A review by books_with_caity
My Throat an Open Grave by Tori Bovalino

2.5

I really wanted to love this, but I think it suffers from some bad marketing, meaning it was nothing like I expected it to be. 

From what I have heard about it before reading I was expecting horror, with Labyrinth vibes, set in an eerie mystical forest. 

Set in a small and highly religious town where the Lord of the Woods spirits away babies he is offered. Leah, left to look after her baby brother while her mother works, wishes the screaming baby away. The town, ashamed with Leah, send her into the Lords domain to bring her brother back. 

Once in the Lords Woods she learns not all is as it seems as the secrets of her hometown come back to haunt her. 

I wasn't a fan of Leah's character, she annoyed me with her ignorance and she was slow to figure things out. 

The romance in this felt flat, and neither romantic character was well enough devoloped for me to care about their relationship. 

I think the overall message was good with it's criticism of forcing girls/women into having babies they do not want in the name of religion. The coverage of complex mental health issues was in my opinion well done. 

I think for the right person this would be a good read but for me, I was expecting a lot more horror, tied in with the magic of Jim Henson's Labyrinth which this just doesnt have.