Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, by Lish McBride
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, by Lish McBride
On the cover: LOVE. Well, okay, my love is really more about the title*. When I first got it, I ran around showing it to everyone who made the mistake of making eye contact with me, and I was shocked—SHOCKED—that more people didn't get the joke.
Even months after first unwrapping it, I find it hard to look at the title without cackling. (I mean, do you not hear Elton John belting in your head? It's not just me, right? Please tell me it's not just me.)
From Hold Me Closer, Necromancer:
My name is Samhain Corvus LaCroix, and I am a fry cook.
I tried to take some pride where I could. If I was going to be a dropout loser, then I was going to be the best dropout loser. That pride came with some complications because it always depressed me to spot anyone, short of a manager, working fast food over the age of eighteen. I didn't look in any mirrors until I got home and out of my uniform. It was better that way.
What starts as pretty everyday shift at Plumpy's—complete with a couple of rounds of potato hockey and another of Guess What I Put in the Fryer—turns weird when a scary customer starts Demanding Answers from Sam (who has NO idea what the guy is talking about), and moves right along to terrifying when a HUGE guy attacks both Sam AND his co-worker's Jetta.
The next morning, Sam and his friends receive a message—the method of delivery flying WAY BEYOND the previous day's weird/scary scale—and, basically, Sam is informed that he's a necromancer (albeit a weak one) and given two options:
A) To work for Douglas Montgomery, Evil Necromancer Extraordinaire, or
B) To see everyone he cares about slaughtered before he's slowly tortured to death.
He has a week to decide.
I don't know if there's a way, in text, for me to convey just how much I loved this book. Any attempt would involve WAAAAAAAAHEYHEY more exclamation points, capital letters and hearts than ANYONE should be subjected to on a Monday morning.
Just know that:
It's an absolute blast.
It's smart, funny, scary and has heart. So much heart. I got a teensy bit choked up at the end, even.
It stars a group of friends who are more like extended family than mere friends
(Not to say that Sam's immediate family is anything to sneeze at),
as well as a super-tough (and awesome) love interest.
Speaking of, the love story is adorable.
It works fine as a stand-alone, but if there isn't a sequel in the works, I may have to throw things, because I need another outing in this world with these characters.
Highly, highly recommended to urban fantasy fans, and especially to fans of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden books.
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*Though I do like the cover art as well.