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.

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.