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cbevan24's review against another edition
5.0
Grave Ransom is the fifth book in the Alex Craft urban fantasy series and I just can't get enough of Kalayna Price's work.
Alex Craft is a private investigator and consultant for the police with a twist: she can speak to the dead. Not in the usual psychic sense, Alex is a grave witch operating in a world where the supernatural aim to work in tandem with humans. Nekros City appeared out of thin air one day, bringing with it enlightenment and forcing the supernaturals into the light.
Alex is no stranger to seeing the dead; she raises shades, works with ghosts, and is dating Death himself. But walking corpses committing crimes? That's not something she was prepared to deal with. When Alex's other cases begin to merge, Alex is forced to strike up another agreement with Briar Darque of the Magical Crimes Investigation Bureau in a race to find the source of the walking deadmen wreaking havoc on the living.
This book was fast-paced and high in action. No matter how Alex tries, she always finds herself at the centre of the next disaster without even trying and Grave Ransom was no different.
Alex seems to have grown as a character in this book and I think that direction is good because it's shaping Alex into a stronger, no-nonsense badass who will eventually be ready to take on the Fae courts. I hope.
Bringing Briar back into the series was a stroke of genius in this sense of growth because if there's one person we can count on to push Alex to her limits, it's Briar and her exploding arsenal of magic. I think it's safe to say that Briar will most likely be a regular feature in future books and will get Alex into even more trouble.
I was pleased to note the absence of the Winter Queen in this book as it allowed some breathing room but I'm not sure it's breathing room we should have gotten. This could have perhaps have been an opportunity to investigate more of Alex's father's secrets or delve deeper into the Shadow Court.
Alex's continued "give no cares" attitude was enjoyed but I do wonder if she's burning a little quickly through the people who want to help her but shouldn't. It doesn't bode well for Alex's future at this rate.
Tiny mention to the world building. When Grave Visions ended with Alex being granted independent Fae status and the castle appeared in their back garden, I did wonder how they would explain it's sudden appearance to the neighbours. Kalayna Price thought of a way around that and it was a genius edition that I can see causing Alex all kinds of problems in the future.
There are still lots of questions to be answered but I can't wait for the next book in this series which hopefully will be out Winter 2018.
Read more reviews here.
Alex Craft is a private investigator and consultant for the police with a twist: she can speak to the dead. Not in the usual psychic sense, Alex is a grave witch operating in a world where the supernatural aim to work in tandem with humans. Nekros City appeared out of thin air one day, bringing with it enlightenment and forcing the supernaturals into the light.
Alex is no stranger to seeing the dead; she raises shades, works with ghosts, and is dating Death himself. But walking corpses committing crimes? That's not something she was prepared to deal with. When Alex's other cases begin to merge, Alex is forced to strike up another agreement with Briar Darque of the Magical Crimes Investigation Bureau in a race to find the source of the walking deadmen wreaking havoc on the living.
This book was fast-paced and high in action. No matter how Alex tries, she always finds herself at the centre of the next disaster without even trying and Grave Ransom was no different.
Alex seems to have grown as a character in this book and I think that direction is good because it's shaping Alex into a stronger, no-nonsense badass who will eventually be ready to take on the Fae courts. I hope.
Bringing Briar back into the series was a stroke of genius in this sense of growth because if there's one person we can count on to push Alex to her limits, it's Briar and her exploding arsenal of magic. I think it's safe to say that Briar will most likely be a regular feature in future books and will get Alex into even more trouble.
I was pleased to note the absence of the Winter Queen in this book as it allowed some breathing room but I'm not sure it's breathing room we should have gotten. This could have perhaps have been an opportunity to investigate more of Alex's father's secrets or delve deeper into the Shadow Court.
Alex's continued "give no cares" attitude was enjoyed but I do wonder if she's burning a little quickly through the people who want to help her but shouldn't. It doesn't bode well for Alex's future at this rate.
Tiny mention to the world building. When Grave Visions ended with Alex being granted independent Fae status and the castle appeared in their back garden, I did wonder how they would explain it's sudden appearance to the neighbours. Kalayna Price thought of a way around that and it was a genius edition that I can see causing Alex all kinds of problems in the future.
There are still lots of questions to be answered but I can't wait for the next book in this series which hopefully will be out Winter 2018.
Read more reviews here.
gsanta1's review
3.0
Something about these books speak to me.
The writing is average. The magic can be confusing. The romance a bit uneven.
The humor I enjoyed. Not too over the top. Not too often, so it comes at the right moments.
Plot is clear and interesting. I’d say the best part is the plot. Simple yet surprising. Familiar yet exciting. This time the plot was a little more unpredictable, a little lacking. There were too many dead ends with lucky breaks, I thought.
There was a few new world building exploration in this book. Wandered into the Wild outside of town. Concepts you would think about if the plot wasn’t moving as quick as lightning.
Nice character interactions. A clear distinction between them and fun scenes when they’re together.
The ending was peculiar. Antagonist was defeat as fast lightning
Also the 2 pages before the end cliff hanger isn’t nice.
The writing is average. The magic can be confusing. The romance a bit uneven.
The humor I enjoyed. Not too over the top. Not too often, so it comes at the right moments.
Plot is clear and interesting. I’d say the best part is the plot. Simple yet surprising. Familiar yet exciting. This time the plot was a little more unpredictable, a little lacking. There were too many dead ends with lucky breaks, I thought.
There was a few new world building exploration in this book. Wandered into the Wild outside of town. Concepts you would think about if the plot wasn’t moving as quick as lightning.
Nice character interactions. A clear distinction between them and fun scenes when they’re together.
The ending was peculiar. Antagonist was defeat as fast lightning
Also the 2 pages before the end cliff hanger isn’t nice.
mistressop's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not a huge fan of death. I hope she doesn't get knocked by him. In the universe, the writer went out of her way to prove that birth control charms don't always work. The whole death relationship comes across extremely childish. It reminds me of twilight. (cool guy super hot jeans) wiggle wiggle. It's just emotionally devoid.
arickman's review against another edition
4.0
This has been my favorite of the series so far. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a great job.
chelsjulian's review against another edition
4.0
Good continuation of the series. Looking forward to the next.
puria's review against another edition
3.0
I don't know but the lead is starting to get on my nerves
overflowingshelf's review against another edition
4.0
I am loving this series and I don’t know what I’m going to read when I finish it.
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Oh, this book was so great! Briar is back, which is awesome, because I'd love it if she got a spin off series! And another mystery involving weird magic and death and bodies! And that ending! I need a 6th book! It can't end there!
squirrelfish's review against another edition
4.0
Another later installment in a series, but this one is more enjoyable. I like Alex Craft's character, and the continued world and character building makes each installment more interesting. A new investigation, new bad guys, continued developments in the characters, all made this an enjoyable book on its own. This felt like a fairly natural break where I can hope for another book with the same characters - Alex Craft is a fun heroine and I can't wait to see what she does with her castle.
owlsreads's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars
Grave Ransom felt like more of the same? The mystery plot followed the exact same beats as in the previous novel, but it took too long for the pieces to come together. I also reeeeeally didn't like everything that happened involving Death. And I still didn't enjoy the romance.
Grave Ransom felt like more of the same? The mystery plot followed the exact same beats as in the previous novel, but it took too long for the pieces to come together. I also reeeeeally didn't like everything that happened involving Death. And I still didn't enjoy the romance.