holes in my brain

full review can be found on my blog, holes In My brain3.5/5DESIRES OF THE DEAD is a solid sequel, I think the author accomplished what she set out to do; there is suspense, mystery, action, and of course, romance.I think what reviewers and readers will take away most from this novel would be the romantic development between Violet and Jay. I have to admit, I never found myself a fan of the romance due to Jay being way too perfect (which is impressive seeing he probably improved on his perfection in book 2), but I swear to G, I am the ONLY person who feels this way so I'll bet my opinion will not be yours. I'll bet you'll find the romance sizzling, steamy and sweet.Violet is a more well rounded character in my mind, she has some serious and silly flaws, can be immature, stubborn and jealous, but always tries to do the right thing… these characteristics cause her to be a more interesting character as a whole. Oh, and I just love her relationship with her caring, not-dysfunctional parents, so yay! Jay has the whole nice guy, best friend turned perfect, protective, loving boyfriend act down pat.Now the mystery. I completely adored the mystery in the first book, and I was just a little disappointed in it in the sequel, it just didn’t have as much oomph as I hoped (I won't divulge details though). The intermittent POV from a mystery girl was nowhere near the intensity as the serial killer in book 1, and the general ‘who-dun-it’ just wasn’t as satisfying. I felt there wasn't enough twists and turns to have me at the edge of my seat.Despite some misgivings, I still have to say that as an overall novel, I definitely enjoyed it. I read it all in one sitting, and was kept engaged in what was going on by excellent writing courtesy of Derting. The development of the major characters, mostly Violet, was strong and I over-enjoyed (haha, not even kidding) whatever conflicts she had with Jay. Yeah, don’t judge. I watch Gossip Girl too. xD