What do you think?
Rate this book
Grave is the concluding novel in the gripping Queen of the Dead paranormal trilogy.
Emma and her friends have survived the Necromancers sent to the city to kill them. They've gone to ground in a cottage north of the city, but time is not on their side. There are no barriers that can keep the dead out, and the dead obey their Queen. It's only a matter of time before they're found.
Nathan has been blessed by the Queen of the Dead. She has granted him a physical body. He can eat, he can breathe, he can speak and be heard. The Queen calls this resurrection. Nathan calls it Hell. The living think he's alive. He's not. He's trapped in the citadel that the Queen of the Dead calls home.
Emma wants to free him. To do that she has to survive long enough to reach the City of the Dead, and face its ancient Queen. But the city of the dead is the heart of the Queen's stronghold—and her power. Emma can't do it alone.
She's not alone. But even with hunters and her own dead at her side, what hope does she have against a woman who has lived so long, and grown so powerful, she's almost a god?
Emma and her friends have survived the Necromancers sent to the city to kill them. They've gone to ground in a cottage north of the city, but time is not on their side. There are no barriers that can keep the dead out, and the dead obey their Queen. It's only a matter of time before they're found.
Nathan has been blessed by the Queen of the Dead. She has granted him a physical body. He can eat, he can breathe, he can speak and be heard. The Queen calls this resurrection. Nathan calls it Hell. The living think he's alive. He's not. He's trapped in the citadel that the Queen of the Dead calls home.
Emma wants to free him. To do that she has to survive long enough to reach the City of the Dead, and face its ancient Queen. But the city of the dead is the heart of the Queen's stronghold—and her power. Emma can't do it alone.
She's not alone. But even with hunters and her own dead at her side, what hope does she have against a woman who has lived so long, and grown so powerful, she's almost a god?
464 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2017
38 people are currently reading
739 people want to read
About the author
Michelle Sagara
54 books1,798 followersSee also:
Michelle Sagara West
Michelle West
Michelle is an author, bookseller, and lover of literature based in Toronto. She writes fantasy novels as both Michelle Sagara and Michelle West (and sometimes as Michelle Sagara West). You can find her books at fine booksellers.
She lives in Toronto with her long-suffering husband and her two children, and to her regret has no dogs.
Reading is one of her life-long passions, and she is sometimes paid for her opinions about what she’s read by the venerable Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. No matter how many bookshelves she buys, there is Never Enough Shelf space. Ever.
She has published as Michelle Sagara (her legal name), as Michelle West (her husband's surname), and as Michelle Sagara West (a combination of the two).
Michelle Sagara West
Michelle West
Michelle is an author, bookseller, and lover of literature based in Toronto. She writes fantasy novels as both Michelle Sagara and Michelle West (and sometimes as Michelle Sagara West). You can find her books at fine booksellers.
She lives in Toronto with her long-suffering husband and her two children, and to her regret has no dogs.
Reading is one of her life-long passions, and she is sometimes paid for her opinions about what she’s read by the venerable Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. No matter how many bookshelves she buys, there is Never Enough Shelf space. Ever.
She has published as Michelle Sagara (her legal name), as Michelle West (her husband's surname), and as Michelle Sagara West (a combination of the two).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
December 24, 2017
*Source* Publisher via NetGalley
*Genre* YA, Urban Fantasy
*Rating* 3.5
*My Thoughts*
Grave is the third and final installment in author Michelle Sagara's The Queen of the Dead trilogy. 17-year old Emma Hall found out that she has a unique ability. She's a necromancer with the ability to see, guide, and when she touches them, other people are able to see the dead as well. She's also a conduit. Emma hasn't exactly had a smooth ride since her boyfriend Nathan was struck and killed. Being a necromancer has come with consequences.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...
*Genre* YA, Urban Fantasy
*Rating* 3.5
*My Thoughts*
Grave is the third and final installment in author Michelle Sagara's The Queen of the Dead trilogy. 17-year old Emma Hall found out that she has a unique ability. She's a necromancer with the ability to see, guide, and when she touches them, other people are able to see the dead as well. She's also a conduit. Emma hasn't exactly had a smooth ride since her boyfriend Nathan was struck and killed. Being a necromancer has come with consequences.
*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*
https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...
June 7, 2017
Hard-hitting finale to the series--touches on a lot of difficult subjects on death and grief, and children and parents and how those bonds can make or break us. Extremely well done but do expect to feel wrung out by the end!
Want to read
September 7, 2014I can't wait for this book. This series has so much going on that I am DYING for more info. Also, I'm an Eric and Emma shipper, and can't wait for them to get together. Also, I want to know what the heck is going on with Eric. King of the dead? Also, also. Chance and Allyson. <3
May 4, 2018
Last book in trilogy. My favourite part of these novels is the friendship between Emma, Ally, Michael and Amy. I expected the climax to be in the City of the Dead so was pleasantly surprised when the action moved there quite early in the novel. Creepy world-building, cool magic, sympathetic characters and a lot of depth on issues like grief and death.
Quibble: A few years have passed since I read book two, so I had trouble remembering the other more minor characters like Ernest, Margaret and Merrick. A few reminders would have been nice.
Quibble: A few years have passed since I read book two, so I had trouble remembering the other more minor characters like Ernest, Margaret and Merrick. A few reminders would have been nice.
May 4, 2017
Oh my heart. If you read Silence and loved it, read Grave. It doesn't matter if you read Touch or didn't. Sagara explains everything in this book, and what she doesn't explain doesn't matter. Yes, I'm channeling Emma when I say that. This is the story about the lantern, the Queen of the Dead, why Chase and Eric are who and what they are. This story is less about Michael and Amy and Allison and Petal, but they are all there too to make Emma whole. The story is also about what Emma is, and isn't, and how the choices she makes and the judgments she refuses to make affect everyone - alive and dead.
... her seventeen-year-old self had had time and distance. She had had her mother, her friends, school life, and her dog. Life's friction had dulled the edges of that pain until it no longer cut her anytime she returned to it. She could think of her dad now and remember the good things. The funny parts. The comforting bits. She could even remember the anger she sometimes felt.
I adore this quote for the phrase "life's friction." I'm going to remember that one and probably use it at some point. And to that end, I'm sure you know the drill by now with this series, but just in case: I cried. I cried more than once. I had a good and happy sniffle when Nathan demonstrates love born of understanding. So be warned and bring tissues.
... her seventeen-year-old self had had time and distance. She had had her mother, her friends, school life, and her dog. Life's friction had dulled the edges of that pain until it no longer cut her anytime she returned to it. She could think of her dad now and remember the good things. The funny parts. The comforting bits. She could even remember the anger she sometimes felt.
I adore this quote for the phrase "life's friction." I'm going to remember that one and probably use it at some point. And to that end, I'm sure you know the drill by now with this series, but just in case: I cried. I cried more than once. I had a good and happy sniffle when Nathan demonstrates love born of understanding. So be warned and bring tissues.
February 9, 2017
Grave was just Wow. This book was so good . In this book we see Emma and her friends take on the Queen. We get to see so many different perspectives in this book and I felt that it was so very necessary to do this because it always wonderful in to see where all the character are coming from and why they do what they do . Michelle Sagara world building was excellent . Between the magic, the danger , the drama , the love stories Michelle Sagara creates an excellent book and conclusion to the Queen of the Dead Trilogy .I felt ever character got an ending that was absolutely perfect for them and I cannot wait to see what Michelle Sagara writes next. If you look for a Unique Paranormal story you should definitely pick up a copy of Grave.
February 26, 2017
Quite a satisfying ending to the series. The final showdown with the Queen of the Dead in her city takes a long time resolve, but Sagara is good at character introspection, taking her readers deep into the heart and mind of her protagonist. This book is a deep dive into death, dying, grief, sorrow, loss, and the evil that people do as a result. It makes me wonder what the author has experienced in her life that she can write like this. Even in the midst of a fantasy world, you have no doubt that her characters are human, complete with all the failings and the wonder that brings. I particularly love the character of Michael, the autistic friend. This may be the end of the trilogy, but I would welcome more books with these characters.
February 7, 2017
The is the conclusion to Michelle Sagara Queen of the Dead trilogy and she has done an amazing job in creating characters that her readers will relate to, connect with, and continue to think about long after the story is done.This review was originally posted on Books In Brogan
May 7, 2017
A young adult paranormal novel about kindness, coping with loss and grief, friendship, accepting people as they are without judgment, protecting the innocent, understanding that broken people do broken things, and the freedom to be true to yourself. The storytelling is poignant and emotional, and it is painful to witness grieving and the things people do because they fear being alone. The plot is intricate and exciting and builds to a satisfying pitch.
February 22, 2017
An excellent, if bittersweet end to the Queen of the Dead series, although I felt the mid-section of the book dragged at times while Emma figured out her powers. Events moved fairly quickly towards the end, however, and the resolution was powerful and rewarding--be warned, tissues are a must! (But tbh, those kinds of books are often among my favorites.)
March 10, 2017
Oh, yes, this was such a fantastic book, and it was just so enjoyable! And yeah, a great ending to the series!
June 24, 2017
A very satisfying ending.
August 15, 2017
Great series
March 19, 2018
This is a good conclusion to this series. Sagara didn't go crazy or try to do anything fancy, but she managed to get everything wrapped up quite smoothly in the end.
March 10, 2017
this one was problematic for me
As in everything Michelle writes, this was very well-written, and in places, just beautiful--but it also had real issues. Many of the characters I'd found most interesting had become stagnant, and in this part of the story, they had to be carried by whatever we'd learned of them in earlier books, since except for Chase, Helmi and Nathaniel, everyone else stayed in the background without developing or changing. We didn't hear much from Allison, Amy or Michael, and Michelle's usual loving explications of Michael's gifts, patterns and quirks were comparatively absent. Of the people that accompanied Emma to the City, most seemed to have little or no purpose there, Amy especially, and I'd completely forgotten Ernest was even present until he popped up to do a few things at the end. So unlike every single other book Michelle has written, the book's people were less than stellar for me.
Also unlike any other book Michelle has ever written, I had a hard time reading this book. Normally I get one of Michelle's books and I race right through it joyfully. This one was a slog for me, especially from around 60 % - 80%. It just felt so unrelievedly heavy. Unlike the other two books in the series, there was very little humor, lightness, joy or action (until right at the end). I felt too deeply submerged in Emma's grief and Reyna's misery, I was overburdened by their pain, and there was too little happening that wasn't hard, dangerous or terrifying--anything that might balance the grave weight of darkness wasn't there.
Then, too, Emma's burdens aren't mine, so she's often hard for me to sympathize with. I didn't grow up in a family built on guilt, and I don't question my own confidence or strength (though I'm not like Amy at all), so taking responsibility is easy for me, and Emma's fearful refrains on those subjects got irritating.
In the first two books, Emma managed to find her own way and seemed to be beginning to understand that just because her strength looks different from other people's, that doesn't make her weak. In this book she'd reverted back to quivering self-critical Emma and needed to relearn almost everything about herself and power. It was disappointing and aggravating to have her backslide so quickly.
Then there was Eric, who continued to be a cypher and now was a mostly mute cypher to boot. We were told he'd loved Reyna, but no one seemed to know if he still did, we knew that Eric and Chase treated each other like brothers, and that Eric trusted Emma almost since they met. Most of that we got in the first book, though, with nothing new added in the following ones.
what all this adds up to for me is the only book of Michelle's that I won't reread. I'm not sorry I read it once, esp. as the first book was so good, but that's it for me.
I'm really looking forward to the next installments in both the House and Cast series, where Michelle writes with such imaginative richness and grace.
As in everything Michelle writes, this was very well-written, and in places, just beautiful--but it also had real issues. Many of the characters I'd found most interesting had become stagnant, and in this part of the story, they had to be carried by whatever we'd learned of them in earlier books, since except for Chase, Helmi and Nathaniel, everyone else stayed in the background without developing or changing. We didn't hear much from Allison, Amy or Michael, and Michelle's usual loving explications of Michael's gifts, patterns and quirks were comparatively absent. Of the people that accompanied Emma to the City, most seemed to have little or no purpose there, Amy especially, and I'd completely forgotten Ernest was even present until he popped up to do a few things at the end. So unlike every single other book Michelle has written, the book's people were less than stellar for me.
Also unlike any other book Michelle has ever written, I had a hard time reading this book. Normally I get one of Michelle's books and I race right through it joyfully. This one was a slog for me, especially from around 60 % - 80%. It just felt so unrelievedly heavy. Unlike the other two books in the series, there was very little humor, lightness, joy or action (until right at the end). I felt too deeply submerged in Emma's grief and Reyna's misery, I was overburdened by their pain, and there was too little happening that wasn't hard, dangerous or terrifying--anything that might balance the grave weight of darkness wasn't there.
Then, too, Emma's burdens aren't mine, so she's often hard for me to sympathize with. I didn't grow up in a family built on guilt, and I don't question my own confidence or strength (though I'm not like Amy at all), so taking responsibility is easy for me, and Emma's fearful refrains on those subjects got irritating.
In the first two books, Emma managed to find her own way and seemed to be beginning to understand that just because her strength looks different from other people's, that doesn't make her weak. In this book she'd reverted back to quivering self-critical Emma and needed to relearn almost everything about herself and power. It was disappointing and aggravating to have her backslide so quickly.
Then there was Eric, who continued to be a cypher and now was a mostly mute cypher to boot. We were told he'd loved Reyna, but no one seemed to know if he still did, we knew that Eric and Chase treated each other like brothers, and that Eric trusted Emma almost since they met. Most of that we got in the first book, though, with nothing new added in the following ones.
what all this adds up to for me is the only book of Michelle's that I won't reread. I'm not sorry I read it once, esp. as the first book was so good, but that's it for me.
I'm really looking forward to the next installments in both the House and Cast series, where Michelle writes with such imaginative richness and grace.
March 20, 2017
Worthy finale to the trilogy. If you like the first two, you should like this one too.
Things I liked:
--There was lots of Chase. He's always been my favourite character, so I was quite happy about that.
--The Chase/Allison romance continued to be adorable.
--Relationships of ALL sorts continue to be at the heart of this series, in all their great variety and complexity.
--There is a great non-judgementalism on the part of the characters, and probably the author, that I REALLY wish could be picked up by more people.
Things I didn't like as much (mostly criticisms for the series as a whole as well):
--Amy is constantly described as being AMAZING AWESOMESAUCE without actually giving much evidence for it. In general, there were a few too many "This character did this, of course" phrases. I think the "of course" really should have been left out, and let us figure out for ourselves what the characters are. (It's funny because Sagara is really subtle in some other ways, just not for this.)
--It didn't always capture my attention. I think I found the queen's halls a little less interesting as a central place of conflict than the more simple and personal climaxes of the previous books. I mean, this book sure tried to be simple and personal, with pov chapters for the queen herself and lots of backstory, but somehow I didn't find it so. Not sure why.
Things I liked:
--There was lots of Chase. He's always been my favourite character, so I was quite happy about that.
--The Chase/Allison romance continued to be adorable.
--Relationships of ALL sorts continue to be at the heart of this series, in all their great variety and complexity.
--There is a great non-judgementalism on the part of the characters, and probably the author, that I REALLY wish could be picked up by more people.
Things I didn't like as much (mostly criticisms for the series as a whole as well):
--Amy is constantly described as being AMAZING AWESOMESAUCE without actually giving much evidence for it. In general, there were a few too many "This character did this, of course" phrases. I think the "of course" really should have been left out, and let us figure out for ourselves what the characters are. (It's funny because Sagara is really subtle in some other ways, just not for this.)
--It didn't always capture my attention. I think I found the queen's halls a little less interesting as a central place of conflict than the more simple and personal climaxes of the previous books. I mean, this book sure tried to be simple and personal, with pov chapters for the queen herself and lots of backstory, but somehow I didn't find it so. Not sure why.
November 1, 2021
The conclusion to Emma and Nathan's love is a stark contrast to Reyna and Eric's love. This book took me five years to finally finish. When I read the first book, I was intrigued. I am a huge fan of Ms. Sagara. I like how her stories force me out of my comfort zone. Her stories are complex and not light reading. This trilogy didn't pull me in as much and I'm not quite sure why.
To read the rest of my review, click on the image below to see it on my website.
May 9, 2024
The trilogy was a bit slow to start for me, but I'm glad I came back to it, and finished the first book, which then allowed me to devour the last two because they were both very good. While the last book has touches of the author's Elantra series, this entire series on its own is still very unique from anything I've read and that feels really hard to find these days.
November 21, 2024
Sigh. Once again, Ms. Sagara starts out a series with a good premise and an interesting cast of characters and then manages to just let if fizzle out into boring and unbelievable. This time it only took to the third book in the series for me to give up. I quite enjoyed the first, Silence, the second was "ok", but this one was just not a winner at all.
February 23, 2017
A decent finale to a long awaited book. I like how Michelle wrapped up the book, giving all the characters decent closure. She did get bogged down in the memory sorting of Scoros, which I found long and boring and not especially necessary to help the story along. Otherwise a good read.
June 22, 2017
I didn't connect well with the first book, but I had enough faith in the author to soldier through the second and final books. Despite that, I found it too angsty, drawn out, and rather unsatisfying.
November 23, 2018
This book took a totally different tern than I thought and I was glad to have kept on reading until the end. I should have trusted Sagara sensei. Great end to the series.
October 14, 2019
So Bleeding Preachy
Good grief. I wanted to enjoy the story,I did. But I couldn't. It was so buried in moralizing it was tough to wade through.
Good grief. I wanted to enjoy the story,I did. But I couldn't. It was so buried in moralizing it was tough to wade through.
September 18, 2021
I liked the plot. The end was fitting.
The book dragged a bit but I am still thankful I read it
The book dragged a bit but I am still thankful I read it
December 3, 2024
Great Story - Storytelling, such as details and transitions, and who's speaking could be more clear.
October 20, 2022
The ending of this story was much more satisfying than I expected given the second book, particularly the resolution of the Queen's storyline. The teenage relationships and ethics are the strength of this series and they really make the story come alive. Choices, consequences, big feelings - all compelling and realistic given the teenage protagonists, even if an expectation of time might mellow some of the intensity of some of their conclusions. I'm glad I read this, but the series is not my favourite from the author.
February 8, 2017
I had a hard time with the character viewpoint switches, but after a few chapters I got the hang of it. I was silly and did not read the previous novels first which made it hard to understand. It is definitely a young adult novel, it reads almost in a juvenile way, but that is not a bad thing, it adds to the age of the characters. I am going to go back and read the previous novels and reread this and then update my review.
December 12, 2023
It took me too long to read and I'm not sure why because I really like the author's writing /storytelling. All in all, a really good series and ended when it should end. I really liked the characters and the imagined way things would work in this world.
It's fantasy but with a good attempt to explain the how and why. I like that. No cringy romance or dialogue. No smut.Big plus!
It's fantasy but with a good attempt to explain the how and why. I like that. No cringy romance or dialogue. No smut.Big plus!
March 28, 2017
Book one was good. Book two was OK. Book three was rather meh.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews