Buried

by Lizzie Strong

Quinn’s mistake wasn’t killing Leo Ashwood; it was bringing him back. Now in a cat and mouse game with a monster she created, Quinn learns what her powers are truly capable of.Brought together by a vision, Cecelia and Quinn are entangled in the chase for Leo Ashwood. Cecelia, a seer who is known for sticking her nose into other’s business for their better good, is now sent into a world unknown to her with no defense against the monster, her own powers, and the budding feelings for Quinn. Maggie, however, was merely at the wrong place at the wrong time and left with no other choice but to join forces. An up and coming YouTube superstar struck down by sickness, her voice is both her magical survival and death wrapped in one.These three young, untrained witches will have to lean on each other if they want to survive. Navigating the world of humans, the new reality of witches, and the horror of magic, they might just make it… if they can keep their secrets to themselves.

Genres: Young Adult, Horror

345 pages, Paperback

Published April 24, 2021

About the author

Lizzie Strong is A Monster Romance Author, where the monsters are spooky scary, and the romance is cute and cuddly. Queer Representation, Smink ;) friendly, consent heavy. A Florida swamp gremlin masquerading as a functioning human and author. The DM for a D&D podcast, previous retail and restaurant manager, constant worry wort, and romantic, Lizzie is always in between a brilliant idea and a dumb one. Inclusive books with magical nonsense, filled with monsters (you may or may not love) and mayhem. Find out more about her, the books coming out, and her nonsense at lizziestrongauthor.com

Reviews

[Lex Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.50 Stars. This was pretty crazy. If you have read my reviews this year you might notice that I have been complaining about reading a lot of well written books, but I’m just not connecting with them. Funny enough, the opposite was true with this book. Now, I don’t mean that this was poorly written, but it does have its issues and writing bumps. But on the good side, I was just completely entertained. This was that “I’m still stuck in the house on a Covid Friday night but I didn’t mind because of the high entertainment level kind of book”. So I think this was about a 3 star okay or average level quality book, but I had fun so I bumped it up to give it an extra half star.

This is YA horror/paranormal. The horror is more on the gross level kind of horror, then the scary type horror. In fact, this book had more bodily fluids and just a ton of ichor and everything gross, that I have read in a while. This is a YA book but it is very violent and messy so it seems to be more geared towards older teens and adults.

I love books about witches and YA seems to go really well with witches. Give a teenager filled with angst, some magical powers, and you are bound for some good entertainment which this book didn’t disappoint. I’m a big first person fan so I was excited that this book was in it. However, I was surprised to get three main POV’s in first person. I don’t care what author you are or how many books you have written, because that is a big undertaking. I think this is where Strong ran into some of her biggest bumps. I understand why Strong chose to do it, but I think if she would have only done one POV or even just two, I think the book would have flowed better. The three main characters are all pretty unique, but at times (when we are in their head) their voices sounded too similar. It took me way longer than it should have to not get confused as to who’s head I’m in. Luckily, about the second half of the book it feels much better and they all finally feel unique. Which was great when that happened because then I connected to two of them and started to really care what happened.

The pace was a little all over at times for me. Sometimes it seemed to slow way down, and other times I could not turn the pages fast enough. I prefer a more steady build then such an up and down read, but when the book would really pick up, it sure was a ton of fun. Unfortunately, this brings me to another issue I had. There are a lot of action and fight scenes with monster zombie things, all things I love, but sometimes I didn’t exactly know what was going on. I can’t quite put my finger on what was wrong beyond just saying that the action scenes need more detail and clarity. I like to picture the scenes like a movie in my mind, but this movie would get stuck on pause since I could not picture certain things happening. There were also times that the book needed more dialogue tags. Not only are there three main characters, there are also a ton of important secondary characters too. All the characters speaking were sometimes confusing so I would have to stop and reread to try to figure out who actually was talking when. On the good side, I think these are two things that Strong can easily fix for next book.

Speaking of next books, this does end on a cliffhanger. I heard that this was a book one so I was prepared. Lots of big storylines are still open so I hope we get book two soon. I also want to quickly mention that there was no romance in this book, but I see a possible WLW relationship for two of the witches and maybe even an M/F relationship for the third witch. It’s still very early and I don’t really know where Strong will go, but I’m excited to find out.

In the end this was a book that had its share of bumps, but I still liked it. I would recommend this to YA horror fans, if you don’t mind a book that has some issue but that’s big on entertainment. This is not a book to take too seriously; it’s the kind to just have fun with. I will keep my eye out for book two and I hope we get to see Strong growing as an author since there is a lot of potential here.

A copy was given to me for a review.

[inquillery · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a friend of Lizzie’s for a few years now, I’ve been aware of this novel since its simple inception as “swamp witches”. So now, two years later, I’m so pleased to have been given a chance to read the ARC and finally see all of Lizzie’s hard work come to fruition.

There is so much to love in this story. Lizzie has quite the sense of humour, and this is apparent from page one. I laughed out loud frequently throughout the novel and, as someone who grew up in a fundie religious context, I especially enjoyed the subtle humour about Southern Baptist life. As this book centres around witches, it was a particularly hilarious dynamic.

I also enjoyed this book’s premise. It follows three young witches whose lives become accidentally entangled when one of them (Quinn) tries a simple resurrection and ends up creating a monster. What follows is a twisty narrative driven by girl-power and friendship, with a subtle slow-burn sapphic subplot. Lizzie takes the horror genre and retells it for teen girls with wit, grace, and a genuine sense of delight.

Ultimately this was not a five star read for me for two reasons. Firstly, I felt the writing could have benefited from a few more descriptions, just to give us readers a stronger sense of place. A large portion of this book is set in a mystical swamp, and I would have loved to have seen more of that. Secondly, I felt the characters could have used more personal stakes in the monster hunt, beyond just their lives being in danger, to give the story more weight. The three POV voices sometimes blurred together for me, so I would have liked to see a bit more of what makes each girl tick. We do get quite the reveal at the end of the book, however, so I am optimistic this will happen in Book 2, should there be one.

Overall, I cannot express enough how proud I am of Lizzie and how ecstatic I am to see this book hitting the shelves. I would recommend it to those who love YA horror, those who don’t mind a little bit of humour with their blood and guts, and those who enjoy narratives about female friendship.

[Colleen Corgel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buried is as book that I wasn't expecting, and that wasn't always the best thing. What it is is a young adult/ new adult book that isn't very afraid to get into the horror and gory aspects of the story. It is genuinely creepy at times, but it is offset by how often the three protagonists, especially Cecelia just break down into tears. Granted the tears are warranted, but often times it feels like they become short hand for expressing all of the girls' negative emotions instead of other ways to express themselves. Lots of not so great things happen to the three girls here and emotions are strained to say the least, but there are few ways the girls are allowed to outwardly show their emotions beyond just bursting into tears when things get to be too much.

This book has no problem going to dark places, as it starts off with Quinn, a witch with a volatile power who managed to bring a really bad guy back to life in the form of a monster. Maggie Morton is a YouTube pop star who is diagnosed with cancer and absolutely floored when she realizes she may lose her voice. Oh, and she's a siren who kept herself healthy with her powers before she took a break and the cancer rapidly took over. Cecelia is psychically connected to Quinn, but is timid because of a lifetime of being ostracized for her own gift of sight. All three girls are brought together because the undead monster found its way to their small Oklahoma town and threatened everyone in it.

I liked the majority of this book, and look forward to seeing what the rest of the series will look like, but I thought there was a lot of stuff going on without actually moving the plot too much. I also liked that each girl has a distinct personality, but I thought that Maggie was allowed to have the largest range of expressed emotions. Quinn rarely gets to move from the coolly sardonic teen she is while Cecelia doesn't get a chance to really move out of her shyness. So the book mostly consists of the girls fighting each other, discovering a little of their powers, and fighting the monster. I also loved that it isn't afraid of its horror nature, and Lee Ashwood's undead corpse is described in nice, disgusting detail. There's even a scene in which I was like "no, they really didn't go there did they?" But there is no huge sense of dread, even as we find out that Ashwood's powers are evolving. Still, it has some solid body horror and a different type of tension that props up by the end of the book.

I'd say this is a solid book because of the premise, and some of the imagery. I thought the plot didn't get a chance to move a long, but it did have some really great stand out sequences. It is broken into three narrators, which isn't bad because each chapter is clearly labeled as to who is taking over. The three girls are fine, but sometimes are limited by the story. I want to say that the story desperately wants Quinn and Cecelia to develop a romance, but it doesn't quite get there yet. This very much a set up for the second book, and I hope that it blows us out of the water.

*I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[C.A. Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

i got an ARC in exhange for a review!

it's........ something. the plot felt confusing at times - i have the slight impression they killed the dude once, and then suddenly he was back? idk. and i liked the characters! everyone felt unique and w their own sense of personality - as long as they weren't in their own povs, in which case no one has a very strong voice. but seen from the outside? hell yeah dude.
however the whole..... it lost me, which is why it isn't a higher rating. the book could stand a bit more of editing to make sure everyone stood out re: character voice and decisions. not sure if it's the arc or maybe it'll be edited out in the final version but theres a few mistakes. nothing too big, just.... spotty.

anyway a solid 3/5

[Hana Jane (stardewhana) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to thank Netgalley, Lizzie Strong, and NineStar Press for giving me a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. You can read my FULL NON-SPOILER review at: https://inkdrinkerhana.wordpress.com/...

[AMHH · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel perfectly captures an atmosphere of magic that is dark, gritty, bloody and dangerous. Many of the trappings you except from horror as a genre are done, and done well here: safe spaces that aren’t safe, people and things who turn out to be more and less than they seemed to be, and lots and lots of blood, pain, and loss as well as lies and secrets. The protagonists are all fascinating, three-dimensional characters who make their fair share of teenage mistakes in spaces where it is absolutely not safe for them to do so. Their logic is sometimes non-existent, sometimes backward, and often deadly, but they truly want to do the right thing, most of the time. Quinn’s blood magic and Maggie’s siren powers are deadly in flashy ways, but Cecelia’s power of prophecy seems to come from an even darker place, so it’s hard to know who has the most magical strength, or the least control.

This is a dark, compelling and engrossing read. Readers should be advised, however, of two things about this novel: 1) there is A LOT of collateral damage. Do not get attached to anyone who isn’t a protagonist. Yes, I do mean anyone. And be aware also that not all of the damage will be done by the people, or forces, you’d expect it from. 2) this isn’t going to end with everything resolved: I hope this ending is a cliffhanger, if it’s not, it’s like that moment in a horror movie where everything just stops and you’re not sure what comes next, just that it really won’t be good.

*I received an ARC of this book and voluntarily composed an honest review.

[Eule Luftschloss · Rating 2 out of 5]

trigger warning
cancer, trauma, grief, gore

A monster is let loose, and the person who's responsible thought she could outrun it. Turns out, she can't.

We have three witches, two of whom don't know it yet. They're connected - by their powers, by living in the same are, and one of them, the seer, has this weird telepathy thing going on.

The pacing was off. Some parts were strangely hurried while other parts were skipped over in an unreasonable way. Imagine you're a teenager, you're gone for two days without saying anything, and once your back home, your single mom waits multiple days to ask what's up - a conversation that ends with "well, keep your secrets, but don't lie to me".
Does that sound realistic to you?

The three main characters felt ... the same. I constantly had trouble to keep Cecilia and Maggie apart in my brain. In theory, sure, the one is the seer the other is the siren and has cancer, sure. But when it comes to the plot, they felt very, very similiar.

Important things that should have been acknowledged now are ignored for a bit to have drama first, which feels real if all participants are teenagers, but as soon as you get supposedly mature adults in the mix, is just plain weird.

The ending was abrupt and dissatisfying. It felt jarring, like stopping in the middle of the thing.
While this has much potential, I didn't really like it and feel queer-baited because I was told it would include an ace character, but didn't see them.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.25 stars

Buried is the first book in Lizzie Strong’s The Secrets Witches Keep series. It’s largely set in rural Oklahoma and features a pretty big cast of characters. At the center of everything is our sixteen-year-old protagonist, Quinn. She was raised by an aunt who never told Quinn exactly what happened to Quinn’s own mother. They live a cozy life in a swamp, secure in their place in a local coven and largely untouched by humans and their rules. Quinn shares the spotlight with Cecelia and Maggie equally, though the latter two have been raised to believe they are nothing but human. Even when they begin to manifest powers, they’re not entirely convinced what they experience is anything too far out of the ordinary. The whole book is framed through these three girls’ perspectives, as each chapter is told from one of their POVs.

Read Camille’s review in its entirety here.

[Meredith Katz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, although the description sounded like everything I enjoy reading, I DNF'd this book at 30%. There are three point of view characters, all teenage girls, and unfortunately their narrative voices are extremely similar: overdramatic and given to long meandering introspections using extremely bizarre metaphors, which made it difficult to tell them apart or get invested in any one of them. In addition, a lot of the beats the plot rides on doesn't feel like it's how things happen in real life and I kept getting distracted by those. (ie, even if we assume that's how an interrogation of a murder suspect works, can her lawyer really just vanish without a trace and nobody follow up with the assumed murderer? Can someone not just kidnap a child from an unreported corpse but then put her through the school system as an adoptee with no paper trail?) The fact these things weren't addressed by a third of the way through at unfortunately made it feel ungrounded in reality, when I needed the core of reality to support the magical portions.

There's the seeds of an interesting plot here with all three girls being able to use magic they can't really control and why that might be, but I don't think this story is for me. Someone who can connect more with these characters , or has less concern with the realism portions being grounded, may enjoy this more.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whoa! I did not see that coming! I turned the (digital) pages to find out what happened next, but it was the end of the novel. This story is kind of a roller coaster. Yes, it’s a horror story and pretty gruesome in places, but probably nothing young people haven’t seen in movies. I mention that because the main characters are all teenagers, so I’m assuming this book will appeal to YA readers.

There are many characters to keep track of, but the main ones are three young witches. Quinn knows she’s a witch and is being raised as one. The other two don’t. Cecelia thinks she just sees things and records them to remember them. I’m not sure if she understood them at all until after she meets Quinn. Maggie knows she can move people with her voice but not why. Quinn is a hot mess.

The novel starts with Quinn at a NYC police station. When she leaves with her lawyer, there is one moment where I wondered what kind of character she was going to be. There was one chilling thought that kind of alerted me to what kind of person she might be. It resonated in later scenes. The other two girls wonder why they have their talents. Cecelia was adopted by Gretchen and doesn’t know anything about her mother – or Gretchen’s past, for that matter. Maggie has her family, but is ill which complicates matters for her. Some of the family secrets for all three are revealed at different points. On top of the three main characters, and their immediate families, there are the people at school, including a vice principal whose attitude worsens.

Anyway, there are many characters to keep track of and lots of events. In places, the book slows down and the girls are having fairly normal days, then the action and tension ratchets back up. There were times when I was riveted and times when the book was easy to put down. YA readers may not have that experience. The chapters rotate between characters and sometimes I was confused who was the narrator in that chapter, even though the chapter heading names the character. It was pretty easy to backtrack and skim through a bit to remember whose eyes we’re seeing through. Despite some of my issues with the story, I want to know what happens in the next book.