Cypress Tombs by Shane Lege starts with a gripping premise: Leah, a coroner's assistant in Vermillion Parish, becomes entangled in the very horrors she has been investigating. After a night of revelry at the Duck Festival with her boyfriend, she wakes up in a terrifyingly familiar scene—bound, gagged, and blindfolded—echoing the chilling crime scenes she once documented. This premise had me hooked from the start.

Unfortunately, the book didn't fully meet my expectations. Initially presented as an erotic horror story, I anticipated more horror elements, but the plot leaned more towards a thriller. While this might appeal to some readers, it was different from what I had hoped for, given the initial setup.

I also found the narrative somewhat disjointed. Certain key paragraphs towards the back of the book felt misplaced; shifting them to the beginning could have better set up the story and strengthened its overall cohesion. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed some parts, particularly the sections involving the discovery of bodies in the bayou. These scenes were so vivid and compelling that I wished the author had expanded this storyline into a full-length novel. I would happily read and rate that story highly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lege Industries LLC for providing me with an e-book ARC in exchange for my honest review. While this one didn't entirely resonate with me, I appreciate the opportunity to experience it.

Leah, a coroner's assistant in Vermillion Parish, finds herself at the center of a horror she's been investigating. After a night out, she wakes bound, gagged, and blindfolded, mimicking the gruesome crime scenes she documented. Disoriented and terrified, Leah must confront her fears and outsmart the predator who has turned her nightmare into reality. Her fate could mirror the tragic victims she once tried to find justice for.

The cover is beautiful! This book had potential based on the synopsis, but it really lacked in execution. I enjoyed the last two chapters the most, but it kind of felt like the rest of the book was written entirely by someone else. Also, there were so many repetitions of "bound, gagged, and blindfolded." The spicy scenes were not arousing in my opinion. I fell asleep multiple times trying to read this book. I was just so bored overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lege Industries LLC for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

Cypress Tombs follows multiple characters. Leah wakes up to find herself bound, gagged, and blindfolded, at the whim of her abductor. Meanwhile, the sheriffs departments of two counties in Louisiana are trying to solve the murders of bodies that are found in the bayou. This is classed as erotic horror. While there are some elements of both, I would consider this to be more of a thriller.

I really enjoyed the thriller aspect of the story. Bodies are turning up, and the police are stuck, unable to solve the case unless the killer ‘slips up’. Meanwhile there are glimpses of Leah and her experience being kidnapped. This made for an unnerving atmosphere in each scene. It kept me intrigued until the end, when the final plot twist was revealed.

The writing style unfortunately was very repetitive, with words and whole paragraphs being reused to make a longer story. The chapters were also very repetitive with a Leah to new character to new body layout. This got annoying very quickly.

The plot had a very interesting premise, and showed a lot of potential. I think the story needed to be longer in order to fully flesh out the story. With how the ending happened, I was left confused, unsatisfied, and questioning the point of both plot lines. It seemed like they were only tied together because of one instance, and the execution of this was very lackluster. Furthermore, There was really only one consistent relationship that was (not really) built, and that isn't explained until the end.

I thought the plot had immense potential to be unique and catching. The ending was certainly unique, but not in a good way. Instead of reading like it was supposed to exist in the plot, the last chapter read like an easy escape to finish the very incomplete story.

With revision and more thought into the plot, I would recommend this book, however as it stands right now, I would not recommend it.
Thank you to Netgalley and Lege Industries LLC for the Advanced Readers Copy of this book.

i went into this mostly blind so i didn’t really have any expectations but i just .. didn’t like it? it wasn’t one specific thing that threw me off, i just didn’t like the story in general. definitely just a me issue, i can see how others might enjoy it!

The Author really captivated my interest in this novel. The descriptive writing and the creativity was intriguing.
The suspense and thrill is amazing, I was not expecting the twist and turn of events.
The only disappointment was the story coming to an end. The plot was exceptional and I commend the Author.

I would recommend this book to those interested in romance, thrill and mystery. You will be amazed by the twist.

Can you say Trigger Warning???
That is some twisted stuff. Wth did I just read? Not sure how I feel about it. It does what its meant to do I suppose. Plenty of shock value. It definitely leaves you utterly horrified. Not what you're expecting for sure. Wow. But...!!! I have thoughts but spoilers.

The author is very descriptive, to the point of being wordy. At some points, I found myself skimming the lengthy portions, wondering if they were really relevant to the story. However, it really added to the surprise sending.
The ending/plot twist was remarkable and totally unexpected. This isn't your typical romance with a HEA, it's more like a "what if" scenario explored. However, I found it very arousing and interesting!
Spice was 🌶️🌶️/5 for me.
One note, my version has an issue with words that contained "tt", it was completely missing them (for example 'bo le').

Not sure I was the best audience for this dark tale. I had a difficult time suspending my beliefs in order to immerse myself in the story. I liked the idea of it though. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.