Guest Review: Grave Witch by Kalayna Price

I’m so happy to welcome Amanda back as a guest reviewer. I really enjoy and respect her reviews (and her!), and I am so thankful that she has offered to write a few reviews since Smash is going crazy with balancing work/life. ♥

Grave Witch by Kalayna Price (Alex Craft, #1) Genre: Urban Fantasy Format: ebook Read: 10/19/2011 — 10/20/2011 In Six Words: The feeling: I liked it, but… Links Kalayna Price — Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter Amazon — Paperback | Kindle Add it to Goodreads

Book Order

1. Grave Witch
2. Grave Dance
3. Grave Memory

Summary

Not even death can save her now.

As a grave witch, Alex Craft can speak to the dead-she’s even on good terms with Death himself. As a consultant for the police, she’s seen a lot of dark magic, but nothing has prepared her for her latest case. When she’s raising a “shade” involved in a high profile murder, it attacks her, and then someone makes an attempt on her life. Someone really doesn’t want her to know what the dead have to say, and she’ll have to work with mysterious homicide detective Falin Andrews to figure out why…
-from Goodreads

Why I Started Reading This Book and General Thoughts

Grave Witch was recommended to me by Tara @ 25 Hour Books.  I picked it up because it was on a list of books Smash was interested in having me review.  Overall, I enjoyed Grave Witch, although there were a few elements of the book that pulled me out of the story.

A More In-Depth Look

I had an “I liked it, but…” feeling with Grave Witch.  It was good, but there were times I felt lost in Alex’s world and did not quite understand what was going on, or how certain connections were being made.  The plot seemed to drag a bit, and the ending slammed into us at the end.  If these issues had not been enough to pull me out of the story, I would have enjoyed Grave Witch a little more than I did.

There was not enough information about Alex’s abilities, or the abilities of witches in general, for me, but raising the dead — or shades, as they are called — was certainly interesting, and while not completely similar to the ghosts and shades in Jeri Smith-Ready’s YA series, there are some common threads (having the dead testify, for example).  I think Alex’s ability to raise the dead is one of the more fascinating aspects of Grave Witch and ultimately (I am assuming) of the series.

The Fae make an appearance as the only paranormal creature in Grave Witch, so that the Fae and witches are the only beings capable of magic.  It seemed that it might also be possible for normal humans to dabble in magic, though it was certainly never explored in depth.  Both the Fae and witches have “come out of the closet” so to speak, though they are not completely accepted, which creates a certain amount of tension.

I believe it is well-established I am not a fan of love triangles.  And while there is not exactly a love triangle here, it seems… possible for future books.  This possibility is kind of bothersome, but at the same time, I did not really get attached to the love interest, so as long as there isn’t some epic love triangle fall-out, I can be okay with it.  Alex was a decent MC, and I appreciated the fact that she is a struggling PI, but I didn’t connect too strongly to her, probably because there was not quite enough snark for me.

With more world building — or less nit-picking, or less need for information — this could be a more enjoyable book.  But it is still good, and I still enjoyed it.  The mixture of Fae and witches make for an interesting magical combination that I hope will eventually be explored.  Grave Witch is good for a quick, light read.

You Might Enjoy This Book If…

Urban fantasy fans with an interest in witches or even the Fae might enjoy Grave Witch.

Ohhh. I am loving the sound of the Fae piece, but I am sad to hear about the lack of snark. Smash needs much snark in her life.  Thanks, Amanda! ♥

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