Dying for Her (Dying for a Living, #3) by Kory M. Shrum

Dying for Her (Dying for a Living, #3) Reviews

• 
  Jo Jenner

  I was ever so slightly disappointed when I realised this wasn't a continuation of the story I had loved in the previous two books.
  However I soon got over that initial disappointment (by about page 5) when I realised that this was effectively the timeline of book two told from Brinkley point of view interspersed with details of how he first met Cauldwell and effectively how everything came together leading up to the events of book two.
  This is brilliantly written and my only complaint is that I missed Jesse as she is almost completely missing from this book.
  A brilliant way to draw all the threads together and I am looking forward to book four to see how Jesse, Alice, Jackson and the others cope without the wonderful Brinkley to pull them all together.
• 
  keikii Eats Books

  81 points/100 (4 ¼ stars/5)
  
  James T. Brinkley has a story to tell, one he should have told before to the people who matter. Now this is his last chance to tell it, to pass on the knowledge he has.
  
  Well then. If you've read Dying by the Hour, you know what this is going to be about and how this is going to end. There are no surprises about the end, only the gushy, gooey inner bits.
  
  This is a departure from Jesse's narration. This can technically be skipped, especially if you want to learn things as Jesse learns them. You can read this any time after book two, really. I'm not certain which I would recommend, really.
  
  This was written so you have the backstory on why some of these things are happening. It tells the full story. It is interesting, though you know there is going to be revelations dropped in this that we'll find out in the next book, anyway. Overall, I enjoyed the story, though.
  
  There are three main stories: The first is that Brinkley is looking for a girl named Rachel who has disappeared. No one knows where she is, and parts of the case are confusing to Brinkley because he doesn't know everything about the characters involved yet. The second is that Brinkley is looking for Eric Sullivan, who has been reported by a friend from the camps who hasn't heard from him since they were supposedly shut down. His boss is riding him pretty hard on this case, and Brinkley just cannot figure out why. Lastly, we're looking at Brinkley's past, and his guilt that he killed a kid in the war. It takes a while to find where this last story is going, but it is worth it.
  
  It got a bit confusing at times, though. It was a mix of past and present. We would jump hither and to and sometimes I would forget was happening in the other timeline. The story itself was also a bit confusing because parts don't seem to fit together. Sullivan is able to transport in and out of the camps, and we're looking for him now and.. I was just a bit confused. This might be because we're limited to only Brinkley's point of view. This was probably on me, though, as I was a bit tired when reading it.
  
  Despite knowing how this book was going to end, I was still tearing up. This series just gets me on an emotional level. I don't know how I'm going to be able to manage the rest of the series.
• 
  Cheryl (Takin' It Easy This Year!)

  This is the third book in the Jesse Sullivan series and threw me a little at the start as it's really a companion novel run alongside the first and second books of the series. However, once I'd delved into the book the fascination in this perspective of the story held me completely mesmerised.
  Dying For Her is essentially the story of Brinkley and follows his perspective of events from book two, culminating in his death. The story is told as events unfold and sandwiched in between are flashbacks filling in Brinkley's backstory.
  We find he was well aware that he was going to die and took the time available to him to ensure Jesse's safety and make sure he gave her all the skills to help in the fight against Caldwell. In the flashbacks we are given an insight into the terrible tragedy that caused Brinkley to leave the Military and join the FBRD, as well as events and cases that shaped both his and Caldwell's future.
  While not essential to read, I would really recommend it as Brinkley was one of the few characters where a lot of the questions surrounding his past life were left unanswered. The story told from his point of view gives the reader an insight into why he acted the way he did but also goes a long way in smoothing his very rough edges. The novel does have a melancholy feel to it so have the box of tissues handy. A highly recommended read!
• 
  Wendy Nelson

  I don’t even know where to start. What an amazing ride.
  
  The latest installment of this series is told by James T. Brinkley – or Brinkley as he’s always called. Brinkley has looked after Jesse since she was a teenager. And now he knows he’s going to have to die to save her.
  
  I couldn’t put this book down. The story is told by Brinkley, but in two different time periods. He tells the story of what happens in 2003 as he hunts down a man who has special abilities, more than one man actually. Men who are hard to find, and hard to sneak up on, and definitely hard to kill, all because of their special abilities.
  
  Then it switches to the present day as Brinkley counts down the weeks, then days, then hours to his death. Which has been told to him by his most trusted friend, a friend who can see the future.
  
  If it means saving Jesse, from the one man who will use her up, until there is nothing left of her, then he will go to his death with courage and bravery.
  
  If you haven’t read the first couple books in this series, I recommend you start there, with Jesse’s story. Dying for a Living, which is free on Amazon right now.
  http://amzn.com/B00IRIAA84
  
  Can’t recommend this series enough. Run, don’t walk to Amazon right now.
• 
  Angela

  If you’re a fan of Shrum’s Jesse Sullivan series and have read the first two books (Book #1 is now FREE!) you’ll LOVE this! This is the story of James T. Brinkley, Jesse’s handler. In the first two books, we’re only given a glimpse of his mysterious background and his fatherly tough love for Jesse. And while he can be abrasive and demanding at times, the endings of books one and two damn near break the heartstrings—in a lot of ways, because of him. Have your tissues ready, because half of Brinkley’s story runs parallel to the second book in the series, showing things from Brinkley’s POV. The other half, consisting of flashback chapters sandwiched between the present, dive way back into Brinkley’s past, when he first started working for the FBRD, the Federal Bureau of Regenerative Death, and when he first met Jesse’s father, the equally mysterious Caldwell. The chapters set in the past hold all kinds of exciting revelations, and we also see more of Gloria—one of my favorite characters! You won’t see too much of Jesse in this book, but don’t be too disappointed. Brinkley can hold his own.
• 
  Jeanette Andromeda

  This book felt the most out of place in the series and, mostly, redundant.
  
  It’s told through Brinkley’s POV, and continuously jumps back and forth in time from the moment he discovers his future to the beginning of his journey towards this inevitable event.
  
  There were new details revealed in this book about Brinkley and the villain, which were interesting. But, too much of this book treaded over the same ground as Dying by the Hour. Because I’d already experienced the most of his story from another angle I found myself skimming over large sections.
  
  I felt, impatient with the journey he was taking.
  
  I think the biggest part of that was I really missed Jesse’s voice.
  
  Her character is so vibrant that I want to live through every moment I can with her. So to have an entire book where she’s a background character? It really didn’t work for me.
  
  What made the POV switch so jarring was that Brinkley’s narration was so starkly different from Jesse’s. His voice is sad, serious, and depressing. It gave a gloomy haze to the whole book and left behind that glimmer of hope that was so essential to Jesse.
  
  This is the weakest book in the series. It does clean up and explore a lot of the details about Brinkley and the big bad evil Caldwell, but… it feels too plainly laid out so the experience was a lot less fun.
• 
  Rosemary

  Dying For Her is the third fantastic episode in the series by Kory M Shrum, Queen of the Apocryphal Fantasy Series, Dying For A Living.
  
  The main character is Jim Brinkley, guide, mentor and protector of the ever- young Jesse Sullivan,supreme Necronite aka potential saviour (or destroyer),of the World, depending on your point of view).
  Brinkley is joined in his mission by Captain Gloria Jackson, who's left the army after having her ESP-type abilities targeted by its scientists, along with her brother Gideon.
  Ally and Nikki, lead a search team under Jeremiah, who's head of a rebellion against the evil Caldwell (aka Eric Sullivan), Jesse's father, who's intent on getting more acolytes.
  Apocryphal destruction follows and he captures Ally, leaving Jesse devastated.
  
  Jesse do when Caldwell captures Ally? Can Jeremiah and Nikki be trusted?
  
  Read on to discover these and more, fascinating answers!
  
  This amazingly-detailed cast of fully-developed, engaging characters with their complex issues are an essential part of the epic series - that's not to be missed!
  Get your copy of Dying for Her today!
• 
  Maraya21 (The Reading Dragon)

  James T. Brinkley is now my favourite character in this series.
• 
  Livvii

  I liked this book a lot.
  
  It was interesting to see things from Brinkley's perspective and to understand a bit more of his backstory. I liked that this book offered up more explanation about Caldwell. As much as it does not continue on from book two, I think that it is a necessary read as sets up future books with us, the reader, knowing what Brinkley knew and put in the notebook that was given to Jesse.
  
  It was nice to see how all of the characters in books one and two came to know each other. I'm looking forward to seeing how Gideon fits into the team in future books and how Jesse reacts to him, as I think that this will be an interesting change in Dynamic. I think it will also be interesting to see how things change if Jeremiah and Nikki start to play a larger role and how that is going to affect the relationships between the individual characters.
  
  I really liked this and think that reading it as book three in the series is the right place for it.
  
  I totally recommend.
• 
  Elyse

  DNF at 50%
  
  This book is a side story for the series Dying for a Living, which was pretty good so far.
  
  In this book, where are following agent James Brinkley, Jessy Sullivan’s protector and boss. The chapters alternate between two times line (a principle that I hate), one in the past where Brinkley is working on missing persons cases, including Eric Sullivan, Jessy’s dad and one in the present, counting weeks left before his death.
  
  This is a police case/mystery with a supernatural twist. Not my cup of tea at all, I did this boring. The man also has trauma from the war, that keep coming back and this is not a topic that I like reading about.
  
• 
  Trish Goodgame

  This is a companion novel in the Dying for a Living series, to be read after books 1 and 2 and before book 4. I think if you had not read the first 2 books, it would be much harder to follow this one, which gives the backstory of Agent Jim Brinkley, who is the handler of death replacement agent Jesse.
  I did find myself getting somewhat confused with the book constantly flipping between past and present and I suspect that I may need to read this and the first 2 books again for mor clarity.
  A must read for anyone embarking on the "Dying for a Living" series, but not recommended as a standalone (which it isn't meant to be, but rather a companion book).
• 
  CJ Jones

  This novel is essentially a companion story, filling in things we didn't see in Book 2 and also giving us Brinkley back story. In the first book I complained that I felt like there were too many elements crammed into one novel, and now I feel like maybe there wasn't enough new information in this one. (There are, like, three different timelines which may explain some of the halting, slow feeling.) We learn a lot about Brinkley and we learn some explosive things about Caldwell and how things are so much worse than we thought. Many readers have suggested skipping this one and coming back later. I can't give good advice on that yet, but I do wonder.
• 
  Ginny B

  I have to admit that despite this book being about a secondary character, this has been my favorite in the series so far! I think a big part of that is because Serum focuses on the character without all of the sexual tension/confusion of the other books. The story is well told, we get some real insight into Brinkley, Jesse's handler in the first two books. We also get background info on how death replacement began, how the team came together etc. and NONE of the "I lover her....no, I love him" crud that we have to wade through to get to the story in the other books.
• 
  Jo Osborne

  This book follows the same events as the previous one but from Brinkley’s (Jesse’s handler) point of view and is interspersed with his back story.
  I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him better as well as looking at the events of the previous book from a different angle, it’s nice to see the main protagonist (Jesse) in the eyes of someone else as the majority of the narrative is from her point of view.
• 
  Lynn

  Fast paced amazing character building!
  
  Kory does it again! Building the world of Jesse with seamless ease while giving us depth to a beloved protector. With all its twists and thrills it is also filled with heart. This book left me breathless up to the last page and terribly grateful that I had book.
• 
  Linda

  I really enjoyed the book. I was quite surprised that it was not a continuation of the series, but the story told from Brinkley's view point, and even more surprised that I enjoyed it so much. (Of course there is some very interesting new information included in this story.) Totally entertaining. And now to go find the next book in the series.
• 
  Liz

  In a nutshell, this is Brinkley's backstory. Some of it has been covered in the last book, (we are just getting a different pov), and some of it goes further back in time. I can't say that Brinkley comes off very well in this installment. Also it doesn't move the story arc along any further than the last book. Overall, I think this is tolerable but a miss.
• 
  Sheila

  This book left me confused. The characters were good but I had a difficult time understanding who was narrating the storyline. I never felt I really knew what was going on. Sad to say but I won’t continue the series. From. A reader that reads 1-3 books a week this one took me a month to muddle thru...just not my cup of tea I guess
• 
  Gabrielle

  This book was so well thought out that I had to stop on occasion to simply marvel at Shrum’s ability to leave no end untied. If you hate plot holes, this is the book for you because by the end of the last chapter, everything has come together.
• 
  Jayda

  This was so good! Seeing everything from Brinkley's POV and learning more of the back-story was kind of gut-wrenching. It feels like knowing things from this book makes the first 2 better as well as the rest of the series.
• 
  Joyce

  Hard to follow, but will watch for the next episode.
• 
  Heather Henkel

  Interesting
  
  This was an interesting read because i already knew some of the story but getting the back story was really great!
• 
  Val Moss

  Throwback time. It explains so much, but now I have so many more questions. Onto the next book.