Hopeless Necromantic by Shiloh Briar
Rating: 
Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.
Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.
I read most of this while in the queue for a concert (to see Lights in case you cared), and let me tell you that almost everyone that was near me in the queue was interested and we had a really good chat about it (they were sad it wasn’t out yet, but pre-orders were made). And it was super fun. Plus it is out now!
Sikras is a tired exhausted thirty something necromancer just trying to make aliving by offering his necromancy services to the people who think Death came too soon and need their family member, partner, or what not brought back to life. He otherwise passes time with Benjamin, his living skeleton companion who was part of the royal army back when he was human.
Helspira is a hopeful demon, who escaped the demon world and is trying to prove demons aren’t that bad or at least not all demons. And the best way to prove this is to become a hero, so she is part of the royal army and ends up becoming the escort for Sikras and Ben.
Their mission is to reattempt (after a few failed attempts already) to defeat another necromancer who has been rising an undead army that threatens the kingdom.
No one, not even the Queen who requested them to go on the mission, has much hope for Sikras to succeed, but they have to try. And Helpsira has to believe they can actually succeed.
And so we follow their little adventure, where they all suddenly start showing more of who they are and their secrets, and some tough questions come to Sikras about his life choices. He has many to regret and many he needs to ponder or make, because even as a necromancer, there is a lot of life to live and to deal with, maybe even more than death.
The humour in this was a winner. Part of the reason a lot of people ended up interested in it was my facial expressions while reading and my giggles and laughs over it. It is also, incredibly emotional and heartfelt. IT is like the friend who comes and brings snacks, a blanket and some comedy films to cheer you up. It is a romance, and it is a lot of laughing, and it is a a D&D adventure type of thing (think a bit of a Baldur’s Gate 3 romp around).
It will also ask what is to be alive, and what living means. Some interesting questions. I wanted to hug all 3 main characters throughout the book, and I wanted just to have them win and go on with life, but also be best friends forever, and it was so wholesome (despite the necromancy and the dead and you know, the impending doom). Helpsira is a cinnamon roll and a ray of sunshine. Ben makes the best side kick and just a lot of snark and fun from him, and then Sikras with his doomed life and his sadness and you absolutely want to fix him (or for someone to fix him, *cough* Helpsira *cough*) and live a better life, because despte his chaos he deserves good.
There is a lot packed into a small book, and it is absolutely worth reading for the smiles it will put on your face and the lightness it will leave you with after you finish reading it.