Review: Grace by A.M. Shine

Grace

by A.M. Shine

Release Date: February 10, 2026

2026 Head of Zeus - an Aries Book

Ebook ARC; 304 Pages

ISBN: 978-1804547984

ASIN: B0FB37BFS5

Audiobook: B0FD43DR87

Genre: Fiction / Horror

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Off the west coast of Ireland lies a lonely island, isolated and wilfully forgotten. Some say there hasn't been a child born on the island for thirty years. Others speak of strange deaths there, decades ago. But no one really knows what happened. Locals believe that the dark times are behind them.

They are mistaken.

Grace, adopted at four years old, has never known where she came from. A mysterious phone call leads her back to the island where she was born – and where a terrible evil has been disturbed.

As the evil starts to spread, Grace finds herself dragged back into a living nightmare that threatens to engulf anyone who steps into its path.

 

My Thoughts

Grace had a fantastic setting and the atmosphere was downright eerie, an island off the coast of Ireland called Croaghnakeela Island.  I have since learned that this island is an existing island and the author incorporated the island as well as Irish folklore into the story. I am currently reading a history of the British Isles and understand there are thousands of islands in the area so while the name of the island exists, I am assuming (hoping) the author took liberties with the story and the people who actually live there. 

 

Let me start with the setting as that was the best part of this book.  We have this island where no children exist, houses are falling into disrepair, the only delivery man refuses to step foot on the island, fog shrouds it perpetually, and legends abound as to what is going on on the island.  A priest was transferred there six years ago and the islanders have successfully kept him in the dark as to its secrets and what happened thirty years go, but he senses the malevolence of the island and the spirits focused on the people.  I loved the blend of folklore with what was happening as that was truly interesting and kept me engaged.  I love it when things are eerie, ghostly, and there are big, dark secrets.

 

Unfortunately, the setting wasn't enough to elevate the story as I found it meandering and the characters weren't fully developed.  Yes, the author tried to give a few of the characters a voice by telling their stories as to what happened all those years before, but by doing so, lost the overall tension and fear that was so prominent in the first third of the book. Even though there were some very interesting things that were revealed through these POV, I did wonder if there was a better way for the story to be told. I really enjoyed Father O'Malley's POV and would have preferred the story stay there as he was ignorant of what was happening and as he discovered what was going on, the tension and the fear would have increased substantially as he learned more and more.  As I've previously mentioned, some really interesting things were revealed, but they were lost in the meandering story line, and other things that I found fascinating were glossed over as if they weren't important, things I think the priest would have questioned. As a result, the overall story felt unfinished or incomplete. 

 

Verdict

Grace definitely had a lot of potential and the setting just screamed atmosphere with the fog and the unsettling stories, but the overall story line fell a little short, in my opinion.  Although I loved the folklore and the legends, I would have liked more information on what was happening.  I really enjoyed the first third of the book, but the ending felt a bit rushed and honestly, predictable.  Overall, I do recommend that you read this novel if you love horror just for the atmospheric elements in the book as they were great, but I will acknowledge the execution fell a bit flat for me.  And the twists? Honestly, when you read a lot of horror you don't get surprised by them anymore as you sort of expect them so not being surprised by them didn't affect my overall rating.