After reading the synopsis for this book, I had pretty high hopes. I found Twice Dead to be an interesting read for the most part. Not to mention, I rather enjoyed learning about the influence of necromancy, the undead, and wraiths. I feel like there are a good number of books written about the undead (i.e. vampires and zombies) but not wraiths. The scribe-work on the bones and the singing were neat touches that added to the allure! I really felt that this book had a lot of potential! Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me.

Naya, the main character, was not very strong lead character. A lot of her actions, as well as the reactions to them, were sort of eh. She did not have that "fiery" spirit that I was hoping for. Plus, I wish that there would have been more backstory for her in regards to her father and her loyalty to her homeland. Most of the time it was what her father wanted or what her homeland believed. While I can understand her wanting to make her father proud, there was not enough history between the two for me to understand why. You did not get a strong sense of what she wanted or believed.

The supporting characters did add quite a bit to the story. They made up for a little of what Naya lacked which I was thankful for. The plot moved at a good pace and did hold my interest. The world building could have been greatly improved upon, but was alright. I felt that there was a lot left to the imagination though.

All in all, I do not regret reading Twice Dead. In fact, I would more than likely read the next book in the series. Fingers crossed though that the second book is a little better!

The necromancers were really interesting, with the idea that one would be able to carve runes into bones to make undead. Because of this, and the description that was given for the book, I had high hopes. And for the most part, the story was fairly good. Am I glad I read it? Yes. Was I hoping for more? Definitely. 

I wanted more world building, which I felt like we barely got. There could have been so much more when Naya is first exploring the land of Ceramor, or even relating it back to Talmir, her own homeland. I felt like there wasn't enough and, especially since she came from such a different background, she didn't nearly have as much disgust for the undead as the rest of her people seemed to have.

Naya felt like a very weak character in my opinion. I was really waiting for some sort of fiery nature to come from her, but she kept referring to her people's land, what her father wanted, etc. She never thought about what she wanted and was more worried about what others would think of her. Granted, this seemed to fit her character, but I would have liked some more fight in her. Even towards the end, when she did start to grow more, I didn't feel like she had the characteristics of a heroine that we were supposed to root for. I honestly couldn't connect to her.

This novel, although it did have an interesting premise, didn't really reveal any plot, it felt like it was really setting things up for the next books to come. I do wish there was more stakes and danger for the character. It felt like this novel was more to help the reader understand the ideas of wraiths and the undead and then be the base for the rest of the books in the series.

Would I read the second book? Yes, but I wouldn't actively seek it out.

Thank you to Netgalley and Charlesbridge for allowing me to read this novel!

I received this book from #netgalley and Publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to them.
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First, lets just admire this book cover!! The cover is what always catches my eye! Loved it.

Second, from just reading the synopsis, I knew I wanted this book and wow, I am glad that Netgalley and the publishing company released it to me.

This book was very interesting and dark I love a good supernatural and paranormal read. Really entertaining. The plot was so unique and dark. It is a fast read. I really enjoyed the world building. This is book one in a new series. Now I just have to wait until the next one releases... OH THE WAIT! I highly recommend this book!

I truly enjoyed this book more than I expected! Twice Dead is the first installment in Caitlin Seal’s new series titled The Necromancer’s Song. I was drawn to this book by the cover. This is probably one of the more unique books I’ve read recently in terms of world-building and the concept of necromancers using this particular ideology, Naya is our heroine was not a bad character for me but I feel I would like to know more about her. The story overall was a good read for me.

This book is creative. The characters are all well developed and the story is unique. I could not put this book down.

I tried. I tried again. I just could not even make it to the middle of this book. I plan on trying again because the premise is great. Hopefully the third time is the charm!

In this book, the world building and the concept behind the wraiths and necromancers was something I don't see often in books. I was interested in this book from the cover and I was not let down. I was excited about the idea of this book and I can't wait to see what the author comes up with in the next book. Naya is our heroine was not a bad character for me but I feel I would like to know more about her. The story overall was a good read for me. *This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review.*

Twice Dead is the perfect book for fans of Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows or Marie Lu's Young Elites.

Naya Garth is on her first trade mission for her well respected father until things go awry. She ends up dead. But in the city of Ceramor necromancy is common place and she is resurrected. The only problem? Her ressurectors want to use her for their own machinations and it isn't long before Naya is left wondering exactly where she stands and who she can trust?

Twice Dead is well written and the concept behind the story is brilliant! There's several twists and turns that wrench at your gut and leave you needing more.

Whilst I did enjoy the book I felt a certain loss at the ending was pretty lacklustre and it didn't really hit me as hard as deaths usually do in books. That was my only disappointment as literally everything else about the book was dark, mysterious and engaging.

Overall definitely still worth the read particularly for those who are fans of dark fantasy.

For release September 18th THIS YEAR! 😍 Definitely worth the read 😊

This was boring as it was slow and a lot of the book was unnecessary to the main plot. Every page just felt like a chore.

Honestly? This was a solid 4.5/5 star read, and I just am never comfortable rounding up to 5.

The world building is great, and a very interesting and unique world. The characters are mostly well developed. The writing is clear but not plain.

Naya, the main protagonist, is believably naive and has prejudices that are a product of her upbringing that she struggles with in a realistic way. I really appreciated this.

An issue with many fantasy books is they assume the same patriarchy or other social constructs like homophobia as the real world for NO REASON. I very much enjoyed in this fantasy world men and women leaders exist and never is the gender if a character an issue when discussing their role or actions. A same sex couple comes up without fanfare and they give a very plausible reason for why they are a bit secretive about it.

The action is fairly fast paced, which I prefer, and the plot while not mind blowing is not entirely predictable either.

What holds me back from 5 stars? I didn't get completely invested in the protagonist and didn't quite get those feels I need to declare a read a 5 star read. I don't want to include spoilers here, but a few moments didn't ring with the same resonance as the rest of the book.

I definitely will have an eye out for the next book, though! Would recommend for anyone who would like to try some darker less ordinary magic.

I love the cover!!! I cherish a good book cover, I mean c'mon y'all.! i didn't really know what to expect because I wanted to read a book based on the cover...I wasn't disappointed well maybe a little, I didn't like Naya at all but ehh! Naya is on a mission for her father, when she ultimately meets her demise in a dark alley...Truthfully my favorite part! But soon she wakes up as the one thing she despises a wraith! That's it no more spoilers I enjoyed everyone except Naya, she was really whiny, I had to deal with a lot of why am I a wraith, I hate wraiths, it gets tiring after a while. Naya becomes Blue, and comes to terms with her new life, while dealing with her abilities, and realizing that not all wraiths are bad....I am currently waiting for the sequel

I had really high hopes for this one, I swear I did. But it was just...dull to me. I couldn't get into it. I wasn't super interested in the main character.

No bones about it, this is a great start to the forthcoming body of work from this author. While slow and stiff at times, it carrions at a decent pace for the majority of the novel. It very much falls into purgatory of the YA category as something more original than often seen, but still familiar enough in spirit to entice those already in favor of YA novels. Be warned, it leaves off with mortal be told, and will bring a spark of life back into the debates and thoughts of what happens after death, but if even a wisp of that interests you, don't let this one wraith by you.

I wanted to enjoy this book, the premise was so interesting! But the dialogue, characters, and prose itself were lacking in vitality. I did not finish.

really original premise. I loved the story, plot, characters, pretty much everything about the whole story.

I enjoyed this more than I expected! I was just drawn in right away~ The plot is just so unique and intriguing that I didn’t want to put it down!
The world building is really cool. I like the idea of resurrecting through a particular bone, and the ethics of what makes a person a person and what is a soul.
I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys paranormal fantasy! I cant wait to read the rest of this series when it comes out! I'm excited ^-^

I just a love when a good book about necromancers hits the fan in a good way! This was EPIC

I really enjoyed this book. Naya is a very intriguing character, as she struggles with finding herself resurrected- something deeply against her religious unbringing. As she comes to terms with her abilities and discovers that wraiths are not inherently bad (in fact we never meet a bad one!), she grows so much. The side characters all add to the story, and her love interest - a fellow wraith - is pretty great. I look forward to the sequel!!

A solid YA fantasy book that was also surprisingly unputdownable to me - probably because I like moral conflicts over alliances and ethics, probably also because it puts the romance back in necromancer. Though the love interest takes a backseat in this one, and it's politics' time to shine. Thumbs up for the clever magic system behind the living dead, plus the author's inclusion of diversity. And besides, the book's main venue Belavine reminded me of Lisbon, how nice!

That being said, Twice Dead could be a 4-5 star book for me, if only there was more elaborate worldbuilding and background information. What the reader gets is a mere peek at moral stances, technology and religion that left me with numerous questions. How does their monotheistic religion work? What are the societies of Ceramor's neighbouring countries like? Are Ceramorian wraiths social outcasts after all? Does their presence lead to infrastructure problems? I understand that this is only the first book of a series and that much of the aforementioned blank spaces will be filled in the coming works, but I could have used some of this information earlier on, if only to add a sense of depth to the universe.

In addition to that, most intrigues and decision-making didn't make much sense either, but I could have overlooked that, if the political issues hadn't taken over and become so convoluted by the end. About 2/3 into the novel, there are lots of repetitions, and almost no getting behind. I'm saying this for once: I wish there had at least been more (nec)romancing! *percussive sting* And for some reason I had understood from the blurb that the necromancer resurrecting the heroine would also be the love interest - but this way is fine too. You know what I'm about.

I do want to continue the series, because I'm hoping for more insight, worldbuilding, and the resolution of a certain sad incident - until then, I recommend Twice Dead to readers who don't second-guess plots.

2.5 out of 5 stars.

Twice Dead is a story of Naya, a young woman who is killed and comes back to life as a wraith. She is then abandoned by her father, and thrust into a secret society where she becomes a spy trying to stop Necromancers from going to war with the rest of the world.

At first – the book really reminded me a lot of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, however, the more I read, the less could I compare Naya and Vin. Naya, is okay at best and annoying and naïve at worst. It just really irked me, she tries so hard to obtain approval from an absent father, it’s really heart breaking and seeing her put herself out there and get hurt, it’s just not something that appealed to me. I felt bad for her, I couldn’t sympathies with her plight, I just felt really angry for her. No parent should risk his child’s life, and her father did.

Furthermore, Naya is a character that takes forever to make up her mind about anything. Grandted, once she does, the story really picks up, but 70% of the book was about her moral dilemma. And of course, the moral dilemma of necromancy should be discussed; it’s the same dilemma as we today have about playing the god in modern medicine. However, I wasn’t expecting the book to be such nig moral lesson. I think that the author could have presented the problems, but maybe have Naya come to terms with her condition sooner?

I do, however, have to say that the world that the author created is fascinating and I would love to read more about it.