Wake the Dead

The Journals of Octavia Hollows, Book 1

By: Stacey Rourke

Narrated by: Brenda Scott Wlazlo

Length: 2 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's Summary

With a touch of her hand, Octavia Hollows can restore life. Yet, she couldn’t save the man she loved from the horrific accident that stole him from her. Octavia thought she could outrun the pain, but ghosts from the past refuse to be silenced. Out of options, she chooses to retrace her wayward journey across the country in search of answers. Surrounded by baffling mysteries of the undead, what she learns about herself along the way might become her greatest weapon. 

Seattle, Washington: Land of cloudy skies and a great cup of coffee. 

Octavia blew into town in search of information, only to get swirled up in a paranormal predicament even she couldn’t fathom. A neonatal nurse is dead, and her young patient is aging at an alarming rate. 

Can Octavia unlock the secrets to this confusing curse before time runs out?

©2019 Stacey Rourke (P)2019 The Audio Flow, LLC and Stacey Rourke

Fun and Entertaining

The synopsis caught my attention and based on prior experience with the author; I knew I had to read/listen to Wake the Dead. I had no regrets about my decision. I enjoyed my journey with Octavia and her trusty companion, Bacon her resurrected pet pig.

Octavia and her pig sets out on a journey to figure out the circumstances of her fiancé’s death and disappearance of his body. While on her journey she found herself knee deep in a weird mystery investigation.


The characters were a hoot, my favorite being Octavia who is a witch and a necromancer. She is not your typical necromancer, as she possesses the Lazarus effect, where the persons or animals she resurrects are brought back to life in their original form, providing their death was not violent. Growing up had not been easy for her. She lost her parents, spent her life in foster care. She had difficulty making friends, as she was considered weird because of her magic. As a result, she is cautious when it comes to the use of her magic.

The author created an atmosphere infused with humour, sarcasm, magic and action.

Brenda Scott Wlazlo narrated this awesome story. As a new to me narrator, I did not know what to expect. However, she did not disappoint. She did an excellent job. She brought the story to life and she exhibits her versatility in the portrayal of the characters’ voices.

Conclusion/Recommendation
To sum up Wake the Dead was an awesome start to the series and I am looking forward to more adventures with Octavia and Bacon. I recommend this one to fans of Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Cozy Mysteries.

Amazing!

This was my first Stacey Rourke's book, and won't be my last. This is the first book in The Journals of Octavia Hollows Series. I loved it! The story reminded me the TV Show Pushing Daisies. I love the characters and the storyline. Brenda Scott Wlazlo did an amazing job with the narration. I enjoyed listening to this audiobook, and I can't wait for the next book in the Series. I highly recommend it.

this audio rocked

I fell in love with Octavia and Bacon when it released in February and now I Fell In Love with them again. Brenda is an amazing narrator and she just did these characters JUSTICE. I loved the way she embodied them. I cant wait to listen to the next book in the series

Snarky and Tough Necromancer Tackles a Baffler

When I spotted the title and then read the blurb, I was hooked. New to me author and narrator, a snarky necromancer on a journey quest to find answers including about herself- oh yeah. And, this opener has left me a taste for more Octavia adventures.

Octavia is on the road with her pet resurrected pig, Bacon, to discover the truth of the love of her life's death and disappearance (yes, in that order). She rolls into Seattle when a strange request is brought to her. A grieving family is under a curse of their child aging rapidly beginning right after his hospital nurse is murdered. They beg Octavia to help them and she does knowing she'll have to resurrect the nurse to get some answers.

Octavia's past fails with her magic have left her leery of using her magic. She lost her family, many foster care homes, and was forced to leave another place because she made mistakes with her death magic or scared people because of it. She's a loner now and feel it is best to stay that way so she doesn't get hurt again by someone's rejection. This quest to solve the mystery about the one person who loved her no matter what is what drives her now.

The humor in this first installment and getting to know Octavia had me smiling and rooting for her quickly. Bacon, her resurrected pig, had me chuckling. Her snarky outer shell and need to push back with attitude made me want to hug her poor bruised soul even when I know she would bristle at the thought. For all her bristles, she's a generous, caring person who set out to help strangers in this one and mourned over each loss.

Brenda Scott Wlazlo's narration work was superb and well-matched to the story and as the voice of Octavia. She was also versatile with the other voices in the story and kept up a good pace to whatever was going on in each scene. I hope she is doing the whole series.

To wrap up, it was a sensational first in series and I look forward to more of Octavia's adventures. I think paranormal cozy or urban fantasy fans should give this one a go.

Fresh, sassy and addictive

I devoured the first journal entry of Octavia Hollows as she took on a supernatural entity. Octavia is a necromancer with sass, a chip on her shoulder and a dead pig for a pet. Need I say more?

Brenda Scott Wlazio was a new to me narrator but she nailed Octoavia's persona and the secondary characters.

Rourke developed the world, giving us a little back story and has me eager to listen to more. It looks like each journal with deal with a case and develop the overall series ARC. I am all in.