I received this book for free from my own shelves in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: my own shelves
How to Break an Undead Heart
by
Hailey Edwards
urban fantasy in a Kindle edition that was published by Black Dog Books LLC on March 30, 2018 and has 280 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include How to Save an Undead Life, How to Claim an Undead Soul, "The Redemption of Boaz Pritchard"
Third in The Beginner’s Guide to Necromancy urban fantasy series set in an alternate world in Savannah, Georgia. The story revolves around the continuing adventures of Grier Woolworth.
My Take
That beginning has me laughing as Grier thinks of all the treats she’d thought would exist as an adult. Oh, well.
I am so proud of Grier for her skepticism. Instead of falling on Eloise’s neck, she’s suspicious.
We get a bit more of Grier’s early life with her mother. All this is courtesy of Edwards using first person protagonist point-of-view from Grier’s perspective. We learn her thoughts, her memories, and all the hurt she experiences.
Grier is warming up to Linus who isn’t sure what to make of this woman. She’s so . . . so demonstrative. And she’s free with the compliments, lol. “Jack of all trades, master of none” gets added to with “they never met you”. That bit about the empty coffee cup? Too, too funny. And Linus gets the joke. And it is so dang sad how grateful Linus is for the teasing and affection Grier shows. It’s so depressing that this amazing man feels he’s not worth anything.
Grier is still coming to terms with Maud’s betrayal of her.
Grier is also coming to understand Linus’ form of rebellion against his mother.
That Meiko is a nightmare kitty. Amelie is being something of a nightmare too, placing the blame for her inviting Ambrose in on Grier.
I do love that Linus is fascinated by research, but I gotta agree with Grier about his experimenting on himself. As for being a tattoo artist, that is too fascinating about this blue blood hunk. Even better is his drawing abilities exposed by his obsession with Grier.
Geez, everyone is out for “prisoners”. The vampires and the Marchands all want Grier for her abilities — and they have no problem with imprisoning her. They won’t even punish her as long as she cooperates. Grier worries that the Grande Dame has similar designs on her!
Ah, my matrilineal question is answered. Whoever Boaz marries will be the heir to the Pritchard line and become Matron. And isn’t that deal a betrayal? At least he’s forcing his mother to cooperate.
There are more nasty betrayals in here. And one of those finds Grier coming to accept the truth of what Amelie did. It’s but one example of how clueless Grier is, lol. Poor Linus.
There’s plenty of action in this alternate world Edwards has created, and that trip to Atlanta opens up yet more with even more characters, as we see how Linus lives in Atlanta and the “fear” in which he’s held.
Then there’s that constant underlying threat that the Grande Dame will put Grier back in Atramentous.
The Story
Vampires are abandoning the Society in droves. Out of the six masters taken in for questioning in How to Save an Undead Life, 1, four are dead.
It’s quite convenient when Linus invites Grier to attend the famous tourney at the university in Atlanta — it’ll be so much easier to test Grier’s blood without anyone suspecting the truth. It’s intended to be a fun trip for Grier, only . . .
Meanwhile Sean Voorhees still blames Grier for the attack on Marit.
The Characters
Grier Marchand Woolworth is the last of the Woolworth line and a goddess-touched necromancer. Maud Woolworth had been her guardian. Woolworth House, a.k.a. Woolly, is the sentient house Grier inherited. Eileen is her eyeball-studded grimoire. Keet is her parakeet, a psychopomp. Oscar Horrigan is the six-year-old ghost Grier adopted. Jolene is the motorcycle Boaz sold Grier for $1.
Amelie Madison is Grier’s best friend pursuing an accounting degree and now ten times the nag Woolly had ever been. During her house arrest, she’s serving as Grier’s financial advisor. Ambrose is the dybbuk whom Amelie had invited to possess her. Boaz Pritchard is her older brother, an Elite, whom Grier loves. Willie is Boaz’s new motorcycle. Macon is their younger brother. Matron Pritchard and her husband are their parents — who hate Grier.
The chilly Linus Lawson III, a.k.a. Doodlebug, is a not-blood cousin of Grier’s as well as being the potentate of Atlanta. Formally, he’s known as Scion Lawson. Cletus is Linus’ increasingly sentient wraith. Julius is Linus’ great horned owl familiar. The even chillier Clarice Lawson is Linus’ mother AND the Grande Dame of their Society. Timothy Mercer is Linus’ sperm donor who lives in Montana.
In Atlanta, Linus lives in the very swanky and secure Faraday where that suck-up Hubert is the night manager. Hood, a gwyllgi, is one of the watchmen. Fear them! They’re contractually allowed to eat people. Meiko is the very jealous nekomata and Linus’ second familiar who is evilly mischievous. Ian is battling the angry Vi. Lethe Kinase is the alpha-in-waiting and daughter of the Atlanta gwyllgi pack. Midas is her younger brother.
Mary Alice, an information broker, who owns the Mad Tatter, and Oslo are friends of Linus’ from Atlanta. Mitch, a real artist, had been Mary Alice’s husband. Reardon McAllister is a rogue vampire (and somewhat crazy) who works as a chemist at Strophalos University. Mathew offers basic self-defense classes. Victor masquerades as a sentinel janitor. Dr Daria Schmidt is at Gershwin Memorial Hospital.
Eloise and Heloise Marchand are Grier’s maternal twin cousins — from the Marchand line that had disowned Grier’s mother. Dame Severine Marchand is the Marchand family matriarch and, technically, not Grier’s grandmother.
Evangeline “Evie” Marchand had been Grier’s mother who died in a car crash when Grier was five. Grier has no idea who her father is. Odette Lecomte had been Maude’s best friend and is a famous seer. Jean-Claude, a cranky old cat, had been Odette’s familiar. The Master is the only family Grier has left.
The Society for Post-Life Management is . . .
. . . a group of magic-users split into High and Low Society ruled over by the Grande Dame. Not being a fertile bunch, the necromancers tried an experiment by having some of them breed with humans. Oops. Sentinels are the enforcement part of Society with Elites an upper tier. The flirtatious Heinz is a medic. Taz is an Elite who is teaching Grier how to defend herself — although she is pretty brutal with Grier. She hates High Society for what they did to her brother, Rajib. The Lyceum is their center of government. The Undead Coalition are vampires and part of Society, although too many are pulling out.
Matron Whitaker is Adelaide Whitaker, since her mother died three months ago. The deal includes Amelie.
Ernestine and Frederick are stupid vampires. Lena had been Grier’s caregiver in How to Save an Undead Life, 1, and turned out to have been Grier’s nursemaid as a baby.
Cricket Meacham owns Haint Misbehavin’, a company that tours ghostly haunts. She’s planning to extend as River Haints. Neely Torres moonlights as Cricket’s make-up artist, although he’s expanded his fashion role to Grier’s fashion consultant; he’s married to the grumpy Cruz Torres, a human who works for the Society. “Blue Belle” had been Grier’s character on the tour. Marit Voorhees is a human friend of Grier’s whose father, Sean, owns the River Boat Steam ships. The Cora Ann is still being refurbished.
Detective Caitlin Russo of the human Savannah PD is still overly interested in Grier. Mallow is Grier’s favorite restaurant?
Resuscitation is the process by which necromancers create vampires from humans. Atramentous is the prison from which Grier was liberated. Dame Hildebrand Gershwin had sent a wedding invitation. Tony, a pizza truck driver, gets hired on as a driver. Haywood Square is a Society mall.
The Cover and Title
The cover is dark in browns and purples with the long-haired Grier in a black leather jacket and jeans sitting on Jolene, her motorcycle in what appears to be a brown and black field in front of a white Victorian Woolworth House. The sky is dark with purples and black while the lower quarter of a full moon is covered over by clouds and flying birds. At the top right is the series info in white. The title begins just under the top of the motorcycle wheel in a pale yellow. The author’s name is at the bottom in the lightish purple.
The title is that danged Boaz in How to Break an Undead Heart.
