She’s famous for her vampire series, but I like this one better.
Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris
Wanted: readers who thrive on enemies-to-lovers and questionable coping mechanisms.
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The Plot
Harper Connelly was struck by lightning at fifteen, now any corpse within range sparks a low electric buzz in her skull and shows her the final seconds of its life. With her manager/step‑brother Tolliver, she travels the American back‑roads selling that grim talent to the desperate. All while grappling with a shattered family, a missing sister, and a bond with Tolliver that deepens from sibling loyalty into forbidden love.
My Breakdown
This book gave me:
🌱 A heroine learning to wield her uncanny gift on her own terms
❤️ A slow-burn partnership that blossoms from wary loyalty into fierce, tender love
🪨 Proof that healing and romance can bloom even amid murder, small-town whispers, and bone-deep grief
🛑 Townsfolk side‑eyeing the “lightning freak” harder than the murderer
Charlaine Harris became famous with True Blood. It’s an excellent read, though I personally DNF’ed at one point because something in the plot was unacceptable to me. But most people are probably not as easily triggered as I am about these things.
The Harper Connelly series is far less known, but I like it even more. The vibe is very different: it’s darker, there are no vampires, and there’s no love triangle (a trope I personally find annoying).
The romance is a slow burn—they don’t get together until the end of the series. The FMC and MMC are technically stepsister and stepbrother. There’s no blood relation, but some reviewers find that off-putting, so if it bothers you, be warned. Until they finally pair up, they’re involved with other people, which some readers also dislike.
Personally, I really loved their romance; I loved them as a couple and the yearning leading up to it. I thoroughly enjoyed the series. I usually don’t read suspense, but the blend of mystery and romance worked great for me. Harris’s writing makes everything vivid: the characters feel real, and you can picture the settings even if you’ve never been there.
The dead never lie. It’s the living you have to watch out for.
Harris keeps the supernatural element grounded. Harper’s “gift” is painfully limited (she sees how someone died, not who did it), so real detective work still matters. That makes every revelation earned and every close call tense. Much of the story’s gloom comes from Harper and Tolliver’s rough childhood and dysfunctional family, and their romance feels forged in that shared trauma. The romance simmers under the surface most of the series and is bitter-sweet until it’s just sweet.
Tolliver was the only one who believed me when the bodies started talking. I guess that makes him family in more ways than one.”
By the final chapter the mystery wraps, but the larger threads (missing sister, , lightning after‑effects and their relationship) promise plenty for the next three books.
You can find links in Harris’ site*
Were you rooting for Harper and Tolliver from the beginning, or does the step-sibling romance just gross you out?
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* My links aren’t affiliated, I just love supporting authors.
I read all her Sookie Stackhouse books years and years ago, but for some reason I never looked into her other books. Thanks for the nudge towards this one!