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scijessreads's review against another edition
1.0
An interesting premise about talking to the recently dead, but it felt unfinished and rough and not as charming as it thought it was.
secondhandbookshelves's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
eiridium's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
booksandcatsgalore's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
foxy_llama15's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
confessions_of_a_bookaholic's review
5.0
Cassie Black is used to dead bodies with her work at the funeral homw. What she's not used to is them waking up, which they seem to be doing on a regular basis these days. When Busby Tenpenny wakes up on her table insistent that he has been murdered Cassie has no choice but to try and help him, not realising that she has a much closer link to Tenpenny than she could ever imagine. As Cassie discovers a whole new world full of magic she struggles to see how she will ever get her life back to normal.
I stumbled across this book a while ago and decided to give it a try based on the description and the fact that the blurb says perfect for fans of Ben Aaronovich's Rivers of London series. I'm normally wary about those sorts of endorsements but can happily say this one was right on the mark. I loved the book and have already bought the rest of the series.
There is so much to like about this series. Cassie is grumpy and reluctant to make friends, but despite her prickly demeanor you can't help but like her. Many of the other characters are equally likeable, even some that are marked as potential villains.
In terms of the storyline there's a lot of world building done in this one. With Cassie not knowing about her magic we learn about how things work in the same way that she does, which is a pretty common tool for this sort of book. Despite the story doing a lot of scene setting it's by no means slow or boring. I loved the world that Painter weaves for us, and now have yet another fictional world to add to my list of places I really want to travel to. Let's face it, who wouldn't want to live in a world where you have to eat lots of cake and desert to replenish your magic!!
This one ends with a pretty big hook for the next story and it totally grabbed me. I can't wait to get stuck in to the next book.
I stumbled across this book a while ago and decided to give it a try based on the description and the fact that the blurb says perfect for fans of Ben Aaronovich's Rivers of London series. I'm normally wary about those sorts of endorsements but can happily say this one was right on the mark. I loved the book and have already bought the rest of the series.
There is so much to like about this series. Cassie is grumpy and reluctant to make friends, but despite her prickly demeanor you can't help but like her. Many of the other characters are equally likeable, even some that are marked as potential villains.
In terms of the storyline there's a lot of world building done in this one. With Cassie not knowing about her magic we learn about how things work in the same way that she does, which is a pretty common tool for this sort of book. Despite the story doing a lot of scene setting it's by no means slow or boring. I loved the world that Painter weaves for us, and now have yet another fictional world to add to my list of places I really want to travel to. Let's face it, who wouldn't want to live in a world where you have to eat lots of cake and desert to replenish your magic!!
This one ends with a pretty big hook for the next story and it totally grabbed me. I can't wait to get stuck in to the next book.
charmedlassie's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
themanfromdelmonte's review against another edition
3.0
I nearly put this down. Twice. Firstly because of the overly jokey opening and the overdone Harry Potter references. Could have dialled that down a lot.
Secondly, the author went out of her way to make the MC unlikeable. I have to like or at least sympathise with the protagonist but Cassie came across as a snotty adolescent brat rather than a woman in her late twenties.
Yes, I get that she had a terrible childhood. Yes, I get that she has no people skills but somewhere along the line, either at college or in the workplace, some of those jagged edges would have been rubbed off.
However, the last third of the story was rather better, more fast paced and less focused on the neuroses of the MC. I decided that I would try the second book.
Lastly, and this is a more minor criticism, the world is too small. The Mauvais is apparently a supervillain, but it’s only a few small town good guys that can protect our heroine. Is nobody outside Portland interested?
Secondly, the author went out of her way to make the MC unlikeable. I have to like or at least sympathise with the protagonist but Cassie came across as a snotty adolescent brat rather than a woman in her late twenties.
Yes, I get that she had a terrible childhood. Yes, I get that she has no people skills but somewhere along the line, either at college or in the workplace, some of those jagged edges would have been rubbed off.
However, the last third of the story was rather better, more fast paced and less focused on the neuroses of the MC. I decided that I would try the second book.
Lastly, and this is a more minor criticism, the world is too small. The Mauvais is apparently a supervillain, but it’s only a few small town good guys that can protect our heroine. Is nobody outside Portland interested?
tandemjon's review against another edition
3.0
I found this an interesting and yet a bit disappointing story. Great idea with the funeral home but I just didn't feel the story was believable enough. I enjoyed it enough to read part 2 and liked the characters but it didn't really grip me as most books do. Perhaps book 2 will ..