Wow that title is a mouthful right? Haha well, this post is dedicated to one of my all-time favourite Urban Fantasy Authors, Kalayna Price who's writing is gripping, characters- enticing, and world building- epic! If I do say so myself, that is :)
Kalayna Price
ALEX CRAFT SERIES
Grave Witch (Alex Craft #1)
NOW AVAILABLE!!!
Publisher: ROC (Penguin Group USA)
Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:
Grave witch Alex Craft can speak to the dead, but that doesn’t mean she likes what they have to say.
As a private investigator and consultant for the police, Alex Craft has seen a lot of dark magic. But even though she’s on good terms with Death himself—who happens to look fantastic in a pair of jeans—nothing has prepared her for her latest case. Alex is investigating a high profile murder when she’s attacked by the ‘shade’ she’s raising, which should be impossible. To top off her day, someone makes a serious attempt on her life, but Death saves her. Guess he likes having her around...
To solve this case Alex will have to team up with tough homicide detective Falin Andrews. Falin seems to be hiding something—though it’s certainly not his dislike of Alex—but Alex knows she needs his help to navigate the tangled webs of mortal and paranormal politics, and to track down a killer wielding a magic so malevolent, it may cost Alex her life...and her soul.
My Thoughts:
This is one of the best Urban Fantasy debuts I've read! I picked up this title as soon as it hit shelves, (I actually asked the associate to grab a copy from the back as they hadn't actually been shelved yet) after reading Kaylana's other Haven series. And I'm so glad I didn't wait because it was flipping fantastic!
I was hooked from the opening scene between Alex and Death, right til the end (which left me with a smile on my face). There was a lot going on in this book, but the one thing above all others was the love triangle that Price has begun to create with this series. I know just from reading this first book that I'm going to have a difficult time deciding which team I'm on (can't Alex and I have them both? haha)
The plot was gripping and there were many twists and turns, leaving the Alex and the reader unsure as to who to trust. But the best part, was the ending, completely bittersweet. Death's declaration gave me butterflies (yes I'm that sappy) and Finn's attention throughout the book had me swooning quite a bit. Seriously very envious of Alex.
If an Urban Fantasy with a fast-paced, enticing plot and a love triangle that will leave the reader jealous, is what you look for in your reads, do yourself a favour- READ THIS BOOK!
You won't be disappointed!
Grave Dance (Alex Craft #2)
NOW AVAILABLE!!!
Publisher: ROC (Penguin Group USA)
Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:
After a month spent recovering from a vicious fight with a sorcerer, grave witch Alex Craft is ready to get back to solving murders by raising the dead. With her love life in turmoil thanks to the disappearance of Fae Investigation Bureau agent Falin Andrews and a shocking “L” word confession from Death himself, Alex is eager for the distractions of work. But her new case turns out to be a deadly challenge.
The police hire Alex to consult on a particularly strange investigation in the nature preserve south of Nekros City. The strange part: There are no corpses, only fragments of them. A serial killer is potentially on the loose, and Alex has no way to raise a shade without a body, so she’ll have to rely on the magic of others to find leads. But as she begins investigating, a creature born of the darkest magic comes after her. Someone very powerful wants to make sure the only thing she finds is a dead end—her own
My Thoughts:
Alex is one tough chick with a take no prisoners attitude. She's also very down to earth and out for the greater good, making her a very likeable narrator.
I think what I loved most about this installment, was the character development. Especially in the romance department. Finn and Death have both made their feelings towards Alex quite clear and now she's faced with the tough decision. I loved the way Price has written these two men because, while they're polar opposites I love them both equally for their own separate qualities. I envy and sympathize with Alex's tough decision.
Although I must admit, I'm curious to see where Price will take Alex and Finn's relationship in book 3, seeing as he is already "devoted" to another. Oooo the anticipation!
The mystery of the plot is exciting and not too predictable, but I feel it was the interaction between these three characters throughout Grave Dance that kept me up into all hours of the night.
I would recommend this book to fans of Stacia Kane's Downside Ghost series and just plain Urban Fantasy junkies in general!
Grave Memory (Alex Craft #3)
Release Date: July 3rd/12.
Publisher: ROC (Penguin Group USA)
Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:
As a Grave Witch, Alex solves murders by raising the dead. While she’s always been on friendly terms with Death himself, lately things have become a lot more personal. But the personal takes a backseat to the professional when a string of suicides occur in Nekros City. The shades have no memory of the days leading up to their brutal endings, so despite the very apparent suicides, this is murder. And searching for the answers might mean Alex won’t have a life to remember at all…
NOVELS OF HAVEN
Once Bitten (Haven #1) by Kalayna Price
NOW AVAILABLE!!!
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:
Kita Nekai, on the run and the smallest of her shifter clan-a calico cat among lions and tigers-is being hunted. She was expected to accept her role as her father's successor whether or not her cat was up to the task of leading the clan. She disagreed. Now she's less than a step ahead of the hunters, bone-tired, cold, and living hand-to-mouth in the city of Haven. And that's the high point of her day. She's also drugged, "accidently" turned into a vampire, and sentenced to death for recklessly creating a rogue shifter who tortures its human prey. She's got seventy-two hours to find the rogue, evade a city full of hunters, prove she's not responsible for the rogue, and keep the vampire council from killing her. All while sorting out an apprentice mage, a married ex-boyfriend shifter-hunter, and the vampire who made her.
My Thoughts:
This is one of the first books that I purchased on my Kindle 2-3 years ago. I only mention this because the synopsis really gripped me and the e-book price was so enticing I had to purchase a kindle so I could read this book, and I haven't looked back since.
This is a great read that many fans of Rachel Vincent's Shifters series will appreciate. While the main plot points of Price and Vincent's stories are similar the setting, action and characters are all unique and set these two authors apart from one another.
This definitely isn't your cookie cutter UF novel. There are many twists and turns and Kita has a lot of demons from her past that she'd love to escape, but it's hard to do that when they're thrown right in your face. And it's especially hard to ignore when that past comes back in the form of a very gorgeous but unfortunately very UNAVAILABLE ex-lover.
I guess it's a good thing Kita has the sexy night-in-shining armour (with fangs), Nathaniel to help her cope with a new life as a shifter/vampire. The banter between these two kept a smile on my face and I can't wait to see where Price takes these two next.
I think this story is a great addition to any Urban Fantasy fan's library, especially those who enjoy Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series, although this series is for a more mature audience.
Go. Read. Enjoy.
Twice Dead (Haven #2) by Kalayna Price
NOW AVAILABLE!!!
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads:
Newly undead shifter-turned-vampire Kita Nekai is coming to grips with the reality that her cat has not awakened since her change. What she needs is a little time to adjust to her new liquid diet and the increasingly complex attraction to her sire, Nathanial. What she gets is a headless harlequin. With the body count rising, Kita is dragged into a dangerous game of vampire politics. Her involvement draws the attention of an ancient vampire known as the Collector who has a penchant for acquiring the unusual - like a pureblood shifter-turned vampire. Kita still has unfinished business of her own and finds herself deeper in magical debt. It's a bad time to be a kitten who can't slip her skin. Kalayna Price's debut novel, ONCE BITTEN, earned rave reviews and reached #1 on Amazon.com's "Fantasy Bestseller List." TWICE DEAD returns readers to a dark, seductive world where magic rules and ancient loyalties collide with modern challenges.
My Thoughts:
This is a gripping second installment to Price's Haven series.
Kita is still learning how to deal with her new identity, but it doesn't hurt to have the gorgeous Nathaniel around to show her the ropes. The tension between these two will leave readers craving for more.
But let's not forget Bobby the ever loyal love of Kita's past, but is he a potential love interest for the future?
This has got to be one of the most complicated love triangle's I've ever read (but also one of the best) at least I think it's a love triangle that Price is going for.
The plot of Twice Dead is much more intense than its predecessor and the ending will leave you wanting book 3 Third Blood (o please come out soon, please!) There's tons of action, mystery and romance to quench Price fans' thirst.
My only plea to Kalayna with this installment, is to please up the sexual tension in book 3 (there really can never be too much in my opinion :) )
THIRD BLOOD (HAVEN #3) NO COVER YET
Release Date: TBA 2012
Synopsis courtesy of Price's website:
Going home after five years is difficult. It's harder still if you've changed species in the interim.
Kita Nekai, once the smallest shifter in Firth but now the newest vampire in the city of Haven, has no intention of returning home or informing her father and clan what she's become. Not that she has a choice. When the mage who holds her death certificate in his hands demands Kita return to Firth as his errand runner, she has to comply. Of course, there is no leaving her sire, Nathanial, behind. Which means introducing daddy dearest to the man—well, vampire—she may be falling for and confessing that she's lost the ability to shift. Talk about awkward.Her homecoming goes from bad to worse when an attempt is made on her life, and Kita finds herself facing an unknown threat in a hostile world she never fit into in the first place. Can she survive long enough to complete the judge's task, stand trial before the elders for the rogues she created while on the run, and help defend her father's territory from an encroaching band of misfit shifters? Or is this cat down to her last life?
HAPPY READING!!!
