Grave Memory

Alex Craft Series, Book 3

By: Kalayna Price

Narrated by: Emily Durante

Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

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 occurs 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....

©2011 Kalayna Price (P)2012 Tantor

Excellent continuation of this series

This is the third book in the Alex Craft series. The fourth book in this series, Grave Memory, is due to release in fall of 2013. This series just keeps getting better. I love how elements of faerie and death magic are entertwined in Alex’s character and enjoy watching her struggle to maintain her grip on the different planes of reality.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. I really love this series on audiobook. The character voices are well done and the emotions are conveyed well. Definitely a series I recommend listening to on audiobook.

While Alex is out for coffee with one of her girlfriends a man jumps off a buliding and kills himself, but his ghost is convinced that it wasn’t a suicide. Alex and Rhiannan now have an office for their company Tongues for the Dead, guess who their first customer is...the pregnant widow of the man who jumped off of the building. As Alex starts to investigate the death more closely she finds disturbing patterns, this might not have been a suicide at all but a serial killer.

Of course added to the above investigation Alex is trying to deal with the fact that Holly can only eat faerie food. She also has her own problems with faerie, Alex has to choose a court soon or declare herself independent. Additionally Falin is still in thrall to the Winter Queen and Death is still... well Death...so her love life sucks too.

This was a wonderful book. It has a lot of complex entertwiing elements that are interesting and engaging. Any one of these things would make a good story on its own, but all woven together it makes for a fascinating read.

I love how each book has a major investigation that needs to be solved, but also continues with the broader story about Alex discovering her Fae nature.

Alex is a great character, she is funny and kind of takes everything in stride. She is resourceful and maybe a bit too impulsive at times, but that makes her even more fun to read about.

I am usually not a fan of love triangles but I have to make an exception for Falin and Death. These are two great mysterious, tortured, and witty male leads. Falin loves Alex and wants to be loyal to her but is sworn to service of the Winter Queen. No matter what, Alex can’t trust him until his oaths to the Winter Queen are broken. Sadly he actually isn’t in the story a ton, and when he is it’s nothing but emotional turmoil for him and Alex.

Death is absolutely wonderful. We finally learn a lot more about the mystery behind his character. If I had to pick someone for Alex it would be Death, he loves her so much, he is so funny, and he knows her so well. I loved, loved, loved the scenes between him and Alex. I love his character and hope he features in future books as well!

Mostly my heart just hurts for Alex...she deserves to have someone, she is just so lonely in this book. The book wraps up with a delightful teaser.

Overall a wonderful read. The plot is complex and interesting, I am completely engaged with the characters, and love this world. I can’t wait to see what happens next. This series is highly recommended to urban fantasy fans; it’s one of the better urban fantasy series out there!

Goodness

Okay, so this one was not my complete favorite. I've never been a fan of protagonists being stuck with crappy circumstances they didn't choose and then the entire cast acting as if the protag wanted anything to do with said circumstances. Alex was dealt a bad hand, and most of her closest friends are almost downright mean to her. I do admit, she does make some questionable choices in this novel, but only because her friends don't trust her, are keeping secrets, and essentially blame her for every bad thing that's happened since book 1. A lot of this detective work could have been solved very early on if the police just let her in, especially since she has the magic needed to solve the case. Ugh, I got so frustrated with this third book that I had to take a break from the series. Not that I'll stop listening. It's just that I like reading me some good support systems that lift up their friends instead of actively trying to crush their decisions and choices. Also, I needed time to process the ending. It was indeed abrupt and, gah! I just needed time. Anyway, don't let this review scare you off. The book is still great, along with the consistent world-building and very slow progress on Alex's heritage (very, very slow.) It's just not my favorite of the two so far.

Alex Craft is back and better than ever before!

Alex Craft has landed another oh-my-god-this-can't-be-true case and is once again investigating the impossible. This time it's a string of suicides that are actually murders. Yeah, good luck proving that one! It's this strong detective-type backbone that keeps me coming back for more with each new installment. True, there's also a love triangle, alternate plains of existence and magic but it's the investigations that make these books good; the rest is just icing on the cake. In Grave Memory, Alex grows up, Death finally makes his choice and ghouls run amok. Alex Craft is back and better than ever before!

Our lil' grave witch is finally growing up! In this installment she opens up a Tongues For The Dead office, enlists the help of a couple of partners and makes responsible decisions. I enjoyed watching Alex leave her mark on Nekros City and face adversity head-on. I was surprised by her new attitude more than once; instead of wallowing in self-pity she buckles down and takes care of business. Alex doesn't run. She sticks by her friends, attempts to sort out her complicated love life and even manages to solve a case or two. Craft is dealing with a few internal problems as well namely her diminishing eyesight and a few new, not entirely human characteristics that have begun to manifest. Like she really needs any more challenges to add to her already gigantic pile!

The first 3/4th of this book progresses like the other two in this series; Alex follows various leads trying to solve a case. Interesting but nothing to phone home about. The last quarter is where the real meat is. We learn a few more tidbits about the Soul Collectors and score some serious Death face time which I've been craving since Grave Witch. I really enjoyed the pacing of this story. Whenever there's a lull in the action there's still plenty of witty dialogue and enough side plots to keep you entertained. I actually laughed out line a few times at some of Alex's one-liners. She finds herself in some pretty impossible situations yet still manages to laugh about them. Pay close attention to a scene involving a Ziploc bag. Just saying.

Emily Durante, the narrator, does a fantastic job of donning Alex's shoes. At first, her raspy almost pack-a-day smoker's voice annoyed me but after a few hours I no longer struggled to associate her with this series' heroine. She handles Craft's snark with ease and I even enjoyed her side character voices. Next time I won't think twice before buying an audiobook narrated by Miss Durante.

I should have known that Falin was down but not out. He pops up here and there throughout the story and then adds his two cents at the end to create another brutal cliffhanger. He just couldn't leave well enough alone could he? Generally love triangles piss me off more often than not but in this case I'm finding Price's to be wildly intriguing. The fun doesn't stop with Grave Memory; Kalayna has signed on for at least another three installments and I for one can't wait.

Engaging and Entertaining

A girl's gotta want more out of life, especially when your Prince Charming drinks out of the toilet and has his wardrobe imported from Petsmart.

Personally Alex's prospects aren't much better with one fey knight who's just as likely to kiss Alex as he is to kill her and one soul collector who's avoiding her, which with Alex's luck probably means that Death is just not that into her. Professionally the only constant is a perpetually empty bank account, and at this point Craft's main career goal is staving off blindness.

So naturally Tongues For The Dead is expanding, taking on more than just shade raising, adding a couple new investigators, and an only slightly rundown office in a sketchy part of the magic quarter. Good thing too, because Alex is going to need all the help and resources she can get for this case. Suicides are suddenly on the rise. Shades and ghosts have no memory of their last days or death. Craft is sure Nekros has a supernatural serial killer on the loose. And he's gunning for a certian plain weaving grave witch.

Kalanya Price wastes no time kicking things into gear. The pacing was great, even the various plot setups and in between dialogue are really engaging giving the story constant movement when the action isn't in play. Price has written another challenging and ambitious book full of story lines to match her dueling plains of reality. The focus shifts from the fey driven threads of Grave Dance to address Alex's ever evolving life on the human plain. I like how the existing format of the Craft's life and world are changing as much as the characters' are. So many series get stagnant and boring because the author doesn't let the story or characters grow together. The changes made by the end of the book make me feel like the real story is just beginning.

Can I say that I have never wanted a love triangle so badly as I do with this series. I have picked my team and Grave Memory has a bit more romance than the last book. It was nice to finally see Death make his case for Alex's hand. Of course Craft can't catch a break since her relationships seem to come with extra complications. Yet I can't help but enjoy Price's sense of timing. She's not in a rush with the romance and she has only really focused on one beau at a time, letting the readers get to know Death and Falin along with their unique situations. I don't know when the two will collide but I can't wait to read it. The author's romantic spacing also keeps Alex from being just another wishy washy heroine who can't choose between her two or three love interests.

The only downside for me was the narration. I felt like Emily Durante was just flat in her reading. The variety of voices were ok but the performance was lack luster. Regardless of the performance Grave Memory is my favorite in the series so far. The characters and world building have progressed so much that it seems like three books in and we are only just beginning the Alex Craft novels. My one complaint is that this series only comes out once a year and I'm primed and ready for this next chapter to begin.

Looking forward to the next one

This is a great series. The mystery plot in the book is good. The characters are likeable and believable. What I really like is that the lead characters personal life takes a back seat to the mystery. I can't wait until the next comes out.

Confused

I am not really sure where I stand on this book. The story and narration continued in the same vein as the first two so all and all deserves the same rating. There were points in the story where I did just gawk and the main character and how she could have learned so little from her experiences and was still so stupid, but that is me being catty. The Theme and over all story / investigation of this book was a good story, it was little things that annoyed me. The love triangle that has existed through the three books is still amusing but needs to be resolved in the next book, other wise it is going to be one of those that drags on to the point of annoying and I personally will quit listening as it will ruin the rest of the story in the book. I am glad Death got more of a front seat, in this book, so now we have had the intro of the two in book 1, the Fae in the picture in book 2, and Death in book 3. Book 4 needs to resolve that piece at least in my opinion. I am still questioning my feeling on the ending. I will give book 4 (whenever it comes out) a try if it does not tie up some loose threads I will be done with the story as a whole.

Intriguing world

Great narrator. Romance doesn't dominate the story. Leaves enough threads to make me want the next book in the series now.

LOVE this series!!!

I always look forward to spending time in the world of Alex Craft! She is a strong, clever, and intelligent protagonist caught up in a world of potentially deadly Fae machinations and politics.At the same time, she strives to protect loved ones and those in need from the magical or otherworldly dangers that increasingly seem to be effecting the mortal world. This is a fun, fast-paced series, and I'm looking forward to Alex's further adventures!

Good continuation of Alex's story

I enjoyed the story a lot but kind of got tired of the romantic subplots. While I am interested to know which man Alex will pick, I am sick of the lying by omission and jumping back and forth between men. At least she doesn't sleep with them.

I am on the fence about the narration. I thought Alex came across as too whiny at times, plus I had difficulty telling the difference between exposition and dialogue, especially when it possible that Alex was thinking rather than speaking something. Sometimes I could figure out by the context whether she spoke it aloud, but sometimes I couldn't.

Can't Wait for the Next One

Note: Sorry folks, but since every book is like an explosion of revelations, there's no way to write a review for Grave Memory without spoilers from the previous two books, Grave Witch and Grave Dance.

You notice something about my reviews for this series? Yes, they are ALL 5 stars. And they deserved every bit of those stars in my opinion, Grave Memory probably deserves a 6th star quite frankly, because it was THAT good.

I'm addicted to this series because of the world - the magic and the fae are just so well thought out and put together. Take for example, the start of Grave Memory. Alex did some MAJOR magic at the end of Grave Dance. And now that she's a plane weaver, she's SEEING more than just the land of the dead through her grave vision, she's SEEING multiple planes. All that is taking a major toll on her eyesight. So much so that as we begin Grave Memory, Alex has a suspended driver's license. Yep, she failed the vision exam. So she's trying to give the magic a bit of a break to get enough eyesight back that she just might be able to get it back at the end of the month.

Of course, in Alex's world going easy on the magic is easier said than done. She and Reanna (who I love by the way) are starting up the business they used to talk about in school - Tongues for the Dead - now that Reanna is back, at least between sunup and sundown, when she has to be in Faery because as a Changling she depends on the magic of Faery to keep her alive in the mortal world. (See, so complex! I love it!) Alex has been having Reanna handle all the shade raising for a while, so that she can rest her eyes… until she gets caught up in this case where the ghost is determined he didn’t commit suicide. Except that there's bunches of eyewitnesses saying otherwise. So of course, magic must be involved. Except that there's one thing that magic - human or fae alike - can't do. It can't take away someone's will to live. Dum, dum, DUM!

So Alex has that little pickle to solve. Then there's the relationship drama. On one hand you have Death. The events of Grave Dance proved pretty conclusively that a relationship between a mortal and a soul collector is a very bad thing. So Death is avoiding her - sure, you can tell he wants to talk to her. But Grey Man and Reaver (other soul collectors) are keeping him at a distance for the good of pretty much the whole damn world. Ouch. Then there's Falin. Alex's refusal to align herself with the winter court have royally pissed of the winter queen, so she's playing her best card. Control over Falin. He's forbidden to talk to her, except to deal with matters involving the fae. So Alex sees him plenty, thanks to all the raids the Winter Queen is ordering the FIB to do, searching for items everyone knows Alex doesn't have. But he's cold and aloof, not himself. Not seeing Death at all is probably better than the cold shoulder she's getting on a regular basis from Falin.

So yeah, her love life is in the shitter. Thanks to a bunch of well crafted twists, things get super complicated with both men (yes - even more complicated) and I loved every convoluted minute. We also got to see even deeper into the world of the Soul Collectors, with some pretty soul shattering consequences. And then there's a trip to Faery during the Autumn Solsitice - talk about a total SQUEE moment for the fae obsessed (like me). It was a deeper look into Falin's world, also with some major consequences.

Things with her friends are pretty complicated too. In Grave Dance, Holly was kidnapped and taken to Faery. While she was there she ate fae food, which means that now she can ONLY eat fae food (gah! I just love this world. Sorry, geeking out a bit!). So Holly has this giant secret she's keeping from Tamara. And because of what happened to Holly, she now knows about Alex's part-fae heritage, so that's another secret being kept from Tamara. And then Tamara has her own secrets. I love their friendship and seeing them have to work through this struggle was really great. Sure I wanted to throttle them all and make them spill, but what fun would that be?

Once again Emily Durante did a great job narrating. Her voices are solid, for both the women and men. She's got the pacing down and the personalities are so vivid. I really hope the next book will be in audio…when it comes out.

And now I have to pause for a moment to cry a little. This is the last published book in the Alex Craft series. As I was finishing this book I went to buy the next one, and you can imagine my sadness when I realized it wasn't due until March 26, 2015 according to Goodreads. But there's more bad news. I went author hunting - you know you do it too! - and saw that there haven't been updates from Kalayna Price since 2013 on her blog. Grave Visions, book 4, was actually originally scheduled for release in August 2013. But I'm not giving up hope. There's a title and a cover, so please (oh please!) let their be a book! And despite now having to wait until who knows when for an ending that may never come, I'm STILL glad I discovered Alex Craft. I don't regret a thing.