Naya, as a native of Talmir, views necromancy as an abomination. While on a solo mission for her sea captain father, Naya is murdered on the streets of Ceramor, a country that accepts necromancy. She is resurrected as a wraith, a ghostly, undead creature, in order to be a spy for Talmir. However, as she spies on the Ceramor necromancers, she is thrown into a political battle, filled with murders and kidnappings.

Naya's character faces a lot of physical and personal changes, and she goes through a lot of character building. Her narration at the beginning of the novel was child-like, and her voice really matures towards the climax of the plot. She faces a lot of inner-conflict, as the wraith part of her clashes with her loyalty to Talmir. I would have liked to see more of her backstory - maybe some flashbacks with her father in Talmir.

This novel should have been longer, so Caitlin Seal could have put just as much attention on the other characters as she did Naya. The romantic relationship with Corten felt sudden and not well-written, and he felt too perfect and unflawed to be a character. I wanted Corten, Lucia, Valn, and the other supporting characters to have more screen-time so that they could have been better developed.

Apart from more character-building, I wanted more world-building as well. Seal created a very unique world, but needed a bit more to create a more three-dimensional setting. I wanted a deeper historical background on the political tensions between Ceramor and Talmir. I also wish there was greater context on how the magic and how aether worked, how wraiths were resurrected, and more sections describing Naya's journey with magic. The very small sections describing Naya working with magic were very well-written and fun to read.

There was so much potential in this novel - from just reading the synopsis, I was instantly attracted to the unique premise and promising story. However, although I enjoyed Twice Dead and I don't think the story forgettable, this was not amazing.

Twice Dead follows the story of Naya, the daughter of a sea captain who suddenly finds herself dead. But that isn’t the end of her story. Resurrected, she becomes a spy - and set on a mission to save her country. Embroiled in politics, romance and murder, Naya must decide if she can betray the man she’s grown to love to save her country.

I was drawn to this initially because the plot sounded really unique for a YA, and I was intrigued to know how the world building would progress. The descriptions and overall writing are good. We get a decent explanation of how the magical elements in the world work, and what Necromancy can do, without it coming across as too much of a information dump. However, there was definitely scope for more as we don’t really get to see much of the wider world and the reason behind why people dislike necromancy so much. The plot itself is also really slow, and not much really happens for a long time meaning I often found it difficult to keep going. It felt more like a set up for future novels at times too, which I found disappointing.

The characters also aren’t really fleshed out all that well, meaning I didn’t form any kind of lasting impression about any of them. Naya doesn’t really have much of an opinion of her own, rather blindly following the advice and guidance of others rather than making her own assumptions - which I found a little annoying at times. Her potential love interest also felt really cliched and obvious. There’s no subtlety.

There was massive potential here, with such an interesting magical backstory. I just wish I’d enjoyed the characters more.

Firstly thank you so much for this Arc!

I feel terrible but i DNF'ed this at 12%, it just wasnt for me at all, im not saying its a bad book but the fantasy elements werent for me. I couldnt get my head around the necromancy, i wanted to but just couldnt

When Naya died in the first chapter i just thought well this has hit the ground running, they could have built up to that but instead it just happens and is moved on from like its irrelevant

Yep not for me unfortunately

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I had high hopes for this book. Necromancers are able to resurrect people by carving runes into certain bones. The story revolves around a girl, Naya, who is sent to a city on a mission by her father and is murdered. Naya is resurrected as a wraith and made into a spy in order to help people in the city.
I didn’t really establish a connection to any of the characters, which was disappointing considering the premise was so promising. Naya needed to have more spirit in her actions, and I wish there had been a little more backstory to her foundation and her beliefs. I didn’t really get a chance to understand her motives aside from vague references to what her homeland believed.
For some reason I had trouble keeping myself interested in the story. I feel like the plot was trudging along at times, and because I didn’t find myself attached to any of the characters, I didn’t care what happened to them.

My actual rating of this book is 2.5 Stars

When I first heard about this book, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I mean, the cover is just beautiful and it intrigued me. I had to know more. So when I read the synopsis, that sealed it for me. I had to pick up this book and see what adventure would lie ahead for me.

Twice Dead is a unique and refreshing story. I haven't read very many YA books that deal with Necromancy. So, I was really intrigued by this one and couldn't wait to see what direction this story was going to go. I think this story started off well and had some great potential, however somewhere along the line, it just fell flat. This story focused a lot and I mean a lot on character development, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I just found myself struggling to connect with them. And since there was so much focus on the character development, I feel like the plot ended up suffering because of it. I needed more. I need more background. I needed more actual plot. I needed to see the story move in some direction. 

I had kind of a love/hate relationship with this story. The plot was really interesting and I loved how unique it was. But, it just wasn't enough for me. As I said before, I do think this story has potential, but in the end, I just needed more. Even though this story didn't work for me, I'm still glad to have given it a try.

I liked this one, but I didn’t love it. It was, good, but I probably wouldn’t buy it because it wasn’t something I connected with.

From the description, this book seemed like the kind of jam I'd hunker down and demolish in one YA-gobbling frenzy. Strong female heroine? Check. Paranormal world/themes? Check. Action and political intrigue? Check. Romance? Check.

In reality... this book was one resounding "meh". At the outset, I was hooked. Our main character Naya "waking up" dead after spending her life being taught to despise and fear the resurrected was such a neat concept. But I found that things only went downhill after that. Naya proved to be a pretty frustrating and half-baked lead. I feel as though so much time was spent trying to set up the complicated politics and explain the magic behind the necromancy, that I found myself knowing very little (and thus caring very little) about the characters I was supposed to root for.

The same goes for the love interest in the book. Without giving too much away, there's a significant event involving Naya's beau that was surely intended to pack an emotional wallop, but left me feeling indifferent- because we knew so little about him, and his relationship with Naya was so underdeveloped.

Overall, despite my problems with the book, the story was inventive, and the details that were gleaned about the characters were well-written. Am I eager to read Book #2? Not really. Would I be willing to give the next chapter in the series a chance? Sure!

(Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.)

Really enjoyed this book. Naya has very strong character development throughout the book and it does a great job of putting a new spin on the concept of reapers and the undead. Highly recommend.

A very interesting, creative read. I can't wait to read the next in the series.

It took me a couple of tries to get into the book , but once I was able to give it all of my attention, I flew through it.

I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. It kind of reminded me of my all time favorite book, The Hobbit, which might have made me a little biased. Naya gets killed early on in this story, however for her, death isn't the end. She is resurrected by a necromancer and gets drawn into a plot concocted by an ambassador from her home country. From there, she has to decide which side she is on and who she can trust. Corten is one of the people she has to figure out. He was the former apprentice to her current master and his agenda doesn't match up with her initial one. The romance between the two didn't feel all that real and was really predictable, however he did have good intentions so I admired him for that. Speaking of romance, two of the characters were homosexual. I liked that the author was able to incorporate that into her story. It did end somewhat on a cliffhanger and I will definitely read the next book!

G to PG rated book- language, deaths and fighting
The book starts out with Naya a young girl trying to win the acceptance of her father sets off on a errand for him that leads to her death and resurrection. She is attacked at the door of her destination and falls to the ground When she wakes she finds herself in a strange place with strange people and her clothes are gone. She is told she's undead, a wraith and it to used to help save them all. Ah but things aren't that easy she must learn how to be a wraith and pass a couple tests. So the book goes into what she must learn. On top of her new death her father left before she woke, she is treated like a vermin and she has no good options if she can't make it There is a possible romance building, possible.
I loved the undead/wraith storyline, it was interesting and had many new ideas added to an old myth. I wish there would have been more story and less character development. It felt like I was just following Naya around as she went back and forth collecting her wraith lessons and never really went anywhere else. There were hints of something and then it went back to the same old story. I didn't like the way this book was written I was bored, tired of Naya and her small world. There was too much inner dialog, not enough action, too many useless detailed information dumps. I didn't find enough interest to continue this series
I received this book for an honest review

DNF
It didn't work for me, writing is not my type nor characters attracted me.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for an honest Review!

So Twice Dead was quite the interesting read.
It was such a different, unqiue twist on necromancers so I was so excited to read this, but it definitely had a few flaws. The plot at first was hard for me to get into, but about 25% into the book it really picked up pace. The plot is interesting and the ending hit me in the feels and I'm really not happy about it in a crush my feelings good way.
The main character (Naya) was not love for me, but she definitely grew and im excited to see where it goes. my favorite character though was probably Corten he really saved the book for me.
The world building is what I really hope grows I felt like with more writing and growth this series could be amazing not just a good or pretty good read, none the less I will be reading the next ones and would recommend them to others! I'll post a full review of this book in my blog for those interested!

I received an Arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I really liked the description of this book, but I struggled reading it, the idea was a really good one but over all I felt it was a little flat.

This book disappointed me. It had such an amazing idea, but I found I could not immerse myself in the story. I was forcing myself to continue reading it. I was waiting forever for her to die again and eventually could not handle how reliant she was with her father and other men.

Twice Dead had an interesting premise and the use of necromancy was really intriguing. The cover is also gorgeous and the synopsis had me hooked.

This one took a lot of effort and energy to get into. Mostly because of the concept of it, which means you need information to understand certain aspects before you can understand this and that, and there was a lot to take in. The writing fell flat for me because there was a lot going on and much of it was slow and predictable.
However, the world building was intense and interesting. It was different and I wanted more just so I could savour it. The politics involved was pretty strong, too.

Most of the characters were very simple, I didn't feel myself connecting to them as much as I thought I would have, but they were okay. I wasn't overly interested in Naya, however. Her decision-making was immature and she was quite annoying. Corten saved me from DNF-ing this.

It was okay, not amazing, but easily forgettable. Which is a shame because I really loved the premise of this book.

Actual rating: 2 ¾ stars
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Charlesbridge through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Twice Dead caught my attention after I read the synopsis. The idea of someone being forcefully pulled from the clutches of death is interesting but the intrigue is heightened by the knowledge that the main character is adamantly against the idea of necromancy. Caitlin Seal’s ability to create a religious practice where humans can be brought back from the shores of death by tattooing their bodies or bones with magic symbols is astounding and this aspect of the book I absolutely loved.

I found the characters to be okay. I loved Corten and his willingness to help out Blue/Naya when she needed it, but I felt that he could have been fleshed out a little more. I would have loved to see his thoughts and feelings throughout the novel but overall I loved him. I also enjoyed Blue/Naya I thought her reaction to being brought back to life against her will and being convinced to become a spy was very believable. One thing about Blue/Naya that really bothered me was how unwilling she was to give to Lucia a chance in the beginning of the novel and how oblivious she was to Lucia’s issues. I also felt that Blue/Naya could have been fleshed out a little bit more. My final issue with this novel was the fact that there weren’t many secondary characters and the few secondary characters were very two dimensional and lacked noteworthy back stories. Over all I found the characters to be average.

The plot was satisfactory I found the premise to be interesting and I found the past war between the kingdoms to be interesting. The reparations as well as the famine and other economically damaging issues that Ceramor faced after the war was very similar to the reparations and issues that Germany faced after World War I and the enactment of the Treaty of Versailles.

Overall this novel was enjoyable but I feel that It could have been great if the characters were more fleshed out and developed a little further. The premise of this novel was very interesting and for that reason I think it was above average.

I would recommend this book to teens/young adults and people who read fantasy and science fiction novels. I would not recommend this novel to immature audiences due to the fact that there is a great deal of talk about death and that can be a difficult concept for young children to grasp.

I wouldn’t say I hated this book because I assure you, that’s not the case. I fairly enjoyed reading it. Twice Dead took me a while to read and I think that’s why I’m not in love with it.

Without giving anything away, Twice Dead is an interesting concept. I like the idea of the undead coming back and having a second chance at life. The way a person comes back is by the necromancer drawing runes into their bones. They survive by drawing aether, which is like oxygen, into their being. If their bone breaks and the runes get destroyed, then that’s it for them. They dissolve into nothingness.

I feel bad for giving this book a 2 1/2 stars. I liked it but it was a struggle to get through. The first half of the book felt like it would go on forever. But once I reached the halfway point, the story really picked up. The last few chapters were great. I’m assuming there will be a sequel based on how the book ended. Would I read the second installment? I can’t say, but I would definitely give it a try. I also want to check out more from Caitlin Seal in the future because I liked her writing style. She made the story really come to life on the page.

Twice Dead caught my attention as I was looking at upcoming books due to a super interesting concept. Naya is murdered and resurrected by a necromancer. She isn't just someone brought back to life, but a wraith. One that has very strong powers. She gets tangled up and becomes a spy to assist her country of birth. Sounds great, I'm in!

My excitement was quickly tempered due to Naya herself pretty quickly after she was brought back to life. After everything that is happening to her, she just kind of accepts a lot of it too easily. She is obviously uncertain with everything surrounding her circumstances, but not as much as one would expect. I expected so much more emotional struggle with everything, but it never really surfaces. This tends to happen through out that book. She kind of has moments where you expect more from her, but she kind of goes with the flow too easily.

If any have read past reviews from me, I am one who thinks the term insta-love is overused. Sadly this kind of happens in this book and it was deflating considering the relationship between Naya and Corten. The potential felt wasted with some decent build up, then a sudden confession. Why can't people in books sometimes just like someone, instead of immediately declaring they're falling in love. I know it happens a lot, but this one felt a bit rushed.

A couple bright spots of this book are the world building and Naya's powers. I loved hearing about the past turmoil and wars between the countries and why the truce was present. Also learning more about the necromancers and how they are viewed differently by various countries was cool. I also really enjoyed learning more about Naya's powers as a wraith. The author does a good job coming up with unique interesting ways the powers are put to use.

Overall Twice Dead doesn't do enough with an intriguing premise. It's not a bad read by any means, but it definitely won't wow you. You can feel the potential with Naya, as well as the world and politics surrounding her, but it's never reached. Honestly even with the shortcomings of the book I might one day sit down and give its inevitable sequel a chance, but it won't be a must read.

I liked it alright, but this book didn't grab my attention as much as I had hoped it would. It sounded very interesting, but it just didn't have the oomph I was waiting for. The plot sounds good, the story sounds interesting, but the pages just didn't really hold me as a reader. I do like her story lines, though, so I will keep my eyes open for books by this author. I would give her another try in the hopes of finding something more up my alley as far as her books.