Rating: 3.5⭐️
It’s the introduction to Kali James, a setup novel and it takes its time getting there. Specifically, spending so much time on the fact that she’s a costume designer and wears vintage styles and expensive clothing. So instead of building layers of world foundation or setting, we get clothing. A little bit would have been fine.
Kali is unaware of the fact she’s a necromancer, so the whole ghosts following her everywhere or asking for help while she ignores them, seems a bit ludicrous. That it takes a witch to say basically “ hey, hon, you’re a necromancer” feels far fetched .
There’s a murder, mystery and a goat shifter who gets her own series. For me , I find her annoying because she’s got little history but takes zero responsibility for her actions. So the author doesn’t give us much reason to connect with her.
I’ll give it another book but there’s so many more out there that read similar to this that it’s not a standout in my opinion.
Reluctant paranormal finds out there’s a whole different world out there. Plus she’s got a goat shifter bff. Investigates murder mystery. And ghosts!
Them’s the facts. Check it out if you’re game.
Cover Artist: Original Book Cover Designs
KALI JAMES SERIES
Book 1: Fastening the Grave
Book 2: Threading the Bones
Book 3: Stitching the Talisman
Book 4: Gathering the Dead
Buy link
Fastening the Grave (Kali James Book 1)
Blurb
Two things are impossible to walk away from: death and vintage clothing. Trust me. I’ve tried.
Moving across the country and opening a costume shop was supposed to be my chance for a normal life. What I wanted was a fresh start, one where the biggest danger would be a carelessly wielded sewing needle.
What I got was the ghost of a murdered reporter demanding justice, a stony-eyed enforcer I’m not sure I can trust, and a power I can’t control. Oh and my new goat shifter BFF? Hell-bent on trouble.
Now, my hunt for the killer threatens to expose a supernatural community determined to safeguard its secrecy at any cost. My only chance to survive is to embrace the legacy I’ve spent my life running from.
Fastening the Grave is the first book in the completed Kali James series, featuring a reluctant necromancer who finds herself in a world of werewolves, vampires, and ghosts. If you like your urban fantasy with quirky characters, a side of supernatural mystery, and an opposites attract slow-burn romance, this is the book for you.
