I know I owe you guys a load of reviews, one massive one for the first six Greywalker novels. One for the seventh novel, and massive one for the Night Huntress Series, then one for Once Burned. I even owe you one for the last Dresden Files. I’m sorry I haven’t gotten those done. I’m going to read/listen to all of them again so I can give you a detailed review.

In the meantime I found a new series that I like, the Alex Craft series, it’s been out since 2010 but I’ve been pushing off reading/listening to it. I wasn’t sure if I’d like it or not, and I really don’t like spending money on books/audibles I don’t like. Finally I decided to just go for it.

I liked Grave Witch the first book in the series because it has pieces of other novels I live in it, or I guess I should say the author’s style is similar to other authors I enjoy. It’s like Kalayna Price takes the best or funniest parts of the series I like and incorporates them into her own unique style that’s funny and emotional.

For instance whats a girl to do when she’s attracted two hot men, wait we’ve seen this right with Stephanie Plum? She’s in love with Morelli and Ranger, but what if we change Morelli into and mixed him with Ranger and make him a soul collector, and call him Death. Yes that’s right on of the hot men is Death, at least that’s what Alex calls him and we don’t know his real name. You may ask why I said Death is a mix of Morelli and Ranger. It’s because Death has known Alex since she was five years old and she considers him one of her oldest friends.  However he’s not someone she could settle down with. Death is secretive and leaves before to much emotion is said. But he looks great in jeans and a t-shirt, in fact that’s the only thing Alex ever sees him in and she’s the only one that can see him without using her grave site. (I’ll get into shortly) Then we have Ranger mixed with Morelli, I know confusing. This character, Falin Andrews, is a blonde haired blue eyed Fae, and he’s also a cop. He works as a detective for the Fae run police force but is on loan to the NPD for this book. Here’s where things get freaky. The Fae run police department that Falin works for is the FIB. If you recognize those letters, I’ll tell you we aren’t in The Hallows series and humans don’t work there. However Falin isn’t just a cop, he’s also the winter queens knight and lover. (Do you see Dresden poking his head in? ) Let’s just say Alex has a strange and complex love life, and as you’ve probably guessed if her love life is this messed up how is her every day life. About the same.

Alex is what’s called a Grave Witch, meaning she can speak to the dead by lifting a person’s shade. She can also see and talk to ghost and to soul collectors which not everyone can do. Not even all Grave Witches can do what Alex does. A shade is a dead person true memory and an aspect of a person that can not tell a lie. A shade is not the same thing as a ghost, for a ghost can lie, move around or roam, and haunt things/ people. A shade can only be drawn out my a grave witch from a dead body and asked direct question. A shade doesn’t have emotion unlike a ghost. With Alex’s ability to talk to the dead I see a little Harper Blaine in her. Harper is the heroine in the Greywalker series and she talks to ghost. When Alex uses her gifts to obtain information for her clients or the police she uses her grave sight, this reminds me of Kim Harrison would call Rachel’s second sight. Just like Rachel, Alex can see different planes of reality, however when Alex uses her sight it takes more out of her, leaving her blind for about an hour depending on how long she uses it. Whereas when Rachel uses her second sight she’s fine right after.

Now you maybe wondering if Alex’s life could get anymore weirder, and the answer yes. When Alex was eighteen she legally changed her name and with her father’s help only a few people know her true identity, but a special someone was able to learn the truth. The reason Alex changed her name has to do with her father. When she was younger her and her father didn’t get along, especially when her gifts started to manifest and she wasn’t able to control them. Now she and her father don’t get along because he’s a part of a political hate group called the Humans First party. They are a political party that wants more control placed on magical begins, especially Fae but they don’t like witches much either yet they’ll use witch magic to make themselves beautiful and the like. In Nekros, a city in the south where Alex lives there are three types of beings, humans – those who can work magic, nolls – no magical people and Fae.

In this first installment of Alex Craft, Alex is asked by her little sister, who’s a part of the same political hate group as her father, to investigate the death of the Governor whom was shot two weeks ago. The Governor too is apart of the same group, but he is hiding a secret. While investigating, tried to raise the governors shade, Alex, meets Falin Andrews, right after their meeting Alex is shot at and Death saves her. Though in saving her, a good friend of hers on the PD gets shot. As she tries to save herself and her friend she learns the governor is a body stealing power crazed Fae out for revenge on the Fae courts which are a few, unlike Dresden.

Because of what Alex is she is the only person who can find the Fae and possibly save herself and her friend. However she had no clue how she’s going to pull it off. Her investigation is going to take her to places that she doesn’t want to return too. And once she saves those she cares about she’s left with the knowledge that she’s been changed but she’s unsure why, or now.