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laurenslovelylittlelife 's review for:
Grave Birds
by Dana Elmendorf
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you to NetGalley and HTP for the opportunity to read this eARC and give my honest thoughts!
First of all, let me say that this was absolutely a fast-paced and engaging plot! I loved the small Southern town setting and being from the South myself, I can definitely appreciate the subtleties represented here (neighbors disguising gossip as prayer requests, the obvious “old money” family and their connections being what gives them power, as well as the strong religious undertones that seem to be the foundation in any small Southern town).
What kind of threw me off is that this is listed more as a fantasy and in my opinion this would be better marketed as a Southern Gothic paranormal fantasy rather than a straight fantasy. The Southern Gothic vibes are dark and unsettling especially as you get farther into the story, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this book as I read it! The aspect of grave birds and seeing past memories of the deceased was a really interesting part of the plot, and I read this in a day and a night because once I started I couldn’t put it down!
If you like small Southern towns with big secrets, mysterious natural occurrences, themes of good vs. evil, and a mystery begging to be solved, then you should definitely pick this one up!
First of all, let me say that this was absolutely a fast-paced and engaging plot! I loved the small Southern town setting and being from the South myself, I can definitely appreciate the subtleties represented here (neighbors disguising gossip as prayer requests, the obvious “old money” family and their connections being what gives them power, as well as the strong religious undertones that seem to be the foundation in any small Southern town).
What kind of threw me off is that this is listed more as a fantasy and in my opinion this would be better marketed as a Southern Gothic paranormal fantasy rather than a straight fantasy. The Southern Gothic vibes are dark and unsettling especially as you get farther into the story, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this book as I read it! The aspect of grave birds and seeing past memories of the deceased was a really interesting part of the plot, and I read this in a day and a night because once I started I couldn’t put it down!
If you like small Southern towns with big secrets, mysterious natural occurrences, themes of good vs. evil, and a mystery begging to be solved, then you should definitely pick this one up!