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amelia_horseman's review
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Body horror, Torture, Grief, Blood, Violence, Murder, and Physical abuse
juan_adhd_reading's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It was really fun! In many ways, this reminded me a lot of Percy Jackson, with a paranormal theme and geared towards teens / YA. I did think things got solved a bit quickly in the end, and it did have some pacing issues. But, I had a great time reading it, and I’m excited for the sequel. Easy read, would recommend
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Murder, Kidnapping, Self harm, Sexual content, Grief, and Confinement
Minor: Bullying
The book is about a college dropout that discovers he’s a Necromancer, so death plays a really big part of the story. This is a YA book so most of deaths are not explicit, but the descriptions of injuries, abuse and the use of blood to perform magic can be. Among the things to watch out for:camam4's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
neni's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This was disappointing. The writing style wanted to be cool in a sarcastic way but came out mostly annoying and unrealistic (the dialogue was practically all smart comebacks and snappy remarks to the point none of the characters felt like real people - no one talks like that).
The characters were extremely shallow, not interesting and not that likeable either. The main character especially was just ugh - tipical smartass loner weird dude who doesn't have a single believable reaction to anything that happens to him and who's constantly praised for being "a good guy" for literally the most mundane, decent human being attitudes that everyone should have (there was a part where he was stuck somewhere with a naked werewolf girl - don't ask - whom he ended up befriending, and he kept patting himself on the back for not "taking advantage" of her in her vulnerable emotional state but that "she better give him her number at the end of all this" - like WTF you disgust me). And don't get me started on Brid (naked werewolf girl). Talk about a 2D character jesus. Shallower than a dinner plate man. Also the villain was a shit villain with no real motivations or agenda except power power more power? and violence? whatever man.
The worldbuilding was a giant jumbled mess, it felt like the author threw all the shit she wanted in there (werewolfs? check. necromancers? check. werewolf-fey hybrids, tiny dragon creature who also turns into a cat, weird ghosts zombies that aren't actually ghosts? - i mean it was kinda ridiculous) and made the bare minimum effort to sort of (but not really) integrate them into a world.
I suppose that the author wanted this to be a fun, urban fantasy, fast-paced romp. But the truth is, it does take even a little bit of talent to write good "trashy" fiction and this ain't it. Don't bother. The whole thing was extremely weak. I only finished it to fulfill a prompt in a book challenge I'm doing, otherwise would have DNF'd it a third of the way through.
The characters were extremely shallow, not interesting and not that likeable either. The main character especially was just ugh - tipical smartass loner weird dude who doesn't have a single believable reaction to anything that happens to him and who's constantly praised for being "a good guy" for literally the most mundane, decent human being attitudes that everyone should have (there was a part where he was stuck somewhere with a naked werewolf girl - don't ask - whom he ended up befriending, and he kept patting himself on the back for not "taking advantage" of her in her vulnerable emotional state but that "she better give him her number at the end of all this" - like WTF you disgust me). And don't get me started on Brid (naked werewolf girl). Talk about a 2D character jesus. Shallower than a dinner plate man. Also the villain was a shit villain with no real motivations or agenda except power power more power? and violence? whatever man.
The worldbuilding was a giant jumbled mess, it felt like the author threw all the shit she wanted in there (werewolfs? check. necromancers? check. werewolf-fey hybrids, tiny dragon creature who also turns into a cat, weird ghosts zombies that aren't actually ghosts? - i mean it was kinda ridiculous) and made the bare minimum effort to sort of (but not really) integrate them into a world.
I suppose that the author wanted this to be a fun, urban fantasy, fast-paced romp. But the truth is, it does take even a little bit of talent to write good "trashy" fiction and this ain't it. Don't bother. The whole thing was extremely weak. I only finished it to fulfill a prompt in a book challenge I'm doing, otherwise would have DNF'd it a third of the way through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Kidnapping, Violence, Animal death, Death, and Torture
booksthatburn's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Every once in a while I read a book just because of the title, this time that was a very good decision. HOLD ME CLOSER, NECROMANCER is about a young man who discovers very abruptly that he's actually a sorcerer and his mother never told him. Suddenly dealing with just enough power to get him in trouble but not enough to get him out of it, he has caught the attention of a very powerful and territorial necromancer who is still making up their mind whether to use him or just get rid of him altogether. Thoroughly irreverent but able to buckle down when things get serious, this was a fun ride.
The whole book has a wry sense of humor: understanding how serious things are but joking about it anyway. It's a "laugh at the darkness in order to not weep" sort of feeling, and it completely fits the protagonist's personality. It builds the world and what we need to know of the magic in a kind of haphazard way, more about how the characters need and react to the information than trying to lay out the rules for the reader. I like the choice to have the villain be a point of view character, he seems almost cartoonishly evil when he’s around the main character because his goals are so antithetical to everyone else’s happiness that he could easily have felt overplayed or one-note in his dealings with Sam. Getting his perspective and goals in his own words didn’t make me like him any better as a person, but it made him a much fuller character and I think it worked well.
The whole book has a wry sense of humor: understanding how serious things are but joking about it anyway. It's a "laugh at the darkness in order to not weep" sort of feeling, and it completely fits the protagonist's personality. It builds the world and what we need to know of the magic in a kind of haphazard way, more about how the characters need and react to the information than trying to lay out the rules for the reader. I like the choice to have the villain be a point of view character, he seems almost cartoonishly evil when he’s around the main character because his goals are so antithetical to everyone else’s happiness that he could easily have felt overplayed or one-note in his dealings with Sam. Getting his perspective and goals in his own words didn’t make me like him any better as a person, but it made him a much fuller character and I think it worked well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Physical abuse
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Racism, and Sexism
CW for ableism, sexism, racism (fantasy), confinement, kidnapping, physical abuse, cancer (backstory), body horror, blood, murder, major character death, death.
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