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Showing posts with label Kalayna Price. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kalayna Price. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Review: Grave Memory by Kalayna Price
Grave Memory
Author: Kalayna Price
Release Date: July 3, 2012
Publisher: Roc
Alex Craft #3
ISBN: #978-0451464590
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format(s): Paperback (384 pgs), e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
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When the dead need to talk, Alex Craft is always ready to listen…
As a Grave Witch, Alex solves murders by raising the dead—an ability that comes at a cost, and after her last few cases, that cost is compounding. But her magic isn’t the only thing causing havoc in her life. While she’s always been on friendly terms with Death himself, things have recently become a whole lot more close and personal. Then there’s her sometime partner, agent Falin Andrews, who is under the glamour of the Winter Queen. To top everything off, her best friend has been forever changed by her time spent captive in Faerie.
But the personal takes a backseat to the professional when a mysterious suicide occurs in Nekros City and Alex is hired to investigate. The shade she raises has no memory of the days leading up to his brutal ending, so despite the very public apparent suicide, this is murder. But what kind of magic can overcome the human will to survive? And why does the shade lack the memory of his death? Searching for the answer might mean Alex won’t have a life to remember at all…
What G & U are talking about:
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The third book in the Alex Craft series, Grave Memory continues to thicken the tension in poor Alex’s love life and showcases her ever-changing identity. Ms. Price did not disappoint, and upon finishing this latest installment, Gikany and Una are simply writhing with the implications of the ending!
As the novel opens, Alex is trying to fulfill her young dream of opening an office with her best friend, Rianna, Tongues of the Dead Investigations. Alex is trying to come to terms with the ramifications revealed at the completion of the last novel, Grave Dance, and with it, the distance that now exists not only between her and Death, but also with Falin Andrews. If you thought Alex’s love life could not get more complicated and confusing…just you wait! Ms. Price proves that anything, absolutely anything, is possible.
Although some secrets come to life through the course of Grave Memory, not all mysteries about Alex and her friends are revealed or resolved. Gikany and Una were transfixed with the course of the plot. Ms. Price wove a spell-bounding tale that is gripping, exciting and enthralling. The ever-reaching effects of the mysterious suicide that occurred outside their new office ripple through Alex’s entire life – shattering portions of it forever. At the end of the novel, the questions of “What next?” and “What does this mean?” will bounce around in your head.
A good portion of what makes the Alex Craft series so riveting and enjoyable is her group of friends. Alex’s housemates Caleb and Holly along with her friends Rianna, Roy and Tamara round the rough edges of Alex. They soften her and the world that seems so harsh. Not to mention the witty banter that occurs. However, as Grave Memory came to a close, the implications of the resolution of the conflict leave lingering questions of what will happen to this tight-knit group of friends.
Gikany and Una have observed a certain maturing within Alex and it almost is sad to see where she is left off at the end of Grave Memory. However, it is precisely this situation (that she has gotten herself into), which makes Gikany and Una positively drool over what will occur in the next novel. We anxiously look forward to the next Alex Craft novel, and you should too!
Their Rating:
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Loved it - enthusiastically recommend (A)
Purchase Info:
Reviews in the Series:
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Sunday, August 14, 2011
Sunday Snippet #71
Grave Dance
ROC Publishing
July 5, 2011
Alex, an oatmeal crème pie doesn’t’ count as breakfast.” Falin said, staring at the prepackaged sweet as if it had offended him.
I shrugged, “Don’t knock it,” I said. I perched in the one chair I owned and opened my laptop. I’d put fresh sheets on the bed and I hoped Falin would get a little more rest. He might have some super-fae healing powers, but the glimpses I’d caught of him unglamoured proved he still needed some recuperation time.
“So, did I draw the queen’s attention with the tear or the castle?”
“Castle?” Falin’s eyebrow lifted, and while he might have been faking ignorance, he sounded genuinely confused.
I shook my head, dismissing the question. “Okay, so I’m guessing this has something to do with the tear.”
“Something? This has everything to do with the tear. What were you thinking, merging realities in the middle of a crowded street?”
“Uh, I was thinking Holly was about to get shredded,” I said as I dug through my purse in search of the charmed disk. “What kind of fallout am I looking at?”
“Well, you drew the attention of at least two faerie courts. They are asking questions.”
“I’m guessing their curiosity would be bad for my health?”
Falin set the untouched oatmeal crème pie aside. Then he propped my pillows against the wall and reclined against them, his hands behind his head. “If not your health, then definitely your freedom. If the courts realize what you can do, you’ll likely end up sequestered in Faerie.”
Sequestered? I was not a fan of that outcome. I retrieved the disk and set my purse aside.
“Fred said, ‘They come.’ Think that’s about the courts?”
Falin opened his eyes, which had drifted closed while we spoke. “Who’s Fred?”
“Oh, uh, the gargoyle?” I shrugged. “I sort of named it.”
He stared at me, and then burst out laughing. “The winged one with the cat face?” At my nod he laughed harder, which made him wince and grasp his injured side. “You realize that particular gargoyle is female and holds a position among gargoyles similar to that of a high priestess or a grand oracle?”
“Oh.” I guess that explained why she’d seemed so amused when I’d named her. But she’d refused to give me a name to call her, and it was hard to converse with someone who didn’t have a name – even if that someone happened to be made of stone. “Anyway,” I said, “just before I found you last, night, she told me, ‘They come.”
“That’s a fairly vague warning.”
“Tell me about it.”
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Review: Grave Dance
Grave DanceAuthor: Kalayna Price
Release Date: July 5, 2011
Publisher: ROC
Alex Craft Novels #2
ISBN: #978-0451464095
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format(s): Paperback (371 pgs), e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book: |
Whoever said dead men tell no tales obviously never met Alex Craft.
After a month spent recovering from a vicious fight with a sorcerer, grave witch Alex Craft is ready to get back to solving murders by raising the dead. With her love life in turmoil thanks to the disappearance of Fae Investigation Bureau agent Falin Andrews and a shocking “L” word confession from Death himself, Alex is eager for the distractions of work. But her new case turns out to be a deadly challenge.
The police hire Alex to consult on a particularly strange investigation in the nature preserve south of Nekros City. The strange part: There are no corpses, only fragments of them. A serial killer is potentially on the loose, and Alex has no way to raise a shade without a body, so she’ll have to rely on the magic of others to find leads. But as she begins investigating, a creature born of the darkest magic comes after her. Someone very powerful wants to make sure the only thing she finds is a dead end—her own.
What G & U are talking about: |
Grave Dance is the second novel in the Alex Craft Novels. Una was not able to read the first book however Gikany (to the rescue) was able to. After conferring, Gikany and Una agree, it is best to read the first book, Grave Witch. There are quite a few plot points that are referred to in this book that occurred in the first book, along with relationships that have bearing in the second book. It isn’t necessary, but we feel that to fully enjoy Grave Dance you need to have invested the time in understanding some of the characters and you will get that if you read the first book. For a small non-spoiler example, it took Una a bit of time to realize that one of Alex’s roommates is a fae, something that was established in the previous book and is important to the storytelling. Not to mention a good bit of Alex’s background is revealed.
Grave Dance begins a month after Grave Witch ends. From the moment the story begins, Una was hooked. The story was paced well and the balance of the detective/mystery unfolds nicely with the witty banter and the intriguing “love-life” of Alex. This novel is urban fantasy so the romance(s) is a sub-plot, but there are interesting ramifications in this plot. It added to the suspense and intrigue of the novel.
Another huge aspect in this novel is fae dynamics and politics. Una and Gikany are Lord of the Rings fans, so fae politics can be quite fascinating. This book did not disappoint nor did it bore. When politics or the history and etiquette of a race are paramount to the storytelling it is easy for the author to “teach” these elements in the novel rather than unfold them in the story. We feel the author did a rather smooth job of weaving those elements into the story. It was difficult to put the novel down; Grave Dance was gripping and thoroughly enchanting.
Alex’s powers add another intriguing element to the storytelling. It seems (again if you read the first book this will make more sense) that Alex’s abilities are changing and she is still learning how to use them. The revelation of Alex’s family history provides yet another layer of interest in the novel. Alex is still coping with many of these issues at the end of the novel, and the unresolved issues give the reader a bit to think about once finished reading the novel.
Grave Dance is a fresh and exciting novel. Una is going to go back and read the first novel, Grave Witch so she is prepared when she and Gikany read the next Alex Craft novel. We cannot wait to see what happens to these characters in their next adventure nor how the unfolding of Alex’s family will proceed.
Their Rating: |
Loved it - enthusiastically recommend (A)
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