Business is picking up a little more for Alex Craft as this time it is up to her to solve a peculiar string of murders…or so we assume. Instead of bodies turning up police are merely finding body parts, namely the left feet of several people. This makes it particularly difficult for Alex who cannot raise a shade without a body (I’m thinking a head and torso would suffice).
This means she needs to call upon the magic of her friends, but that also puts them in the line of fire along with Alex herself as she draws the attention of the Fae court. Can she fend them off and get out of it in one piece?
I would say that I enjoyed Grave Dance a little more than Grave Witch, but that’s not saying too much. I am still finding it hard to become attached to the characters and the world at this point. There are a few interesting developments, particularly Alex’s eye sight which is at risk every time she uses her magic. Her normal sight is steadily depleting, making me wonder if she’ll eventually be in the dark permanently.
Secrets are still slowly unraveling, but I still found myself wondering about a number of plot points, particularly when it comes to her father. He is more interesting this time around, but I wanted more questions answered about his motivations and his heritage. There is also the character Death. Her meetings with him are very sporadic and their feelings for one another are crossing lines into the taboo territory for reasons that we have yet to learn. So he remains mysterious.
The love triangle is an obvious focal point of this series, though it’s hard for me to buy it. Death seems like the better choice, but only because he doesn’t have the same baggage as Falin. She doesn’t have any more chemistry with Death than Falin, but she gets more screen time with Falin so at this point I’m liking Falin more. I don’t dislike Death, but I have a habit of getting attached to my first choices, so I’m trying to brace myself for disappointment. I hope it concludes soon enough one way or the other. This is why I don’t like triangles.
Towards the end of the book the plot really picks up out of nowhere and I went from being mildly interested to not being able to put it down. Kalayna Price’s writing shines best when writing about Faerie, and I couldn’t wait for Alex to go back. I doubt this will be the end we see of it.
Usually by the third book I can tell if a series will become a favorite. I’m still on the fence about this one, so I guess that means I’ll have to give Book 3 a try.
I was liking this series okay but shelved it due the love triangle. The pissing contest in this book particularly put me off. I was recently perusing Rachel Vincent’s blog and came across an entry she wrote (last year?) about love triangles. Kalayna Price posted a comment that she just loves love triangles and finds them “delicious.” So I don’t think she’ll be resolving the Alex/Falin/Death situation anytime soon. I now feel totally justified in putting this series away, at least until it’s complete. Triangles that get drawn out for more than two books ruin both relationships IMO because neither one seems special anymore. It’s like the hero/heroine in the middle can just decide who to be with by flipping a coin. And that’s not special at all.