Grave War by Kalayna Price

 

3.5/4 Star

Alex has formed an uneasy truce with the Faerie world.  She’s been assigned as lead investigator for the Fae Investigation Bureau (FIB).  As the lead in FIB it is her job to maintain the balance between the humans and fae.  On her second day there is an explosion at the Eternal Bloom that threatens every Fae on the human plain.  Alex needs to find another door into faerie as well as track down who is taking out the doors to the human plain before every fae fades.

This one is I am very much on the fence for the rating.  I enjoyed the book a lot, but it is the final book in the series, and I was left wanting.  She wrapped up somethings but there were some loose ends…at least in my mind.  I wanted to know what happened with some of the humans who have been in the other books and they weren’t mentioned at all.  One of the other plot issues I had was we were used to seeing all her other friends and this one is very much just her trying to figure everything out.  She doesn’t have anyone helping her other than a couple of FIB agents to begin with and then later Falin but only briefly.  We do finally meet Alex’s brother, but no details are given as to how he ended up where he did and why he was there.  We also don’t get to see her really come into her powers.  She’s still learning and gets named Falin’s consort as well as High Queen.  We just never really get to see what all she can do at all.  Here’s hoping there is a spinoff series that brings these characters back to get more of it tied up.

Book 7 Alex Craft

Amazon

Grave Destiny by Kalayna Price

 

4 Star

Alex is still growing and changing and trying to figure everything out.  To get help she has to make a deal with the devil, her father.  He says he will help if she takes the next case no matter what and because she needs the help she agrees.  What happens is Dugen and Falin both need her to investigate mysterious deaths in the Winter Court to prevent a war from happening.  Delving into the mystery Alex realizes how intricate the fae world is and how strained it is becoming.  Alex will have to be very careful not to tip the balance either way as it will start a war no one wants.

This is a really good addition to the series.  As the reader we find out a lot more about the fae and faerie.  Several plot points are resolved with several opening up for the last book in the series.  I liked seeing how she investigated on the fae side of the plain instead of working with the police on the human side.  I did miss some of her interactions with the police.  One of the parts of the book that irritated me which has continued from the last couple books is the harping on her poor eyesight.  Nothing major with this book irritated me and I can’t wait to read the last one.

Book 6 Alex Craft

Amazon

Grave Ransom by Kalayna Price

 

4 Star

Alex is pulled into another investigation but this one is much more sinister.  She is accused of using her magic to create ghouls all over Necros.  Briar Darque comes in weapons blazing with her accusation but when Alex proves her wrong, they team up together.  There is a deadline looming and they need to find the creator to save someone close to Alex.

It was interesting to see how the people in Alex’s life dealt with her life changes and secret keeping.  She deserves better than her friends gave her, but I liked seeing her puzzle out the best ways to deal with everything being thrown at her.  The character development in this book was really good too.  You got to see growth in each character.  The one big issue I had was how Death was handled.  He’s just kind of disappeared from her life in this book.  You can see where the author is leading Alex for her love life in this book and I am interested in seeing how that will work out for her.  Overall, a good addition to the series.

Book 5 Alex Craft

Amazon

Grave Memory by Kalayna Price

 

4 Star

Alex, as a grave witch, is used to dealing with death and the dead.  When she gets a front row seat to a suicide she tries to tell the police that it wasn’t suicide they don’t believe her.  She gets the widow to hire her to look into what happened and during her investigation she discovers the shades have no memory of the last 3 days of their lives.  All they remember is the moments before their souls are taken.  Alex will need to use all her skills to figure out what is causing people’s will to live be overpowered into suicide.  While trying to discover what is going on she is struggling with her feelings for Death and Falin.

This was an interesting story.  You get a lot of the interpersonal relationships in this book.  Alex is struggling to maintain her friendship from before the blood moon as well as finding out where she stands with Death and Falin.  As for the plot, it was interesting to see how Alex figured things out and finally resolved the issue.  I also liked seeing the growth in Alex as a character.  She was learning more about her powers and what they mean while also managing to learn about fae society.  It was a really good addition to the series.

Book 3 Alex Craft

Amazon

Grave Dance by Kalayna Price

 

3 Star

A month after the fight with the sorcerer Alex is just now recovered.  She’s ready to get back into investigating all things dead.  She doesn’t want to keep waiting around for Falin or think about Death being in Love with her.  When the police call her in to investigate a strange case involving the discovery of just left feet.  The more she investigates the stranger things become.  It will force her into the path of the Winter Queen and secrets will be revealed about the reapers as well as her own past.

This book had the second book hiccup.  Where the first book focused on one issue this book had a lot of things it was trying to accomplish which made the book seem extra-long.  There was also a lot of information dumped on the reader and it was hard to keep track of everything.  I still enjoyed the story but there was a lot of information that I assume is going to be important later but in this book it just was one too many things.  Overall, I didn’t hate the book it just wasn’t the greatest either.  Looking forward to the next one.

Audiobook:

Emily Durante narrates the book, and I would give her a 5 out of 5 for her performance.  She does a really good job giving each character a different voice.  I like the way she portrays Alex in the audiobook.  Would definitely listen to other books narrated by Durante.

Book 2 Alex Craft

Grave Witch by Kalayna Price

 

4 Star

Alex Croft is a grave witch which allows her to speak to the dead.  Working as a PI with an occasional job with the police she’s scraping by.  When she asks her regular cop contact for a favor it draws her into a case that is more dangerous than anyone thought it would be.  Will she be able to solve it before someone she cares for dies?

I really enjoyed this story.  There was some good world building.  You get a clear image of how things are in this story.  It does have some first book woes as Alex isn’t as clearly developed as she could be but should be fleshed out in later book/s.  I really want to find out more about her backstory and how she fits into the world that she lives in.  There also isn’t a clear “romance” in this story.  She’s got the hots for Death and Falin but doesn’t really end up with either of them.  It was more hinting at what could be with each of them.  Looking forward to rest of the series.

Audiobook:

Emily Durante narrates this book.  I was pleasantly surprised with Ms. Durante as I am very picky about narrators.  She does an excellent job speaking in different tones for each character, so it is clear who is talking.  I’ve said it before I listen to books at a faster speed.  Even with this faster speed Durante still sounds good and the flow of the book isn’t affected by my faster listening.  I would definitely listen to other books by this narrator. 

 

Book 1 Alex Croft