I discovered LJ not to long ago and everytime a read one of her books I officially have a new favorite book by her. This book was absolutely amazing, I couldn't put it down! The angst level was off the charts exactly what I love in books. It was painful and devastating in parts, but it was written so beautifully that it was worth the pain. I felt like throwing my kindle across the room a couple of times especially near the end of the book. Ever has had to deal with so much, even tho I wanted to smack her I understood why she was that way. This book will have you going through different emotions at times. It was painful and heartbreaking and beautiful, and I think everyone should read it! Definitely one of my top reads so far year.

I received an ARC for an honest review! Thank you

Oh my gosh! Wow, just wow.

I just want to say I avoid love triangles at all costs! I hate how they make me feel, I hate how irritated I get but decided to give it a try because I just love LJ’s books and wow. Absolute wow. What a book this was! I am so glad I pushed past what my brain was saying and read it.

Beautiful Graves is a story about love, tragedy, heartbreak and guilt. Second guessing oneself over the fear of what the outcome might be and forgiveness.

This story isn’t your typical love story, it’s filled with the unexpected and twists. It’s fun and exciting to read but a real hurt to the heart.

I’m not going to go into details about it because I honestly do not want to ruin a single thing about this book, it most definitely needs to be read and not spoiled so go into it as blind as you possibly can.

I expected to hate it, I expected to want to through my kindle across the room but I didn’t, all I felt was love and heartache for each of these characters.

LJ truly knows how to hit the nail on the head with her writing. She proves time and time again how incredibly amazing and addictive her words are, I am in awe.

Heartbreaking, gut-wrenching and angsty, Beautiful Graves is a punch to the feels.

With a captivating plot that holds you prisoner and wonderfully written, complex, multi layered characters you can't help but get emotionally attached to, it's obvious how much thought, tears and soul went into it's writing. Filled with pain, longing, loss, passion, self doubt and guilt, alongside glimpses of happiness and sunshine, this raw and powerful story is just so inherently human.
The twisted journey that Ever goes through is absolutely spell bounding and this is definitely one of my top books of the year.

5 stars and a headstone

This book gave me the 𝐁𝐈𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝘢𝘯𝘹𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 ever!!! Lol I 𝘵𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞. I try to stay away from them as much as possible, but what happens when one of your one click authors writes it?!! Lol I dived into this book 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝.⁣
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You bet 𝐈 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬. I got 𝘧𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥, 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺, 𝘴𝘢𝘥, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. I don't know 𝐇𝐎𝗪 𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐌𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 because I wasn't ready for what's going to happen next. Definitely 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵, 𝘳𝘢𝘸, 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵, 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨.⁣
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There's 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 in particular that's probably my 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄 in all the books that I've read this year. And I read 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐓 of 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴. This scene literally 𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭, and makes me want to go in and 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴!! 😭😭⁣
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The characters....Everlynne, Joe, and Dom.⁣
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"𝗪𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞: 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞?"⁣
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I don't want to say more than this because I don't want to 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭 anything. Just be prepared because it's going to 𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐓 of emotions out from you. LOL

Beautiful Graves is an epic love triangle focused on determining the right man between your potential soulmate and a partner who brings you back to life after tragedy strikes and makes you feel alive. Shen delivers an epic tale following Everlynne and her life as she deals with guilt, heartbreak, tragedy, self-loathing and brief moments of love and laughter.

We meet Joe when she’s living life to the fullest on vacation and they are immediately drawn to one another and I totally felt the insta-love but it was adorable and I could see how they seemed meant to be. And then the story jumps and you have no idea what happened and there’s little hints and breadcrumbs to what caused her to completely change her outlook on life, her dreams and what she deserves.

Everlynne meets Dom by happenstance when her cat decides to camp out on his patio and it leads to a whirlwind relationship. Everlynne finds herself starting to live her life again and finding her footing in the world. There are things I liked about Dom but some of his actions made me suspicious of him and he seemed to be manipulative and controlling without really coming off that way - sometimes it was the offhand comments or aggressive behaviors that were schooled immediately.

As the story unfolds, you discover a link between Joe and Dom that leads Everlynne to question everything in her life and relationship. She’s still drawn to Joe after all this time but she has committed herself to Dom and is thankful she found him when she did. As she’s pulled between the two, tragedy strikes again that leads to dirty little secrets being unearthed and now Everlynne must find a way to pick herself up again and face life once more.

I am not an avid reader of insta-love or love triangles. I try to avoid books with cheating in them because it makes it harder to believe and I usually don’t want to escape to a world that involves cheating when reading. This book will more than likely make you love it or hate it. I loved parts of it but there were other parts that I wanted to skim over because I didn’t enjoy it as much or I wanted it to move on in the story quicker.

This book is definitely outside of the norm for L.J. Shen and while I do not tend to read this trope, I will say that I enjoyed the journey of Everlynne through all the twists and turns life through at her and watching her grow as a person and woman who can stand tall on her own two feet. I didn’t love all the pieces but sometimes you have to go through the mud and muck to get your happy ending and in the end, I think Everlynne found her happy ending and she ends up with the man that I wanted her

4.5. Wow this was an emotional roller coaster but sooooo good! This is a love triangle but not in the traditional sense. There were a few twists that really shook me and I did not see coming! The main character Ever had so much growth and I’m not gonna lie sometimes it was painful and heartbreaking and at times frustrating but in the end I was so proud of her and loved reading this story. The plot felt really original and quirks of the characters I loved. I know this was out of her comfort zone for LJ Shen but I think she nailed it!! Love love loved.

Ever: My feelings for her seriously were on a roller coaster ride throughout the whole book. I don't think I ever did really like her, honestly. She has a lot of traumas, lot of baggage and needs a lot of therapy. The number of unresolved issues she has with her family is choking. Her wishy-washy approach to life and the atmospheric drain that she causes to those around her is infuriating.

Joe: He's the epitome of tortured artist (writer), I think. His muse, he believes, can only be found in one place. I liked him a whole lot more that I liked Ever.

Dom: Ehhh, my red alert was sounding on him from the very beginning. I didn't know why, but you know that nagging feeling that floats around in your mind that someone isn't all they are cracked up to be? Yeah, that was me the WHOLE time about Dom. Which is weird, because on paper (ha!) there wasn't anything wrong with him, per se. He was attentive and loving and all the things with Ever.

Ever and Joe meet whilst in Spain when she is there on vacation with her bestie, Pippa. It's a whirlwind kind of affair. They fall hard and fast, burn bright and hot. They promise to keep in touch, exchange phone numbers and Ever goes back to California, while Joe stays in Spain to continue on his journey across Europe to finish his manuscript. Soon after arriving back in the States, tragedy befalls Ever and the connection between the two lovers is severed. Ever's life crumbles, and it's understandable at that point due to the circumstances. She moves from Cali to Salem, Massachusetts to distance herself from her family and Pippa, for reasons that still mystify me.

Fast forward six years, and we have Ever living and not thriving in Salem. She has a roommate called Nora and a cat called Loki. Nora has a boyfriend called Colt. Nora & Colt's relationship is kind of spinning its wheels because of Nora's need (?) to look after Ever. Loki somehow finds himself in Dom's apartment (condo? I don't remember how it's referred to) and that's how we start that thread.

Dom seems immediately smitten with Ever. Ever wants nothing to do with Dom. She's still in love with Joe. After Nora's prodding and advice, Ever gives Dom a chance and he is over the moon about this. He seems like the perfect boyfriend, albeit nearly the exact opposite of Ever. They pretty much don't like anything the same, which is fine by me because why not? Ever and Dom spend a couple of months in dating bliss, and then Christmas happens. Life blows up and drama starts all over again.

This is where I pretty much leave off in my description of the story because I don't do spoilers. It was seriously dramatic/angsty, which is great and everything I expect from an LJ Shen novel. The story building is great, and I was never left wanting in that aspect. I'll definitely do a re-read again in the future just to satisfy my need to make sure I didn't miss anything.

The tagline used for this book: “Who would you choose: your soulmate or the love of your life?” drives me crazy because I don’t think at any point was Ever truly in love with Dom to the point that he was the love of her life, nor was he, her soulmate. That leaves only Joe.

Also, there is no love triangle in the true sense of the term in this book, I don’t think. There is love confusion, I suppose is the best term for it.

It's hard to come to a solid conclusion about a novel when you aren't sure that you really liked any of the characters within. It's been a good 24+ hours since I finished Beautiful Graves and I've really let it soak in. On the whole, the story is good. It's definitely a HUGE departure from LJ's other books, and I really applaud that she took that leap. There is so much push and pull between the main characters, and even the side characters, that it definitely keeps you busy. I honestly was expecting a more visceral reaction to this story, based on the information that was put out prior to getting it in my hands. And yes, nearly every one of LJ's books as made me cry in some way or another, but this one didn't.

Overall Rating: 4 stars
Spice: 2 stars
TW: mental health, death, cheating

I always like to start with the book cover, this is a beautiful cover. For a change, I would like to mention the title of the book, Beautiful Graves. This title had me from the start.
I just knew it was going to be a dark love story.
It’s started like any other love story and as it continued on came the plot twist. You know the norm, love triangle. Who will she choose her true love or her new love.
I really enjoyed these characters. Ever, Joe and yes, even Dominic. I did want to punch them all.
I do recommend reading this book. Enjoy

I absolutely devoured this book!!!!! The angst the just everything. I don't want to give any spoilers away so I will just say one click this one when it releases.

From the prologue I knew this book was going to absolutely destroy me. I already knew that I was going to have a lot of feelings going into it but it was even more than I expected.

I loved Ever and was intrigued to see how everything was going to play out between the two guys. I will say, I was not disappointed.

There were so many twists, things I considered might happen but did not expect them to actually occur. This was so well written and the characters showed so much development. I fell in love with all of them even more as I read.

I am incredibly happy with how it ended and absolutely loved the pairing. Amazing work.

4.5 Stars

This was very a beautiful and unconventional love story.

It was a very engaging story from beginning to end and I can tell you that this is very different from what this author normally writes and I love that she took the leap of faith with writing this story.

To think that Ever (h) fell in love with two men at different times but eventually would intertwine in her current life. She could never forget her first love, he was always in the back of her mind but she screwed up big time and always wondered. When she meets the current beau, she ends up in a heap of turmoil when her old flame comes back into her life and the twists that come along after this will leave you stunned and totally shocked.

I am putting this on top of my reads because it was so different from what I've read from this author and she totally took me by surprise and I LOVED THAT!

Everlynne Lawson is hesitant to believe in love, as her first round with it didn't end so well. But then she meets Joe, he's everything she wants and their connection is undeniable, cosmic almost. But as with everything else in her life, it ends horribly. Now she finds herself barely living, barely putting one foot in front of the other, often finding peace in her routine and her mischievous cat. But then one day said cat helps her meet a man that makes her question everything... is it possible to find a soulmate twice?

Beautiful Graves is a soul crushing love story that will tests the bounds of your heart and mind, it's words riddled with angst and pain, the kind that will feel impossible to survive. As I sit here and try to make sense of what I just read I am having trouble finding the right words to describe this story, to do it justice, it completely broke me, in ways I never expected. And I struggle to understand how someone could possibly survive all that our heroine endured. The strength she found in herself was admirable, the way she continually got knocked down and found the strength to get back up... utterly inspiring.

I don't want to go into too much of an in depth description here, as I think it would ruin the story for others. I will say though, don't read the reviews beforehand, go in blindly and savor every word, no matter how much it hurts. It will be worth it I promise. I have always been one to go against the norm and choose love triangles solely for the destruction and angst their pages hold, and I have to say this is by far one of the best I have read! It was the perfect kind of torture... a story I won't be letting go of anytime soon! Highly recommend this one, it's pages hold a can't miss, beautifully constructed love story!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.

I loved this book! It completely broke my heart in the best way. I enjoyed the twists it took and wasn’t expecting a couple of the surprises along the way. The ending was so wonderful and I loved how everything was brought to light.

LJ Shen beautiful graves is phenomenal in every sense of the word. It’s raw, powerful, moving, heart grabbing. It’s a masterpiece to a story of growth and loss. How we handle that loss. How sometimes we lose our self to that loss so deeply only true love for ourselves can drag us out. If I could give it a ten I would!

This book is utterly shattering.
My heart was in this books hands and it shattered!

Ever, Joe and Dom!
Omg!!
The heck?
The emotional turmoil and deep angst was truly something...
I wanted to cry. I felt like screaming and I times I had to take some deep breaths to continue reading.

But through all of this I could not stop myself from needing to know what happens next.

One loses their spark. One loses their muse and the other seems the safer choice.

Beautiful Graves was EVERYTHING!
Absolutely loved this book.

I officially have a new favorite book by LJ Shen. This book was absolutely amazing, I couldn't put it down! The angst level was off the chart, it was painful and devastating in parts, but it was also beautiful.
I won't lie, I felt like throwing my kindle across the room a time or two, I wanted to shake some sense into Ever near the end of the book! But she had gone thru so much, and grief is not always rational.
This book will have you deep in your feelings, I promise you that. I cried, I laughed, I cried again...and I didn't want the book to end. It was painful and heartbreaking and beautiful, and I think everyone should read it!

4.5 stars
I never read the blurb….. its the cover and the title that drew me to this book as well as the author. Let’s just say that I hope to add a signed paperback of this book to my collection.

I was consumed by this story and LJ Shen’s writing. The feel of this book reminded me a little bit of the All Saints High Series which I also loved.

Ever and Joe meet on vacation and share one meaningful night together which should be the start of something more. But as quickly as they get together they are torn apart by circumstance.

Although some time passes Ever just can’t seem to let go of Joe. He haunts her every thought and feels him in her soul. A new place, job and friends and yet the constant is the ever elusive Joe.

It appears that fate is just being cruel when Joe and Ever are finally reunited in the oddest of circumstances. Only to be separated again.

I sometimes felt like I was getting whiplash. Ever seemed to be incapable of getting out of her own way and causing unnecessary pain to both herself and Joe.

Honestly is the best policy rings through loud and clear in this book. A lot of drama and heartache could have been avoided for multiple characters but the secrets and half truths is what made this story so addicting. I needed to know what was coming next. Would Ever and Joe be reunited? Would they be able to put the past behind them and allow forgiveness and love propel them forward?

Beautiful Graves was just that…. Beautiful.

Love is easy but life is not
-spoilerfree-

They say first loves are oftentimes the end of one’s innocence.

Those words couldn’t ring truer for Everlynne Lawson, whose first brush with romance came with a heartbreak … and the thing that seems to follow her everywhere she goes. Death.

After a great tragedy, Everlynne loses all she cares about—her dreams, her family, and her soulmate, Joe.

Guilt-ridden, Everlynne decides to isolate herself in Salem, Massachusetts. A shell of the woman she once was, she takes her days one at a time, careful not to allow herself the joy she believes others in her life were robbed of. But when the mysterious, handsome Dominic storms into her life, it becomes more difficult to stay in solitude. Dominic is different: adventurous, joyous, with lust for life and a passion to make her his.

Everlynne is on the cusp of reinventing herself once again when the old wounds of her past are resurrected, rawer than ever. There is nothing worse than being in love with two men.

Especially when one of them hates you.

Opinion
This book shows how much improvement LJ's writing has taken. It's getting better and better with each book. It is emotional till the very end. I was consumed by the very first page to the last and still cannot believe it's done with "the end" in the end. As I promise not to Spoiler anything I tell you all the parts I'm allowed to tell you.
The characters in this book even the second base characters are great. The make this story a real round book. Ever is a complex person with a lot to digest and I'm happy I read her evolution. This story is only written from her point of view which makes it so powerful. I liked the twists that came and the way they'd been presented. I really love everything in this story but I honestly hope for more of them.

Conclusion
This book has it all. Emotional with hights and lows. Full of moments of heartbreak, healing, joy, sadness, breakdowns and LOVE! This is a must-read that will wrench your heart to the rip but in the end all of it was worth the pain.

@L.J. Shen is there any possibility for another book with this couple?
Like, please, please, please? I kindly obsessed with them...

Disclosure:
I've got an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. This has not influenced my opinion.

L.J. Shen's Beautiful Graves is a two-part story about a love triangle involving a damaged girl, Everlynne Lawson, and two brothers, Joseph and Dominic Lawson.

I'm not going to lie, this is my first L.J. Shen book, and I must say that she did not disappoint and delivered on everything she promised in this story.

I went into this book with low expectations because I am not a huge fan of love triangles; I have only read two and only loved one of those two because it was written well, but aside from that, I try to avoid these types of books. But I was wrong; in the first half of the book, I was annoyed by the love triangle, but then some things were revealed, and I had no problem with the trope at all, because it was justified. Throughout the book, I felt like I was on a roller coaster, experiencing various emotions such as awe, hurt, comfort, anger, confusion, betrayal, and so on. So, when L.J. Shen said this was a "passion-and-angst-charged" story, she was not wrong!

However, in the first part of the book, the FMC and her best friend mention being part of "Gen Z," which made me cringe because it came out of nowhere and I didn't expect to see that term. I also didn't like how, near the end, Joe does some things while "apart" from Ever, and he was fine when it came to discussing it with Ever as if they were JUST two friends catching up, but I also didn't expect Joe to sit around and do nothing.

Overall, this book right here is precisely how you write an enjoyable love triangle, as L.J. Shen managed to keep me on edge the entire time, wanting the MC's to at realize their feelings!

Thank you to the author, L.J. Shen for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

My heart is so wrapped up in this story. I finished in the middle of the night because I couldn’t put it down. All the feels in this Shen story. There’s soulmate love, heart break, some forbidden, tragedy, lots of angst, and of course there is spice.

I love triangles and all the angst that comes with them but this one is a completely different type of story with a triangle intertwined. This story spans over 7 years, so it’s fast paced and most certainly keeps your attention.

Happy Angsty Triangle Trails to you on this journey!