Alex Craft is one of two grave witches in Nekros.  Since discovering that she is Fae, Alex has been trying to balance dealing with the drama that comes with it, her overly complicated love life and her business.  When a new drug called glitter hits the seat, Alex is tasked by the Queen, who believes that someone is trying to end her rule to find out the guilty party.  This is made even more difficult because Alex, who is not tied to a court is fading.  As a fae, Alex needs a tie to faerie to survive in the modern world and her unwillingness to pledge herself to any court makes this a big problem. Somehow, Alex has to convince the Queen to give her unaligned status, avoid the marriage that her father set into motion for her and find the person responsible for distributing a very dangerous drug.

Grave Memory, book 3 in this series was published in 2012, and I actually read it in 2013.  That's a long time between books.  While I read our previous review, I have to admit that because this series has so many moving parts, it took me a bit to catch up and get back into Price's world.  It was helpful that in many ways along the way, Price did recaps reminding us of who these characters were to Alex Craft and some of their history.

The story begins when Alex sees a man ride by on a unicorn. Yeah, I would stop and stare if I saw that as well.  It seems that a new drug called Glitter has hit the streets and people are dying because their life essence brings to life their worst nightmares.  Drugs are bad Mmkay.  I could have used a little bit more nuance with this part of the storyline.  There are various reasons people turn to drugs yet none of this was explored.  Essentially, Price puts drug use down to simple youth experimentation and then couples it with the most negative consequences.  The direction this took reminded me very much of those old eighties after school specials. Yes, I know I am dating myself so shut up about it.

Price spent a lot of time on Craft's romantic life.  At present, Alex's boyfriend is Death and this poses a problem because they're not really allowed to be a couple and so consequently he is in and out of her life.  Death cannot be there to talk through Alex's problems or even be a steady shoulder to lean on. In fact, Alex doesn't even know Death's real name or even how long he has been a reaper. Alex has known Death since she was a child and begged him not to take her mother's soul but she doesn't really know him and this bothers her more than she cares to admit. Then there's Fallon, who is sworn to the Queen and therefore cannot be trusted. This doesn't mean that the attraction toward Fallon has dimmed, it just means that Alex has acknowledged that there's no future between them no matter how many times Fallon tries to show his love for her. It's Fallon who jumps into muddy pond to save her life and Fallon who stands between Alex and the Queen whenever he senses that she is danger of losing her head to the monarch. The problem is that if the Queen orders Fallon to kill Alex, he must obey that order.  It seems that there are really no good options when it comes to romance for Alex.

Alex is one of the few disabled protagonists in this genre.  Alex is night blind and is losing her sight because of continued use of her magic to raise shades to solve murders.  Every time Alex uses her powers she is unable to see and at one point actually has to be guided around my Fallon.  My issue with this is that Alex often turns into a super crip.  She supposedly is trying to use her powers less because of a fear of going blind but throughout Grave Visions, Alex constantly uses her powers. Sure, there are reasons for Alex to rely on her power but my issue is that she never tries any other alternatives. Does this sound like someone worried about going blind to you?

 

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My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

 

It has been a long while since I have visited the world of Alex Craft and her friends. I was quite surprised with how quickly I was able to pick the story back up. I had originally planned to relisten to the third book in the series before listening to this one, but I didn’t have a copy. I thought I had bought a copy, but I must have gotten it from the library. Anyway, I did okay without the relisten to the previous book.

 

It has only been a few weeks for Alex since the end of the last book (seems like so much longer, since it was for me.) Alex is quickly drawn into a new case. Humans are taking a new drug that are bringing nightmares to life and killing them. Then when she goes to raise the shades, there isn’t much left of them, which is really weird.

 

Alex is also called to the Winter court by the Winter Queen, which is never good. Falin is forced to bring her. She is put into a position to help the queen, but Alex uses her smarts to quickly solve another issue that she’s having. She needs her independent status or join a court. If she joins a court, she could be forced to move when the courts shift (fae courts move separately from the mortal world). She quickly makes a deal with the Queen to get her independent status for at least a while if she can help the Queen, which is easier said than done.

 

There is some drama in the romance part of this book. There were issues with Alex’s current lover, Death, in the previous book. Falin is trying really hard to court her. Oh, and she finds out that there is a new player that she didn’t even know about. Personally, I’m still on team Falin. I think he is the best bet for her. However, as a member of the Winter Court, what will happen if the courts shift and he has to move and she doesn’t.

 

I will say I was very glad to be back in Necros. It was everything I remember that I loved about this series. Alex is a great character who is caring and is always trying to help her friends. She also has great friends. Even some of the cops who she works with who are not her friends are great characters. This is a fun urban fantasy series with great mysteries and crime drama. You do need to start with the first book in the series and work your way through the series without being lost.

 

Narration

This is the only series that I’ve listened to with Emily Durante. That is not because I don’t like her, I just haven’t come across her for anything else. I think she does a great job with her narration of this series. I was a little worried that with the long break between books that there might be a different narrator for this book. I was so glad to see she was still narrating this series. She is Alex Craft to me. She does a great job with the different voices, both male and female. I like her pace and tones. I think she does a great job showing the sense of urgency when the scene calls for it. She is a narrator that I would recommend.

 

**I like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Alex is trying to manage the fallout of the past few books. Part of that includes opening a PI Agency with Rhianna. Where she gets her first case and discovers a string or random suicides are not so random. The mystery was really good this time, a suicide that may or may not be a suicide where even the victim has no recollection of what happens.

For a good majority of this book I found myself feeling really empathetic for Alex it seems like she is so alone. Her father is a jerk who could probably provide more answers then he chooses to (which begs the question why??) Alex feels like she has lost her best friend Death as they are forced to stay apart. Then there is the thing with the Winter Queen which really makes no sense to me...you want her in your court so you use the one thing likely to bring her into your court as a tool against her AND you harass her landlord so she will choose you? See hokey actions make no sense.

Moving on the to the relationships I am not sure why she was so estranged from the her girlfriends Holly and Tamara, I hope the return to their original bonds. I also had a ton of questions about why the barghest, Desmond I think, hates Alex?? As for the romantic relationships Falin this is like the never ending story that will not conclude and oh boy I wish it would!As usual he is stony faced as ever and a user. I am not sure why Alex continues to pine away after him. Now Death, there is no question Death has always been Alex's confidant so it was awesome to see Alex as Death's confidant. I wonder what the mender really thinks of their relationship??

My challenge with this book is really all about Alex's inability to choose things. She cannot choose a court, she cannot choose a relationship. At the end of the book it felt like she as a character had not made any progress in making a choice and what is worse is that she seems to have no desire into researching what makes sense for her.

Looking forward to the next book and here is to hoping we get some more insight into dear old dad and the love triangle will come to and end.

2,5 stars

I HATE THIS BOOK. I HATE IT. HATE IT. HATE IT.Yesterday, I was a stupid girl. Unexpectedly, I had to babysit. In the middle of my Darkfever reread. Annoyed I got up, and went to sit small monsters. Dumb as I am, I forgot my book at home. It will be fine, the voices in my head said, you can buy Grave Memory on your phone and read it instead. Yea. I should now better than to listen to myself. (Spoilers. Ahead.)BOTH Death and Falin declare their undying love to Alexis.She doesn't proclaim any deep feelings to either.Death and Alexis FINALLY get together for an unforgettable night.PLUS they decide on being together.THE NEXT DAY, fucking Falin moves into Alexis appartment.AND SHE DOESNT FUCKING THROW HIM OUT.FUCK YOU, Alexis.