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liinukka's review against another edition
4.0
This was a lot of fun! I enjoyed Sam's voice in particular, with his young sass and silly escapades. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
jrosenstein's review against another edition
4.0
This was actually highly recommended to me by a 10th grade boy who is normally a fan of vampire novels. I have to agree with his assessment that McBride has written a wonderful and very unique YA fantasy novel. She combines teenage guy snarky humor with a convincingly constructed magical world and some pretty intense action and suspense. Sam thinks he's just an average college dropout stuck flipping burgers, until a run-in with an evil necromancer and a nasty werewolf leaves his friend just a talking head and himself on the threshold of a whole new life. He slowly learns that there is a world of magical creatures - necromancers, werewolves, fey, witches and spirits- hiding within the ordinary world he always thought he lived in. Hold Me Closer, Necromancer is a poignant coming-of-age tale, a meditation on the importance of family and friends, a tense action-packed fantasy, and even a bit of a romance. McBride manages to meld together all these different threads and styles into a very satisfying whole. I'm eager for a sequel.
blessedwannab's review against another edition
4.0
This book was alot of fun. There was a romance, and while it did happen relatively fast it also wasn't soulmates immediately telling each other that they were madly in love. It was a relationship born out of being in a hard place and trapped together.
The world that McBride created was pretty unique, and Sam was interesting and honest. It's definitely rejuvinated my love of YA Paranormals. It's not the best by any means, but its definitely good enough that I'm going to continue to read this series happily. I want to know what happens with Samhain and co in the next book.
The world that McBride created was pretty unique, and Sam was interesting and honest. It's definitely rejuvinated my love of YA Paranormals. It's not the best by any means, but its definitely good enough that I'm going to continue to read this series happily. I want to know what happens with Samhain and co in the next book.
simon_'s review against another edition
5.0
This is a great book. I'd say one of the best in the Urban Fantasy genre. The supporting cast is probably one of the best parts, and I just want to find out more about them. This is one of those books that just made me feel so happy inside, probably having to do with the banter between the characters. Unlike the Dresden series, this had the right amount of struggle for our protagonist. I feel with Harry Dresden it's just one thing after another, and there never seems to be much happiness. Not to say that there aren't times that Sam frustrates me but they are few and far between. Anyway I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series.
wetnoodle's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
the_spooky_librarian's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
kim_j_dare's review against another edition
5.0
Sam is your typical twenty-ish fast-food-working college dropout-- and he's okay with that. But circumstances bring him to the attention of Douglas, a well-tailored necromancer with no sense of humor to offset his evil propensities. Turns out Sam is a necromancer, too... and Douglas is trying to decide if he should train Sam in his evil ways or just kill him outright. Part of that decision-making involves turning one of Sam's fast food coworkers into a talking head (literally... a la decapitation), introducing Sam to a knockout hybrid werewolf named Brin, and generally making Sam's life painful. The characters are all wonderfully drawn, the premise is fresh, the action doesn't stop, and [a:Lish McBride|3484883|Lish McBride|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1273511640p2/3484883.jpg] achieves just the right mix of menace and hilarity.
crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
Bullet Review:
DNF at 24%.
Sometimes books just CLICK. Humor, plot, characters, writing, whatever. And other times they don't.
This doesn't click with me. Not a fan of the humor, characters are unappealing, plot seems to be your standard "Special Snowflake finds out he's important" type. The writing isn't terrible; it's more tolerable than 90% of Young Adult novels. But despite that "glowing endorsement", the plot lurches to a stop to dump flashbacks and character background that I wasn't even partially curious about (seriously, why should I care about Brand New Character Douglas's discovery of his necromancy powers at age umpty-scratch?). Oh, and one of the worse offenses about the writing: First Person POV interspersed with multiple Third Person POVs. First Person POV and I already have a love-hate relationship, but the only way to make First Person worse is to couple it with jumping to Third Person POVs for other characters. (Absolute worst? Do First Person PRESENT AND the Third Person POVs.)
Certainly not the worst out there, but it's doing nothing for me. I tried reading the physical copy; DNF at 10%. Tried listening to the audiobook; bored out of my mind at 24% (and I skipped multiple times - a practice I hate to do on audio). I think I've given this more than a fighting chance.
But hey, you may like. At the very least, there was ABSOLUTELY NO romantic plot in the 24% I read, which is a definite plus.
DNF at 24%.
Sometimes books just CLICK. Humor, plot, characters, writing, whatever. And other times they don't.
This doesn't click with me. Not a fan of the humor, characters are unappealing, plot seems to be your standard "Special Snowflake finds out he's important" type. The writing isn't terrible; it's more tolerable than 90% of Young Adult novels. But despite that "glowing endorsement", the plot lurches to a stop to dump flashbacks and character background that I wasn't even partially curious about (seriously, why should I care about Brand New Character Douglas's discovery of his necromancy powers at age umpty-scratch?). Oh, and one of the worse offenses about the writing: First Person POV interspersed with multiple Third Person POVs. First Person POV and I already have a love-hate relationship, but the only way to make First Person worse is to couple it with jumping to Third Person POVs for other characters. (Absolute worst? Do First Person PRESENT AND the Third Person POVs.)
Certainly not the worst out there, but it's doing nothing for me. I tried reading the physical copy; DNF at 10%. Tried listening to the audiobook; bored out of my mind at 24% (and I skipped multiple times - a practice I hate to do on audio). I think I've given this more than a fighting chance.
But hey, you may like. At the very least, there was ABSOLUTELY NO romantic plot in the 24% I read, which is a definite plus.
gcinc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5