Darker Days (Darker Agency, #1)

by Jus Accardo

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.

• ISBN10: 1502388561
• ISBN13: 9781502388568
• Publish Date: 10 October 2014 (first published 26 August 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 362
• Language: English

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

Darker Days is the first book in the Darker Agency series by paranormal author Jus Accardo. It offers up a snarky teenage protagonist, possessed dogs, zombies and a side dish of romance that will leave you smiling. Three word review: funny, action-packed and uniquely original.

We meet protagonist Jessie Darker as she arrives at the client’s home to remove a zombie from their pool and from the very first page the tale had me in its grips. Jessie and her Mom handle cases involving paranormal activity. Imagine missing people, spell mishaps, poltergeist, and zombies in your garage. If it’s weird for a nominal fee, they will clean things up for you. When a handsome young man arrives asking for help locating a person and a stolen box the case sounds simple enough. However,things are about to get complicated. The missing box contains the seven deadly sins, and they are wreaking havoc all over town. The tale unfolds providing romance, humor and nonstop action.

Jessie Darker is anything but your typical teenager. Her mother is human and hunts paranormal activity and her father lives in the Otherworld and is a demon. Yep, things are definitely not typical at her house. Jessie is fearless, snarky and speaks a lingo all of her own. I found her to be refreshing, and her spontaneous react first, think later attitude is typical of the kick-ass heroines we love in this genre. She is a delightful blend of innocence and maturity beyond her years. The parental units are present and take an active role in Jessie’s life. We get a strong sense of who they are and I liked their interactions with Jessie. Lukas Scott is eighteen, and you could say he has old-fashion values. He carries around some guilty which makes him vulnerable and you immediately connect with this swoon-worthy young man. Other characters and sins help round out the castas they made me laugh and get caught up in the action.

Darker Days was fresh, fun, and had a well-developed story-line. The Darker Detective Agency and unique characters quickly drew me into the story. The pacing and Accardo’s descriptive, easy-going writing style,allowed me to slip into the tale. The main case involving the Seven Deadly Sins provides the reader with heart racing scenes wrapped in humor. Accardo gradually builds the world and history of the Darker family with clever twists and family secrets. The romance develops slowly over the course of five days but evolves from respect and admiration rather than hormones. Ok, so maybe some hormones were involved, but it felt real, had cute moments and the author made me believe. The possibilities for this series are endless, and I am excited to see how this develops. Accardo’s imagination and gift for spinning captivating tales made this an excellent start to a promising new series.

Fans of paranormal hunters and snark will enjoy Darker Days and its unique cast of characters and paranormal creatures. Jus Accardo is the author of the popular Denazen series. I am looking forward to reading her upcoming novel Ruined.

originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[limabean74]

The Darker Days by Jus Accardo is a fun read. Love the characters and it has a bunch of awesome bad guys. I must say I really enjoyed The Darker Days, the story was fantastic and it is a unique YA Paranormal Romance. The story centers on Jessie Darker, she is such a great character and totally my favorite character, she has great one-liners and I found myself giggling a few times at the stuff she said. She just wants to be a "normal" teen but it's really hard when you are dealing with zombies, ghosts, and possessed people and pets. The handsome Lukas Scott is a new client who really needs the Darker Agencies help. I realIy thought the chemistry between Lukas and Jessie was great. I wanted it to work out for them. I loved the twists the book took and I have to say the possessed dog was such a great character :) All the characters in the book were very well written even the bad guys were awesome.

Seven sins, six innocent people, five days

Jessie and Her mom Klaire Darker are the owners of The Darker Agency a company that helps people with certain paranormal problems the average person doesn't notice. They are hired by Lukas Scott to find a box that contains the 7 deadly sins that are now on the loose. They have 5 days to put them back but they have a witch to deal with and she isn't what she seems. The sin possess a bunch of people and cause complete chaos in the town of Penance but something isn't right and it appears that this is a lot deeper than they all thought. With lives on the line can they stop the sins or are they doomed to roam the earth forever.

I gave Darker Days 4/5 stars it is a fun read and I recommend to anyone who enjoys a fun book with a kick ass heroine with good dose of humor. This is my first book from Author Jus Accardo and I can't wait to read more from her. Really looking forward to the next book in his series.

See all my reviews at love2readalways.blogspot.com

[Kelly]

http://divainpyjamas.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/darker-days-by-jus-accardo-arc-review.html
I loved Darker Days, it had the wit, cheek and pure entertainment that young adult readers have come to expect from Ms Accardo. Jessie Darker is a sassy, bold and likeable heroine. She jumps into every situation with both feet, in a shoot first, ask questions later mentality. But it isn't until she crosses path with Lukas, is when she truly learns what 'Monster Mashing' is.

Being born over a century ago, Lukas has the charm and grace of a southern gentlemen. In what seems as a mild annoyance at being thrown together, develops into a witty, sarcastic and loving relationship, slowly over the course of the book.

I loved the inclusion of Mister Winkie, the demonically possessed Corgi that follows Jessie home from a pet possession case. He'll morph in and out during intense situations with a cloud of black smoke, only to fall asleep, drool or wag his tail.

It was brilliant, funny and original. I loved it! Kudos Ms Accardo.