Death Rejoices

Football sized zombie spiders! There. Have I got your attention yet?<br /><br />Strange and hilarious situations, a snarky sense of humor, and some scary paranormal adversaries including and not limited to zombies in furry costumes makes <b>Death Rejoices</b> one of my favorite urban fantasy reads so far this year. In fact, as I was reading this book, I couldn’t help but read parts out loud to my husband and other assorted family members and bursting out in laughter. Honestly, the situations Marnie finds herself in are both scary and hysterical. <br /><br />Death Rejoices starts off furry. Yes, furry. It seems that attendees of a local FurCon have gone missing and Marnie and her gang are on a stakeout. And get this – Marnie is in a furry costume, too. She’s dressed as a squirrel and is on the lookout for a predator dressed as a white unicorn. <br /><br />This installment of the Marnie Baranuik files brings on a slightly more mature Marnie. After all, she is now head of her own Preternatural Biology department at the FBI and she even has an assistant. Marnie has sworn off cookies (and is going through cookie withdrawal), but she still craves her sweets. She still acts a little impulsively and sometimes speaks without the benefit of a brain filter. Marnie still pines for Agent Mark Batten and her inner dialogue still has fond memories…Marnie has started taking self-defense training with Sherriff Hood. Her life at home is basically the same, and her brother Wes has joined her household under the tutelage of Harry while he adjusts to his new life.<br /><br />What grabs me about this story (and this series) is how easy it is to relate to Marnie. She’s so down to earth despite all the crazy stuff she deals with on a daily basis. She longs for the simple things in life – her old Buick, even when she has a shiny new car in her driveway.. Zombie horde attacking? Not on her day off. And the men in her life? Interesting complications<br /><br />I am amused by the men in Marnie’s life. The hunky Mark Batten is front and center in Marnie’s thoughts. So much so, that the underlying sexual tension between the two sizzles. Marnie has wasted a lot of energy being mad at Mark, and she doesn’t see what everyone else around her does. I loved how Mark calls Marnie Snickerdoodle and how she calls him Hunkypants. So cute.<br /><br />Then there’s Harry, the vampire Marnie “inherited” from her grandmother. Harry and Marnie are quite domestic with each other. He cooks and cares for her, she feeds him. They even argue like an old married couple. They share a bond of DaySitter and vampire. It’s so fun to read Harry’s dialogue. His obscure and often archaic vocabulary had me hitting up the ereader dictionary often.<br /><br />Marnie doesn’t have that many female friends. None at all. Her adversarial relationship with Agent Golden leads up to the best lines:<blockquote>“When you walk into a man’s bedroom dressed for sex, Dr. Baranuik, does Darth Vader’s Imperial March start playing in your head?”</blockquote><blockquote>“The way I see it, there are educated, intelligent women, then there’s Marnie Baranuik, Mistress of Disaster.”</blockquote>I’ve now added Dr. Pepper to my Zombie Emergency Preparedness bag. Who knew? You can never be too prepared. Death Rejoices was a blast to read. And if you are wondering about the fangy frogs – grab a copy of this book!<br /><br /><i>Thank you to the publisher for a review copy of this book.</i><br /><br /><b>Review posted on <a href="http://badassbookreviews.com" rel="nofollow noopener">Badass Book Reviews.</a></b> <br />

Marnie Baranuik is back with all of her excellent one liners and highlighter worthy curse words that I can't wait to try out on my mother. She hates that shit, but tolerates it because I'm the favourite. <br /><br />Speaking of favourites. Marnie, AKA Snickerdoodle AKA Doom Chasm. LOVE HER. <br /><br />Then there is Harry, Marnie's Cold Company and at on occasion hot, sexy revenant lover. Seriously hot. LOVE HIM. Relationship goals right there. <br /><br />Complaints: <br /><br />1. The love triangle thing is weird, but only moderately annoying in that I can't see the point of it or where it could possibly go. <br /><br />2. This book felt really unnecessarily long. It is fortunate that the dialogue and support characters are so wonderful that they overshadow what is, in my opinion, a fairly weak story. <br /><br />BR with darling <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/25393430-sh3lly-not-all-those-who-wander-are-lost" rel="nofollow noopener">Shelly</a>

OMG! OMG! OMG! So, I was kinda already obsessed with Marnie and Harry and Mark Batten, but now, I am totally and utterly enraptured by this snarky, witty, and at times completely obscene threesome! They all drive me insane, yet I can never seem to pull myself away from them, and DEATH REJOICES was consuming. <br /><br />At times, Marnie's responses to events left me belly laughing so hard I was nearly in tears. You just cannot find her humor anywhere else. AJ Aalto has produced such an amazing character in Marnie and I just wish that I could pull her out of the pages and introduce myself. You know, maybe bake some cookies, or well brownies since I'm kind of attached to Batten, and pick her brain. Not in the zombie sense! I really don't want a zombie Marnie, the conversation just wouldn't be the same! Anyhoo... what was I saying? Oh yea, chatting with Marnie would be the most fascinating conversation of my life. While I love her humor and innuendo, I think it's quite obvious she uses it as a shield against her insecurities, and I'm really hoping that eventually someone cracks that nut. <br /><br />I'm curious to see where things go in the next book... so I might have to hunt AJ down and threaten her with zombie infection to make sure book 3 gets here sooner rather than later. I'm not sure how long I could possibly wait. There are just sooo many questions I want answers to! I'm kind of demanding that way! I can tell how much fun AJ has writing these books, because I have so much fun reading them. The writing is creative and captivating, and I have to admit that I've never, ever read another book/author that had me so enthralled and invested in the characters. <br /><br />AND... while this is an adult novel complete with sex and plenty of sexual innuendo (which I don't mind in the least) the story can complete stand on its own without those elements. It's not all about the sex, although the innuendo and desire is an integral part of Marnie's character, the sexual themes do not drive the story. This is not erotica and I wouldn't even classify it as romance, it's Supernatural, Paranormal, Fantasy, and Mystery with a "lust triangle" build in. A "lust triangle" that I really hope gets explored even more deeply in the future, because I'm extremely interested in the feelings that Marnie appears to be hiding. <br /><br />Ok ok, I will quit rambling. But seriously, this is one of my favorite series! And an amazing sequel! I'm so excited to be able to share it with all of you. So, if you've been hiding under a rock or just haven't stumbled on to THE MARNIE BARANUIK FILES yet, please please please pick up a copy of book 1, TOUCHED! Oh, and A.J. assures me that Book 3, titled LAST IMPRESSIONS is in the works and coming soon, complete with new team members! By now, you are all probably aware that I RARELY ramble on this long about a book, so take the hint please and check it out. <br /><br />

I have no idea how to rate this. On the one hand you have an interesting take on vampires and other various magical themes.<br />On the other hand, I have a love-hate relationship with the main character. <br />Marnie is <i>different</i>. I can't really write about her without spoiling things, so I'll just leave it at that. The fact it took me a couple of days to read it isn't a point in the book's favour.<br />

It's official, I'm in love. In fact, I'm ready to start this book back from the beginning because I'm not ready to leave Marnie's world yet.<br /><br />I love Marnie's sassy, snarky, and sometimes downright hilarious narration. Marnie might be a klutz, but you'd never mistake her for a damsel in distress. It's so refreshing to have a character that confronts her problems head on. There are no long, drawn out periods of angst waiting for Marnie to draw an obvious conclusion. She might not act on all her feelings *cough Batten cough* but she acknowledges them.<br /><br />What I loved about this book was that I had no idea where the mystery was going until the very end. It seemed like Aalto had 3 unrelated plot lines going on (though very well written and therefore not confusing) until she rounded things up at the last minute in a way that made perfect sense. There are of course the subplots of 1) the Harry-Marnie-Batten triangle and 2)Asmodeus making demands, both of which carried through the book. I don't know if I'll ever tire of reading the tension between Marnie and Batten build, anxiously waiting to see if it will break.<br /><br />I fell more in love with Batten in Death Rejoices. I was already hooked after Touched, but this book cemented it. He's always changing, sliding from sexy to sweet to grumpy and back again, drawing in the reader (and Marnie) all the while. He's getting a little less prickly, and Marnie's resistance seems like it's weakening. <br /><br />Harry was equally enthralling. Marnie might be able to feel his emotions, but that doesn't make it any easier to discern his thoughts. One set of questions regarding Harry's relationship with Marnie is answered...but it only leads to more questions. At points it seems like his words of affection are hollow, but then other moments make it appear as though he is completely devoted to Marnie. Harry is both more involved and less involved in the mystery than originally expected. I'm still unsure about the nature of his relationship with Chapel, who continues to suffer strange effects from the daughir bond.<br /><br />I can't wait to read the next book. I hope it comes out very soon!

This is a crazy series and this second book is even crazier than the first. The dialogue is so ridiculously inappropriate at times, and the characters are pretty out there. But I really enjoy this series and this book. There is some really disturbing content, so be warned.<br /><br />Overall rating: <b> 4.5/5.0 stars</b>.<br /><br />Reviewed for Bitten by Books. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://bittenbybooks.com">http://bittenbybooks.com</a>.

This series just keeps getting better and better. Death Rejoices is, simply put, 574 pages of toe-curling goodness as we revisit foul-mouthed Marnie Baranuik, day sitter to Harry, the charming revenant and her hot-bodied men (and otherwise), with whom she shares her hilarious adventures. You know you’re in for the ride of your life when a book starts off with an oversexed undercover agent in a fursuit, at a sex party, WITHOUT a slit... Think YOUR life is complicated? It’s got nothing – NOTHING on Marnie’s life: Try fending off a necrophiliac Ogre who loves to lick your vampires when you’re out on day-time assignments ("Naked undead ogre... Worst.Alarm clock.Ever."), a stalker tooth, berserker zombies, nightmarish, head-leaping spiders, a multiheaded, kinky nipple/breast loving freak known as the Overlord, really old dudes with wings, a shapeshifting relative who likes to sexually violate your fuzzy slipper in bat form AND being sexually denied by the men you lust after. All whilst dealing with a mysterious, nosy researcher from overseas. No wonder Marnie’s creative with her curses!<br /><br />You think you know the paranormal romance genre, and then you run into this book. It’s part mystery, part farce. Never (EVER!) has gore been this entertaining! There’s something for everyone - witty banter, sexual tension, creative vulgarity, and cleverly outlined characters. <br /><br />It’s a good thing Aalto’s books tend to be long, because you’ll never want them to end! There’s not a dull moment in the series. (Unfortunately) time will fly by, and then you will wind up stalking Aalto’s discussion boards, hoping to get your greedy little hands on an ARC. (Unsuccessfully, *sigh*)<br /><br />I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you don’t want to read it, you’re just dumb. STUPID! Easily worth 6 stars or more! Hear that, Goodreads, I need more stars! All thanks to Marnie &amp; co. Let’s just say: Friday 13th is my new lucky day. Why? Because it’s the release date for Marnie Baranuik Last Impressions, of course! (Squee!)<br /><br />(And yes, I really needed to use caps lock that much...)

Another intriguing and fun addition to this series. Little by little we're drawn into the mystery surrounding Marnie, the heroine. There is something there that Harry, her Cold Companion, knows but isn't yet revealing. Not to mention, she's now facing zombies and an old Revanent, and her brother has turned into a bat that freaks her out. The mystery, fun and a little heat dials up for a great read!

I loved this book as much as the first. I am so impressed with this local talent! Marnie is an inspiration to us all, and in a weird way she is proof that we can all accomplish so much more than we believe is possible.<br /><br />My only complaint is the length of the book. We could have lost about 150 pages and still accomplished the same goal.

4.5<br /><br />I'm glad I found this series. I'm just so enamored of Harry, Marnie just tires me the hell out with her raging libido and makes me burst into laughter like a crazy person-thankfully where people don't look at me funny-with her crude mouth and accident prone ways. I love that even the minor characters are layered with personality, that this world that Marnie inhabits makes me more curious to explore it and learn more of it. The biology and the magical aspects of both the beings and their talents in this series are giving me a new and fresh perspective that reminds me why I loved this genre a few years ago.<br /><br />In this addition to the series Marnie meets new faces-of preternaturals and people, as well as more complications. Now that she's part of Gary's team in the FBI's Preternatural Crimes Unit, Marnie has to keep her hands-as well as other parts-away from Mark Batten, keep control of her mouth (not a chance in hell that's happening.), and stop being a walking disaster. Like having a new assistant that's hiding more than just 'what' he is, fighting her attraction to Batten, releasing Gary from his role as dhaugir, trying not to jump Batten, healing her severely injured brother (who later turns into a bat), and keeping her clothes on in front of Batten is not enough, Marnie's to do list keeps getting longer. Dealing with a necrophiliac ogre, a Prior gone bad, creepy zombies, and the King of Demons wanting his hands on a deadly hybrid is all in a day's work...especially when she's suffering through defensive tactics training and a severe case of corpsepox.<br /><br />Mark Batten is a little more open and approachable in this one and I liked it, but the idea of him and Marnie just doesn't get me excited. I don't know if it's because this 'potential' love triangle reminds me of another one that imploded with disastrous consequences all around and I simply don't want to see it with this three. Harry shone for me because there's a bit more of his past that's revealed and his actions in regards to the bond are laid out in the open. He was also a little paternal, taking Wes (Marnie's brother) protectively under his wing and caring for Wes when he got hurt. I admit I'm curious at his connection with Gary but it's a mystery that's piquing my interest without frustrating me.<br /><br />All in all I found this book as enjoyable as the first one, this series is definitely going on my auto buy list.