Author: Kali Wallace
Genre: Young adult, paranormal, horror
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: January 26, 2016
368 pages, hardcover
Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.
NOTE: I was provided with an e-ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Katherine Tegen Books for letting me read this!
I needed a few days after I finished this one to fully process my thoughts on it. The concept and the magic caught my attention right away, but Shallow Graves was not really what I was expecting. I didn’t really feel connected to any of the characters, even though I did think that Breezy’s situation was intriguing. But honestly, that might be the only thing I liked about her. She was just…okay. Being dead was the best thing she had going for her.
But I finished the book. I think it’s for 2 reasons. 1. Kali Wallace’s writing is easy to read, flows well, and was pretty straightforward, and 2. The beginning was SO good and I wanted to know the end. So that’s a good thing – I was interested enough in the characters and the magic to see it through to the end. I mean, the first line is “The first time I killed a man it was an accident.” And you’re immediately drawn into this story. The first bit of the book is really cool and you’re trying to figure out what happened to Breezy and what’s going to happen to her. But the middle part? I just got a bit bored. There’s eventually a conflict and she finds something to fight for, but I almost don’t understand why. No spoilers or anything but I don’t get why she had to get involved to the extent she did.
And as much as I liked the end – the end was COOL – I didn’t really feel satisfied with the answers we were given, which weren’t many.
The bottom line: Super cool concept, good writing, but overall, not a satisfying story for me. I liked it enough to continue to the end, but I feel like there’s a little something lacking here.
Rating: 5 – Take it or leave it