Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

This first novel by Lish McBride:




was the first book club pick for my Goodreads Group.

Plot Summary:

Samhain Corvus LeCroix lives in Seattle, where he works for Plumpy's, a fast food restaurant. He is a young, male, underachiever who dropped out of college, and who lives with his best friend, Ramon. He likes to hang out with his Plumpy's coworkers, Brooke and Frank. His life is fairly uneventful until a fierce bout of potato hockey ends up breaking the taillight of a very powerful, very evil, necromancer named Douglas. Necromancer: one who controls death.

Douglas realizes that Sam is also a necromancer, albeit a very weak one. The rest of the book is a dramatic and slyly humorous romp, with Douglas-the-evil engaging in all sorts of evil-doing related to Sam. There is also a subplot related to a werewolf named Bridin, the next in line as the alpha of the local were pack.

Review:

This book is the first in a new series. There were a number of things about it that were different -- that I really liked. First, the main character is a male, which is sort of unique in YA. Generally, books that are written in the first person have a female MC. It flipped back and forth between the first person perspective of Samhain Corvus LaCroix, to a third person perspective of some of the other characters. The transitions between perspective were well done, and not confusing.

I also really liked the fact that there was no YA love triangle. Yes, the author did avoid that particular trope. There is a bit of romance, of course, but it doesn't overwhelm the story. This book is not a romance -- it is, first and foremost, a story of friendship.

I live in Portland, and the book is set in one of my favorite cities, Seattle. I also really loved this. Seattle is a great setting for paranormal -- something about all of that drizzle, verdant greenery and grayness sets a very compelling scene.

However, if I had to choose one attribute that I enjoyed above all others, it has to be the humorous bent of the book. There were several opportunities to laugh-at-loud at Sam and his friends. This book is not full of teen angst. These characters are clever, and they all have their tongues firmly in their cheeks. I enjoyed the lighthearted aspect of the book.

Finally, I was genuinely surprised by the ending. I didn't see it coming. I had expected an entirely different progression for the story into book 2 of the series.

I'd give it 3 1/2 stars here. For amazon, I'll round up to 4 stars.