I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

When you grow up in a funeral home, death is just another part of life. But for sixteen-year-old Jaxon Santiago-Noble, it’s also part of his family’s legacy. Most dead bodies in the town of Jacob’s Barrow wind up at Jaxon’s house; his mom is the local mortician, after all. He doesn’t usually pay them much mind, but when Christian Reyes is brought in after a car accident, Jaxon’s world is turned upside down.

There are a lot of things Jaxon wishes he could have said to his once best friend and first crush. When he accidentally resurrects Christian, Jaxon might finally have that chance. But the more he learns about his newfound necromancy, the more he grasps that Christian’s running on borrowed time—and it's almost out.

As he navigates dark, mysterious magics and family secrets, Jaxon realizes that stepping into an inherited power may also mean opening up old family wounds if he wants to keep the boy he may be falling for alive for good.

Short and Sweet Review

Jaxon’s family runs the funeral home in town, so seeing dead bodies roll through is normal for Jaxon. When the next body on the table belongs to Jaxon’s former friend Christian, Jaxon is shocked but also regrets the things he never got to tell Christian. Jaxon accidentally resurrects Christian and he learns that his family has abilities related to necromancy he also learns that Christian is running on borrowed time. As Jaxon learns more about his abilities he becomes determined to keep Christian with him as long as he can.

I wasn’t sure about this book when I started reading it, but something about the writing was comforting and the premise was interesting and I didn’t want to put the book down. Jaxon is our main character and funny enough his mom runs the local funeral home. When Jaxon accidentally resurrects Christian he learns that this power comes from his father’s side of the family, unfortunately his father is deceased. Jaxon’s aunt ends up coming to answer some of his questions and it was intriguing to hear that they all had different abilities when it came to the dead. I will say his aunt was a bit sketchy and not always forthcoming with answers. Jaxon and Christian were friends but had a falling out in middle school so once Christian is alive again it isn’t love at first sight, it does take some time for Jaxon to warm up to him. Christian is a light hearted person and he loves to joke around but he’s also sweet and caring. I did enjoy seeing them spend time together and repair their relationship. We also have Regan who is Jaxon’s best friend and she’s supportive and keeps Jaxon grounded and reels him back in when he goes too far with some his comments. We see Jaxon do his own research into how they can keep Christian around longer than the borrowed time he has. I think this was the most heart wrenching because our characters know there’s a chance Christian could die again and to lose someone twice is a lot. The pacing in this book is great, there’s not a point where it goes too fast or where it’s lagging.

Overall, this book had a great balance between being a darker fantasy with necromancy and a nice contemporary romance. This is a great debut and it’ll have you hooked from the very beginning!