Hold Me Closer, Necromancer
By Lish McBride
4.5/5.0
stars
Sam
leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world,
but he’s doing all right—until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of
Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak.
Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees
potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he’s a necromancer too, but with strangely
latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else.
With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get.
Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it
does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save
his skin?
(Goodreads description)
STOP!! Please
ignore the title of the book…for all that is awesomely wicked and evil in this
and all other worlds, black out the title in this post and ignore the title of
this book!!
I had read the synopsis of this book and was tempted several
times but something always held me back from getting it. It was the title. Luckily one night I was desperate to start
something new. I wasn’t into a book of “loving”
a necromancer, I wanted action and supernatural plotlines, but I was
desperate. After purchase I then noticed
the chapter titles and thought ‘what the hell have I gotten myself into?’
Chap 6 – “Sweet Dreams are Made of This”
Chap 9 – “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades”
Chap 12 – “Sweet Child o’ Mine”
Chap 26 – “Everybody was Kung-Fu
Fighting”
While I was happy that I was the right age group to
appreciate the references, I was initially thinking ‘oh dear lord, the book is
from Cheese Factory, USA”
So before proceeding to the actual review:
1. Ignore title of book – check!
2.
Ignore the chapter titles – check!
Now you have my permission to join the journey of Sam
LaCroix and his dramatic change in life and emergence into the world of witchcraft,
necromancy, zombies, shifters, weres, and whatever else McBride might throw at
Sam in the next installments. Sam is
your everyday college dropout who hangs out with his buddies. Friendships typically aren’t a focal point
for many, but McBride brings the friendships full circle and they establish
their roles in this new world of Sam’s.
I can easily see a book later on from one of the friend’s perspective.
We are introduced to the shifters and while McBride went out
on a limb giving her female a higher ranking in the pack than her older
brothers, she built enough brief background for it to work. And ultimately we get the two worlds
colliding between Sam’s naïve suburban world that is quickly fading away and
the shifters. Now the fun can begin!
Lish McBride must be a kindred soul to me, her dialogue and
characterization for Sam and his friends is spot on to how I speak and
think. The dry humor, one-liners, and
perfect retorts are exactly what I want to hear and read as it seems
natural. This book, despite being about
necromancy and unsavory souls (or lack of), is humorous. I found myself chuckling along with how Sam
speaks and reacts to the chaos that has suddenly become his life. Kudos to McBride on capturing so much
personality simply in the dialogue, Sam could be anyone of my friends.
As the book neared the end, I grew more anxious for the next
installment. Hold Me Closer,
Necromancer is Sam’s transition into the paranormal world, and McBride
leaves the reader the perfect tease into next book.
Now that I’ve overcome the two hurdles listed above, and
getting to know Sam LaCroix? The chapter
titles are PERFECT. The book title? I’m
still not fond of, but it goes along with Sam’s personality. For perspective, I’m confident that if it
were re-released with a new title, the response would be significantly better
and more sales.
I looked past both the title and the cheesy chapter titles
and truly was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I’ve recommended it to several friends, but
the scene always ends up like this:
“Oh
you have to read it!!! It is called Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, …don’t
look at me like that! I’m serious! You will like it, I promise."
About the Reviewer
Aprilelayne, yes all one word, touts herself as a 'Jane of
all trades.' An Army brat who ended up in Austin, Texas, she has two full-time
jobs --motherhood and work-work (aka: the paying gig). She spends her time
trying to master any one of her many hobbies, but really loves to read anything
off the beaten path--especially the dark and twisty ones. On any given day you'll likely find her in
the kitchen with a toddler hanging onto a leg sneaking peeks at a book while
stirring something on the stove. You can currently find Aprilelayne on GoodReads
and Twitter @Aprilelayne1.
