Audio: How to Save an Undead Life by Hailey Edwards @HaileyEdwards ‏ @TantorAudio

Posted August 2, 2018 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 12 Comments

Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.


Audio: How to Save an Undead Life by Hailey Edwards @HaileyEdwards ‏ @TantorAudioHow to Save an Undead Life by Hailey Edwards
Narrator: Rebecca Mitchell
Series: Beginner's Guide to Necromancy #1
Published by Tantor Audio on July 31, 2018
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Length: 8 hours, 12 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
AmazonAudibleLibro.fm
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star

Grier Woolworth spends her nights weaving spooky tales of lost souls and tragedies for tourists on the streets of downtown Savannah. Hoop skirt and parasol aside, it's not a bad gig. The pay is crap, but the tips keep the lights on in her personal haunted mansion and her pantry stocked with ramen.

Life is about as normal as it gets for an ex-necromancer hiding among humans. Until the society that excommunicated Grier offers her a second chance at being more than ordinary. Too bad no one warned her the trouble with being extraordinary is it can get you killed.

Contains mature themes.

I’d heard some good things about this Beginner’s Guide to Necromancy series , so I was excited to get the audio release of the first book, How to Save an Undead Life.  The genre is urban fantasy and there’s magic, so all my favorite things.  The setting is Savannah, Georgia so the southern style is present.  In fact, in my head, I went to New Orleans because they do ghost tours there also. I enjoyed the world building.

Grier is a quite young and strong main character. Her family background is scattered and she has to rely mostly on herself.  Her neighbors / best friends are her primary emotional support and a co-worker. She has enough trouble buying food and then the vampires are after her. I appreciated the robust character development. One of my favorite characters is her house.

I’m leaving out details because the mystery is exciting. She’s had a rough past and people want to use her in the future as well.  Grier really learns a lot about herself and the world. The growth is to be expected with the isolation she had in the previous few years.  There is a low-key romance with some banter, as well as a hard press by a vampire suitor, all more in the background.

I’m so excited to see how Grier develops in the next two books!  How to Claim an Undead Soul will be out in August and How to Break an Undead Heart in September.  These three books are already available but now the audiobooks are being produced.  The fourth book will also be released in September. I have them on my review calendar and can’t wait.

Narration:

This was my first listen to Rebecca Mitchell. I was able to use my usual 1.25x speed. I liked her voice for Grier, although I was surprised it had no southern drawl.  She uses a bit of it when she does her tours for work.   I don’t recall anyone having much of a southern lilt.  But the performance was great, helping me to further enjoy the story.  Her male voices and female voices were equally good.

Listen to a clip:

About Hailey Edwards

Hailey Edwards writes about questionable applications of otherwise perfectly good magic, the transformative power of love, the family you choose for yourself, and blowing stuff up. Not necessarily all at once. That could get messy. She lives in Alabama with her husband, their daughter, and a herd of dachshunds.

Rating Breakdown
Plot
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Characters
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Narration (Audio)
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Overall: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Anne - Books of My Heart
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2018 Audiobook Challenge
  • 2018 New Release Challenge
  • COYER BSBB

Posted August 2, 2018 by Anne - Books of My Heart in Book Review / 12 Comments


12 responses to “Audio: How to Save an Undead Life by Hailey Edwards

  1. I’m glad to see you enjoyed this first book. I love this series and am so excited for book 4. The covers are amazing. The women on the cover reminds me of Xena. That was my first thought ^_^. It’s a fun series and only gets better. I haven’t listen, but it sounds like the audio is good. I’ll have to give it a try. Thank’s for the wonderful review.

    • Well it didn’t feel like it compared to some books I have listened to on audio. Maybe I am desensitized now living in the sorta south in NC. But I could definitely hear a bit of a drawl when Andi Arndt narrated Pretty Little Killers by Rita Herron in February so I think I could recognize it. Yes, it seemed a bit odd for Georgia.

  2. Oh yes, this one looks like it would be a hit with me, too. Hadn’t heard of it so I’m glad to get your thoughts on it, Anne.