This one, in a word, is 'satisfying.' Silas and Darien's relationship is still counted in days, although they have been through a lot and go through more in this installment, so I am on board with their deep feelings. There's enough magical progress, there's enough trouble in the plot, I didn't notice any plot holes, and as always I enjoyed the humor. But I give it four instead of five stars because this time the magic felt less wonderous, and more nuts-and-bolts. (Had this same issue with the latest Harry Dresden book, and dnf'd it.) Hope the next one's better again. (Writing a series is hard, y'all.) ( )

Powered By Ghosts is the second book in the ‘Necromancer’ series. This is told in third person through Darien, Silas, and Grim’s povs.



I really enjoyed this story. It’s an excellent follow up to ‘Marked By Death’. Book One was scary, but this one was scarier, at least for me. I’m not one to read spooky books or watch scary movies, so when reading this, I had to set it down numerous times to catch my breath and get through it. But I think most people won’t have a problem with it. The book takes off right after the first one as Silas takes a job to rid a town of ghosts. He brings Darien along, and of course Grim is by his side. As the trio hunt down the ghosts, they discover a larger menace in the town and have to figure a way to get rid of it.

Even though this story is also focused on ghosts and the Otherworld, the author skillfully wove in the issue of Silas and Darien growing as a couple. We see how Silas’ insecurity leads to him growing jealous of Darien and his imagined interest in other men. We also see them learn how to manage the power dynamics between them. Silas has always looked after Darien when they knew each other as neighbors. Now, Darien is grown with his own powers but he’s still a novice. Silas wants to protect him, but Darien doesn’t want to be coddled. So, there is a clash of relationship dynamics and the fact that Darien brings in new ideas of how power works, while Silas is used to doing things the expected, traditional way. Darien and Silas fall in love a bit quickly, but at the same time I can understand it. Darien already hero-worshipped Silas for a long time. Now he has Silas again, and Silas can teach him about everything. Darien has an unbelievable thirst for knowledge, which draws him even closer to Silas. Silas has been alone for quite some time until Darien pretty much forces himself into Silas’ life. Silas trusts him and I think that’s one of the main reasons Silas fell in love with Darien. He never really trusted anyone so completely before.

There are two new characters that appear, first a dog familiar for Darien. I absolutely adored, Pip! He was young, optimistic, devoted to Darien, and courageous. Through Pip, the author was able to add humor and lightness to a story when it could possibly grow too heavy. The second new character is Jasper, a sorceror like Darien, but not near as powerful. Jasper is prone to experimentation that has aged him but he loves knowledge and learning like Darien. Jasper is a good addition because, Darien and Silas need allies, and to build friendships outside their own little coupledom. I can't wait to see how Jasper integrates into future books. I'd love to have him find his own familiar and find a partner of his own.

I like how the author revealed and explained a little more about the Otherworld and the powers, but didn’t explain everything. The readers are like Darien, we’re all newbies at learning about what the powers and the Otherworld is about, and even Silas doesn’t know all that much about the Otherworld. In this book, something is revealed about the River, the Otherworld, and powers, that none of them knew about, even Grim. I’m just going to have to remain patient and wait for the author to explain more about everything when she writes future books in this series.

Powered By Ghosts was entertaining, and spooky, with humorous moments. I was never bored reading it. I liked the way the author had Silas grow from being just jealous, to admitting to himself and Darien, that he needed to work on himself. Jealousy doesn’t just vanish, but Silas was determined to make himself a better person, so that mattered. Pip was adorable. If anything read this book for Pip. This book deserves a solid 5 Stars and I recommend it to everyone.

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This was a fun sequel to Marked by Death - Darien and Silas are still finding their feet in their relationship while exploring a new ghostly mystery. We meet a few new characters, including Darien's familiar Pip! ( )