Grave Witch—Kalayna Price

"You're a danger to yourself when left alone." He closed the door behind him.
"That's not true." Or, at least, it wasn't completely true. I was quite obviously a danger to people with me as well. (214)

This was the first book ever in the Vaginal Fantasy Book Club!

In this first book in the Alex Craft series we meet, wouldn't you know it, Alex Craft. She's just a normal grave witch trying to live her life. About seventy years prior, the Faerie community—which had always existed under the radar—revealed itself in an effort to survive. (Like Tinker Bell, these fae need human belief to sustain them.) Nekros, where Alex lives, is a recent addition to the United States and emerged from the landscape at the same time as the Magical Awakening. Alex is a consultant for the police, helping to solve murders by raising the shades of victims and getting the scoop straight from the horse's mouth. But when a shade in a high profile murder case attacks her—which they're not supposed to be able to do—and then there's an attempt on her life, things get a little complicated. Not least because the events bring Falin Andrews into her life.

I love Alex Craft. I know that especially in Vaginal Fantasy we tend to read books with the smartass female heroine, but I found Alex one of the most realistically portrayed of those, even with the added component of her being a grave witch. She also is in charge of her sexuality, and has no problem with the fact that she seeks heat (literally, after grave witching) in one-time situations, and that people know that about her.

I really appreciate that she has friendships, and friendships with ladies, that are not completely antagonistic. Often with the abrasiveness of these smartass female characters, they tend to drive people away. That seems to be the norm for books like these. But Alex had strong female friendships, and they didn't only talk about men, so that was awesome. Along with that, I like that she has male friendships that don't include sexual tension. She already has two love interests, so more isn't really necessary. But I found her relationships with Caleb and Roy really delightful. Then there's her little dog PC, who is just adorable.

The worldbuilding was well done, and left me with just the right amount of questions. There's room to discover more about it, but it didn't leave me feeling incredibly confused. 

Falin was gruff, as the men tend to be. But I appreciated that, even when he was trying to take care of and look out for Alex, he wasn't domineering and overbearing. Death is super mysterious, and that's always a huge attraction. Will we ever learn his actual name?!

There are no overdone supernatural characters. No vampires, no werewolves. Just fae and witches. That was refreshing. I sometimes feel a bit vampired and werewolved out.

[Side note: I read an IAD (Immortals After Dark) book after this, and actually felt even more compelled to read the second one in THIS series because of the insane possessiveness and rapey vibe of the IAD books.]

It was quick to get through, which is good because I didn't want to put it down. I devoured the next two in the series, and am now anxiously awaiting the next in the series. I should've paced myself!

Three down.

As I've mentioned in previous VF Rewind posts, it's really interesting to go back and watch the videos, especially this very first one, and see how much things have changed...and also how little things have changed. The quality of the videos is so much better now, especially the sound quality, and Vaginal Fantasy even has its own YouTube channel now. But the ladies are still as funny and delightful and sidetracked (and sometimes drunk) as ever.

Watch the very first Vaginal Fantasy Hangout below!



Find out more about my VF Rewind, and the Vaginal Fantasy Book Club itself, here.

What's your least favourite supernatural being to read about?