Hold Me Closer, Necromancer ~ Lish McBride

Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he’s doing all right—until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak. Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he’s a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else. With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save his skin?

I have to admit, the only reasons I bought this book were because the title amused me and, thanks to my Borders going out of business, it was cheap.  I took it home, threw it into a pile and more or less forgot about it.  Then, this weekend as I was sorting through a random stack of novels, there it was.  As my eyes wandered over the cover, I knew it was time.  Snuggling down in my nice comfy bed, I began my journey with Sam, the unsuspecting necromancer.  About a chapter in, I realized this was actually turning into a good read.  Well, I certainly hadn’t expected that.  After taking a moment to be pleasantly surprised, I continued reading and didn’t stop until the last page

This novel is considered horror and there is some gore involved as well as  adult situations.  However, the humor keeps the story from being really scary.  The characters are likeable, average Joes.  There’s even a hint of a “bro-mance” between two of the main male characters.  The prose is fun and casual, with amusing and sometimes down right funny moments.  Hold Me Closer Necromancer has a ton of personality.  It’s almost like hanging out with a particularly quirky friend.  This is a debut novel by Lish McBride and the writing is a bit rough around the edges, however, I felt it really worked within the story and added character.

This is really a fun romp in the land of horror and well worth the read.  Oh, and if you are a fan of Dean Koontz’ Odd Thomas, I think you will really enjoy Hold Me Closer, Necromancer.  A lot of the world building reminds a bit of Koontz, as well.  I haven’t found any information about a sequel, but I’m hoping the author has one in the works!

Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead - Christiana Miller

 A little magic can go a long way -- to really screwing up a girl's life! Mara is having the worst month of her life. At least, that’s what her cards tell her and they’ve never been wrong. She's evicted from her apartment, loses her job and is banned from Beverly Hills. So when the tarot cards predict her imminent demise, she uses a little magic to make her world right. Suddenly, an aunt she’s never met dies, leaving Mara as her sole heir. But when Mara moves into her inherited home, she discovers Aunt Tillie never moved out. She’s still one pissed-off old lady, even post-mortem, and she blames Mara’s magical meddling for her death. When Mara accidentally releases a demon and awakens the spirit of the most powerful witch in history, Tillie’s ready to kill her -- literally. It’s the only way she can think of to save the girl from herself. The witch and the demon, however, have other plans for Mara’s body.

I picked Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She’s Dead because of a few great reviews on GoodReads.  My curiosity was piqued. After all, how can you resist a down on her luck heroine, a flamboyant gay best friend and a magical toad?  Not to mention a bossy ghost that doesn’t know when to leave well enough alone.The lead character, Mara, is a walking, talking example of Murphy’s Law; anything that can go wrong will. She’s date-less, unemployed, and soon to be homeless. 

Unfortunately, that’s just the beginning of all her problems.  Soon she has a dead aunt, a self-aware house and a demon that can’t wait to evict Mara from her own body.I may be in the minority, but in my opinion, this was not much more than a mediocre read.  The beginning was a bit a slow and went well into the middle of the book before we really got into the “meat” of the story.  The first 92 pages were mostly character building and more than half of that could have and probably should have been cut.  I found the first few chapters repetitive and mostly irrelevant   However, to the author’s credit, there were a few one-liners and humorous situations that definitely made me chuckle, if not quite laugh out loud. The story itself had a good premise, the characters were fun and amusing, and while a bit cliché, the antagonists of the story were sufficiently evil.  The biggest concerns for me were the pacing and consistency of the plot.  As stated earlier, the beginning was too drawn out and the end felt as though Ms. Miller started to lose control of the story.  Plot points were either hastily thrown together or almost abandoned completely. 

Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She’s Dead wasn’t actually a bad read, especially for the price and will certainly keep you entertained well enough on  a flight or long trip.

Grave Witch ~ Kalayna Price

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...
EXCERPT FROM GOODREADS

Grave Witch is the first book of what could seriously be my new favorite urban fantasy series. Alex is a self-employed grave witch who raises shades, remnants of a person’s soul, to answer questions from those left. One of her best friends is a soul collector Alex just calls “Death”. He also happens to be “smoking hot”. Hey, who knew Death could be sexy? Then there is Falin, an aggressive, headstrong and gorgeous detective determined to keep Alex off his case and out of his way…at first. We also have a full cast of fae, witches and even a gargoyle.

I really like that this is a plot driven novel. There is real depth and direction to the story; it’s not just used as an excuse for the main characters to have lots of sex. Now, Grave Witch does have some romance and a bit of sex in it, but not so much that I had to skip 5 or 6 pages to get back to the actual story. There is action, relationship building and growth of characters. The main character, Alex, is well fleshed out and likeable. The supporting “cast” is just as well done and I found myself genuinely liking many of them. Ms. Price draws you in to her tale and makes you want (need) to know what will happen next. She did such a good job that I bought the second book in the series the very next day and am impatiently waiting for more.

Ms. Price’s website states she is contracted for three books in the Alex Craft series but could write many more. I’m hoping she gets the opportunity!

*originally posted at lifeandloveofliterature.com

Better off Dead? Working Stiff by Rachel Caine

Bryn Davis knows working at Fairview Mortuary isn't the most glamorous career choice, but at least it offers stable employment--until she discovers her bosses using a drug that resurrects the clientele as part of an extortion racket. Now, Bryn faces being terminated--literally, and with extreme prejudice. 

With the help of corporate double-agent Patrick McCallister, Bryn has a chance to take down the bigger problem--pharmaceutical company Pharmadene, which treats death as the ultimate corporate loyalty program. She'd better do it fast, before she becomes a zombie slave--a real working stiff. She'd be better off dead...

Synopsis from GoodReads.com

Bryn Davis never really knew what to do with her life but after a stint in the military dealing with death and destruction on a daily basis, Bryn believes she has found her true career calling as a funeral director.  Giving dignity to the dead and comfort to those left behind has given her a purpose.  Unfortunately, her curiosity leaves her much closer to death than she bargained for.

Let me say upfront, I love Rachel Caine.  The Morganville Vampires and the Weather Warden series are some of the best urban fantasy out there.  However, Working Stiff is not what I would categorize as UF.  If I had to choose, I would say it is pure science fiction or even horror.  Don’t get me wrong, Ms. Caine wrote a good story, but it is harsh.  The descriptions of dying and decomposing are fairly graphic and the author doesn’t do much to sugarcoat the fear, pain and disillusionment that are a part of death.

Working Stiff would be great on the big screen.  I can see this book easily translating to a hard core thriller.  There is intrigue, drama, gunfights and chases.  The character’s lives are constantly in jeopardy and you are never quite sure of where the danger is coming from.  My only real complaint in the entire book is the lead character’s romantic relationship.  In my opinion it felt weak and one-dimensional.  To be honest, I don’t think the story even needed it.  Otherwise, the characters were well done, interesting and show depth and growth.

This is the first book in the new Revivalist series.  As usual, Rachel Caine has created a believable, intricate world with realistic, gritty characters.  Bryn is a great heroine with a good balance of strength and vulnerability.  It will certainly be interesting to see where this story leads!

*originally published at lifeandloveofliterature.com