoo than I was interested in and a really stereotypical gay best friend. The grandmother of the deceased woman gets Nicki more enmeshed in the whole situation, leading to most of the action.

I have the next two novels in the series, so I must have really liked the descriptions of them. I'll give them an honest try, but I'm willing to bail if I don't find them better than this one. My dance card is too full to spend time on less than great books.

[Staci · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected Nicki to be similar to Mary Janice Davidson's Queen Betsy. She was similar, but just not as much. The supporting characters kept saying what a smart ass she is, but I just didn't believe them. She also complained about seeing dead people, but I think she should have seen more dead people in order to really ramp up the complaining.

I think Joe is a strong hero, but he didn't do anything except worry about Nicki. I just didn't buy into his ability to help her out.

This book is definitely laying the groundwork for a series, but I don't think it caught my attention enough to make me want to read more.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was soooo good. A 29 year old who has a "Near Death Experience", a gay best friend and Voodoo. What's not to like. I could not put this book down. I laughed, got scared and had a great time. Besides if I hooked up with a hunky doctor my mom would be so proud. LOL

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. You meet Nicki Styx in an unimaginable situation. Once she recovers from this, Nicki sees dead people - some are harmless, some are not. It's the ones that aren't that make this book, and Nicki Styx, so interesting. I highly recommend this book.

[Faye · Rating 4 out of 5]

First read: September 2007
Re-read: February 2021

I have been wanting to reread this series for a while, but was unsure if it would stand up to the test of time. There were some issues I found this time around that I didn't pick up on before- like how much of a creep Joe actually is; sabotaging Nicki's car so she'd be forced to rely on a lift from him, and using his status as her medical doctor to get close to her.
On the positive side, the paranormal ghost story was much scarier than I remembered, and was genuinely chilling.
Overall, it was a good reread and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun book I seem to be in the mood for! Nicki has a near death experience and therefore, can see dead people. Admittedly, not too original, but still fun.

There's a few twists here, plus a romance that's not too objectionable. One of the dead that she sees might actually be an evil spirit. I love the voodoo stuff in this book, hokey as it may be.

I'm just hoping that MY heart murmur doesn't give me a heart attack after a dentist visit! I went to the dentist yesterday and then laid in bed and thought about that last night. actually, seeing all those ghosts might be fun. Maybe.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

When vintage-boutique owner Nicki Styx suffers a near-death experience, she comes back from the Light with the ability to see and hear ghosts. Before she knows it, the dead are hounding her day and night, in the hopes that she'll help tie up their loose ends. Sometimes this just means passing on a last message of love. But when Nicki's friend Caprice is killed, Nicki's life really gets messy.

Caprice's boyfriend Mojo has been thrown in jail, accused of Caprice's murder. Caprice wants him freed. She claims he's innocent, that the crime was committed by the woman Mojo was seeing on the side. Mojo has yet another version of events. Nicki has no idea how to untangle the mystery, but she'd better do it fast, because Caprice's spirit is turning into something nasty. Something demonic. Meanwhile, Nicki is falling in love with her doctor, Joe Bascombe, whose estranged wife just might be Nicki's long-lost twin sister.

Nicki is a character with lots of potential, snarky and tough on the outside but secretly vulnerable. Unfortunately, she becomes less dynamic as the plot unfolds, letting herself get pushed around by Joe and by Caprice's grandmother, Granny Julep. And the supporting cast is straight from the shelves of Cliché-Mart. The sexy doctor. The wise black matriarch who knows voodoo. The flaming gay best friend. The voodoo is stereotypical as well; Terri Garey presents most of the loa as "evil" even though that's not the way they're seen within the religion.

Still, I might have found this a fun (if fluffy) read if it weren't for an astounding blunder Nicki makes toward the end. I complain sometimes about heroines who are handed the solution to the mystery rather than figuring it out. This is worse -- Nicki is handed the solution, and it goes right over her head. Granny Julep tells her, by name, who is controlling Caprice's spirit. Umm, Nicki, haven't you heard that name somewhere before? Nicki doesn't recognize it, or even seem to realize that the danger is still out there. She just goes on her merry way, thinking she's free of the whole voodoo thing, until the villain attacks her again. I'm all for flawed characters who make mistakes, but this one was just moronic.

Oh, and the whole "he might be married to my sister" thing is just kind of icky, especially in a light, humorous novel like Dead Girls Are Easy.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this fun paranormal read!

When Nicki Styx has a near-death experience after suffering from heretofore unknown heart problems, she's sent back with the message "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

That sounded great, and the doctor who saved her life in the ER looks pretty dang good, too. But soon Nicki finds out just exactly what that whole "Golden Rule" stuff was about. The spirits of people recently departed, who have unfinished business on Earth, seem drawn to Nicki. And they all want her to solve their problems.

Some of these ghosts/spirits are friendly, some are funny, and some, like the spirit of Caprice Dumaine, seem downright evil. It seems Caprice was involved in some truly witchy voodoo, and now it's up to Nicki, along with Caprice's Granny Julep, to set things right.

This was a fast, breezy read that has some laugh-out-loud moments, along with some truly creepy ones. Although the issues with Dr. Joe, Nicki's savior/boyfriend at first seemed a little too far out there (even more than seeing dead people!!), I was interested in this side plot by the end of the book.

I can't wait for the next book in the series!

[Danielle (Danniegurl)]

DNF @ 42%



(42%)
I'm 42% done with Dead Girls Are Easy: Sooooo I'm just not feeling this. It's a bit silly and how the Dr is already treating her as though he knows her well is bugging me. It's a bit much right now. :/ — Jan 14, 2017 07:06PM — update status

The book felt stilted, fake, and the dialogue not polished. The way the Dr acts I don't like, he is acting like they are already in a relationship when they've known each other for a few days at most.

[Zippity do Dah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t know enough about voodoo to discuss how this book handles the subject, but I’m gonna take a stab in the dark and say it feels like it’s problematic. Maybe. Again, I don’t have the expertise to know, I just go into romance novels assuming they’re going to handle every topic poorly.

That being said, while the gay best friend was pretty stereotypical, I really appreciated him being there, and he had a boyfriend! I don’t see a lot of queer characters in romance novels, so I did enjoy that, as a queer reader.

I’m a Nicki Styx and Joe Bascombe hater. First Nicki and Evan’s vintage store sounds really expensive, and those are my least favourite type of second hand stores. But more importantly: these two were just classic protagonists. Very conventional character. It bugged me more with Nicki (is this sexism??) I think because she kept claiming to be dark and cool and all that, and I’m like no?? You’re not?? You used to be goth and now you bring it up every so often to hide the fact that you’re just putting a toe over the line of convention? You worry about being called a freak. I do appreciate that she had short brown hair (variety!! Yay!!) though.
And Joe Bascombe? More like Joe Shmoe. He felt very bossy for most of it and only nice-ish toward the end. Nicki goes on and on about how hot he physically is, but he was lacking the emotional depth that would have made him truly hot to me. Overall he is meh. Also he owns a minimalist house, which perfectly matches his character. Minimal.

There are a lot of Black characters which I appreciate. Are they stereotypical? Yeah, I think so. And that’s not great.

There were also zero sex scenes! Like maybe one, but it was one sentence long! I went into this thinking I’d get to read some smut, and I am at once both relieved and disappointed that I didn’t.

While I do appreciate that this cast is much more diverse than other romance novels I’ve read, there could have been more time spent on fleshing out characters and giving them nuance.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

~* 3.5 Stars *~
A heart condition killed her. Fortunately for Nicki Styx, the condition wasn't permanent (being dead, I mean...she's stuck with the heart condition), though coming back from the dead isn't as simple as one might think. First, there was the near death experience (NDE) that left Nicki unquestionably changed on a soul-deep level, then there was the ghost of a woman needing a favor. As if those two things weren't enough, sexy ER doctor Joe Bascombe is very interested in her as a patient whose death didn't stick, and intends to use her as a subject for his paper on NDEs. He's also interested in her as a woman, and that's enough to make Nicki tingle in all the right places...until she finds out he's married and thinks his wife is the twin sister she didn't know she had.

Life was significantly easier when the most she had to worry about was being a vintage clothing shop owner with her lifelong friend Evan and having a good time whenever possible. The doctor being married is complicated...but not as bad as it sounds, the ghost of a woman who made a deal with a dark force and brought Voodoo to Nicki's door is definitely as bad as it sounds, and Nicki's life doesn't even remotely resemble what it thought it would just a week ago.

Apparently, it took a little death to connect Nicki to all the messiness of life.

With a unique and surprising depth of meaning and importance, Dead Girls Are Easy wasn't even close to what I was expecting, nor is it typical urban fantasy fare. Well written and nicely populated by very realistic and layered characters, what I thought was going to be a comic romp was actually more of a thoughtful observation about a quirky and emotionally closed off woman and how she deals with suddenly having some of those closed doors and windows to soul and psyche forcibly yanked open. The tone stayed a bit lighter with the help of the flamboyant best friend Evan adding a touch of comic relief and a few cutesy relationship moments with the hunky doctor, and it dipped into a more traditional urban fantasy overcoat a time or two as Nicki dealt with the dark specter of a former friend, but beyond that was depth and weight and a serious message or two.

I was particularly impressed with the attention to detail given to both the religious themes and the psychiatric profession and appreciate what seemed to be quite a bit of well researched information. I felt that the religious themes and much of the ideology of the religion and practices of Voodoo were well represented and respected and the psychiatric sessions realistic and believable.

Nicki is a very complicated character. She's tough and brassy on the outside, a flaunter of all things "good girl," with a stylistic flair all her own, but wounded by a past filled with loss and heartache, and more than a little jaded in lots of ways. She's a mess about some things, relationships with people in particular, and she's spent a lot of years keeping best friend Evan as a shield between herself and the rest of humanity - even her customers. She's sometimes selfish, usually stubborn, cynical about some people, and definitely doesn't appreciate what feels like a forced responsibility for the souls of the not so dearly departed. In that, actually, I can't say I blame her. Despite her having traits I usually admire in a character, though, I found her difficult to like, and I can't quite put my finger on why. Maybe because she was a little too real, flawed in ways that I understood a little too well, that it was uncomfortable spending so much time in her head. Maybe that's it.

Unfortunately, and though I have nothing but the utmost appreciation for, and recognition of the intelligence of the book and the way it was written, I can't say I ended up liking the book very much either. Not because I have any criticism for it, because I don't...well, okay, I thought Joe was a little bland and uncomplicated when compared to Nicki (who but Evan wouldn't be?), and Evan was a bit of a stereotype caricature at times, but nothing egregious. They didn't affect my feelings on the book, anyway.

It just wasn't the type of story that I prefer. This is purely and totally subjective, I know, but for me, Dead Girls Are Easy seemed to be, at it's core, a story about Nicki's personal development and growth, her relationship, friendships, etc., and that sort of character-driven book and/or series isn't the style I prefer, especially in the urban fantasy/fantasy genre. Beyond that, I didn't care for Nicki enough to enjoy it despite my preferences, and the plot-driven aspects of the surrounding story just weren't light enough or full of enough action to really keep me entertained throughout. Parts were, don't get me wrong. I loved the parts about the Voodoo, really liked seeing Nicki come face to face with her old flame, and I thought several other scenes were perfectly pleasant and entertaining, but in the end, the character-driven nature of the story and my lack of feeling for the lead character took too much away for me.

Was the book well written? Absolutely. The narrative flowed well, dialogue had a natural conversational cadence, the world building was enough for the purpose of the story, the city of Atlanta (one of my favorites) was well described and its diversity captured well. The main character has flaws but struggles with them, felt real, and has some nice depth. Complex and valid religious and belief-based questions and themes were addressed thoughtfully and respectfully. There was a bit of romance, a bit of terror, and some humorous times. I know, without a shadow of a doubt that this is a very good book that most people will completely and thoroughly enjoy. It just wasn't to my tastes.

~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick, easy read, with a pleasant writing style, but even so there were stretches that begged to be shortened. For example, some of the banter between Nicki and Evan in their vintage clothing store was fine to establish both characters and their friendship, but a good deal of their dialogue didn't move the story forward and felt like filler.

Other parts could have been expanded: Nicki discovers that ghosts come to her with errands for her to run, and she accommodates them with either amusing or frightening results--that's the main action in the book after Dr. Joe saves Nicki's life in chapter one--but I'd really have liked twice as many ghosts with their different issues. Perhaps interspersed with the big scary ghost adventure for the comic relief that interminable remarks on fashion just didn't provide.

So--too much pleasant talk that doesn't go anywhere and too few ghosts complicating Nicki's life. Dr. Joe comes across as a really decent fellow, and the author takes pains to show that he's careful to keep his interest in Nicki from crossing the line of medical ethics even though it comes right up to the line. And he's the stable, boring element Nicki really needs; it's nice to read a romance with a good guy instead of a bad boy that a girl should never even go near in real life. I'm saying that Dr. Joe is a truly positive factor in this story, but, well, he is a little boring. And of course slow on the uptake about ghosts.

A good deal of effective humor and local color (in and around Atlanta) alternates with a journey into horror as Nicki is trapped by the ghost of her friend Caprice (or was she really a friend?) into a situation she doesn't understand, full of voodoo practices and powerful people, and because it's first person narration, we don't understand it that well either. I waited in vain for some character to come on scene after the fact and clarify just what really happened in each of the crisis points. But the living nightmares that Nicki goes through are very well written, and I did feel I was right there with her.

Nicki's counseling sessions with Dr. Joe's colleague sound quite authentic, and we get an especially sensitive treatment of the way of life of so many people who practice Christianity and voodoo simultaneously. I wonder, though, how accurately the voodoo religion is portrayed. I can point out one little thing: the word "voodoo" doesn't come from French vous deux 'the two of you' as the psychiatrist claims--it's from an African word meaning 'spirit', probably vodun in the Fon language of present-day Benin, which strongly influenced Haitian and Louisianan Creole. Wikipedia to the rescue!

[S. Rutherford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky I had this book. I picked up the second book and realized it was a sequel. I already had the first of the series.

Don't let the title confuse you. Dead Girls Are Easy isn't some sleazy porno-quote. I thought it was a jab at how some women play hard to get. But it has nothing to do with sex.

Within the first few paragraphs of the book, we witness what happens to Nikki and that sets the pace of the whole novel. The pace, the story, the setting; it's a requirement to really understand the whys and hows of the plot.

I really like the way Terri Garey wrote this novel. It's first person and written in a fluid manner. It's not overly descriptive, but it says the details in the character's eyes. So instead of painting a picture in our eyes by telling us what to imagine, Nikki reacts to each detail so we can feel it. That makes this an excellent book by a writer's stand point.

Now in saying this, I have ran across several typos, one of which was glaring and jumped out at me. I didn't write down where I found it, but it actually made me stumble as I read it. There was another near the end of the book, but this second one was rather small and easily missed. I didn't though, because I'm always critiquing what I read. (What can I say? I'm studying their style of the craft!)

I greatly enjoyed the twists throughout the book. Nikki and Joe, how they meet and how they're connected even before they officially meet--though I will say it's weird that they still got together even after what happened. I like the play on names (Nikki's and her apparent sister's) and it's connection to the plot. And I especially enjoyed the twist at the end of the story. Just when we think we know the ending, BAM! Things have changed. Nice.

I think one thing that really did it for me in this story was the writing. Again, it's written so well through the mind of the main character that instead of imagining what is going on, I can live it along with Nikki. The only time I found myself skipping over parts was near the end when it was just the day-to-day partake of life in scenes that didn't really add to the story. It was simply fluff.

This book definitely earns 4 stars. I'd say 5, but I'm reserving that for the best of the best and although good, this book wasn't THAT phenomenal. Still, it's definitely a keeper and I'm off to read the sequel now.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mmmm... hard to review this book. I liked parts of it, and I didn't like others... Some bits seemed rushed and uncomplete, while other bits were nice and really nice. I liked mostly the first part of the book, and got scared to death too at some point in Caprice's "ghost" presence (here's an advice: Never read a creepy scene in the middle of the night, in plain dark!), but liked less the last.

I'm not sure how I feel about Evan... He isn't bad... he just hasn't gotten to me.

Caprice was creepy as hell. God, that duppy scared the hell out of me more than once!

Joe? Mmmm... I really like him. I liked him from the beginning, then liked him a little less when I found out something about him, and thought he was an asshole. But then he explained himself and I forgave him for his sins (just kidding, no sins! Ha!) And now I kinda love him. He's a stud, really handsome (well, never seen him really, but I guess he is), rich, a doctor, he wears the surgical scrubs very well (or so I've been told), he's protective and brave and he's as sweet as honey! Oh, see, my perfect type of man! Unfortunately you meet the perfect man only in fantasy books.

Now, let's talk about the main character, Nicki. I want to say something to her: "You silly woman! What the hell are you waiting for? Grab that stud of a man and make him YOURS! What are you scared of? He isn't Erik! You know that! Now more than ever! I know you're also scared about that other thing (or person) but you'll deal with that when the time comes. And,by the way, Joe loves YOU now, and he's not gonna change his mind. At least I hope so, or else I would beat him senseless and rip his head off his neck!"
That aside, I liked Nicki. She has a nice sense of humor and made laugh more than once. But she's not in my favorite books characters list.

How about the rating? I don't know, I guess it'd be 3.5 stars, though there's no half points here and I gotta decide whether to give 3 or 4 stars. Not an easy decision this one. Not at this time of the day. Here it's 2 in the morning, so you'd know...

[Inara · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a near death experience Nicki Styx´ life changed forever. Not only because she almost died but after this frightening occurrence she suddenly is able to see dead people – and what makes it even worse, the ghosts can speak to her and demand her help.
I don´t know but didn´t like the book as much as I thought I would although the plot is interesting. The main reason is that I couldn´t really warm up to heroine Nicki and her love interest hero Dr. Joe Bascombe. It doesn´t happen very often that I can´t connect to both, but I had with both characters some issues. Joe seemed to good to be true and honestly, he didn´t do anything interesting throughout the whole book, he was utterly boring in my opinion. And Nicki? Well, if she just would have stopped complaining about her fate and would have stopped grinning. I started to dislike this word, couldn´t she laugh, smile, giggle, snicker, smirk for variety´s sake?? No, Nicki is grinning! And there is a storyline which didn´t go very well with me regarding her supposed twin sister and Joe. Am I the only one who sniffs at this particular sisterly tidbit? But I assume in the next book her twin sister will turn out to be the evil witch of the west and Nicki and Joe are redeemed...
As I said the plot was quite interesting and exiting and I will read the next books in the series just to find out how the loose ends of the story unfold!

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on the cover, I was expecting 100% paranormal fluff. I mean, it was super uber fluffy, but I wasn’t expecting how scary it got. I made the mistake of starting this book at night while hopped up on cough medicine. I was totally creeped out.

I should add the caveat that I’m a complete scaredy cat pansy. I really am. Ask my horror loving friend Gina about the time I “watched” an entire scary movie facing away from the tv screen...and still had nightmares.

But, hear me out! Tell me this doesn’t sound scary. So, Nicki’s friend, Caprice, is murdered. That night, Nicki’s dead friend shows up in her house hiding in the dark. Caprice won’t let Nicki turn on the lights because she’s so terrifyingly mangled. Caprice was involved in some super bad voodoo and wants revenge. Add in some scary voodoo rituals, giant soul eating snake, and a duppy that blows out light bulbs because she can attack in the dark. A whole new voodoo-tastic reason to be afraid of the dark. Now, tell me that doesn’t sound a little scary?!?

The romance didn’t work for me. Evan, Nicki’s gay boyfriend, didn’t work for me, either. The fluff was really all together too fluffy. But, none of that matters. I fully intend to continue on with this series until I suffocate on the pink cotton candy fluff. Mmmm…cotton candy. My favorite.

[Writtenwyrdd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Breezy, nice romantic element, and a gay sidekick who is adorable and funny and also has a romantic subplot.

I liked a lot about this one. It's pretty feel good despite the "I see dead people and it's screwing with my life" issues that comprise the main plot.

Having learned something about voudou in the past, I didn't really like the way the practictioners were painted, and I really found fault with the way some of the loa were portrayed (Damballa and Baron Samedi are 'evil'??? What the hey?) but because I am not an actual practitioner perhaps I have it incorrectly. Or maybe I'm just being touchy. I really dislike seeing someoen else's non-christian religion being painted as evil and christianity as being good. It makes me really unhappy when a writer decides to hang a plot on such a portrayal...especially when I believe it to potentially give someone who knows nothing about said religions a false view of how the actual participants see things. (It's like those 70s and 80s voodoo movies or satanic cult movies. Sure they can be fun, but they made so many people believe falsehoods, like Satanists sacrifice infants--which as yet has not been documented anywhere.)

However, I did enjoy the book with the above-mentioned exception.

[Kittiya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I finally checked this one out again, and I'm glad I did. Very cute start to this series.. unfortunately my library doesn't carry any of the others. I found this to be an interesting enough story to want to read the next installment. It took me a moment to get into the main character. I instantly fell in love with her best friend. At times a little cheesy but over all.. I thought it was worth the time to read. I would have liked to know more about whats going to happen with her "family" member.

[The Flooze · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Dead Girls are Easy and will definitely get the next in the series. I only wish I'd heeded other reviewers' warnings not to read it alone in the middle of the night! Likable protagonist, amusing supporting characters, and a wicked malevolent spirit that will make you turn on all the lights. Creepy yet fun!

[LaCitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romanzo leggero, carino, leggibile in breve. Non certo un capolavoro, ma perfetto per rilassarsi.
Nicky è un personaggio molto simpatico e una parte di me ci si è affezionata. Potrei proseguire con la serie, solo per lei o quasi... be', magari anche per quel bel ragazzone di Joe, suvvia :)))

[Antonio Fanelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carino.
C'è di peggio in giro.

[LadyAileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dopo una dura giornata di lavoro avete bisogno di rilassarvi o siete semplicemente alla ricerca di un libro da portare in spiaggia (considerato il clima di questi giorni non è da escludere), questo libro è quello che fa per voi.
Le ragazze morte sono facili è il primo volume di una serie che vede protagonista Nicki Styx una donna che dopo aver quasi perso la vita, si risveglia con la capacità di vedere i morti che hanno ancora un conto in sospeso con il mondo dei vivi. Quest'ultimo aspetto della trama ricorda in modo impressionante il telefilm
Ghost Whispers ma la somiglianza finisce qui.
Stranamente non si tratta solo di un volume introduttivo anzi vedrete la protagonista alle prese con tre casi, uno dei quali, le dimostrerà che non tutti gli spiriti sono buoni. Per fortuna tutto si risolve senza dover aspettare il prossimo volume, ma non preoccupatevi perché resteranno comunque alcune questioni in sospeso.
Il romanzo (ambientato ad Atlanta) è scritto in prima persona (è la stessa Nicki a raccontare la sua storia) dunque sarà più facile per il lettore immedesimarsi. Nicki è un vulcano di simpatia, le piacciono gli abiti vintage, ironica, divertente, stravagante e che non si perde mai d'animo.
Anche gli altri protagonisti non sono da meno: credibili e simpatici. A cominciare da Joe un uomo raffinato, affascinante, romantico e intelligente e poi c'è Evan il miglior amico gay di Nicki (i momenti più esilaranti sono le loro conversazioni) con una personalità ben definita e non una macchietta.
La trama, semplice ma non troppo, non ha niente di scontato anzi quando meno te lo aspetti ecco che arriva qualche colpo di scena inaspettato. Divertente senza dubbio, scorrevolissimo (si legge davvero in poco tempo e senza mai annoiarti), giusta dose di suspense e davvero ben articolato. Naturalmente non manca il risvolto romantico ma non è parte predominante. Interessante ed inquietante anche la parte dedicata alla religione Voodoo (e non solo) con le sue tradizioni e credenze.
Non è violento o truce ma una lettura leggera che fa anche riflettere su tematiche come la vita dopo la morte.
Consigliato!

[April Klasen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dead Girls are Easy by Terri Garey is that little bit of sweet gothic literature where you can nibble or binge and be happy about it all. No guilt. No obligatory black dye job.
Nicki dies but she comes back to life. She isn’t a vampire or a zombie, she’s just an ordinary girl with the ability to see and hear the dead. Simple. That’s the easy part of the story. Then comes the demands of the dead, the actual logistics of explaining why she has to say this and that to the loved ones left behind, convince the very attractive doctor that she isn’t crazy, convince herself to allow herself to fall in love with him, have a crash course in voodoo, and deal with the idea that she might have a twin sister out there who just so happened to be married to the cute doctor but left his ass and disappeared four years ago with no way to serve divorce papers.
Garey has a great storytelling voice. Everything flows, the language is fun and light hearted, very entertaining. At some points I was skim reading, but I still got the gist of the scene (I really need not read when I’m about to fall asleep, leave it for full mental capacity).
Nicki is awesome and kicks ass (verbally). She has her moments of weakness (especially around the good doctor) and isn’t all brassy balls (afraid of commitment, issues with letting others in), she is rather nice and wants to help people. I really liked her.
Evan (her gay best friend and business partner) is an absolute sweety and isn’t in the story nearly as much as he should be. He comes and goes and bounces dialogue back and forth with Nicki, and then he disappears to the suburbs to be with his boyfriend. I’m happy for him, but I wanted to see more of him.
I’m hoping that when I do some research I shall find that there is a second book and so all of those loose ends to do with the twin sister, the doctor’s family, and everything else are tied and packaged around another spook encounter with the dead. Fingers crossed.

[Julie Kastner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. So loved the characters.

[Angela Visalli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ma si può creare una protagonista più insopportabile?, dopo Anna vestita di sangue (in cui però il protagonista era un ragazzetto che si vantava di essere un ghost hunters esperto) Le ragazze morte sono facili è il peggior urban fantasy che abbia mai letto in vita mia. Mi chiedo una scrittrice come possa arrivare a tanto, solo per vendere un po'! Una, la protagonista, che si vanta di essere una mangia uomini, di fare battutine spinte, di usare gli uomini a suo piacimento, che si innamora in meno di una settimana del suo probabile cognato della sorella gemella mai conosciuta, beautiful ci fa un baffo. L'urban fantasy sta proprio cadendo in basso, molto in basso, il bello che c'è gente in internet molto influente che spinge verso questa tendenza!!!
Anche la parte paranormal fa pena, è la brutta copia spiaccicata di Ghost Whisperer!
Per non parlare della parte romance come vi dicevo, gli ormoni a mille nella protagonista così senza nessun motivo, solo perché il bel dottore è figo! Ogni momento è buono per portarselo a letto, mica importa se un momento prima piangevi disperata perché era morta la tua amica, e no.

Cit. " - Dimmi, dottor B, ti viene l'erezione con tutti i pazienti di cardiologia? -
Mi protesi per appoggiargli una mano a coppa tra le gambe, e il tempo si fermò per un istante.
- Non farlo. - Pronunciò quelle due parole, prima di indietreggiare di un passo anche se non sembrava dispiacergli.
- Perché no? - mormorai con un barlume malizioso negli occhi. Lasciai la mano dov'era, a pochi centimetri dalla sua zip in tensione.
- Sono sposato.-"

Che rivelazione dell'anno... è sposato! Mii non si era mai sentito questo colpo di scena in un romanzo!!

E la protagonista si incazza pure perché lui è sposato e tu allora? un secondo prima eri a piangere per la morte della tua amica e un secondo dopo metti le mani nei pantaloni del primo che passa?

Quando un'autrice è conscia di stare scrivendo una caxxata, non può fare a meno di dirlo in maniera più o meno esplicita nel suo romanzo, forse per salvarsi un po' il sedere.

Cit. "Non potei evitare di chiedermi in cosa diavolo mi stavo cacciando con il probabile marito di una gemella finora sconosciuta. Però lui non era uno qualunque... era Joe. A proposito di una soap opera scadente in fase di sviluppo..."

Certo che definire la trama del proprio romanzo "una soap opera scadente in fase di sviluppo" promette bene. Pensare c'è gente che ha dato 4-5 stelline a questo romanzo, ma come si fa dico io?

Per leggere la mia recensione non proprio positiva sul mio blog Club Urban Fantasy:
http://cluburbanfantasy.blogspot.it/2...

[Amy Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Devil Without A Cause by this author, I just knew I was going to have to purchase the previous books written by this author. Ms. Garey has the ability to keep me stitches with her writing and characters while enjoying a story that is fun and quirky. The author's writing reminds me of Lynsay Sands and her Argeneau series. Fun writing and characters that are memorable make wonderful stories to sit down with.

In the first book of a series, Nicki Styx has a near death experience. Dr. Joe Bascombe declares her dead, but Nicki surprises him by not taking death lying down! When she awakes from her experience, she finds herself seeing dead people and not understanding why. While trying to get these spirits to go into the Light, she quickly falls for the handsome Doctor as well. As the two start to develop a relationship though, an evil Voodoo worshiper decides to have fun with Nicki as well. Add on the juicy gossip that Dr. Joe might be married in name only to Nicki's long lost twin sister, and you have the makings of a Soap Opera in one book!

I loved Nicki and her rebel attitude. She is fun and witty with enough spark in her to light off an army of fireworks! I absolutely fell in love with her long time gay friend, Evan. He was a riot and one I wouldn't mind having around for 'girl talk' time! The steamy romance between Joe and Nicki was great. The author didn't force their relationship and let it build at its own pace which can be tricky in a book. I also liked the fact that the steamy scenes didn't go overboard because this book was fun and carefree! I know you are shaking your head at me because you know I like the steamy romance scenes, but with this book it wouldn't have worked out as well.

If you are looking for a fun and laugh-out-loud dialogue, then I recommend you getting your fanny in gear to get this series! I, for one, cannot wait to start the reading the rest of the series!

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dead Girls Are Easy was definitely a light read! Nicki Styx was just a regular girl until she had a near death experience. Now she sees dead people who want her help--worst of all, her friend Caprice. Caprice got caught up in a deal with the devil after discovering her husband was cheating on her and after being killed, her husband's lover Felicia is trying to take her soul. Now Nicki is being forced by the evil side of Caprice to right this wrong. Enter Joe Bascombe--he saved Nicki's life and now he is falling for her. Their new ultra-hot relationship is threatened by Nicki's predicament as Joe begins to think Nicki is crazy. Further tangling the web is Joe's belief that his missing wife is Nicki's twin sister. For Nicki Styx, life has just gotten a whole lot crazier and her only solution is to find the answers before she loses everything.
Can I start by saying that I love the clip art at the beginning of each chapter! Nicki Styx is a wild woman whose life is really entertaining. Although the book deals with a potentially dark topic, it is written in a light-hearted way. The dark material is not overly frightening and the ghosts are almost funny. The presence of the voodoo in the book was somewhat overdone and I found the rituals distracting rather than an addition to the premise of the story however Nicki's reaction to all the events surrounding her is comical. Her best friend Evan steals the show with his clever banter with her however the idea of the gay male best friend is stale in my opinion. It took me about 100 pages to really get into the storyline but once I did, the book was a quick read. While it was not a great read, it was satisfying. I would recommend it as a quick book for someone who likes a basic paranormal mystery.

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book.
I really did...
It was different, but not in the unusual sense.
I've read books like it before.
Same concept, different story.
Okay.
So, I have to get this off my chest.
FYI, I would like to kick Nicki Styx's ass.
She was so annoying and definitely no heroine.
Come on!
You're not so bright if you have to have everything spelled out for you.
Plus, all she did was rant about how she used to be this and how she is becoming that.
STFU!
I mean, all she did was rave about how different and special she is.
It was a slap in the face to find out she may be a twin.
It was a punch in the gut to find out her love interest may be said twin's husband.
LMFAO!
You're not so unique now are ya' Nicki?
Not only are you part of a pair, but you're also getting your other halves sloppy seconds!
Speaking of said love interest, Dr. Joe Bascombe was one big cliche'.
Facepalm.
I've seen it and read it all before.
I wish authors would learn to diversify.
I for one could live with a little variety.
The best character of the book by far was Evan.
I mean, what girl doesn't want or need an overly dramatic and heterosexually challenged male BFF?
I'm reading the second book now and will LYK how that one turns out later.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a chicklit paranormal romance, though as far as romance goes, it's rated PG. Imagine slightly suggestive dialog fading out to a happy morning after - I wouldn't be surprized if this book counts as young adult fiction.

Basic plot: Woman (Nicki) nearly dies, sees the light, gets sent back, now sees ghosts. Generally, she needs to help them get to the light to make them go away. One of them is a crazy voodoo queen who does very very mean things to her. On the sidelines, Nicki falls in love with the doctor who saved her life, and continues to run the vintage clothing shop she co-owns with her best friend.

The designer clothes name dropping comes off as very high school, but since I have embraces my inner teeny bopper, I liked the novel anyway. Not terribly memorable, but enjoyable.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another case of a book I would give 3 1/2 stars to if I could. This was an incredibly fast read, once I actually sat down and read it. I think it suffered a little from being the rebound book that followed my 2 weeks of BDB. I did enjoy it enough to continue reading the next 4 books in the series, and at the very least unless something drastic changes, I can imagine even if I never love it, I will never feel like I wasted my time either. It's a little light UF, I like the the supporting characters more than the lead, but that tends to happened for me in all those first person books. I think it's something about being in someone else's head. Reading in the first person makes me feel like someone is making decisions for me and I don't like it... especially if they make decisions I don't agree with! LOL.