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delaneybull's review against another edition
5.0
A good follow-up. It took awhile to get some resolution between Falin and Alex, but it made the book feel fresher and less formulaic than some other UF series I've read.
book_hoarding_dragon's review against another edition
2.0
For some reason this hasn't been a good year for me with books. I've had one bad experience after another. This is a prime example of that. I'd really like to give this book 1 1/2 stars, but I'm giving it a two.
I can only think of two good things to say about this book I can come up with is that Price's world building is... interesting. And the cover is waaaay better than the first (The Alex on the Grave Witch cover looked like she was Anorexic and because of where the title was placed, it seemed she had shoved a dagger/short sword down her pants.)
That's it.
Onto the bad.
About five minutes in I found that Price naming her city "Nekros City" still got on my nerves. Really? Dead City? I can see it if it was made up of zombies, vampires, ghouls that sort of thing but it wasn't. Every time she mentioned the name I found myself rolling my eyes.
I can understand authors mixing up mythology. There are many variants in them (for example in Fairy lore in one part of England this one thing is a ghost or elderly woman, another part of England same name but it's in the form of an animal). However, if you do this BE CONSISTENT! The top thing that bothered me about this book was that in this book Alex went to The Bloom or Blossom (it started with a 'B') that is a pocket of Faerie she spent time there AND in Faerie too, maybe the Winter Court. I don't know. She comes back and she's been gone for five minutes.
I'm rolling with it, I'm all cool. The myths do say that time passes differently in fairy. So... time goes slower there than here. Okay. Then, my brain kicks in and I remember that in Grave Witch, Alex was in the same place but she thought she was only gone for 10 hours and turns out she was gone for 3 days. *annoyed* I think this was an error on Price's part since it was never touched upon in the book as it being a new ability of Alex.
Love triangle. Hate hate hate hate hate hate them. They have been used to death. (Also, my respect for Price has diminished a bit since she uses this device in her Haven Series, too)
Alex as a doormat.
Falin. He's kind of this good ol' boy, with this past, a protector, and he's blondish and is very up front with his affections for Alex. I thought the reveals about him in this was an interesting look into the Fae.
Death or whatever his name is. Dark, dark, bad boy, dark, mysterious, and dark. Seriously, what do we know about this guy? Oh yea, he's mysterious, likes to wear black and he's a soul collector. How did he get there? Did he chose this path or born into it? We know nothing about him other than since Falin showed up, he's hot and heavy for Alex. I also think he's supposed to Romeo to Alex's Juliet. Star crossed lovers? Really? :headdesk: I am disappointed that Price has gone this route with him. I could understand Alex having a teenage crush on him, but as a grown women. No. And the whole him "loving" her back? :feels headache coming on: I would be more impressed with this series if he was more of a friend (best friend would be fine) or colleague.
Personally, I prefer Falin because he has more substance than a piece of cardboard that is called Death.
To me, this was just a filler book. For the number of pages there are, not a very executed one at that. There could have been so much more done.
At the end there was no explanation for some things that kind of bothered me. And a lot of some other things going on in the story was left very open ended. The book didn't seem that well thought out.
Price's Alex series has so much potential. The potential for her family problems which once AGAIN was not really touched upon besides saying she has issues. The potential for Alex to be torn between her new role as one of the Fae which we don't really see (we see other people's reaction to that news, but not her). Potential for Death. Price really falls short.
I can only think of two good things to say about this book I can come up with is that Price's world building is... interesting. And the cover is waaaay better than the first (The Alex on the Grave Witch cover looked like she was Anorexic and because of where the title was placed, it seemed she had shoved a dagger/short sword down her pants.)
That's it.
Onto the bad.
About five minutes in I found that Price naming her city "Nekros City" still got on my nerves. Really? Dead City? I can see it if it was made up of zombies, vampires, ghouls that sort of thing but it wasn't. Every time she mentioned the name I found myself rolling my eyes.
I can understand authors mixing up mythology. There are many variants in them (for example in Fairy lore in one part of England this one thing is a ghost or elderly woman, another part of England same name but it's in the form of an animal). However, if you do this BE CONSISTENT! The top thing that bothered me about this book was that in this book Alex went to The Bloom or Blossom (it started with a 'B') that is a pocket of Faerie she spent time there AND in Faerie too, maybe the Winter Court. I don't know. She comes back and she's been gone for five minutes.
I'm rolling with it, I'm all cool. The myths do say that time passes differently in fairy. So... time goes slower there than here. Okay. Then, my brain kicks in and I remember that in Grave Witch, Alex was in the same place but she thought she was only gone for 10 hours and turns out she was gone for 3 days. *annoyed* I think this was an error on Price's part since it was never touched upon in the book as it being a new ability of Alex.
Love triangle. Hate hate hate hate hate hate them. They have been used to death. (Also, my respect for Price has diminished a bit since she uses this device in her Haven Series, too)
Alex as a doormat.
Falin. He's kind of this good ol' boy, with this past, a protector, and he's blondish and is very up front with his affections for Alex. I thought the reveals about him in this was an interesting look into the Fae.
Death or whatever his name is. Dark, dark, bad boy, dark, mysterious, and dark. Seriously, what do we know about this guy? Oh yea, he's mysterious, likes to wear black and he's a soul collector. How did he get there? Did he chose this path or born into it? We know nothing about him other than since Falin showed up, he's hot and heavy for Alex. I also think he's supposed to Romeo to Alex's Juliet. Star crossed lovers? Really? :headdesk: I am disappointed that Price has gone this route with him. I could understand Alex having a teenage crush on him, but as a grown women. No. And the whole him "loving" her back? :feels headache coming on: I would be more impressed with this series if he was more of a friend (best friend would be fine) or colleague.
Personally, I prefer Falin because he has more substance than a piece of cardboard that is called Death.
To me, this was just a filler book. For the number of pages there are, not a very executed one at that. There could have been so much more done.
Spoiler
Also, for the life of me I can not figure out why the hell the baddie was trying to kill or take out Alex. It made no sense. All that I can come up with is that evil is stupid or Price just needed a plot device and just went with that without thinking it through. Another thing for the baddie's why leave just the left foot? Why wouldn't it be both feet?At the end there was no explanation for some things that kind of bothered me. And a lot of some other things going on in the story was left very open ended. The book didn't seem that well thought out.
Price's Alex series has so much potential. The potential for her family problems which once AGAIN was not really touched upon besides saying she has issues. The potential for Alex to be torn between her new role as one of the Fae which we don't really see (we see other people's reaction to that news, but not her). Potential for Death. Price really falls short.
relin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Blood, and Sexual content
Moderate: Torture and Xenophobia
Minor: Vomit and Gun violence
alexiachantel's review against another edition
4.0
Isn’t it wonderful when book two is better than book one of a series? Grave Dance does just that!
The best thing about Grave Dance, all the mythology that is introduced. Yes Price had some mythology woven into Grave Witch but there is so much more and so many new characters in book two for Alex to meet. As she learns more about herself and where she came from you also get to learn more about Price’s world and wow is it ever fun.
The main mystery/killer of Grave Dance also hit close to home for Alex. A nice twist in the end and a good warning for her and Death. You do feel bad for the killer which shows some great writing right?!
A couple inconsistencies: in the end of Grave Witch Alex received a check with lots of zeros from her father as payment though she is still broke in Grave Dance. If she really spent it all on the car it should have said so otherwise we just wonder where the money went. Second inconsistency: Alex goes blind after using her Grave Magic, its the flaw that keeps her from being an all powerful superhero and I love that. But after using her magic once she was able to see Falin and noticed his skin.
Deeper deeper, read this book and you will want to go deeper into Alex’s world.
Alternate review posted at Reading Between the Wines Book Club:
http://www.readingbetweenthewinesbookclub.com/2016/01/review-grave-dance-by-kalayna-price-4.html
*copy received from publisher in return for an honest review
The best thing about Grave Dance, all the mythology that is introduced. Yes Price had some mythology woven into Grave Witch but there is so much more and so many new characters in book two for Alex to meet. As she learns more about herself and where she came from you also get to learn more about Price’s world and wow is it ever fun.
The main mystery/killer of Grave Dance also hit close to home for Alex. A nice twist in the end and a good warning for her and Death. You do feel bad for the killer which shows some great writing right?!
A couple inconsistencies: in the end of Grave Witch Alex received a check with lots of zeros from her father as payment though she is still broke in Grave Dance. If she really spent it all on the car it should have said so otherwise we just wonder where the money went. Second inconsistency: Alex goes blind after using her Grave Magic, its the flaw that keeps her from being an all powerful superhero and I love that. But after using her magic once she was able to see Falin and noticed his skin.
Deeper deeper, read this book and you will want to go deeper into Alex’s world.
Alternate review posted at Reading Between the Wines Book Club:
http://www.readingbetweenthewinesbookclub.com/2016/01/review-grave-dance-by-kalayna-price-4.html
*copy received from publisher in return for an honest review
becasaur27's review against another edition
4.0
Great second entry to this series. Alex developed quite a bit and we learned much about the complications between her and some of her companions. I really flew through this. I can't wait to read the next one, but I have a few things on my TBR pile that I'd like to get to first (need to finish The Left Hand of Darkness and also have a couple of e-books out from the library). Also, Alex needs to find a dogsitter. I volunteer!
amyiw's review against another edition
3.0
Solid 3 maybe 3.25
This was better than the first. It didn't have quite as much of the young adult vibe as the first, where she seemed to be coming into her own even though she actually learns a lot more about herself and Fairy. As much as we learn about this other realm and the rules, we get questions, and more questions than answers. Still the main 'mystery' is answered as to who and why the constructs are being made, but still that isn't totally answered either.
My main issue with this book is that although there is the plot of the feet, magic circles, and constructs, it really doesn't feel like the main story of the book. Instead the main story seems to be Alex's Fae origins and these new powers of open rifts along with her relationship with Death and Falin. And all three of these are furthered in this book but none are answered and some are left with more questions than we came into it. To me it was cliffy without being a true cliffhanger. Three side plots that gained more of my attention than the main plot and left to be answered in the future, and I can almost guaranty that the future is not in the next book but probably several books down the line. I would stop here but only need two more to fullfill a yearly challenge and was lucky enough to get all the audios from hoopla this month. So I'll continue and who knows, maybe I'll start loving it and questions will start to be answered instead of asked. It is not bad, just not my favorite or really good enough for me to want to continue except for some sort of outside push.
This was better than the first. It didn't have quite as much of the young adult vibe as the first, where she seemed to be coming into her own even though she actually learns a lot more about herself and Fairy. As much as we learn about this other realm and the rules, we get questions, and more questions than answers. Still the main 'mystery' is answered as to who and why the constructs are being made, but still that isn't totally answered either.
Spoiler
So one of the reapers that had a hand in this gets carried off but we don't get why or what happened only that there was a forbidden love. Why? And now we don't know where this new enemy of Alex is.My main issue with this book is that although there is the plot of the feet, magic circles, and constructs, it really doesn't feel like the main story of the book. Instead the main story seems to be Alex's Fae origins and these new powers of open rifts along with her relationship with Death and Falin. And all three of these are furthered in this book but none are answered and some are left with more questions than we came into it. To me it was cliffy without being a true cliffhanger. Three side plots that gained more of my attention than the main plot and left to be answered in the future, and I can almost guaranty that the future is not in the next book but probably several books down the line. I would stop here but only need two more to fullfill a yearly challenge and was lucky enough to get all the audios from hoopla this month. So I'll continue and who knows, maybe I'll start loving it and questions will start to be answered instead of asked. It is not bad, just not my favorite or really good enough for me to want to continue except for some sort of outside push.
kelic's review against another edition
4.0
This was close to five stars. Alex Craft is so much fun. She's charming and quirky with a good heart but still pretty kickass. I love the romantic relationships with both Falin and Death and the weird familial one with her dad. I'd really like to see her have a serious and long conversation with her dad, it's overdue. I want to know what he's up to, how he really feels about Alex, the real reason why he's a jerk to her. So many questions.
The actual story that Grave Dance is about, the mystery of the left feet, is not subsumed under the tide of new information (claiming an inheritance in faery, learning more about the collectors, her family and the fae) but is a solid gripping whodunit and why.
The only reason I refrain from the fifth star is that few questions have been answered even though tons more have cropped up. I hope some of them get answered in the next book.
The actual story that Grave Dance is about, the mystery of the left feet, is not subsumed under the tide of new information (claiming an inheritance in faery, learning more about the collectors, her family and the fae) but is a solid gripping whodunit and why.
The only reason I refrain from the fifth star is that few questions have been answered even though tons more have cropped up. I hope some of them get answered in the next book.
lilyelement's review against another edition
4.0
Grave Dance is book 2 in the Alex Craft series. I'm so glad I got into this series recently and plan to binge listen to it as fast as I can. I've been craving Urban Fantasy and this hits the spot perfectly. These stories are full of fae, witches and whodunit and I can't get enough.
Alex Craft, grave witch and occasional consultant for the Nekros City police department is back and on a really strange case. We dive right in with Alex searching for bodies with the police and she quickly finds several left feet from different victims. This opens up a huge can of worms that no one wants her to find out about. With no leads, Alex decides to try her hand at solving the case but is left with more questions than answers. That's also about the time that fae creatures are being summoned to go after Alex and they're targeting anyone that's close to her at the time as well. It's a dangerous situation that our leading lady has to figure out quickly since it's leading up to something big.
Grave Dance was a rush against the clock that I couldn't stop listening to. I'm really enjoying this world that Kalayna Price has built and I can't wait to see what happens next. I really loved finding out a bit more about the fae in this installment and hope to see plenty more about them soon. If you haven't tried this series yet and you're a fan of Urban Fantasy with witches and fae, you have to pick these up!
Alex Craft, grave witch and occasional consultant for the Nekros City police department is back and on a really strange case. We dive right in with Alex searching for bodies with the police and she quickly finds several left feet from different victims. This opens up a huge can of worms that no one wants her to find out about. With no leads, Alex decides to try her hand at solving the case but is left with more questions than answers. That's also about the time that fae creatures are being summoned to go after Alex and they're targeting anyone that's close to her at the time as well. It's a dangerous situation that our leading lady has to figure out quickly since it's leading up to something big.
Grave Dance was a rush against the clock that I couldn't stop listening to. I'm really enjoying this world that Kalayna Price has built and I can't wait to see what happens next. I really loved finding out a bit more about the fae in this installment and hope to see plenty more about them soon. If you haven't tried this series yet and you're a fan of Urban Fantasy with witches and fae, you have to pick these up!
evieshka's review against another edition
4.0
Not the best book I've ever read, but definitely entertaining enough for me to go on to the next one!