Hold Me Closer, Necromancer -- 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.

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Book source: Review copy from the publisher.

Comments

[Robin]

LOVED this book!!! And yes, the title cracks me up every time I look at it.

[Jess]

Speaking of the title (which cracked me up every time I looked at it), I also loved a lot of the chapter titles - mostly when I *got* which song they were from.

[Leila]

Glad to hear that other people Felt The Love!

And, yeah, I had to look up some of the chapter titles -- including this one, which is made of the Winningest Win That Ever Won.

[Kelly Fineman]

It's not just you. The title makes me sing Sir Elton's song every time I see it. I haven't read the book yet, but I didn't realize his name was Samhain Corvus (that first word is pronounced Sow-en, I believe, and is the word for the old harvest festival, but I'll bet he's just Sam, and his middle name is Crow) - HELLO SYMBOLISM!

Must find this one and read it.

[1morechapter]

Oh. my. gosh. I laughed my guts out when you mentioned Elton John. I haven't read this, but now maybe I should. Still laughing....

[Maggie]

Oh my gosh, thank you for mentioning the title and Elton John!! NO ONE else (at least the blogs I read/people I talk with) had mentioned, and yes, that song gets stuck in my head everytime I see the cover.

[rockinlibrarian]

Reading this one right now and loving it. There are some books you can just TELL-- they're a step up from average, and reading it is pure delight.

[Erica]

Sounds like a great book--it's definitely going on my TBR list. I'm surprised you found so many people who didn't get the title; Elton John popped in my head immediately.

[Leila]

Kelly, yes: His mother named him that to get back at his father, who was absent at Sam's birth. Later on, we get a bit more about his middle name... (The pronunciation is mentioned, too.)

To all of you who haven't read it: GET CRACKING!

[Calamity Jane]

You know how sometimes something stupid makes you start avoiding a book even though everyone else says that you should really read it?
For me that stupid something is character's names. Like...Wynter intead of Winter or Jayné instead of Zhane or Jane or in this case, Samhain Corvus Lacroix. My firt reaction was "seriously?". And I get it must be a joke, but still it makes me cringe everytime I read it.

[Sally]

I bought this book late last year for the title alone. I love it and every time I think about this book I hear the Elton John song in my head! It's currently on my tbr pile but it's getting bumped up because of your review. So thanks.
Sally.

[Jenn]

So happy I was finally able to get my hands on this book! Not since Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series have I met a cast of characters that I liked as much. I do hope as well that the author decides to write a sequel, because I want to play in this playground again. In the mean time, I will have to content myself with making a playlist of all the chapter titles.