Once Bitten & Twice Dead by Kalayna Price

One of the great joys of book blogging is the discovery of a new authorial talent. I recently had the distinct pleasure of reading two books — Once Bitten and Twice Dead — by new author Kalayna Price.

The protagonist of this excellent series, Kita, is a shapeshifter — a tiny tabby cat who hails from a world dominated by lions and tigers. Forbidden to marry the man she loves, she has run away to a world that closely resembles our own. While she is on the run, in order to hide from those who would take her back to her home world, she pretends to be a stray, hiding in the homes of strangers. As Once Bitten starts, an attack results in her accidentally becoming a vampire and losing her ability to shift. Before Kita can even accept her fate, she is convicted of a cr... Read More

Grave Witch by Kalayna Price

In a crowded genre like urban fantasy, authors have to strike a difficult balance. They need to adhere to the genre’s tropes and formulas closely enough that readers feel like they’re getting what they were looking for. On the other hand, there needs to be enough innovation that readers have a reason to read this book, this series, rather than one of the many others on the shelf.

In a nutshell, the trouble with Grave Witch is that it doesn’t stand out. I enjoyed reading it, but the spark that would distinguish it just isn’t there. Kalayna Price utilizes all the well-loved elements of urban fantasy, and Grave Witch hews closer to the influential early books of Laurell K. Hamilton than any other UF I’ve read. Ther... Read More

Grave Dance by Kalayna Price

Grave Dance is the follow-up to Kalayna Price’s first Alex Craft novel, Grave Witch. I had mixed emotions about Grave Witch, but I’m happy to report that Grave Dance is stronger and more original.

It’s a month since we last saw Alex Craft. She’s angry with Falin for vanishing from her life, conflicted about Death’s interest in her, and reeling from the new knowledge that she’s part fae. Her new case is a baffling one — she finds a number of feet, but not the bodies they belonged to. Then she and her friends are attacked by strange creatures, and Alex’s search for the connection between the feet and the creatures leads her deeper into the world of the fae. Oh, and Falin’s back, but Alex isn’t quite su... Read More