Waking the Dead

I am really impressed with this author and their way of weaving words, mythologies, religion, and the dichotomy of death and life in a way that is believable. The first book in this series hooked me, and now this one has me fully invested in this idea of being both dead and alive, and all the complexities that involve being human combined with the aforementioned idea. Now I’m inspired to read more about ancient history and religions. Kudos to the author.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. The opinions are all mine.

Hyacinth Finch wants nothing more than to be left alone, especially when it comes to the Dead, but her boss, Archangel Michael, has other ideas. He needs her help to not only retrieve one of his rocks from a collector in Germany, but he tasks her to be an afterlife sorter. The only problem: Hyacinth has trouble telling who’s alive and who’s dead. Good thing she has her dead French cop friend/lover Eric to help her.



Things go from bad to mega bad when she, her nephew Geordi and Eric meet with the German collector and his overly friendly wife, Rachel. It’s a scene out of a Grimm fairy tale where nothing is as it appears. Strange occurrences take place and the more Hyacinth unravels, the deeper she risks the life of her nephew, Geordi, and even her own undead existence. On top of everything else, Jason, Geordi’s uncle, is back and so is the love triangle. Can Hyacinth get Michael’s rock back in time to avert an apocalypse the world has never seen? More importantly, can she figure out this crazy love triangle she finds herself in?



I’ve been waiting a year for this sequel to the RITA Finalist, Debriefing the Dead, and oh boy, it was worth it. From the first page, I was riveted to the story. Hyacinth gets to experience the darker part of being dead and working for Michael. There’s a definite darker feel to this book and I loved it. Mythology, demon worshipping, demon prejudice and romance all play a part in Waking the Dead. There’s a certain sub-plot that not only rang true historically but scared the crap out of me. I had to continue telling myself it was only a story, not real. Because if it was, damn, I’m heading for the hills.



The romantic elements were the classic trope of a love triangle but with a twist. One’s a demon and the other’s a ghost. While it helps the heroine is dead, I honestly don’t know which one I’m rooting for her to choose. Both have redeeming qualities and both tie Hyacinth to the present but which man is better for her will have to be up to the author, Kerry Blaisdell.



Note: there is a cliff-hanger but I get why the author had to do it. I told her to write faster. Lol!



An intensely dark paranormal romance/urban fantasy which I highly recommend!



Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in the hopes I’d review it.



My Rating: 5+ stars



Reviewed by: Mrs. N

Skillfully written, thought provoking, page turning sequel. Tough to designate a genre for this mystery/paranormal book. So I will say it's a must read with a fun female protagonist and well drawn multifaceted antagonists. This book is a winner.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Wild Rose Press for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I belie e this is book 2 in A series and I did not read the first. So I had mixed feelings about this book. I really wanted to like Hyacinth! I found the whole thing with Angel My hawk to be just odd it seemed strange to me! there is a love triangle a cliffhanger so hence my mixed feelings. I was a bit confused as well so maybe they need to be read in order. I rate this a 3.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

well this one is better than i thought it was going to be....

hyacinth works for micheal....she helps bring souls to him so that he can dispatch them either to heaven or hell...but there is an added complication...and thats where the fun begin.

this is a fun read and if you like reading about angels and demons and raising souls then this book may be for you....

cant wait for the next in this series though...

In Walking the Dead, Archangel Michael sends Hyacinth on her first mission things, of course, go very wrong. There are enough twists and turns to keep you interested until the very end.