Reviewed: May 15th, 2021
Release Date: August 16th, 2019
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy
From a very young age, I’ve known about the dangers of people finding out I’m a necromancer, but when someone starts leaving dead animals on my door step, a dramatic escape and sudden arrival at a place where they teach kids to use magic throws my whole life plan off track.
Now I have some kind of extra special powers, a really annoying new pet bird, and everyone wants me to raise murder victims– something I swore I would never do again.
But, when evil lurking in the shadows starts jumping out to make itself known, I can’t exactly keep turning my back on humanity.
Day one of my new life sucks, but a hot vampire might make it suck a bit less. Err, whatever.
Helen’s thoughts:
This is the first novel I have read by Jen Pretty, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. A really good, well written YA paranormal fantasy with vampires, witches and warlocks.
Selena is a necromancer. She can raise the dead and have a chat, not that she does it often. She has tried to hide her ability and avoid others of the paranormal world. Until the day she is transported to the sanctuary, a place that teaches youngsters to control their magic, but Selena cannot cope with it draining all her magic and runs, only to come face to face with someone just like her.
Selena meets some great characters, some who turn out to be friends, others of course who are more like jerks. Once she meets another necromancer, she sees what some of the possibilities might be for her future. Murders are happening across the city, and she could help uncover the perpetrator. Although this is a story about necromancers and vampires, it wasn’t overly dark and gritty, the characters and their interactions carried the story more than the mystery.
This story is the first of seven books in the series that are currently published, which is great news, as Selena, Anick, Peran and young Colvin are such wonderful characters that you want to get to know them better. I love the interactions, and the Snappy dialogue.
Quite a quick read at 251 pages, but very enjoyable. Roll on book number two, Two for Mirth.
About the Author:
Jen Pretty is a prolific writer of smart urban fantasy novels. Her stories are character driven, witty, often violent, and with a liberal sprinkling of coarse language. Some of her books genre-hop into mythology, pulling characters and situations from a variety of sources.
When not writing, Jen can be found in the barn with her horses, or knee-deep in the vegetable garden at her home in rural Ontario, Canada, which she shares with her husband, three children, and a white husky dog named Salt.
You can find her on her author website, Instagram or twitter.
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If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my books which are available in eBook or paperback: Book One: Sentinals Awaken. Book Two: Sentinals Rising. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
Helen Garraway 