Girl at the Grave

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Manufacturer: Teri Bailey Black
Brand: Young Adult Fiction, Historical Fiction
Brew: Hardback
Steeping Time: 336 pages
Tea Service: Personal Choice
Strength:

Synopsis: A mother hanged for murder.
A daughter left to pick up the pieces of their crumbling estate.
Can she clear her family’s name if it means facing her own dark past?

Valentine has spent years trying to outrun her mother’s legacy. But small towns have long memories, and when a new string of murders occurs, all signs point to the daughter of a murderer.

Only one person believes Valentine is innocent―Rowan Blackshaw, the son of the man her mother killed all those years ago. Valentine vows to find the real killer, but when she finally uncovers the horrifying truth, she must choose to face her own dark secrets, even if it means losing Rowan in the end.

Have you ever found a book so full of twists and turns that you can’t see straight?

Girl at the Grave certainly took me for a wild ride.

I love spooky settings. I don’t know what it is about Victorian New England or the Victorian era in general, but it will always feel spooky to me no matter the story. Add in a winter chill and a murder mystery? You’ve got me hooked.

Girl at the Grave is full of so many twists and turns that you’ll have trouble keeping your head on straight. For me, the pacing was the perfect balance of slow, quiet moments with high-intensity flashes strewn throughout. The quiet moments are a welcome break to the wonderfully weaved storyline that is thick with suspicion and unanswered questions.

Mixed with all of the murder and intrigue is your classic YA love triangle. Is it a common trope? Sure. But it’s one that I’m not tired of, and I was 100% there for it. Poor Valentine is caught between the ever-constant Sam and the brooding, off-limits Rowan. The love story adds a whole other layer to Girl at the Grave, and I enjoyed it. This is very much down to personal taste in a novel because I’ve seen other reviewers that hated it. So, take it all at face value and decide for yourself.

At its core, Girl at the Grave is a Gothic romance styled in the Young Adult genre.

It’s definitely a book geared towards teens, but that doesn’t mean the story isn’t entertaining. That being said, if you don’t enjoy all of the teen angst that comes along with the genre, you won’t enjoy this story either. There’s lots of teen drama that pulls away from the murder storyline, so be forewarned if that’s not your cup of tea.

Taking Girl at the Grave for what it is, I truly enjoyed it. If it were geared more for adults, I’d have loved it even more. There could have been more focus on the murder, and the depth of the mystery could have lost a twist here or a turn there, but for a teen Gothic romance, it hit the mark for me.

If you’re looking for a quick read and a great murder mystery, I think you’ll enjoy Girl at the Grave just as much as I did. It’s all creepy vibes, minus the ghosts, with a love story thrown in for good measure. And all the teenage angst a book can muster.

Have you read Girl at the Grave? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about it! Want to read it for yourself? Click here to get a copy of your own.
Cheers,
Lydia