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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 eve... Read More
Alex Craft
Alex Craft — (2010-2017) Publisher: Grave witch Alex Craft can speak to the dead, but that doesn’t mean she likes what they have to say… As a private investigator and consultant for the police, Alex Craft has seen a lot of dark magic. But even though she’s on good terms with Death himself — who happens to look fantastic in a pair of jeans — nothing has prepared her for her latest case. Alex is investigating a high profile murder when she’s attacked by the ‘shade’ she’s raising, which should be impossible. To top off her day, someone makes a serious attempt on her life, but Death saves her. Guess he likes having her around… To solve this case Alex will have to team up with tough homicide detective Falin Andrews. Falin seems to be hiding something — though it’s certainly not his dislike of Alex — but Alex knows she needs his help to navigate the tangled webs of mortal and paranormal politics, and to track down a killer wielding a magic so malevolent, it may cost Alex her life… and her soul.
See this series at Amazon.
Readers’ average rating:
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 Read More
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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, an... Read More
Kalayna Price has always been an avid reader and dreamer. At ten she raided her father’s fantasy fiction bookcase and her already active imagination went into hyperdrive. Her first love was for the epic adventures and mythical races and creatures of high fantasy, but she has always been drawn to things that go bump in the night. It is that darker side of fantasy where she currently devotes her words. Learn more at 
