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.
starknits13's review against another edition
3.0
So 3 stars maybe 3.5
The story was ok, some of it was kinda like oh hey here's a castle and you're now thrown into Farie... sigh.. She didn't do any research about anything.. you'd have thought after the first book's revelation about her dad she would've learned more about that side of her. PLUS I'd like to go deeper into her childhood that she doesn't remember.
The story was ok, some of it was kinda like oh hey here's a castle and you're now thrown into Farie... sigh.. She didn't do any research about anything.. you'd have thought after the first book's revelation about her dad she would've learned more about that side of her. PLUS I'd like to go deeper into her childhood that she doesn't remember.
bxermom's review against another edition
4.0
Can't wait to read the next book! Anxious to see where our love triangle leads.
andimontgomery's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I love Alex and her friends, especially Roy and Death. Now, how can a soul collector be so darned hunky and interesting? While the story slowed down a bit in the middle, the pace improved for the ending.