'That very night, I planned to raise Bredon Havers from the dead...'

This first volume (of many, I hope) in The Lavington Windsor mysteries proved a real breath of fresh air. Taking in necromancy, zombies, vampires and protagonist Lavington 'Toni' Windsor's quest for a boyfriend who... just isn't rubbish... the story is set in rural Staffordshire in a reality slightly different from ours, one where vampires are grudgingly tolerated in Europe, but not in the USA. Consequently many have come looking for refuge - and naturally, they need homes.

Toni's day job, as an estate agent, involves meeting this need. As you'd expect there are some rather special requirements. And not unsurprisingly, there are also those who object to the vampires' presence. Sometimes, they object rather forcefully.

Estate agent by day, necromancer by night, Toni finds both sides of her life coming together. And there may just be progress on the boyfriend front as well.

We see her juggling work, relationships, caring for an elderly neighbour and fitting in time for her weird hobby down at the graveyard. It's a very modern life, down to fending off the gropey boss and coping with the works do.  Oh, and conjuring up the dead offers some benefits - so when Toni's brother, a police constable, needs help clearing up a murder, she's on hand for that, too.

The book packs so much in: a resourceful and determined heroine, some pretty steamy sex scenes, political violence and even organised crime. Also some epic fights, which frequently see Toni lose her clothing (seriously - count the number of times her outfits are ruined). Behind all this there are hints about Toni's own past - clearly there are mysteries there to be unpacked in future books - and a very sad story of corruption and abuse of power.

Toni is a likeable protagonist who comes into her own when forced to get closer than she'd like to a pack of vampires. While they may be clients, Toni doesn't exactly get on well with most of them, so negotiating the web of semi-feudal obligations that fall on her as part of the coterie is not easy (as is avoiding breakfast - BEING breakfast, that is). It's actually a pretty thoughtful examination of the vampires' way of life and involves a lot of credible worldbuilding, aided by the book's being grounded in Toni's believable, everyday life.

All in all, an involving and fun book and it's top be hoped there will be many more to come.

This was a quick and quirky read. I enjoyed the storyline of the MC being a necromancer and also a real estate agent who sells homes to vampires. There was also a love triangle going on and I thought the Jane Doe storyline was interesting. However, I couldn't find myself connecting with the characters. I liked the idea of the storyline and characters more than I actually liked them. The story felt shallow to me and I wanted there to be more.

I will say that it is different and quirky which is nice. It looks like it's going to be a series so perhaps more of the storylines will be fully fleshed out in the next book.

I was lucky to get an ARC of this book.

I found it a decent read in a world that provided a good backdrop to the story.

Grave Secrets was a really interesting read! I love me a good vampire story and that is kind of what I got here. 

I found the actual story and plot to be really unique and fun. An estate agent who NOT ONLY raises the dead during her time off but ALSO sells places to vampires?? Like okay, sign me up!

Where this book lost me was the dialogue. I just did not mesh with the conversations all the characters had. They felt kind of cold and not personal. I did not like the vampire romantic interest. He was just not for me? I didn't like the way he spoke or treated the MC. I felt it was too twilighty. It seemed like the entire relationship was built in 1 day and all that mattered was sex.. which can be okay but in this case it didn't work. All of a sudden they are in love and I didn't even feel a connection. I don't know, it didn't work for me.

I will say though, I felt the story was entertaining and I did like the vampire element. I LOVED the undead element and how the MC raises the dead. I think my favourite character in this book was a zombie! 

I would recommend this book if you enjoy a twilight style story with a twist!

"Agatha Raisin meets Sookie Stackhouse, with croquet and zombies.

Toni Windsor is trying to live a quiet life in the green and pleasant county of Staffordshire. She'd love to finally master the rules of croquet, acquire a decent boyfriend and make some commission as an estate agent.

All that might have to wait, though, because there are zombies rising from their graves, vampires sneaking out of their coffins and a murder to solve.

And it's all made rather more complicated by the fact that she's the one raising all the zombies. Oh, and she's dating one of the vampires too. Really, what's a girl meant to do?"

I was really hankering for some Sookie Stackhouse recently, but wanted something new, enter Alice James and Toni Windsor!

Lavington "Toni" Windsor can raise the dead, literally. She started young and, if she were to say so herself, pretty darn good at it. When not engaging in her hobby, she works as an estate agent. Her present task is to find a suitable home for a new vampire in town, Oscar. One look and Toni is hooked. Not necessarily a good thing: vampires kill necromancers! Oops.
There were quite a few laugh out loud moments. Oh, yes, and Toni is to dresses what Stephanie Plum is to cars!
Her brother the police officer has used Toni's talents to help identify the dead, strictly off the books. However, she has had no success with a dead woman with means of identify left.
And then there are the kidnappers after Toni. Can't a girl catch a break once in a while? Sheesh!
I liked the English setting and the fact that the text was not Americanized. I really liked Bredon. I trust he will make more appearances in future books.
On the whole, I really enjoyed Grave Secrets and I look forward to reading more from Alice James.

📖 Book Review:
Grave Secrets By Alice James 😱🧟‍♂️⚰️❤️
(Urban Fantasy)
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫 4.2

Sassy, witty, charming, mysterious and downright sexy! Grave Secrets had me enchanted by the many mysteries and intriguing characters, that had more than a few hidden depths. Alice James has written the perfect blend of mystery and light horror, twists and turns, without giving into vampire and zombie stereotypes. A modern spin on a classic genre. You might lose more than your head in this thrilling debut. Move over Buffy there's a new lady in town... a fiery red head with a handful of salt and a heart full of vengeance. 

The plot was continually fast paced, until towards the end and therefore I struggled slightly to finish. But other than that I thoroughly enjoyed Grave Secrets 🙂, there is swoon worthy romance and some very steamy scenes.

Toni Windsor aspires for a peaceful countryside life in Staffordshire, but she's got another thing coming! Her goals: learn the fine art of Croquet, attain a 'decent' boyfriend and finally achieve a commission as an estate agent. But zombies are rising, heads are flying, sexy vampires rioting and murders multiplying. Matters complicate more when Toni continues her art of necromancy, oh and she just so happens to be dating a vampire!

Out September 2020!

'To be continued'... with more books in the series to come, cross everything but your stake if you want to see the next! ➕😉

Thank you to #Netgalley, #Rebellionpublishing and of course #AliceJames , for sending me such a unique and engrossing debut novel. You can guarantee Grave Secrets has won a place in my heart, as well as my book shelves. I look forward to the next book in the series. 😊👍

Lavington  (Toni) Windsor is a necromancer- she goes to her local graveyard at night to summon the dead so she can have a little chat. By day she is an estate agent. All rather normal so far (!) so when you add in vampires, zombies and gallons of blood you end up with Grave Secrets, one of the most entertaining books I have read in a while.

Now normally this is not the type of book I would have picked up but thanks to Netgalley I have discovered a fabulous new talent. Funny, gory and even romantic. I am so looking forward to the rest of the series

Grave Secrets is a entertaining page-turner. This is what we are looking when we want to read some light UF with a topping of romance. Also, expensive cars, looots of drinking and not whining narrator.

Grave Secrets is about a real estate agent/necromancer woman Lavington (Toni) Windsor. She occupied her grandfather's house. She lives in a world where vampires came out of closet several years ago and made legal citizens approximately four years ago in the certain parts of the world . Europe, being the center of civilisation, accepted them but America preferred a stake to heart approach because of a bad vampire group.

Toni learned methods of necromancy from her grandfather but it is really about power, so her cop brother Will does not have her gift. Every night she rises the dead out of compulsion and sometimes she helps her brother to solve murders by calling the dead ones from grave or morgue table.

When a vampire named Oscar asks her services for a house, Toni is attacked by a anti vampire group, luckily she holds her own and survives with several scratches but mysteriously there are murders and a blooming romance and savage vampires that came from America.

What I liked most about Toni is that she does not despair, she loses interest what other people are saying very quickly and have no fear. She is snappy, fierce and comfortable with her own sexuality. But sometimes her fearlessness made me question the book and I assumed that when you rise dead every night, you see it just part of your day. And "That is the most British thing ever" jokes were plenty but not too much. so I liked that classic bit too.

❝We really needed to get to first names soon. Still, we were both English and it had only been five years...❞

Of course, when I was reading it, I could not keep myself comparing worlds of Toni Windsor and Anita Blake. Where as Hamilton describes the gruesome details about animated corpses vividly, rotting pieces and whatnot, James does not go into that, just brushes briefly and prefers more spiritual approach. And the animated bodies were more friendly and can eat almost anything. Also for now, magical world limited to necromancers and vampires and mentioned demons. I wonder if there will be witches and shapeshifters.

At first, we do not realise that this is a creatures-of-the-night-are-known-to-world kinda book. It would be nice for the reader if the world was introduced more deeply from beginning. But in the following pages, we learn what it is and what is not. So this is a matter of preference and maybe I am used to explaining narration more. Also necromancy can be worked better in my honest opinion. Magic just happens here and there are gaps to be filled in. Maybe James will go into that better in the second book.

One more good thing about Grave Secrets is that I had no trouble keeping up with the story and the world that is created. It is not brushed but weaved nicely, though this is James' debut. That really surprised me and I am really curious what she will come up with in the future for us.

Grave Secrets includes very diverse characters without making them stand out, which is very nice.  Maybe that is the English way also?

To be honest, romance part left questions marks on my mind.Oscar is a nice character but amour between them developed way too early and fast. Also there are too many men who could be more. Peter, Benedict. When Benedict says that Oscar is impulse, I agree with him. James needs to decide who is the main interest.

As an addition, this book wraps up nicely, even at the ends you won't imagine. So in that regard, It has a fulfilling end.

Grave Secrets is really for the fans of Sookie Stackhouse. Also for the Undead series of  MaryJanice Davidson.

Thank you Rebellion for approving my request for an ARCs. Got a new series to keep an eye on.

Decent plot.                                  
One dimensional characters.               
Good for middle school age children!

I’m not really sure what genre this fits into. It’s not really urban fantasy since it’s set in the English countryside, although there’s a certain amount of gore it’s not horror, and there is a mystery but it’s not the primary plot line. What it is though is a fun, faced paced story featuring a necromancer, zombies and vampires. Some of the characters could have been fleshed out more but I had trouble putting this down and I’m already looking forward to the sequel.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

2/5 stars

I really loved the premise of this book but I was sadly disappointed. This book is just became ridiculous. The situations the characters found themselves in were funny at first and quite unqiue but eventually it just got tiring because they all ended in such a lack luster way because this book was trying to have too many aspects they find themselves in are hilarious and unique. I’ve never read anything like it. The events were all over the place and by the end nothing seemed worthwhile.

The original premise was very intriguing because there was a murder mystery and our main character could raise the dead to help her solve the mystery. The main character dating a vampire would add an interesting element but that took over the whole middle of the book. A good 70% of this book in the middle was just vampire politics that seemed very Twilight-esque. They really had nothing to do with the plot and most of the characters were unbearable. The murder mystery was only really in the first 20% and the last 10% so it has no proper build up.

Another big interest for me was having the main character have the power to raise the dead and having a zombie best friend because of that. But the zombie best friend was only there in the beginning and in the middle he wasn't there at all, but then showed up at the end just when it was convenient for him to be there. Her power also extended farther than originally stated and that also seemed a bit to convenient and there was no real rules for it. The main character seemed to be powerful when it fits the plot.

The writing I think was also supposed to come across as funny but after a while it got old and just seemed a bit immature. The main character used a lot of immature words and I think it was supposed to show how immature and young she was compared to the vampires but it just didn't work. The main character also did something that worked out but it was dangerous and the vampires barely even paid attention to it. All the conflicts were so brushed over in their conclusions and it's due to a lack of buildup.

One of the things I did like in here was the steamy scenes and I did like some side characters quite a bit. The two main characters needed work and while their chemistry started off strong it began to dwindle a bit. This also did have polyamous rep in it which I enjoyed and appreicated.

Overall the original premise I liked which was mostly the first 20%. The rest of the book was confusing and lacked originality due to a load of tropes piled on.

This was such a fun read - what else could a story about a necromancer, zombies & vampires be!  I thought the characters were interesting, there were a few twists & turns, there was a good amount of romance & ir was funny.  It sounds like it would be a hot mess but it's not!

A funny read with plenty of interesting characters. This is a light hearted easy read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Agatha Raisin meets Sookie Stackhouse is the perfect description for this book. A light hearted take on zombie raising and vampire lovers, which was great to curl up with and get lost in for a little while. Toni was relatable - if a little fickle sometimes, very easily distracted by her vampire boyfriend looking hot when she was annoyed with him - and I enjoyed the humour that was injected into what could have been a fairly serious read. Enjoyable, and I would read more of the series in the future.

Toni Windsor has an unusual gift, she can raise people from the dead.  Not something there would be much call for in Staffordshire you’d think. You’d be wrong. Add in a handsome vampire, an upcoming turf war and you’ve got a cracking story line with a nice sense of humour running through it. As a necromancer, Toni shouldn’t get on with Vampires, as they’re dead, but in a different way to the people that she brings back from the dead. However, she does, and it works. 

Great story line, well written, reminiscent of Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse, but none the worse for that. I read this much too quickly but couldn’t put it down once a started it. I enjoyed the other characters, and their story lines, including the oldest person that Toni had brought back, who becomes her friend. I look forward to the next instalment. 

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review.

What a fun read!

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what I was going to think when I began reading Grave Secrets. You see, I’m not really into stories with a lot of gratuitous sex. Many authors overdo it and end up detracting from the story they’re trying to tell. But James’s sex scenes are well-written and, well, just plain sexy. I loved many of the characters, like Bredon, the gentlemanly zombie, and Peter, the boyfriend of the boyfriend. However, I have to say - and Alice, I hope you’re listening - I am really not all that crazy about Oscar, the protagonist’s love interest. Noooo. Toni should be with dark, smoldering Benedict, the head honcho of the vampires. Now there would be the basis for some hot love scenes. They have a crackling chemistry and are both snarky as hell. Perfect basis for a good vampire / necromancer relationship. But, alas, Toni thinks she loves Oscar. Oh well.

If you love vampires, this is for you. If you love sex scenes, murder mysteries, and supernatural creatures, this is still for you. James’s take on the vampire culture and lifestyle is new and fresh. Various lifestyles and ethnicities are included, which is also a big plus for me.

All-in-all, I really loved this book and I’m looking forward to the next in this series.

Unfortunately, after about 3-4 chapters, I had to put this on the DNF list.  I was really hopeful after reading the description and other early reviews that I would enjoy this book as it had elements (mystery/PI/paranormal) that I love in a good story.  The heroine sounded goofy and quirky which as well.  I was truly hoping for a light, snark-filled, paranormal mystery.  However, I could not connect with the heroine at all nor could I really get into the plot.  As an avid PNR/UF reader, I'm accustomed to "first in a new series" info dump/world building which causes action to be a bit lagging for taste, though it is necessary to trudge through in order to really set up the series moving forward.  But there felt a very distinct lack of any action and not enough in these first chapters to really grab the reader. It just wasn't for me.

Through NetGalley, I received a free copy of GRAVE SECRETS (Book 1 of the Lavington Windsor Mysteries) by Alice James in exchange for an honest review.  Lavington “Toni” Windsor has an addiction; she feels compelled to practice necromancy even when it isn’t needed to help her law enforcement brother solve murders.  Each morning after an evening of chatting with corpses, Toni returns to her work as an estate agent, where she can often be found napping at her desk.  One day, her boss wakes her up to assign her a new client.  When she meets with that client, she finds out he’s a newly-arrived vampire in need of a residence with a spacious basement.  Because eligible men are scarce in the area, Toni is desperate to welcome the vampire’s romantic advances.  However, romantic entanglement with vampires comes with lots of unpleasant realities, so Toni will have to decide whether her desperation is severe enough to sustain her new relationship when, among other repugnant things, it includes frequent unpleasant interactions with undead bullies.

This book wasn’t quite what I expected.  I hoped the book would be silly; as it turns out, it was just the main character.  This novel contains sex with a single partner, but it also contains detailed oversharing about the sex Toni had with her prior partners.  Also, there are hints that, in the future, this series could turn into polyamorous debacle.  When confronted with expectations that, as a vampire’s lover, she would be expected to have sex with others in the coterie, Toni protests that she’s “not that kind of girl,” but she actually seems more horrified by the thought of donating blood than of becoming a group sex toy.

#GraveSecrets #NetGalley

It’s hard to know what category to put this in. It’s essentially a “light fantasy novel that has pages of comedy, romance, horror and decapitations. Also zombies, vampires, alcohol and sheep shagging.”

An excellent debut novel from Alice James and one I found genuinely laugh-out-loud funny. I have to say the writing style was very British and I loved it. Reminded me of Ben Aaronovitch‘a Rivers of London series only with more dead things and less London.

I love the fact this is set in a town literally 20 minutes from where I write this review and that my place of residence is a location mentioned a couple of times in this book. Staffordshire is a beautiful region and so is Oxford where the author lives but I’m glad she chose Staffordshire.

An estate agent who is a necromancer - what a crazy but interesting combination. I liked the characters a lot and especially enjoyed the relationship between Peter and our protagonist, Toni, even if it, at times, was a weird one. I’m not sure if Peter is bisexual or just wants to have Toni but can’t - it’s a blurred line through the book I found where when it comes to vampires that anything goes. When in Rome, or Colton...

I particularly liked Bredon, the zombie that Toni befriends. He was the father figure she didn’t have and I think that he was the only person who was on her side completely although Peter comes a close second.

I thought that helping solve Police cases with her brother was fun and only wished there was more of it. Raising the dead to find out who had killed them was particularly smart and joyous to read.

Overall I’m lucky I got to read this early. I think that Alice James has created a world, okay stolen Staffordshire and littered it with undead, that will provide the backdrop for numerous books which will involve recurring characters and storylines.