A Grave so Cold (A Grave so Cold, #1) Review

 

Book Source: BookSirens

Cross-post Review: Chantie's Goodreads Review

Type: Ongoing series 

Starred Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Smut Rating: 🌶/5

A Grave so Cold (A Grave so Cold, #1)

I was cruising through BookSirens for an ARC Read when I stumbled on A Grave So Cold by CM Tillman. The horror tag got me a little nervous. I’m not a big fan of horror in anything. But the synopsis had me intrigued. To solve my curiosity, I requested a sample---meaning the first two chapters of the book. A quick read and I was even more intrigued. I raced to get the full book and gobbled it up in record time. 

Willow was an ordinary girl living in an ordinary town. And because she thought her life was too boring, she opted to go to a college Halloween party with her long-time crush Zack Hunter. Let’s just say, things didn’t turn out how she wanted them to. Zack was a sleaze bag. Thankfully, Willow was the kind of protagonist with her head on her body. She learnt the truth and ditched the guy---she ran away. Into a cemetery. Yep, she did that. A situation which caused her to stumble and cut her arm on a grave. This was where she met a stranger.  Like this girl didn’t hear about stranger-danger. Little miss brought the stranger back to her house. Who does that? Apparently Willow. Her action caused her life to be turned upside down. 

I liked Willow. Even through her dumb decisions, she had me wanting to follow her to the end. CM Tillman did a wonderful job with that. I enjoyed the former chapters. The mystery of everything kept me hooked even through the parts where something was unfolding. I would have given this story a five star if the author hadn’t killed everything with the whole love-triangle crap. I am not a big fan of love triangle, and the former chapter never gave the impression there would be any. 

The story felt more like it ended at the plot point of the post mid-point action hero of a story structure. It was then that I realized the story was the first in a series. What’s the name of the series? I have no idea. Nothing indicated that much. It wasn’t on the book cover or the book bio/synopsis. I overlooked the side section which said it was the first in a series. Therefore, the mistake was solely on my part. Either way, I brought this up to let potential readers who might be looking at the book cover or anywhere else know this is the first book in a series. 

Did it end with a cliffhanger? I wouldn’t classify how it ended as a cliffhanger. At all. It left me pissed rather than wanting to wait for the next book. As I said, it didn’t give me what I needed. One minute the characters were arguing about something---which I thought was supposed to be a lesson meant to teach me something, and the next the book was ending. In no way did I get that the theme of this first book was resolved. When the author had an opportunity to ease me into the cliffhanger to make me satisfied enough to want to wait for book two, the author rushed through it. I was disappointed. The story was so good up to the latter chapters. Why author? Why? 

Then there was the whole erotic tag with the book. Maybe my idea of erotic and the author’s idea of erotic are two different things. Because my idea of erotic is not waiting until the book is nearly done for any smut scenes. So, if you are going into this book thinking you will have to carry a fan with you, don’t. The few smut scenes could have been better. They weren’t the worst, but I have experienced better. 

Overall, the story was good, but it could have been much much better. I wasn’t a big fan of the ending. I gave it a four star instead of three because most of the book was enjoyable. That was before the author went rogue. Will I read book two? I doubt it. Will I recommend this book to others? Yes. The horror wasn’t graphic, and the mystery was on point. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy a good mystery. I can’t say anything about the main theme because I felt it wasn’t resolved. But what I can say is this book would be great for readers who have survived being lied to by the people they care about. Sometimes people keep things from us because they think it will benefit us in the end. Willows story was a prime example of that. Hopefully, the author improves with book two.