Review of "Hold Me Closer, Necromancer"

“Hold Me Closer, Necromance”

by  Lish McBride

My Rating:

 Pub. Date: October 12, 2010

Pages: 352

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Source: Library & Bought

Edition: E-book and Hardcover

Short and Sweet Synopsis: Sam is an average guy- he works at a fast food joint spending his days and nights hanging with a great group of friends.  That is until an alley game gone wrong brings him to the attention of Douglas, a powerful necromancer with psychotic tendencies.  When Douglas realizes that Sam is also a necromancer, Douglas threatens Sam to get him to join forces.  

Sam has only a week to get himself out of this mess, but will the help of his friends and paranormal beings be enough?

 "Hold Me Closer, Necromancer" really surprised me.  It had this fantastic mix of horror and humor.  The Sherman Alexie quote on the dust jacket says it all- "This is a SCARY funny book OR a FUNNY scary book.  In either case, it is a GREAT book.  I LOVE it."  I laughed out loud while reading this book, but there were also some very gruesome moments.  While this book is hilarious, it is not for the squeamish.  The main character does get tortured.

This book has great characters with unique personalities.  Even though this is a paranormal book, it doesn't fall into many of the pitfalls of most in this genre.  There is no love triangle or overdramatic lover story.  While I do enjoy a good romance once and while, it was refreshing to pick up a book that didn't need all the mushy stuff.  The other fantastic about HMCN is that all the paranormal aspects seem realistic.  There are some pretty out there moments, but Lish McBride is able to make them believable.

If you are looking for an entertaining read and don't mind blood, guts, and gore then this is the book for you.  Male and female readers alike will enjoy "Hold Me Closer, Necromancer".  This book would also be good for readers in their 20s.  The characters are out of high school and working at a fast food restaurant.  This may not be a glamorous job, but it makes the characters relatable, especially in an economy where highly educated people find themselves working minimum wage jobs they are overqualified for.  HMCN also gets bonus points for a kick-ass cover.

Review of "Paranormalcy"

"Paranormalcy"
Kiersten White


5

Pub. Date: August 31, 2010
Pages: 335

Synopsis: Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.

But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

I was really excited to read "Paranormalcy" when I first heard about it; I love paranormal books, so it was right up my ally. I got even more excited once I started hearing how amazing it was, but I also got a bit nervous that it wouldn't be able to live up to the hype. I am glad to report that I thought the book was as awesome as others have reported. I was so hooked on this book that I left the copy I borrowed from the library at work and I actually bought it on my nook because I had to keep reading.

What makes this book so awesome? Pretty much everything: characters, plot, narrative, and it is chalk full of paranormal creatures. Evie is fun, has a great sense of humor, a strong narrating voice, and is very relatable; I also love the fact that she is obsessed with pink. It is so funny how she yearns for normal so much that she is excited about ordinary things like lockers and is dying to be enrolled in high school. Lend's character intrigued me from the moment he appeared; I had to know more about him and I have to admit, I have a bit of a crush on him. Even some of the characters that only appeared for part of the book resonated strongly. Evie is a strong character, hunting all kinds of paranormals and all that jazz, but at the same time she can be insecure and has typical fears. A lot of teens struggle with finding their place and Kiersten White has made this a central theme in the book.

Kiersten White is able to balance the humorous with some darker themes as well. Evie likes working for the IPCA because she feels like she is making the world a better place, but she begins to question this later in the book. Is her job really helping the world? Is her power a gift or a curse? I will have to stop there so I don't give away any spoilers. Evie's faeries ex-boyfriend, Reth, is a good example of this balance. Reth can be saving Evie's life one minute and trying to manipulate her the next. There is this constant back and forth trying to figure out if he is good or if he is a villain.

"Paranormalcy" may not be one of my all time favorite books, but I absolutely loved it. This is a must read for anyone who is a fan of paranormal books. I stayed up far too late last night finishing this book, but it was totally worth it. I can't wait for the second book, “Supernaturally", to come out next fall.