I had very high expectations for Desires of the Dead simply because Kimberly Derting wrote it. She is a wonderful writer with a great imagination. She pulls her readers in and effectively tells a story. The Body Finder series is one of my favorites! The writing is beautiful, of course, and the characters come to life, but I'm sad to say that I didn't enjoy this one as much as The Body Finder. 
 The Body Finder has the intrigue, the mystery, and the romance that made me fall completely in love with it. While there is a good balance of mystery, excitement, and romance in The Body Finder, Desires of the Dead focuses more on the romance and Violet just trying to live a normal life with her friends and Jay. I'm not complaining, though, because Violet and Jay are among my top 5 favorite fictional couples. The balance and magic just aren't as strong for me in this one. The mystery that is included didn't really feel mysterious, because a lot of it is right in the reader's face. I could tell where things were heading, which made the ending anti-climatic. The ending in The Body Finder had my heart racing; I was shouting "NO!" and then shouting "YES!" which didn't happen for this one. I also didn't really connect with the new characters that are introduced, which is disappointing. It seems like a couple of the new characters are going to return in the next book, which kind of makes me wonder if I'm going to like where this series MAY be heading... I sure hope so! 
 I still love the series, so I'm super excited for the next books! This one just didn't blow me away as much as the first one.