I requested Twice Dead ready for a surprise. I was positive, because I noticed that sometimes authors from minor publishers gave me amazing books to read. And so I did. 

I cannot say that I'm disappointed but a was expecting a bit more. Now, the novel start without giving you time. If I must name the first chapters, the perfect description would be: that escalated more than quickly. In fact, just few pages from the start and Naya, our main protagonist, gets killed. 

That was a surprise since sometimes I used to blurbs that, despite describing what is going to happen in the first part of the novel, the book  takes even thirty pages to reach the conclusion of the blurb main point. 

What was a little less interesting is how the novel went on. It was a bit slow, I guess. To be honest, I'm one of those readers that doesn't mind at all when the book takes is time to develop the plot, even if it means that the actual juicy stuff is going to happen in the second novel. Anyway, I kinda felt that this was a debut. But also a really generic young adult book for a good chunk of the plot.

Now, far from to say that is a bad thing. First published book aren't easy, and is not like every author have to create the best masterpiece that throw away all the cliché. A perfectly normal book is still very good. Yet, the factor that something has been already written and read many times, may not play well  for the final opinion. But is not the only things that didn't allow me to give this novel an higher rating.

I want to start with what I liked. Despite being minor, I need to inform of the presence of a canon f/f couple, and yes, the couple remain alive. I'm super curious to see how it will be for them in the future. And despite this being a fantasy book, so it means that discrimination may not exist like in our world, it's reported to exist but the whole story of this couple is definitely not based on it, which is great.

Second thing I liked is the necromancy. I'm almost up to every form of necromancy and the idea that a soul can be sing back to life, with runes carved into bones, but that there also different types of undead, is something I loved. I wished to know a little more and maybe some macabre details?

For the rest I've mixed feelings. I'm not exactly the greatest with romance intuitions, and the book also fell  for the cliché "the first boy she meet is the love interest". Is not a thing that deeply disturb me but I'm starting to notice this pattern more and more. And in general I didn't feel the reasons of this romance, but at a certain point they were in love.

Anyway, since I'm kinda used to it and it's some kind of young adult book curse, other things have more weight on my final opinion. One of this is the world building. I think I wasn't super attentive because I felt lost sometimes with all the nations, but also there wasn't something really incisive and predominant that helped to associate the names with something else, aside from the main two nations. During the whole book, there are little details of world building there and there, like the way people dresses in a nation or in another. I grew really curious when in Ceramor it was mentioned the presence of a public service that deeply resemble a tram station.

Another point that I felt like needed more attention was the religious element. Naya expressed a lot of her people views about the necromancy, moving against it and passing a brief moment of refusal towards her resurrection. It's also true that less religous people exist, despite being born and surrender by heavy faith and costumes, but I thought it was an interesting part and I would have loved to know more.

Now, where Corten really didn't interested me that much, I kinda liked Naya. I mean, she's a normal girl who hopes everything in her life goes well, with a lot to learn, but her existence get turned upside down. She's forced to undergo something, even if she felt participant of it. She have no other choice and also to face the moral dilemma of her new being. To be honest, I found her plotline realistic: a young girl, killed and force to be bound to new people and new life, unable to contact her loved ones, that decide to join a cause, follow it and find herself into something bigger. 

Also, when things turn dark, do what she can to resolve the situation. She asked for help but I cannot say that she sat in a corner waiting for things to change or get better. Sometimes she does mistakes and that's normal too. 

By the end of the book I had a moment of "HELL WOOOO GIRL!" because... I cannot say that, okay? It's just that I wasn't expecting such a radical action from Naya and I cannot even say that I'm sorry because... just woooo.

So, Twice Dead is not exactly the most innovative book ever, but is not something I would stay away. I'm gonna look up for the next release and see how the author is gonna work on the sequel and on Naya's development. If the series will get a turn dark of events, which also happened in the end of the first novel, it will get really really really interesting.

Good idea but slow start, moves quickly in places but plods in others. The characters are well fleshed out and interesting and good background is provided. Several different kinds of undead were introduced, but no explanation was given for how they retained their living memories after days dead. Also strange was the fact that people could grab and slap Naya, but when she remembered she was a wraith weapons passes through her. I have it 3 stars because I finished it but really didn't feel compelled to. No cliffhanger but opening left for future stories.
I received this book from Netgalley. Thanks also to the author and publisher.

Naya, the daughter of a sea merchant captain, nervously undertakes her first solo trading mission in the necromancer-friendly country bordering her homeland of Talmir. Unfortunately, she never even makes it to the meeting. She’s struck down in the streets of Ceramor. Murdered. But death is not the end for Naya. She awakens to realize she’s become an abomination–a wraith, a ghostly creature bound by runes to the bones of her former corpse. She’s been resurrected in order to become a spy for her country. Reluctantly, she assumes the face and persona of a servant girl named Blue. She never intended to become embroiled in political plots, kidnapping, and murder. Or to fall in love with the young man and former necromancer she is destined to betray.

The premise of it reminded me vaguely of Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, another YA book that deals in the slightly morbid. I understood Naya pretty quickly, which I enjoyed. Too often, amateur writers seek to grab readers from the get-go with dramatic scenes and decisions that range from the hard-to-understand all the way to bizarre. It’s a good writer who can start a book off with a bit of quick characterization, revealed by how Naya interacts with her father, then plunge into the “inciting accident” (her murder), and follow that through with reactions that make sense AND keep the plot advancing smoothly and quickly. Seal does that with this book.

Who Would Like Twice Dead, and Why?
This is the type of book you read on a stormy afternoon, snuggled up with a cup of hot chocolate and a blanket. It’s a little moody, and there’s romance.

What’s the Deal?
On Amazon, it was $17.99 (whew!). It’s now $12.32.

Twice Dead is the first in a new series titled “The Necromancer’s Song.” It has a nice fantasy aspect and romance! I am new to the necromancer world, but I found it very enjoyable and would highly recommend this to others who love this genre.
I was pulled to this book by its cover. Twice Dead is one of the most distinctive books I have read. I really enjoyed the world building and the concept behind the wraiths and necromancers. I was really drawn into this book and the ending left me in complete surprise. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

This was just a so so read for me. I really enjoyed the romance and thought the concept was unique. Sadly it just seemed a bit slow moving and a definitely struggled to finish.

Book Review
Title: Twice Dead
Author: Caitlin Seal
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Romance
Rating: ****
Review: So, I didn’t know much about Twice Dead, but the synopsis sounded very interesting, we are introduced to Naya, whose father is a merchant of some sort, but they live in a world where the dead can be reanimated. Her father sends her on her first solo outing to collect a signature for a trade deal from quite a tricky customer. However, Naya runs into trouble along the way when she learns she is being followed and has an encounter with one of the undead. For an opening chapter this certainly was gripping and given that I didn’t know much about the book going into it, I felt I made a good choice here.
When Naya awakens she learns that she died after being attacked and has been resurrected but not as one of the dead but as a wraith. Things take a stranger turn when she learns that her father has left her in the care of Ambassador Valn, a very important man where she is from, who has condoned her transformation despite the fact that necromancy is illegal. Naya learns from Valn that her father is a spy working to help uncover evidence to prove that the necromancer’s are planning another uprising like one that happened in the past and Naya was supposed to join them before her attack which is the reason they brought her back. Valn has arranged for Naya to take the place of a dead servant girl named Blue in order to make her work as a spy.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Naya is struggling to adjust to life as a wraith and the things she must do in order to survive but she trusts her father and is willing to go along with whatever he had planned for her, wraith or not. However, she is a strong-willed girl and I fear she might not adjust to the life of a servant and the restrictions this demands. She is introduced to Corten; a former apprentice of Lucia who teaches her to draw in the aether she needs to survive as a wraith as he is one as well. Naya really struggles with this as she still sees it as killing someone else rather than borrowing the energy they give off naturally, but she eventually gives in and takes what she needs. Despite forming a kinship with Corten, Lucia warns her to stay away from him as he will ask questions that could blow her cover but the problem Naya is having is that she doesn’t trust Lucia at all and that is making things extremely difficult.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Celia assesses Naya’s progress and she has improved greatly although it seems she is nervous about changing her appearance. However, we do learn that the necromancers they have been monitoring have improved the security around their homes from some reason. Against Lucia’s advice Naya visits Corten again and learns more about wraiths and learns that she has some unique abilities that aren’t wraith abilities but the abilities of a reaper that haven’t been seen since the time of the Mad King, making her even more adamant that Lucia is up to something and Corten isn’t sure what he is going to do about it just. Knowing she is a reaper and that Lucia made her one without Valn’s knowledge sets Naya even more against her creator.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Corten begins teaching Naya some basic wraith abilities like fading and changing their appearance and she slowly finds herself developing a much deeper bond to him than friendship. A month after her resurrection Celia gives Naya her first job and she is both part excited and afraid, and her relationship with Corten is developing at a rate that is alarming to Naya. Corten also seems to have feelings for Naya or Blue as he tells her that if she considers leaving to tell him first. During her mission, Naya realises that even though she has these reaper abilities she can’t use them without giving herself away, but she does impress Celia enough to prove herself useful. However, her relationship with Lucia isn’t getting any better, in fact, it is getting worse as Lucia barely speaks to her and ignores her most of the time, but she finds some solace with Corten.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, Naya has run into some problems that have left her fearing for her life and on the run. The only person she can turn to for help is Corten, but she isn’t sure despite Lucia’s assurance that he will help her when he realises how she has lied to him. While Corten doesn’t trust Naya anymore he does agree to contact the Council and find someone to help repair her bond, but before they can see Jalance they need her bones and Lucia’s notes from her workshop, but it is surrounded by guards. Naya uses a stupid plan to get the notes and bones and while she is almost caught they manage to escape but the damage to Naya bond need to be repaired quickly. Jalance after confirmed their story agrees to help them but he isn’t sure how long it will take to send work to the Council and repair Naya’s bond so for the meantime she and Corten are stuck in hiding. Their relationship is also falling apart in the absent of trust but Naya wants more than anything to repair their relationship.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, nothing has happened since they meet with Jalance, but Corten has admitted that he was falling in love with Naya as Blue but now he isn’t so sure how he feels and while Naya wants to work on their relationship she understands that there are bigger problems that need dealing with right now. As Naya prepares to meet the Council she still isn’t sure who she can trust as everyone she has trusted up until this point except Corten has betrayed her in some way. The necromancers, wraiths, undead and the single reaper of the Council decide they have to act when their captured friends are to be killed and Naya is determined to go with them. However, she must have her bond fixed first, but something goes wrong in the process and Naya’s bond is more unstable than ever despite having a new bone in place, but she is still determined to go to the palace despite the fact using too much aether could kill her again.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, Naya is captured due to another traitor and she learns the true motives of those behind the plot, that they plan to send two nations to war against and as one is completely undefended, many people will be slaughtered, and she can’t think of a way out this time. During her captivity Naya comes across Lucia and together they form a plan especially since Naya’s bones seem to be healing themselves which is impossible for a wraith but then again Lucia experimented with the bond she carved into Naya.
The group sacrifices much to escape from Valn but now they either need to prove their innocence or fight in order to stay alive although they are the same thing in essence. Despite loving most of this novel, I was very disappointed with the way it ended and while I felt something were necessary, some weren’t. However, there is a brilliant opening for a sequel and I hoping for a continuation of this novel very soon.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Twice Dead by Caitlin Seal is a slow-building political thriller masked as a fantasy story--and I mean that in a very complimentary way. This book wasn't what I expected, and I ended up liking it better for it. Honestly, I'm very much side-eyeing the unflattering reviews and the amounts of DNFs I'm seeing for it.

When Naya is sent on a delivery for her merchant father, she is mysteriously killed and resurrected as a wraith, an undead being who doesn't require food or sleep and who can change her form at will. The land of Ceramor is rife with necromancers and the undead thanks to a treaty that legalizes it, something that Naya and her fellow citizens of Talmir reject as being evil. It's unheard of for a Talmiran to be resurrected, and now Naya has to struggle with accepting her newfound existence. At the same time, Talmiran Ambassador Valn entreats Naya for a special purpose: she must use her powers as a wraith to protect her homeland and spy on necromantic sympathizers who are bent on starting another war. However, all is not what it seems, and the closer Naya gets to discovering the truth, the less she's certain where her loyalties lie.

Naya was by far the strongest, most well-written character, and her character arc was the most believable to watch unfold. Her fatal flaw was being too hesitant and thinking too much during moments of truth, and talk about how relatable that was. I felt that Corten, her love interest, could have been developed a bit more and made more interesting, but their romance wasn't too slow or too rushed or sloppily done, making the finale of the book that much more impactful. 

I also came to love Lucia, the necromancer who brought Naya back to life. She started off a little flat but really bloomed the longer the story went on, and her relationship with Alejandra is what opened Naya's and the reader's eyes to seeing Lucia had more depth of character than Naya had been paying attention to. After that, Lucia took on more and more agency and emphasis as a character.

While not terribly complex magic-wise, I enjoyed the use of necromancy throughout the story and its reliance on runes and bones in order to operate. Necromancers having to "sing" a soul back to their body or to their bones, depending on the form of resurrection, was fascinating to watch, such as in the case of Lucia resurrecting a little girl for an ailing family. Even those minor characters had fascinating and complex reactions, to say nothing of what was going through Naya's head at the time.

I mentioned this book is more of a political thriller than a fantasy, and I stand by that. Truly, at its heart, it's a spy story, and spy stories tend to go one of two ways for most people: either they're immensely action-packed and fascinating, or they're terribly boring. Compound that with how political the world-building was and Naya's own mission/character arc, and I can see a lot of YA readers dropping off fast. (But I mean... If you've managed to get through a Sarah J. Maas book where literally nothing happens for 500+ pages, then Twice Dead should be easy to read by comparison. But that's none of my business...) 

Fortunately, I love politics in art, so I was never bored by the pace, and I felt that the action scenes that were in the book were well-placed without being over the top. I also loved Naya, and it never felt like a chore being in her head, thanks to the third-person limited POV, but also thanks to Seal's ability to balance Naya's feelings with her reactions to events happening around her. 

I will say that there was a lot of exposition about the other lands involved with the treaty--all that political talk, you know--and I wished I had seen characters in action who actually represented those lands rather than listening to other characters just talk about them. But the setting was limited here; the ending strongly implies it won't be in the sequel, and I'm interested to see Naya's journey continue.

Disclosure: I received an advance copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own
..............

Those that have become bored of the traditional fantasy tropes may find themselves invigorated by this under utilized twist of the story line. Finding herself newly dead, resurrected and full of self-loathing, the main character spends the story rediscovering who she is and also what is going on.

It’s a pleasant read and it will be interesting to see how the resurrection aspect will play out with dead/“vanquished” characters

Twice Dead is the first in a new series titled The Necromancer’s Song. It has a nice fantasy aspect and romance! I am new to the necromancer world, but I found it very enjoyable and I would recommenced this to other who love the genre.
Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for and unbiased review.

This was such a refreshing Young Adult read. I haven't been reading much YA lately because I got tired of the same story been told again and again, so when I read the blurb for Twice Dead a few months ago I was excited. And it did not disappoint!
I really liked the main characters, they all had a special part to play for the story to work.
Naya has been told her whole life that the undead and wraiths are abominations, things that should not exist. So when she wakes up one it takes some getting used to. But for her father and her home she does, she is important for their plans and is determined to help.
What she didn't count on is finding out that maybe wraiths are not as bad as her father believes or on falling in love for one.

The plot progressed at a good pace and it unfolded well. There was plenty of action, plot twists, political turmoil, and sweet moments. It was in many ways a typical YA: easy to read, some childish behavior, some growing up for the main characters, sometimes a little predictable... But story concept was unique! YA books focusing on necromancy are far in between and this one had an original take to it, it was refreshing.

And of-course I love a good romance. Corten, Naya's love interest was absolutely adorable. Their slow burn romance was perfect, friends first, more later. I very much look forward to finding out what will happen to him (if anything) next, that ending was heartbreaking!

Twice Dead has a fascinating premise that it ultimately fails to live up to.

There are some issues around consent with this book. Naya is raised against her will, which is already not great, though I was willing to go along with it as part of the story. However, Naya is also a young woman of colour. Having been turned into a wraith without her permission, she's then basically coerced into being a spy. Her cover is as an indentured servant to a necromancer. This seems remarkably tone deaf to issues of race. I may have perhaps forgiven it if the story had dug into these issues. Instead, it is presented as mere window dressing for a story about politics and romance.

It didn't help that I also wasn't fond of the main character. Naya is naive and bigoted. Even when this is shown to her, she is slow to let go of her assumptions, instead clinging to loyalty towards people she has little reason to trust. She second-guesses the more experienced characters trying to help her, even though she's an utter beginner. There's plenty of angst here for those that enjoy it.

The romance is weak. The romantic interest was two-dimensional and I found it difficult to understand what he saw in Naya. There were some sweet moments between them, but it just wasn't enough to pull it together for me.

The worldbuilding was the most interesting part of the book. The story presented a balanced view of necromancy, showing how it could be a positive force while also highlighting how it could be misused. I also enjoyed seeing how Naya came to terms with no longer being human and the full extent of what that means. This was used to particularly good effect in the last quarter of the book, making for some wonderfully dramatic scenes.

The pacing was a bit uneven. The beginning contains a number of flashbacks, which slow things down. It gets particularly slow around two-thirds of the way through, where the main characters are basically sitting around waiting for news. However, as mentioned, things pick up in the last quarter of the book, coming to an action-packed ending. The figure chosen for the final confrontation was an interesting one, if a little unexpected, but ultimately fitting.

All in all, Twice Dead wasn't really my cup of tea. For interesting depictions of necromancy, I'd instead recommend Sabriel by Garth Nix.

This book suffered from an excellent idea that had a mediocre execution. The writing was fairly standard and lacked a strong narrative voice, the characters and world felt like they only existed when they were on the page, and the plot lacked steady tension and direction.

A huge pacing issue was the characters. Most of the characters who played pivotal roles didn't exist until they were important, even if that was 80% through the book. It made everything feel so jumbled and confusing sometimes and made it hard for me to care about anyone.

Ceramor was constantly said to be struggling under the tyranny imposed by the Treaty of Lith Lor (an obvious Treaty of Versailles parallel if i ever saw one) but the book didn't actually ever show that. No one was poor. The streets were clean and the economy and technological progress were doing okay. If anything, society seemed stagnant, but in no way oppressed. Nothing was wrong in Ceramor.

Besides that, the author missed obvious opportunities to explore Naya's emotions and the complexities of life after death. Instead of explaining through actions what was different and how she felt after being murdered and resurrected and told her whole life was a lie and being forced to live as the thing she was raised to hate, we skipped all that and went straight to her grimly accepting it after a few weeks, with little tidbits like the fact that she doesn't sleep anymore just thrown in later on. It seriously distanced me from her character and made me extremely bored very quickly. It's things like that that make me wonder if and how well this book was beta read.

Naya Garth: She was alright, but I couldn't really get a clear grasp of who she was even was because of how passively she waa written (third person perhaps wasn't the best method for this story). Besides that, so much of her past was glossed over or half explained that certain events at the end felt unearned and lazily done, particularly about her father.

Corten: He was sweet and all, but honestly I got bored of him pretty quick. He was just another one of those ~I'm the younger son and I want to live my own life, mom! I'm gonna find my own path! I don't need you (but thanks for all the money and the excellent upbringing and education)~ which just made some of his characteristics feel incongruous and conflicting to the point of unbelievability.

Lucia Laroke: I liked her enough but it was super unclear how old she was, because I kept picturing her as a frail old woman, but then Alejandra couldn't have been much older than 40, which makes their relationship kinda creepy tbh.

Valn: Honestly, he was extremely tropey and I got bored pretty quick.

I should have DNF'd this. It took me over a month to read this ARC and I'm not a slow reader. I read 600 page tomes in one sitting on a regular basis. This is half that size but it was just so b o r i n g! I honestly don't give a crap about this book so there's no doubt that I won't be reading the sequel.

Twice Dead more like twice dead to me! *drum riff*

Twice Dead by Caitlin Seal

NetGalley eArc - 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

First and foremost a huuge thank you as always from NetGalley and Publishers for the opportunity to review Twice Dead by Caitlin Seal!! 

About the book: Nayas world is very different, one where the dead walk unnaturally and wraiths as well. Naya always knew about them, dont bother them they wont bother you. However, her fathers work takes them there, Naya is given the chance finally to prove her strength and brilliance to her father. So much for that now of course. Upon searching for what her father needs she is murdered. Then she is brought back!! Using magic that had been forbidden Naya is turned from the dead to the undead. Being brought back as a wraith, which means she almost looks alive and she can speak and function normally...for the most part that is. Her charms were also done differently running along the bones of her hands. 

Sorting through the lies and truths of the living and the undead both. As well as political intrigue, dark magic, friendships tested, relationships made and broken. This tale had it all, and with twists from every corner it keeps you flipping to the next page with anticipation!!! A reccomendation for anyone liking dark magic, alchemy, and twisted plot turns!!

I requested Twice Dead because I loved the idea of a dead girl having a political role to play and maybe lives to safe. But this book is in the ’the-idea-is-better-than-the-execution camp’.
Not that there is anything wrong with it per se. It's a solid 3 Star book.

I could read it quickly, there were some twists I didn't anticipate but overall it wasn't as engaging as it could have been.

Now what I liked about Twice Dead were the political affairs, the religious conflict; two nations with the same ’creator’, the same old religious texts but vastly different interpretations of them. Also the contempt between Talmir and Ceramor caused by an old War and the following reparations and ensuing issues (famine etc).
The beginning was promising. Naya, a Talmarian who despises the necromancers of Ceramor gets killed on an errand for her father and wakes up as a wraith. The shock of waking up as the thing she hates and fears so much is portrayed well. Her struggle with coming to terms with what she is, her changing ideals and perceptions is intriguing but it could have been more explored, more in-depth for me.
And that brings me to the negatives. I liked the plot, the characters, the conflicts but it wasn't enough to really make me care.
The other characters, except maybe for Corten and Lucia, weren't really fleshed out and everything felt a little shallow.

The early stages of Nayas friendship with Corten were amazing, relatable and quite realistic. But then they lost a little of their chemistry and it was a bit rushed.

On top of that, a few plot points felt a bit forced. But all in all, it was a nice book and fun while reading. I might read the next book in the series when it comes out as the series does have potential.

This book drew me in right away! A world where necromancy isn't all evil and hated. Naya, our main character, is murdered on her way to a meeting... but this is not the last we see of her.
It did suffer from a saggy middle, however, it picks up again near the end. Which was an ending I wasn't fully expecting. I still have a lot of questions but I look forward to reading the second book.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

DNF @ 30%

Look, it felt like a lot of things were really contradictory in a way where I'm just going to assume what is going to go wrong. Like how could the main character believe what was being told to her? I mean... maybe? so I was trying, but I couldn't.

Then there is how Naya talked to Lucia, seriously you don't have to like her, but she deserves some respect, especially if you are living in her house. Naya is not a character I could like, so because of that I couldn't continue.

It is an interesting world, I like the concept, and how necromancy is done was interesting. I do see how people will enjoy this book, but it hit me in two places I just couldn't get over.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. **any quotes in this review are subject to change in the final publication**

Twice Dead is a pretty epic opening to a series? trilogy? duology? I'm not sure how many books are planned for The Necromancer's Song yet. But if you're looking for an information (and action)-packed opener, you've found it.

Twice Dead follows our main character Naya as she learns to live (there's a joke in here somewhere...) with being brought back from the dead, even though it's something her people are very much against. As the tagline reads, "her death was only the beginning," Naya learns soon after her resurrection that her father was not who she believed him to be and she is sucked into a world of political espionage and plotting against the government she is currently ruled by. There's several twists and turns and who do I trust? moments as we follow Naya (also known as Blue to hide her identity), the Necromancer who brought her back, and the Wraith who trained her through this epic series introduction.

I am much more of a character-driven reader than a plot-driven and also not much for deep political turmoil, so there were times when I wasn't super into this book. I'm almost willing to say it should be classified as New Adult rather than YA because it's a little more intense of a plot that requires a good deal of concentration and knowledge of how politics/espionage work and it might fall flat for someone who's a bit younger or who enjoys reading a bit younger.

I really enjoyed the romance (and the plot twist involving the romance!!), I liked Naya's character, I didn't feel too much for the other characters. It's a possibility that I'll continue with the series, but it's not high on my 'must-have' list.

Also enjoyed the writing style. At times Caitlin delivered beautiful prose and I wish every description flowed as nicely as some. For example, "she could just feel the icy tides of death lapping at her calves" BEAUTIFUL!

My favourite genre of book is fantasy I love to be taken away to magical and mysterious places where anything is possible and nothing is mundane and this book certainly delivered that.  I enjoyed it that much that I was actually shocked when I got to the end, I wasn't ready for it!    

The book begins with Naya, who is a Talmiran, going on an errand for her father in the city of Belavine, which is in the neighbouring country of Ceramor.  A country where necromancy is normal and the undead walk amongst the living.  This is something that Naya has been brought up to frown upon so you can imagine how she feels waking up as a wraith after being murdered in the city,

So begins her life as Blue masquerading as a servant girl while secretly becoming a Talmiran spy, she meets Corten a fellow wraith who helps her accept what she has become as the book takes you on a journey of espionage, politics, kidnapping, murder, death and love.  

I love how the book is written, slow and easy to start with building into a fast paced and exciting plot and so descriptive that you're drawn right into the book, like you are there watching it happen which I personally think is the mark of a good fantasy book.  

I can't wait to read the next book! 

Thank you to Netgally for the ARC

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

I picked this up because the blurb sounded fantastic and I am a sucker for necromancy. There, I said it. In the end, the book was an enjoyable read, though it took some time to build up to it. The start was slow, and I didn't really start getting into it until probably halfway through.

There were quite a few sticky points, but when it comes down to it, will I read the sequel? You bet! I felt like things really kicked up towards the end of the book, and by the time it ended, it left me wanting to know more.

Thoughts:

- Corten is pretty much everything you could want in a romantic interest. And it's so painfully obvious from the moment you meet him that he is, indeed, going to be the romantic interest.

- There’s a “reveal” about halfway through the book, and it’s slow up until then and Naya is an unbearable MC … but after that? Phew, something was kicked into drive and things took off. The characters changed and felt more genuine, stuff was going down, there was blood and conspiracy and all the sorts of things I was hoping to find in this book.

- The way necromancy is handled in this is really interesting, and I loved reading about it. The undead come in two flavors: reanimated bodies and wraiths. In order to bring them back, necromancers sing, and apparently, it is possible for a soul to resist the song, which adds a really interesting layer (although, it wasn't touched on much in this book, but it seems like it might come up more in subsequent ones). I came here for the necromancy, and I wasn’t disappointed, especially with the moral issues and complications that arise from reanimating the dead.

Sticking Points:

- Aside from Corten, and maybe end-book Naya, I didn’t really feel like I connected to any of the characters. It felt like there was a whole cast of characters that were randomly dropped in scenes and yanked about, but I never really learned much about them or felt a reason to care about what happened to them. By the end, I realized I really didn't even know all that much about Corten and Naya's pasts, despite being the two major characters.

- Naya has to be probably the worst spy in the history of spies. There are so many red flags in this book that, as a reader, had me yelling at the protagonist—you know, the trained spy. Naya took everything at face value, asked no questions, and followed blindly. And the things she was suspicious of made no dang sense, instead of the extremely obvious shady stuff that's going on.

- The “reveal” about halfway through the book was so painfully obvious right from the start, and the red flags were everywhere. Yet, for some reason, Naya couldn’t figure it out? I increasingly became frustrated that things were teased as something not quite adding up, and I kept wanting that to become significant … or, at the very least, for Naya to start thinking, hey, what’s going on here?

- The whole book took place in Ceramor, which means I got a pretty good glimpse of that, but the world-building otherwise is fairly lacking. I didn’t feel particularly immersed in this world and had trouble picturing the whole thing. There’s a lot of history between the different countries, too, and mentions of different political things (wars, treaties, leaders, etc) that didn’t completely add up to form a big picture by the end.

- There’s an LGBT relationship that’s sort of obvious early on, but the reason they have to keep it hushed is just weak, in my opinion. Basically, it goes back to the whole be fruitful and multiply sort of concept. I’ve seen this sort of idea used quite a few times, and it drives me crazy. It’s a huge pet peeve. This opens a can of worms because what happens to those who can’t have kids? Or those who simply don’t want them? Every time I’ve seen this, it feels like a weak replacement for religion as a reason to explain a stigma around homosexuality rather than giving a legitimate reason that makes sense in the fantasy world.

Rating: 3/5

I did not enjoy this book as much I was wanting too. While the romance was written very well, the pacing was slow and the world setting was incomplete. It kind of took away from the plot The character development was missing as well - this story had grounds for a great adventure and great character growth but it fell through unfortunately.