Grave Witch review

Grave Witch

Kalayna Price

*****

This is the one book that I finished over winter break - and I finished it at the beginning of winter break...after that...nothing - I haven't managed to finish one other book. Ah well- that's how it goes, I guess. :)

I really like the cover, especially the background. But I wish the cover model wasn't so skinny, although in the book, she is always broke for food, so maybe that fits. I have issues with the overall overly thin look in general that comes to us in the media and that it's overlapping into book covers is a little bothersome to me. I know it's not that bad (yet) with book covers, but I've seen a few lately where the book cover characters look a little....anorexic. However, I like the whole coloring in the background, the candles, the stark look.

Grave Witch is the first in a new series by Kalayna Price. The mc, Alex Craft can sense some spells and she can work grave magic, which is different from working spells. She can see using grave magic - ghosts, only when she does this she loses her sight for a while. This can make for some interesting situations. She can also see Soul Collectors, one of whom she calls Death - who happens to be hot - as in Hawt.

Alex ends up in the middle of a murder investigation that like all murder investigations in novels, isn't all it appears to be. (or there would be no real story...lol) There are numerous people being found dead, mysterious markings on the bodies. Suddenly people are being shot at, there are others out for Alex and she ends up spending time with a police investigator who also is more than he seems....

Written in the first person, the story itself was interesting with good dialogue and it flew by in a good pace. There was a few instances where there seemed to be random mentions of a past friend of Alex's, and with each mention the story would stop so she could reminisce about her friend and think about their past together. It was only a few mentions, but it was done in such a way that not only did it totally interrupt the scene for me, but I wondered why it was there....ahhh but things begin to fall into place later. I think that was the only issue I had with the novel, because the mentions didn't seem to fit, it seemed awkward. This was a minor point though - it only happened a couple times, and I was quickly over it. However - the rest of the book was good, very good. The characters were all engaging and fun to read. The dialogue was good, and there were fae, and some good world building. There were little details inserted here and there that reminded me of the world building of novels like the Harry Potter series, or the series by Kim Harrison - little things like spells, and magic use that are everyday in the novel's world. It's these things that made the book an enjoyable read. Well - those and the story itself was good. LOL

I mentioned earlier that a certain character was Hawt, in fact there are two (this IS an urban fantasy and they all seem to have two love/sex interests) very Hawt individuals. There was of course, a sex scene - but the hawt/sex factors didn't overwhelm the story, which is good because there is a sequel coming out very very soon, I believe... (yes - Grave Dance)

A satisfying urban fantasy read with fae, witches and ghosts. A book that I would definitely recommend to friends.

Two other books by Kalayna Price are available - they seem to be available online only. I couldn't find them in the bookstores, but they are available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, & The Book Depository as print books as well as e-books; and through Borders as e-book only. The books are from her first series, Once Bitten and Twice Dead and are about a shapeshifter turned vampire....a shapeshifter/vampire. Now that's a series that sounds different.

a sequel to Grave Witch is coming out in July 2011 - Grave Dance. I enjoyed reading Grave Witch enough to want to pick up Grave Dance, so I'll looking for that one in July.