You know how you get a book because it looks good or you’re familiar with the author, but don’t know their work that well, so it ends up sitting around until it slips back into your head and you pick it up? That’s what happened with Grave Witch by Kalayna Price and I am seriously kicking myself for waiting so long to read it.
Grave witch Alex Craft can speak to the dead, but that doesn’t mean she likes what they have to say…
As a private investigator and consultant for the police, Alex Craft has seen a lot of dark magic. But even though she’s on good terms with Death himself—who happens to look fantastic in a pair of jeans—nothing has prepared her for her latest case. Alex is investigating a high profile murder when she’s attacked by the ‘shade’ she’s raising, which should be impossible. To top off her day, someone makes a serious attempt on her life, but Death saves her. Guess he likes having her around . . .
To solve this case Alex will have to team up with tough homicide detective Falin Andrews. Falin seems to be hiding something—though it’s certainly not his dislike of Alex—but Alex knows she needs his help to navigate the tangled webs of mortal and paranormal politics, and to track down a killer wielding a magic so malevolent, it may cost Alex her life . . . and her soul.
Seriously, Grave Witch is so fabulous that I seriously want the second novel, Grave Dance, NOW. The whole premise is such a fresh idea, the characters completely add to the whole allure and I can’t wait to continue exploring Nekros. Let’s put it this way, Chloe Neill calls it Fascinating magic, a delicious heartthrob and a fresh, inventive world and she is so dead on.
Alex’s magic is simply fabulous. She isn’t a necromancer, but she can raise people’s memories as shades and they can communicate with the living. She’s a pseudo-necromancer – all the benefits without the shambling zombie to deal with; however, magic definitely comes with a cost and the payment not only makes a lot of sense, but I’m wondering why it’s never been done before. I could never understand how a witch could have a second sight – being able to see into a different realm – and not lose her “normal” sight. I don’t want to give anything away, so all I’m going to continue saying is that the cost means Alex needs a few friends she can rely on.
Speaking of said friends, I love them. We have two best friends that are amusing to listen in on plus a landlord/friend that has a side of him I’m hoping we’ll see more of. Then there are the two guys. Not only does Alex catch the eye of the dishy detective, Falin, but Death isn’t too keen on her leaving the world of the living either. Again, I don’t want to spoil anything, but some of the revelations at the end of Grave Witch has me really looking forward to seeing what happens with these two men and Alex.
As for the plot, it was perfectly executed. The pacing was fantastic – never a dull moment with a great blend of action and dialogue. The storyline totally kept my attention from start to finish and even threw me more than one surprise. Seriously. I didn’t see the ending coming and I love it when I’m kept off balance as to who the bad guys are, what they want, what they even are. Not only were we kept in the dark about certain aspects of the bad guys, but a few things that weren’t mentioned about the dishy guys too.
Overall, Grave Witch is a fantastic start to a brand new UF series and I can’t wait until the second novel comes out. Between wanting to know what’s going on with Death, the complexity of Alex’s family, and the obstacles that are sure to occur with Falin – book two is going to be fabulous as well. If you’re looking for a new urban fantasy series to try out, then you should definitley be trying to track down a copy of Grave Witch. Even if you’re not looking for a new series, go out and get this one anyway. You won’t regret it.
For a quick taste of Grave Witch, check out the excerpt here.
Read Order:
Grave Witch
Grave Dance (2011)
Also reviewed by:
Fantasy & SciFi Lovin’ News and Reviews
Lurv a la Mode
Bitten by Books
Dark Faerie Tales
Smexy Books
I got this book yesterday. Now I need time to read it.
I keep looking at this book and seeing it all over the blogs and I really want to read it. I think I might have to buy it this weekend .
Ok.. awesome review but this means bad for MY reading time! lol
I am going to have to pick this one up asap and read it :P So expect some of my reviews to be a lil *cough* ahem, late! :P
I read Once Bitten by Kalayna Price and I wasn’t particularly impressed, but I love the premise of Grave Witch and it is getting such great reviews that I think I’m going to have to read it. Necromancy (or pseudo-necromancy in this case) is one of my favorite plot devices in UF. Thanks for the review.
Every review I’ve seen seems to love Grave Witch – it’s definitly leapt to the top of my must buy pile!
@MelS – If you’re looking for a few that didn’t rave about it, check some of the review links I posted above. I want to say I saw a couple that found a few flaws, but don’t quote me on that.
I just got this for my kindle & now I’m going to go straight for it!
Another hearoine that’s an investigator? I wouldn’t have looked further than that unless I heard that it was different. There’s rather a lot of stories about paranormal detective type characters, like too many stories about Vampires, you get sick of them.
A major difference is enough though. Like my demons – they feed on fear and anger, so you can’t kill them unless you sort out your own fear first. That adds a tricky aspect to the fight.
So because this one has an interesting difference, I’ll check it out further.