Wake the Dead

The Journals of Octavia Hollows, Book 1

By: Stacey Rourke

Narrated by: Brenda Scott Wlazlo

With a touch of her hand, Octavia Hollows can restore life. Yet, she couldn’t save the man she loved from the horrific accident that stole him from her. Octavia thought she could outrun the pain, but ghosts from the past refuse to be silenced. Out of options, she chooses to retrace her wayward journey across the country in search of answers. Surrounded by baffling mysteries of the undead, what she learns about herself along the way might become her greatest weapon.

Seattle, Washington: Land of cloudy skies and a great cup of coffee.

Octavia blew into town in search of information, only to get swirled up in a paranormal predicament even she couldn’t fathom. A neonatal nurse is dead, and her young patient is aging at an alarming rate.

Can Octavia unlock the secrets to this confusing curse before time runs out?

©2019 Stacey Rourke (P)2019 The Audio Flow, LLC and Stacey Rourke

Fun and Entertaining

The synopsis caught my attention and based on prior experience with the author; I knew I had to read/listen to Wake the Dead. I had no regrets about my decision. I enjoyed my journey with Octavia and her trusty companion, Bacon her resurrected pet pig.

Octavia and her pig sets out on a journey to figure out the circumstances of her fiancé’s death and disappearance of his body. While on her journey she found herself knee deep in a weird mystery investigation.


The characters were a hoot, my favorite being Octavia who is a witch and a necromancer. She is not your typical necromancer, as she possesses the Lazarus effect, where the persons or animals she resurrects are brought back to life in their original form, providing their death was not violent. Growing up had not been easy for her. She lost her parents, spent her life in foster care. She had difficulty making friends, as she was considered weird because of her magic. As a result, she is cautious when it comes to the use of her magic.

The author created an atmosphere infused with humour, sarcasm, magic and action.

Brenda Scott Wlazlo narrated this awesome story. As a new to me narrator, I did not know what to expect. However, she did not disappoint. She did an excellent job. She brought the story to life and she exhibits her versatility in the portrayal of the characters’ voices.

Conclusion/Recommendation
To sum up Wake the Dead was an awesome start to the series and I am looking forward to more adventures with Octavia and Bacon. I recommend this one to fans of Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Cozy Mysteries.

Amazing!

This was my first Stacey Rourke's book, and won't be my last. This is the first book in The Journals of Octavia Hollows Series. I loved it! The story reminded me the TV Show Pushing Daisies. I love the characters and the storyline. Brenda Scott Wlazlo did an amazing job with the narration. I enjoyed listening to this audiobook, and I can't wait for the next book in the Series. I highly recommend it.

I need the rest of the audio books, Please HELP!!

I know the other books have been created in audiobook so where are they? The narration was so excellent - which is not always the case. I really want to HEAR where this series goes. HELP!!!!

Fresh, sassy and addictive

I devoured the first journal entry of Octavia Hollows as she took on a supernatural entity. Octavia is a necromancer with sass, a chip on her shoulder and a dead pig for a pet. Need I say more?

Brenda Scott Wlazio was a new to me narrator but she nailed Octoavia's persona and the secondary characters.

Rourke developed the world, giving us a little back story and has me eager to listen to more. It looks like each journal with deal with a case and develop the overall series ARC. I am all in.

Kinda goofy

When reading the description of this book, I got the impression that it would be a dark tale. But it’s not. It’s an easy listen maybe worth spending a couple hours with but not really memorable. Book one is the only one available on Audible, even though apparently, there’s a book set of six books, they’re just not available here. Book one resolves the first adventure, so it’s not really a cliffhanger. I’m glad I purchased this book instead of wasting one of my credits. Ms. Wlazlo performed excellently.