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kblincoln's review
4.0
This is an urban fantasy set in Albuquerque, New Mexico...so refreshingly not the gritty, damp, urban city setting Urban Fantasy lovers might have come to expect.
It's bright, sunny, desert, and there's chilies in the food. The chilies might seem like a non-sequitur but believe me, one of the pleasures of this book is the fact that our young adult heroine, Rose, loves to eat. And her wild-haired brother Ed owns a Tex Mex-Cajun fusion restaurant and feeds her the yummiest sounding meals. (don't read this book hungry) There's also a lot of description of scents, which sometimes was cool (I liked all the cologne descriptions for Ed, the love interest, etc) and sometimes struck me as too frequent.
Rose has lived with the fear that the power to see dead spirits-- which drove her father crazy-- will descend upon her now that she's reached young adulthood. But high school is over and she's home free. That is, until she goes out with restaurant leftovers to deliver to a homeless man and discovers him dead.
She can't refuse to read the book her father and grandmother and all the necromancer ancestors have written anymore-- even thought how it calls and talks to her freaks her out.
Things get even hairier when it turns out there are sorceresses of light that hate necromancers, and may be coming for Rose.
What's a girl to do? Blow off her high school crush she's falling in love with? Turn away from her best friend? Hang out in cemeteries? Eat more of her brother's chicken chili and jambalaya?
The story ends with a warning of a new foe for Rose, and a major relationship shakeup. I hope the next books also feature Ed's cooking. It luscious food descriptions almost make up for the very, very light romance (my taste runs to more than hand-holding, although there's a palm kissing scene here that was sweet).
I enjoyed the New Mexico setting, the struggle for Rose to decide what kind of necromancer she wants to be, and of course, the food.
It's bright, sunny, desert, and there's chilies in the food. The chilies might seem like a non-sequitur but believe me, one of the pleasures of this book is the fact that our young adult heroine, Rose, loves to eat. And her wild-haired brother Ed owns a Tex Mex-Cajun fusion restaurant and feeds her the yummiest sounding meals. (don't read this book hungry) There's also a lot of description of scents, which sometimes was cool (I liked all the cologne descriptions for Ed, the love interest, etc) and sometimes struck me as too frequent.
Rose has lived with the fear that the power to see dead spirits-- which drove her father crazy-- will descend upon her now that she's reached young adulthood. But high school is over and she's home free. That is, until she goes out with restaurant leftovers to deliver to a homeless man and discovers him dead.
She can't refuse to read the book her father and grandmother and all the necromancer ancestors have written anymore-- even thought how it calls and talks to her freaks her out.
Things get even hairier when it turns out there are sorceresses of light that hate necromancers, and may be coming for Rose.
What's a girl to do? Blow off her high school crush she's falling in love with? Turn away from her best friend? Hang out in cemeteries? Eat more of her brother's chicken chili and jambalaya?
The story ends with a warning of a new foe for Rose, and a major relationship shakeup. I hope the next books also feature Ed's cooking. It luscious food descriptions almost make up for the very, very light romance (my taste runs to more than hand-holding, although there's a palm kissing scene here that was sweet).
I enjoyed the New Mexico setting, the struggle for Rose to decide what kind of necromancer she wants to be, and of course, the food.
aly36's review
5.0
I loved this book! I really liked being introduced to Rose. She has a problem when she inherited her family's necromancy. But she is learning to deal with it. I would recommend anyone into the supernatural to read this series. I can't wait to read the next one!
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