Croak 
Sixteen-year-old Lex Bartleby has sucker-punched her last classmate. Fed up with her punkish, wild behavior, her parents ship her off to upstate New York to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer, hoping that a few months of dirty farm work will whip her back into shape. But Uncle Mort’s true occupation is much dirtier than that of shoveling manure.
He’s a Grim Reaper. And he’s going to teach her the family business.
Lex quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated entirely by reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next. Along with her infuriating yet intriguing partner Driggs and a rockstar crew of fellow Grim apprentices, Lex is soon zapping her Targets like a natural born Killer.
Yet her innate ability morphs into an unchecked desire for justice—or is it vengeance?—whenever she’s forced to Kill a murder victim, craving to stop the attackers before they can strike again. So when people start to die—that is, people who aren’t supposed to be dying, people who have committed grievous crimes against the innocent—Lex’s curiosity is piqued. Her obsession grows as the bodies pile up, and a troubling question begins to swirl through her mind: if she succeeds in tracking down the murderer, will she stop the carnage—or will she ditch Croak and join in?
I saw this one on a Waiting on Wednesday somewhere and I was intrigued. I liked the idea of a Reaper  ever since I read the Soul Screamers series from Rachel Vincent. The cover and the synopsis promised me a fun read with a little darkness.
I absolutely loved the dialogue in Croak! They were fast, quick and funny , sometimes even hilarious. This was most definitely the highlight in the book for me!
Lex – difficult character, but with funny talk!
Lex was a very difficult character to connect and to understand. Full of violence even herself has no clue where this comes from in the first place. She has a wonderful Twin sister , loving parents and until then a good life at school. Then suddenly everything changes and there is this anger! When her parents have no idea anymore what to do with her they send her to her uncle Mort to Croak.
In the strange town named Croak she connects with Driggs (a cute boy) and some other kids which showed similar behavior like Lex before. Plus, finally the other kids take back to her and specially Driggs doesn’t take her crap and puts her in her place. I really liked the relation between Driggs and Lex – it was funny and cute!
I found the story slightly slow at some points. I didn’t see where the story was going and also I didn’t feel I got enough information about how and why someone becomes a Reaper. It was simply thrown at us and we had to deal with it. Because of this, I felt disconnected from the plot and like this didn’t care enough to see what would happen next. The same was true for the mystery part of the book which might have been really good instead was lacking suspense.
Bottom Line
As I said, the absolute highlights were the dialogues which managed to entertain me enough to read on and not let go of the story. Lex and Driggs were complicated characters that were fun and cute together. The plot and the storyline was lacking in my opinion and didn’t manage to completely drew me in, which was a pity because I still think the premise and idea is great.
Additional Notes: I will have a look at the next one which already comes out in September YAY Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Gina Damico for releasing the books in the series so fast! Scorch, the second book comes out September 25th.
Much Love,Â
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I had heard of this one a while ago and had completely forgotten about its existence to be honest .. Too bad iyou didn't love it .. I hate it when books have a lot of potential but don't fulfill my expectations .. Thanks for another fabulous review Danny 🙂 !!
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I was sad myself and I was discussing with myself hard about the rating. I did finish it after all but, it didn't really blow me away in any case. I think that the plot was really lacking in my opinion and I felt I was left too much hanging and wondering…
My recent post Quick Review: Croak by Gina Damico
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Oh no, I've been dying to read this one! I still will, but my expectations will definitely be lowered.
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I hope you'll love it more than I did! I think the book does has potential and I hope it will appeal more to you than it did to me!
My recent post Quick Review: Croak by Gina Damico
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I was equally curious and intrigued by the synopsis of Croak. So sad that you didn't enjoy as much as you thought you would. I'll take my time getting to it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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I mean seriously, the synopsis does sound awesome and I had such high hopes for this book. And though it had some sparks mostly I had to force myself to finish – which is always a bad thing…
I hope you'll love it more than I did!
My recent post Quick Review: Croak by Gina Damico
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I am really curious about this one – I am bummed to hear you didn't enjoy this one as much as you wanted to. I didn't know this was a series, I thought it was a standalone.
My recent post Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin
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Yes me too! But when I finished I realized it was a series and I'm happy they are releasing the book so soon after the first one. Too bad it didn't do it for me ;(
Maybe you'l like it? Would be curious to see how you liked it!
My recent post Quick Review: Croak by Gina Damico
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I got a copy of this through NetGalley that I'm doing to be reading soon and I had really hoped that it would be as good as described. I do like to know what to expect though, so thanks for sharing your thoughts on it 🙂
My recent post Cinder Book Review
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I have a review copy of this one. I am glad it at least has witty, fun dialogue, just wish that it was a better read for you Danny. I will come back and compare notes with you after I read it!
My recent post Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
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