Rane Aria

It’s a semi- well known fact that am not a huge fan of PNR, after years of reading the genre, I’ve grown tried of the emo-vampires and the pet werewolves. So am pretty picky on what I read when it comes to PNR. When I came across The Grave Witch I liked the few pages I read, and was quickly immersed in the world Kalayna Price created, from witches to fae, bodysnatcher to a cat gargoyle named Fred This book had me on my toes with a race to the last page.. Seventy years ago, the Fae finally told the world they were there, and the world unfolded. Magic is pretty serious business, with many against it and others trying to live their daily life along side it and few whom abuse it. Alex Craft is a Grave Witch, able to speak to the dead, while this gift can help others; it also had serious side-effects for her. Alex is asked to help with a high profile murder case, but things go wary fast when the body is just that, an empty shell, and victims are adding up, killed the same gruesome way. Alex’s given clues that she’s must follow before time is up and she ends up the next victim. In some PN books, you always have the main hero; whose badass has all these great gifts to the point their almost disgusting perfect. Not so in The Grave Witch. Magic has big repercussions in Alex case, her grave sight, if used to long can cause her to go blind, and being on the other side of the grave causes her body temp to drop that she’ll pick up some random guy in order to share their body heat. This at times can cause some awkward moments for her. Alex wasn’t some perfect wise cracking heroine, she had her moments. While those around her kept a lot of secretes, Alex played with what she was given and sometimes this ran her straight her into trouble, but she kept her head, and I really liked her for it, she was real and in her shoes I may have done the same thing. In the Grave Witch there’s many characters that you want to learn more about, none so more, then Death and Falin Alex’s love interests: Alex’s gift brings her in contact with Death- a soul collector whose protective and caring of her,, but holding back on telling her everything going on. While the author leaves it to be seen what will develop between Alex and Death, in the few scenes Death was in, he seemed laid-back type of guy with a lot of secrets (and he is pretty hot). The investigation brings her head to head with Detective Falin Andrews, who’s hard Alpha cop, pushy but shows a great protectiveness toward Alex. If Death and Alex relationship wasn’t complicated enough, you had Falin and Alex whom are always dancing around each other trying to get answers to the murders, while fighting an attraction that later bring them somewhat together. Unlike Death whom you don’t get to see too much, Falin is right there, trying to find out what Alex knows and vice versa. Falin really grew on me; I thought he was a total hard-ass period. It’s his actions that really speak for him, and hell, he’s hot guy whom can cook, that’s a win-win in my book! More is later reveled about Falin “job” and leaves the reader wondering how it’ll affect Alex and his relationship. At the moment am rooting for Falin between him and Death to win Alex, but we shall see how that changes as the series goes along (cause if Alex won’t have it he’s MINE!! XD) The Grave Witch world is ever expanding. The author drops a lot of information about types of witches and fae, along with the magic that encompasses the world. It wasn’t the magic but its effects on people that I found really drew me in. From the First Human Society, that make up humans first- and no magic. This I found very funny in a ironical sort of way, as Alex visits a ball held by said society, many of the members wear charms and such to enhance their looks from bigger boobs to better skin. Reflected very much how politicians in the real world work with their own hypocrisy. Grave Witch wasn’t without its weakness, as it suffered from the World Building Syndrome, with to much information and things happening all at one time, making the brisk pace of the book a tad slower as the reader keeps up, but if taken in stride it won’t effect the overall enjoyment of the book. While there are a few loose ends, Price gives a good ending to this book, leaving the reader satisfied enough but looking and waiting for more. I know I can’t wait for more of this series!