Necromancing the Stone, by Lish McBride, 344 pages

(Mild spoilers since this is the sequel to Hold Me Closer, Necromancer.  You've been warned!)

After Sam's final showdown with Douglas, he finds his life shifting once more as he comes more fully into his powers.  But Douglas isn't completely gone from Sam's life, since he inherits Douglas's house, cars, money, and his pukis, or helper, James.  And since he's also the only necromancer in town, he's forced to take Douglas's seat on the Council, a group of paranormal-types that make decisions about the other supernatural creatures in the area. On top of all of that, Sam's pretty sure the lawn gnomes (led by Twinkle the Destroyer - seriously, that's his name) and other statues decorating the lawn of his new home at best, hate him, and at worst, would do anything to kick him out of his new home, including slashing his tires and letting a chupacabra loose in his room.  Plus somebody - or something  - put a knife in his little sister's door.  But Sam finds comfort in his girlfriend, Brid, and her family.  All of that changes, of course, when Brid's father, the leader of the local werewolf/fey hound pack, is murdered and Sam can't raise his body to find out why, putting him at the top of the pack's suspect list.

One of the things I loved about the last book was the world Lish McBride builds, filling it with all sorts of supernatural creatures and people.  She adds even more to this as we get to know some of the members of the Council a little better, and see some of the work they do.  At the core of this story, though, is a great message about how family can mean the people you choose to include in your life, not just those related to you.  I already can't wait for the next one.