Tori's Review: Grave Dance by Kalayna Price

Released: July 5, 2011
Paperback: 400 pages
Price: $7.99
Publisher: Penguin
Source: Publisher
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Alex Craft 
Buy: Amazon

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After a month of down time, Grave Witch Alex Craft is ready to get back to solving murders by raising the dead. With her love life in turmoil, Alex is eager for the distractions of work. But when her new case forces her to overuse her magic, it might be the last mystery the Grave Witch ever gets to solve...

My Rating:

My Opinion:
I am suffering from a horrible cold/sinus infection as I write this, so please excuse me if I sound incoherent at any point in this review.

GRAVE DANCE, by Kalayna Price, is the second book in the Alex Craft series. Alex is a grave witch, and a quirky one at that. Between book one and two, so many discoveries are made--including her powers evolving (or perhaps manifesting would be a better word?) and learning of her heritage. Some may view all of these additions as over the top, and I admit that some moments in GRAVE DANCE made me roll my eyes, but I do not feel that these changes will ultimately ruin the story for readers... as it may in some other books.

While I did enjoy this book, it did not blow me away like its predecessor. There was one primary reason why I grew exasperated with the title--which I will state below--but despite my exasperation (and the intense desire to fling the book away at one point), I simply couldn't. I needed to know what happened next, and if I didn't, my life would suck until I did know. That alone is proof that while I may not approve of what is occurring within the novel's pages, Kalayna is a kick ass author and one I will follow with the utmost fangirly dedication.

The bad: the love triangle this time around infuriated me. In GRAVE WITCH (GW), readers were introduced to both love interests (Falin and Death). Like I said in my other review, I equally liked both men--though I was leaning more towards Death. In GRAVE DANCE (GD), there was no contest; Death had stolen my heart.

I felt that, while he did not appear as often as I would have liked, Death was a lot more developed in GD than Falin. Death has a vivacity about him that Falin lacks. Falin, I've noticed, is a lot more two dimensional in comparison. He's either injured, trying to hit on Alex, or he's depressed/pissed off. It worked for him in GW, but in GD, it made him seem like the weakest link amongst all the characters.

My frustrations--as a Death/Alex shipper--elevated after each scene where Alex kept fawning over the fae. She kept trying to be logical about the entire situation, but she would literally turn into jello whenever Falin touched her. And considering how Death was not shy about revealing his affections... I don't know, I was disappointed in Alex. Meanwhile, she would get flustered around Death--who didn't manhandle her--but she would mostly avoid her feelings regarding our mystery man.

The good: Death! What can I say, that guy is one sexy character. There were a lot of cool action scenes that kept me glued to the pages, and secondary characters that I've begun to like in GW made appearances. I enjoyed the descriptions of all the realms and the effects Alex's magic had on her and the environment when she tapped into her power.

My favorite part, despite my exasperation with Alex/Falin/Death, was learning more about faerie. The ending of the book was interesting in that regard, and I think the descriptions truly added another intriguing element to this series.

I also want to kick that soul reaper in the face for saying what he said to Alex by the end of the book. UNACCEPTABLE!

The Alex Craft series is one of those new urban fantasies that has captured this unsuspecting reader's attention. I would be stupid not to recommend this series to other readers who are searching for a great UF to read.


Series Order:
1. Grave Witch (Tori's Review)
2. Grace Dance
3. Grave Memory (Tori's Review)