I was really intrigued when I read the blurb and the first few pages because of the tropes of bluegrass music and queer teens, and I definitely don't regret reading this book! As a musician myself I adored the love of music that came across in the book and it definitely made me look up and listen to bluegrass music, which enhanced the reading experience, highly recommend! :) I think one of the best things about this book was the captivating mood that was created throughtout! It's eerie and sucked me right in, so far so that I was a bit creeped out by it and took care to only read this book in broad daylight! :D It's not really super spooky story-wise, it's more the quite heavy feelings and dark moods that the protagonist goes through which affected me. But I'm a softie, so it might not be like that for everyone :D I definitely felt deeply for the protagonist and her journey throughout the book was lovely to follow. The characters were also great and worked well for me, I liked the complicated family situantion and the bi-rep, including the little love-triangle that ensues. Even though in the beginning it's a bit random, it mirrors the confusion she experiences and how torn she is and I loved the way Shady grows throughout the book and chooses the person who is right for her and by whom she is respected. I'm usually a bit over the whole love-triangle trope, but in this case it felt realistic and enhanced the relationships between the characters instead of being a prop for building tension and showing how irresistable the mc is. The friendships that develop were beautiful to watch as well and I loved how they all helped and supported each other. However, I'm not a big fan of misunderstandings and miscommunications as a tool to build tension, that was no different in this book. I wish people just talked to each other, man! :D It's not a full 5 stars because some parts were a bit lengthy and in some passages it was bit too heavy for me personally, but overall a very enjoyable read, especially if you like gothic stories and music.