Title: Grave Dance
Author: Kaylana Price
Publication Date: July 5th, 2011
Format: Paperback, 400 pages
THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN MINOR SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST NOVEL IN THE SERIES, Grave Witch (Check out my review here).
Grave Dance is the second book in The Alex Craft series written by Kaylana Price. Again we meet up with Alex Craft, owner and detective with Tongues of the Dead. Alex also happens to be a grave witch, someone who has a particular talent to raise shades of dead people from their bodies in order to speak with them.
The story starts up with the main mystery of the book. A bunch of left feet from several bodies are uncovered at the beginning minus their owners. Alex is called to investigate and see if she can raise a shade using only the feet to get to the bottom of where they came from. Ultimately she can't raise a shade using just the feet by herself, however, she ends up uncovering something she isn't supposed to, putting herself and her friends in danger. Soon she is being pursued by constructs/glamours, that actually seem to be able to do real damage and everytime they attack her they rip a hole open to the aetheric. In the midst of all this, Alex is also being pursued by a group of witches who want her ability to access the aetheric, so that they can become more powerful.
I have to say that I enjoyed Grave Dance. Not quite as much as I did the first book in the series, Grave Witch, but Grave Dance had its own charm. This book served to show us more of Faerie and also expanded on what we learned about Alex's heritage at the end of the first book. In regard to this, it did a great job in making me want to learn more, because as much as it added to what we learned it also created even greater mystery. I have a feeling that Alex is much more than she seems (of course), especially since her powers seem to be morphing into something different and she seems to be getting stronger, which is usually typical in this type of book, but because I enjoy reading the character so much I don't really mind.
The main mystery of the book was interesting, but felt a bit lacking. It seemed a bit rushed, as if the story existed to build on the world rather than the world being a fluid part of the story. But, it helped to keep the action flowing throughout the book and if there is one thing we know about Alex Craft it is that she is a girl that never has to look for trouble, it just finds her and this kept the book exciting.
The love triangle didn't really advance as much as I thought it would in this book either, however, I do enjoy the fact that I really don't know which love interest I would choose for Alex if given a choice, which is rare for me. I like them both. I also like the fact that both options would provide for a bit of a forbidden love story. Falin is the lover of the Winter Queen of Faerie, so that presents problems in and of itself, and Death, well, he is Death and if you read the book you will understand a bit more of why his love would be a forbidden love aside for just the fact that he is a reaper.
I especially enjoyed the fact that we get a little more of a peek into who Alex might actually be, not too mention what may have happened to both her mother and her brother. I don't want to go into it too much because then we are hitting spoiler territory, but I have my own theories and it makes me want to read the next book in the series that much more.
All and all I would recommend this book. I like the world Kaylana Price has built. I enjoy her characters and I like her magic system. The fact that everything has a price and there are rules that need to be followed makes it all the more appealing.
The third book in the Alex Craft series, Grave Memory, was released recently. Review for that one to come soon.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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