veronica87's review against another edition
3.0
Reread in March 2021: I'm leaving the three star rating. I really like the glimpses into the world of the fae. I want to know more about that so I hope the series explores that angle more in future books. Another plus for faerie? Death can't go there! Alex keeps calling him her oldest, dearest friend but I've seen little to no evidence of that. He's dead weight as far as I'm concerned. Ha! The actual mystery in this one seemed a little convoluted and, well, silly.
Grave Dance is the second in the Alex Craft series and as of right now the series looks to end at three books unless the author's contract is extended.
This book takes place roughly one month after the end of the first book. We find that Alex is doing a little better financially as more jobs are coming into her one woman PI agency, Tongues For The Dead, due to her notoriety from book one's events. But Falin, her fae agent lover from the first book, has been incommunicado during the intervening month. And as for the other possible love interest, Death, nothing new has happened on that front since his love declaration at the end of book. But who needs men because Alex still has the support and love from her wonderful group of friends: Caleb, Holly, Tamara, and Roy - the ghost that I think I forgot to mention in my review of book one. And of course, PC, her beloved Chinese Crested.
I gave the fist book four stars but downgraded this one for two reasons. The first is that it tended to drag in some spots. I believe that this book came in at almost 100 pages longer than book one and I'm not sure that the extra pages were needed. Some of the descriptions, expecially for the magic, tended to be a bit wordy and some of Alex's investigative work just wasn't all that exciting. It was still a solid book and a good successor to book one.
This go 'round Alex finds herself drawn into the investigation surrounding the discovery of multiple left feet around town. That's it. That's all that's left of the bodies, just the left foot of scores of victims. Unfortunately for Alex, the genetic memory in a single left foot isn't enough to allow her to raise the victim's shade, which sucks when you're a grave witch and that's your speciality. So Alex has to fall to other talents to solve the mystery. Along the way she discovers new, expanding powers that are directly related to her newly discovered heritage. We also learn more about the fae, the Winter Court, and how Alex may or may not fit into all that.
The second reason that I only gave this book three stars is because the author did what I had been hoping against hope that she wouldn't do. She went the way of the dreaded romantic triangle. And let me just say that I LOATHE romantic triangles. I fail to see why so many authors in this genre choose to fall back on such a lazy plot device. But here we go again. Falin makes a startling appearance and by book's end we learn that his month long absence wasn't exactly his idea. We also learn something about his history and why a relationship with Alex would be a difficult thing right now despite the fact that it seems to be what he wants. On the other side we have Death. And I know that he has his fans but he's just not doing anything for me as a character at this point simply because we are now two books in and he's still the one-note character that he started out as. He seems to be in the story just to serve as the romantic foil and that just annoys me. Which tells me that the author is writing him in specifically to add supposed tension to scenes when Falin is present. This theory is further bolstered by the fact that there was no movement in the Death/Alex relationship for the month between book one and book two depsite the fact that Falin was MIA and Death had Alex all to himself. So I find this whole triangle aspect of the story to be one huge drag. I wish the author hadn't gone there but she did, unfortunately.
My other personal quibble with Death - on top of being mostly a carboard cutout character - is that he's known Alex since she was five years old. FIVE. And now that she's whatever age she is (23-24?)he wants to get into her pants? There is just an ICK factor there that I can't get around.
This was a solid book but could have been even better without the triangle drama and pissing contest between the two men, and with tighter storytelling. It's still a good read, especially if love triangles don't bother you, but for me my enthusiasm for the third - and potentially final - book is waning.
Grave Dance is the second in the Alex Craft series and as of right now the series looks to end at three books unless the author's contract is extended.
This book takes place roughly one month after the end of the first book. We find that Alex is doing a little better financially as more jobs are coming into her one woman PI agency, Tongues For The Dead, due to her notoriety from book one's events. But Falin, her fae agent lover from the first book, has been incommunicado during the intervening month. And as for the other possible love interest, Death, nothing new has happened on that front since his love declaration at the end of book. But who needs men because Alex still has the support and love from her wonderful group of friends: Caleb, Holly, Tamara, and Roy - the ghost that I think I forgot to mention in my review of book one. And of course, PC, her beloved Chinese Crested.
I gave the fist book four stars but downgraded this one for two reasons. The first is that it tended to drag in some spots. I believe that this book came in at almost 100 pages longer than book one and I'm not sure that the extra pages were needed. Some of the descriptions, expecially for the magic, tended to be a bit wordy and some of Alex's investigative work just wasn't all that exciting. It was still a solid book and a good successor to book one.
This go 'round Alex finds herself drawn into the investigation surrounding the discovery of multiple left feet around town. That's it. That's all that's left of the bodies, just the left foot of scores of victims. Unfortunately for Alex, the genetic memory in a single left foot isn't enough to allow her to raise the victim's shade, which sucks when you're a grave witch and that's your speciality. So Alex has to fall to other talents to solve the mystery. Along the way she discovers new, expanding powers that are directly related to her newly discovered heritage. We also learn more about the fae, the Winter Court, and how Alex may or may not fit into all that.
The second reason that I only gave this book three stars is because the author did what I had been hoping against hope that she wouldn't do. She went the way of the dreaded romantic triangle. And let me just say that I LOATHE romantic triangles. I fail to see why so many authors in this genre choose to fall back on such a lazy plot device. But here we go again. Falin makes a startling appearance and by book's end we learn that his month long absence wasn't exactly his idea. We also learn something about his history and why a relationship with Alex would be a difficult thing right now despite the fact that it seems to be what he wants. On the other side we have Death. And I know that he has his fans but he's just not doing anything for me as a character at this point simply because we are now two books in and he's still the one-note character that he started out as. He seems to be in the story just to serve as the romantic foil and that just annoys me.
Spoiler
For example, there's the scene where Alex is fighting the bird constructs and Death and two other soul collectors show up to help even though Falin and Caleb are already there helping her. This would be fine, except that later on Alex is fighting a gryphon construct that is twice her size and she's all alone. And Death is a no show.My other personal quibble with Death - on top of being mostly a carboard cutout character - is that he's known Alex since she was five years old. FIVE. And now that she's whatever age she is (23-24?)he wants to get into her pants? There is just an ICK factor there that I can't get around.
This was a solid book but could have been even better without the triangle drama and pissing contest between the two men, and with tighter storytelling. It's still a good read, especially if love triangles don't bother you, but for me my enthusiasm for the third - and potentially final - book is waning.
kendra's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
makenzie's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
storytimewithlily's review against another edition
3.5
Didn't like it as much as the first one. still good though
hgranger's review against another edition
3.0
I really didn’t like the first book and swore I’d never read this author again, but I was desperate for an easy read and nothing else I wanted to read was available through the online library (-and I had gotten some distance to the first one....) so I gave book two a chance. And it was actually pretty decent. Alex is much less annoying and the story was entertaining, so 3 stars. Yay.
lynseyisreading's review against another edition
5.0
This was an excellent follow up to the first book, which I really enjoyed. I sometimes worry when I've loved the first book in a series that the next one(s) will pale in comparison. In this case, I needn't have worried.
The mystery element here really had me stumped. I thought I had it all figured out right until the end, and there was the baddie, with his/her back to me and I'm thinking, I've totally got this, then they turn around and.... doh! Looks like I'm not quite as much of a smarty pants as I thought, huh? I love that I was surprised and thought it was really cleverly written.
Alex's character had time to shine in this one a bit more than the first book as well. I don't think I really mentioned much about her as a lead character in my first review, I was too busy being all excited about the world-building and cool magical abilities and such, but she is a good leading lady: strong in her magic, honest, loyal, fierce, free and open with her opinions of others, both good and bad. And I can see why people are drawn to her.
Lets not say the words "love triangle" because they upset me, and really, that's not the case here at all, BUT, but there is more than one person who thinks Alex is the bee's knees in this series. One of them is just lovely, and seems to have really deep feelings for Alex, but I just can't see any possible way that it could work out between them. The other is a bit more of a conundrum, both to Alex and to us as a reader. He has his secrets and loyalties that lie elsewhere, and these make him a risky choice. But he's, like, all yummy and stuff..... I just don't know what I think at this point other than that I like both of them for very different reasons.
I can't wait for the next next book, Grave Memory (write faster dammit!) and really hope this series continues to keep up this high standard for many books to come.
The mystery element here really had me stumped. I thought I had it all figured out right until the end, and there was the baddie, with his/her back to me and I'm thinking, I've totally got this, then they turn around and.... doh! Looks like I'm not quite as much of a smarty pants as I thought, huh? I love that I was surprised and thought it was really cleverly written.
Alex's character had time to shine in this one a bit more than the first book as well. I don't think I really mentioned much about her as a lead character in my first review, I was too busy being all excited about the world-building and cool magical abilities and such, but she is a good leading lady: strong in her magic, honest, loyal, fierce, free and open with her opinions of others, both good and bad. And I can see why people are drawn to her.
Lets not say the words "love triangle" because they upset me, and really, that's not the case here at all, BUT, but there is more than one person who thinks Alex is the bee's knees in this series. One of them is just lovely, and seems to have really deep feelings for Alex, but I just can't see any possible way that it could work out between them. The other is a bit more of a conundrum, both to Alex and to us as a reader. He has his secrets and loyalties that lie elsewhere, and these make him a risky choice. But he's, like, all yummy and stuff..... I just don't know what I think at this point other than that I like both of them for very different reasons.
I can't wait for the next next book, Grave Memory (write faster dammit!) and really hope this series continues to keep up this high standard for many books to come.
snarkymotherreader's review against another edition
5.0
Grave Dance, the second book in the Alex Craft series by Kalayna Price, is tricky. It starts off all nice and slow, with a few random left feet (no bodies, just left feet) and an abduction of the independent fae by the Winter Queen under the pretense of “protecting” them from the human authorities. Then things start picking up. Alex learns of the repercussions of killing Coleman and what it means to the fae; Death and his soul collector buddies throw in a few delectable nuggets of info about their world; rips in the Aetheric and constructs made of magic and glamour seem to follow Alex wherever she goes. If that isn’t enough, there are events that even made me respect her dad!
Seriously, Grave Dance is jam-packed with paranormal weirdness and some hot, hot tension between Alex, Death, and Falin. There’s enough going on in this book to easily span two or three books, and very little of it gets resolved. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining one bit. It just means we get to see more of these imaginative, flawed, and mysterious characters, which makes me completely ecstatic.
Alex has a few very large roadblocks between herself and happiness right now, one of which is her own heritage. I have a feeling it’s going to interfere with her work with the police department and her friends there. People, even other non-human people, don’t seem to trust “her kind.” I’m curious to see how this is all going to pan out, especially with Falin’s parting words to her and Death’s parting look. Her heritage is going to make both of those relationships a real pain.
Before I enter spoiler territory, I want to give a small but significant mention to my new favorite, shadowy character in the Alex Craft series: Kyran. You came. You saw. You confused the hell out of me. Well played, sir. Well played.
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So who is Death, really? If my theory is correct, he hasn’t been dead long, and I think there’s a reason he hangs around Alex so much other than the sizzling sexual tension. Also, how did the bad guy see the reaper?? I must be missing something extremely obvious.
Seriously, Grave Dance is jam-packed with paranormal weirdness and some hot, hot tension between Alex, Death, and Falin. There’s enough going on in this book to easily span two or three books, and very little of it gets resolved. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining one bit. It just means we get to see more of these imaginative, flawed, and mysterious characters, which makes me completely ecstatic.
Alex has a few very large roadblocks between herself and happiness right now, one of which is her own heritage. I have a feeling it’s going to interfere with her work with the police department and her friends there. People, even other non-human people, don’t seem to trust “her kind.” I’m curious to see how this is all going to pan out, especially with Falin’s parting words to her and Death’s parting look. Her heritage is going to make both of those relationships a real pain.
Before I enter spoiler territory, I want to give a small but significant mention to my new favorite, shadowy character in the Alex Craft series: Kyran. You came. You saw. You confused the hell out of me. Well played, sir. Well played.
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Spoiler
I’m going to leave names out of this as much as possible and play the pronoun game to leave some sort of mystery. Remember, this is all theory and can’t be substantiated in any way, shape, or form unless Kalayna emails me and says, “Yes, yes you brilliant beast, you are correct!” This is what I think happened and why it doesn’t bode well for Alex and Death: The bad guy had to collect souls for a spell to merge his/her reality with the realm of the dead because that’s where his/her lover was. This lover happens to be a reaper, or soul collector, just like Death. I don’t know how the bad guy could see the reaper, though, because he/she was, at least in part, fae, not a grave witch. From what I’ve gleaned from the series, only grave witches can interact with ghosts, shades, and soul collectors. Then there’s the gray man’s ominous words: “Remember this day. Remember this place…This is why the two of you can never be.” The only conclusion I can come to is that reapers are ghosts – albeit bad-ass ghosts – and the bad guy knew the reaper before he/she died.So who is Death, really? If my theory is correct, he hasn’t been dead long, and I think there’s a reason he hangs around Alex so much other than the sizzling sexual tension. Also, how did the bad guy see the reaper?? I must be missing something extremely obvious.
prfctlymismtchd's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book. It was such a great take on the Fae and Witchcraft. I tore through these really quickly. I wish Death had been a bigger part of the later books. I also liked the earlier books that focused more on her Grave magic and less on other skills more.
loishojmark's review against another edition
4.0
Read in May 2013. 4 stars.
Rereading February 2016. Still worth 4 stars.
Rereading February 2016. Still worth 4 stars.