Love this author and this book tagged on my heartstrings! I loved it. Great romance and a lot of angst

This review was hard for me to write. I'm still unsure of how to adequately express the range of feelings I experienced. I could physically feel the first love's quick, brutal, soul-rendering impact.

This book is raw, angsty, and soul-searching. You'll go through the motions of being angry and considering what ifs and even whys. I can relate to grief because I'm now going through my own healing, which is incredibly difficult.

Without giving anything away, I'll just say that this one will put you in a bind and that you'll probably ignore some obvious red flags. You'll feel pain, scream, cry, and most likely become enraged with Leigh. I apologize, but she doesn't deserve my man—I said it.🫠🤣

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️+

“I loved you, Ever Lawson. But I want you to know, you’re the worst thing that’s ever fucking happened to me.”

I am absolutely in love with this book. It consumed me! Easily could have been read in one sitting. It hooked me from the beginning and was so hard to put down.

This story is so much more than a love triangle romance. It's about grief and guilt and healing. Loving and forgiving others, but also forgiving yourself. How letting your fears consume you only ends in heartache.

This was an incredible journey I went on and I loved the characters. My heart broke for Everlynne throughout this book so much. Everything these characters went through was raw and real.

“If you were mediocre, you wouldn’t be running circles in my head.”

This book is sooo different from Leigh's usual stories, but was absolutely amazing and has honestly moved to the top as a favorite of mine. It's angsty and pulled so many emotions from me! I laughed, cried, swooned, was angry and sad. Happy! All the emotions.

"You know what happens to sparks?”“They turn into flames.”

I don't want to say anything else about this book other than go read it. Now!

"It was always you. Always.”

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

At 18, Ever meets the love her life in a trip overseas. The two meet and hit off. They fall quickly for each other and agree to make it work once she goes home and he stays. Life gets in the way, and they completely lose touch.

6 years later Ever is still mourning the loss of Joe. Deciding it’s time to move on, she meets Dominick and finally relents and decides to give him a chance. She doesn’t have that same spark she had with Joe, but Dom makes her feel safe and secure. Little does Ever know, that is when Joe finally makes his reappearance. She struggles with the fact that her feelings for Dom are nothing compared to Joe, but she wants to do the right thing and not make any mistakes.

Beautiful Graves is full of love, drama, secrets, and tragedy. It was such a painfully beautiful read, and I doubt I’ll ever be able to forget it.

Another great book by Lj Shen. I always enjoy her books and this one was no different I couldn't wait to read it and couldn't put it down.

LJ Shen is always a fav. I loved this one!!! So much more emotional than I was expecting. It had everything I love in a book and especially in LJ’s writing.

Tragedies can cause you to run from love or to love depending on the circumstances in life.

Beautiful Graves takes you on a journey of lost love, finding yourself in your darkest time in life when you truly feel all hope is lost and rising up from that and becoming an even better version of yourself over time.

Ever finds herself away from home after loss she’s a broken mess and I relate to her so much on so many levels, and when you are broken it can take years to be restored again, the rawness of Ever and her reality around her made me gravitate towards her character.

Finding love again after loss and giving it a chance is always a challenge, Ever meets Dom at first she’s not ready to give it a go because she’s still struggling with many things and still in love with someone else from years ago that she could of had it all with but now she has a real shot again at love, right here and now will she take it?

Life has a way of stepping in and mixing all the cards up and that is what it does when things are going great for Ever in her relationship with Dom, someone she never thought she would see again, comes in, the one she thought she belonged with, Joe pops back in. Who does her heart belong to now?

Full of twists and turns and shocks that will leave you absolutely like no way and of course in tears.

Families get rebuilt, Characters grow stronger, relationships hit turning points and finally take the road less traveled.

Beautiful Graves is a story like nothing else that the author has ever written. And it's a winner. A tragic tale of love, passion, loss, pain, and mourning that is sure to leave your heart shattered. I applaud LJ Shen for taking this plunge into unknown waters, for taking the risk to write a taboo story that is not what readers would usually want to read but one that represents the unfairness of life.
Know that this is not a light read. There are some MAJOR plot twists that will make your brain explode. Kudos, kudos, kudos, I was having all these theories in my head, but once again, the author proved that when she sets her mind on writing something awesome, she really does deliver.
But know that it's a book that will upset you many times, and will make you angry, mad, hurt, and sentimental. A grave story. But a beautiful one, nonetheless!

Beautiful Graves was so much more than I expected and I loved every word of it.

First off the cover for this book is so damn beautiful! I would grab this book based on the cover alone. And then that blurb would have me reading it immediately. Oh wait – I did do all that!!

This book is so different from what I have read from this author in the past and I absolutely loved that. She wrote this book from her soul and it shows throughout the entirety of this story.

Beautiful Graves surrounds the lives of Everlynne, Joe and Dom. It's told from each of their POV's throughout the book and it gives readers a more insightful look at their story. It is a love triangle, but nothing like you could imagine.

I won’t give away any plot points or even tell how this story goes. You must read this book without any notion (aside from the blurb) to fully grasp the rawness of this story.

But I will leave you with a few quotes from the book that hit me hard:

"Forgiving people who hurt us is not about those people at all. It is about choosing to move on with our lives. Letting go of the grudges. Healing without depending on someone else's journey."

"I loved you, Ever Lawson. But I want you to know, you're the worst thing that's ever fucking happened to me."

"Be thankful to those who helped you when you were down, and be thankful to those who didn't. The former was worth keepings and the latter helped you realize it."

While I had figured out early on what would happen in this book (and I was right on everything), it was the journey of getting to each of those plot twists that Shen wrote very well. I enjoyed these characters and could definitely tell that Shen wrote each one with a purpose in what she wanted readers to pull from them.

Another well written book from L.J.

Everlynne and her best friend Pippa take a girls trip to Spain before starting college. On their first day in Spain, Ever meets Joe and they have an instant connection with which never happens to her. They don’t get the chance to exchange any information, but they have a second encounter on the last day of her trip. When she returns home a tragic thing happens that causes Ever to loses contact with him, but she never forgets him. This tragedy also prompts Ever to run from her family and friends and start a new life. Six years later she meets Domonic and decides to finally give someone else a chance to win her heart. They from a relationship but things are not as they seem and Ever faces another tragedy that leads her to believe she is cursed. Joe inexpertly comes back into her life, and she realizes she must find her way and face the things in life she has feared. The details of the story are slowly reveled which keeps you reading to see what happens next.

It’s my favourite time of the year, LJ’s stand-alone novel! From early on in the read I knew this wasn’t going to be like anything I have read from her before and I was excited for what was to come.

The book opens with Ever attending a funeral, giving little clues for what has to come but it was the last lines of the prologue that got me!

We then follow Ever on a trip to Barcelona with her best friend Pippa, for one final hurrah before they both start Berkeley. Here she meets Joe and quickly falls for him, the feeling mutual between them both. Ever is due to fly home the following day and Joe is continuing with his travels, but they agree to keep in contact and meet back up in America when he’s back home.

Fast Forward six years and the life Ever thought she would be living is vastly different. Tragedy struck, she dropped out of college and she now lives with a roommate and her cat, while doing night tours in Salem. Her cat goes missing and this is where she meets Dom.

For six years, Ever hasn’t really lived, she’s just existed, feeling guilt. When she meets Dom, there is a small spark and feeling the pressure from her roommate, she slowly gets to know him and forms a relationship with him. Dom pulls out all the stops and is the type of man you swoon over.

That is until her past abruptly enters her life and the boy she loved six years ago is suddenly around her. Feelings resurface, truths are spoken and the angst ramps up!

This book had me all tied up. At one point, I had a good idea of where the story was going and I didn’t want to read on, the angst was killing me and my heart was too involved. Needless to say, I stuck it out and although the book cut me up many times, I couldn’t stop reading.

It’s been a while since a book has had me up reading through the night but I was so invested in this story, I just had to. There are twists and turns and my mind was all over the place, there were several moments I had to put the book down just to re-group, but I’m a sucker for tragedy and got right back into it!

Beautiful Graves is raw, gripping and emotional and Shen has outdone herself with this read. It is very different from her previous books and I urge you to dive in.

My heart! This story! It was beautifully heart breaking. The thrill and excitement. The heart break and tragedy. Gah, I felt it all! This world. These characters. Their story! I want to laugh, I want to be mad, I want to cry. As this story replays in my head, I want to do it all again. The myriad of emotions held me captive while reading this story. I got lost along with Ever. I felt like I walked her journey with her. One tear at a time. Hands down, this is my new favorite LJ Shen novel. Bravo, Mrs Shen. This one was epic!

Brilliant!!!!

Angst! Lots of Steam! Phenomenal Writing!

I was given the opportunity to read an early copy of this book and what a absolutely outstanding book it is!

This book is Brilliant and another masterpiece from L. J. Shen!

Love Triangles is my favorite Trope and L. J. Did not disappoint!

Oh the feels! I felt so much reading this book! The character development was so good and I loved the story line!

This is one of the best books of 2022! A masterpiece that kept me engaged the entire time!

Pick up this Masterpiece today! Everlynne’s journey is unforgettable!

No spoilers with my review! This is a must read for 2022!

If I could give more then 5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ I would!

OMG, you had me so consumed by this book and all the characters. Ever, Joe, And Dom had me screaming, had me tearing up, and just all in the feels. The drama, grief, twist, and turns had me so captivated with the story. I absolutely love and hated it all in one. Such a beautiful story to bring out the emotions of us readers. You did great with this book.

This was an absolutely amazing unique story with tragedies and love. Everlynne is one of my favorite characters. I was so torn in this emotional ride. The way things unfold was cleverly done and I loved it! I couldn't put this book down, a definite must read!!! I would highly recommend this steamy, angsty amazing book!!

This book was fantastic! LJ Shen is queen, she can do no wrong. This book was so different for her it was truly one of her bests.

OMG. This book really did drive me insane. Jeeeesh. Ever. Everlynne. Everlynne Bellatrix. You skeezer. Ever.
Like always LJ is literal mastermind. She really put her all in this one. It has it all. I had happy tears, sad tears, and upset tears. It wasn't Broken Knight tears but it got my nerves flowing heavily. I was really loving the pure blows of Complete whirlwind love. It felt oh sooo so so right. Then I was post. Wracking my mind on what this could possibly mean. I prepared myself because I was nervous this book would really have me bawling. But gosh doggit LJ snuck up and socked me with something better. I was totally surprised and just couldn't believe how easily it snuck past me. Totally didn't guess. I did kind of guess the hidden underlying tension and stufffff that was found out closer to the end with a certain someone.. but yeah it was a bit dark and I absolutely adored that part. Lol I loved Ever. I couldn't stand that Ever. Ever. I wanted to snatch up a certain character and body rock Ever. I wanted some top notch groveling because that's what I needed. The only thing I'll say I wish didn't happen was how easily and quickly the last stand was. But I guess that truly shows the Rat? Idk. This is definitely a goodread 5 stars. It was a twist. It was alot in the best way. I also really love Ever too. Maybe I'm obsessed. Lol I'm super grateful for this ARC ! Thank you so much LJ for taking a chance and writing this masterpiece!

5/5

This book is the perfect read for fall (my favorite season🥹) and I absolutely loved every minute of it. If you typically hate love triangles like me, just hear me out and read this book anyway. Lj’s prose is so beyond beautiful, I was captivated by it from the very start. I won’t go into detail on the plot because this is one of those books that’s best to go into blind, but it is truly a beautiful read. I get super emotional reading a lot of the time, and Beautiful Graves really tapped into my heart and left me enthralled in every moment. (random fact: It also happens to be partially set in Salem Massachusetts which is basically the town over from me!)

This book definitely packs a punch and will leave you crying, swooning, and screaming at the twists. For anyone who needs a little hope, redemption and love in their life, this book is for you. So thankful to LJ and her team for sending me an ARC copy, this is an honest review and I couldn’t recommend it more!

Ok. This was totally different from Shens typical bad boy meets innocent girl books. It had me angry at Ever for her selfishness especially when everyone else forgave her so easily and tried so hard to make her happy and yet she always thought she was the victim. Joe was the vulnerable honest one the only truly likeable character in the whole book and Dom was just forget-able. All said I had tears in my eyes and I was angry a lot while reading this book. It’s emotional it’s an ok book nothing special but a good quick read if your looking to feel a range of emotions and don’t mind disliking your heroine.

Beautiful Graves by L.J. Shen was an emotional rollercoaster ride from start to finish. Shen’s word grabbed my heart and didn’t let go until the very last word! Definitely, recommend this book if you are into all the angst, drama, spice, and love!