Rating: 5š
What a stunner! Sara Dobie Bauerās recent release, Light from the Grave is such fabulous cornucopia of paranormal elements of powerful magical families, beautifully crafted characters textured with layers of darkness, grief, and death, set into the mossy, old southern landscape of Charleston, South Carolina. Bauerās plot is a thriller of horrifying beauty.
I was immediately entranced by the characters, the raw emotion that the author keeps pulling out of her scenes and how she can carry those heart wrenching memories over into a new situation that becomes an entirely different experience. One that may have humorous overtones.
Everyone here, each character, from childhood to adulthood, has experienced gut wrenching loss. And that pain, that overwhelming grief continues to haunt them deeply in various ways.
Dylan Quinnās lost his foster mother and heās unable to process her loss. Itās not the first or last deep grief heās had to deal with but itās the most devastating.
Bauerās nightmarish descriptions of Dylanās pain feels so real, the emotional turmoil and endless loop of mourning raw and believable. The power of the memories doesnāt have to be magical to make us feel what itās putting him through.
More subtle, and deadlier is Keller Rex. Keller too has deeply suffered, and ,in turn , caused unbelievable losses. Heās been sent to bring Dylan to the Zaine ancestral home in Charleston. What type of magical creature he is should be left to the story as itās so much a part of the powerful narrative.
But itās the growth and revelations that Kelleyās presence and the death of Vivian Zayne start to bring about in Dylan thatās brings the darkness and magic to this story.
I just wanted to jump in and start reading it again after I finished to see what Iād missed the first time around.
Thereās battles, zombies, crazy families, familiars (wish more had been done with the bobcats), and quite a few bittersweet moments. And a fierce young girl, Raven, who needs more page time, as sheās a great character on her own.
Actually, Light from the Grave by Sara Dobie Bauer is bursting with darkly detailed and fabulous scenes that make a reader want more than was left on the page. More of the characters in that army, more backgrounds, just more. Because what we did get was so imaginative and marvelous that we naturally needed more. Of everything and everyone.
Yes, this beautifully written and plotted book is a must read. Itās dark fiction and romance, just a reminder. So if grief, dying and death isnāt your thing, this might not be either.
Itās definitely mine.
Buy Link:
Blurb:
Iām what nightmares are made of, but Iām not sure whoās more dangerous: him or me.
In the world of witches, Keller Rex is a legendary monsterāa dark sorcerer with a gift for suffering. He has long been the protector of the Zayne coven and their ancestral home in Charleston, South Carolina. When the family matriarch, Vivian Zayne, dies under mysterious circumstances, he is tasked with finding the only person who can open her sealed Book of Shadows: the son no one knew she had.
Dylan Quinn has never bothered to figure out why cats follow him everywhere, but itās been that way for as long as he can remember. After the unexpected passing of his adoptive mother, he had to make a new home for himself in small-town Ohio. Things have been quiet ever since, but lately, there are strange voices in his dreams and a sense of being watched.
When a striking Southern gent appears in town, Dylan welcomes the distraction. Keller is handsome and charming, but Dylan can tell thereās something else, something eerie about him. And he discovers he’s right, as Keller goes from being Dylanās seducerā¦ to his abductor.
Now back in Charleston, Dylanās newfound family is shocked when itās discovered his magical affinity is for death itself. Despite his fears, heāll need to learn to control his terrifying powers in order to open the Zayne Book of Shadows. He also needs to keep his coven safe, and time is running out. The estate’s protective wards expire on Halloween, and power-hungry witches from all over are ready to pounce.
While Dylanās awakening darkness threatens to overwhelm him, Keller finds himself confronted by feelings he thought long dead. Keller will do anything to protect his young necromancer and open Vivianās Book of Shadows, but the Zaynes are in for a surprise when Dylan resurrects someone he shouldnāt.
ā¢ Publisher: Carnation Books (October 24, 2023)
ā¢ Publication date: October 24, 2023
ā¢ Print length: 352 pages
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