Dig My Grave: Hymns From The Lighthouse: Book 1 Anniversary Edition

by C.J Amato

After The Great Divide left them isolated by monstrous water mountains. After The Maker's Massacre left them in darkness-leaving them in a world divided between Blue and Black. Buried deep down in their home-holes, the families of The Five have been waiting for a long time for the catalyst that will spark The Maker's Third Atrocity.Time can yield countless possibilities.Time finds a young Gracie No-Name sold to the Broken King Magnus Windbound. Her simple crime was being born to an unloving mother.

A generation earlier, time finds Summer. A girl with curly blue hair and gray-blue eyes born to a world of black hair and black eyes, named after the season of her abandonment.

Another generation later, Skye Wallace predictably found himself in his office lost in time-investigating God's Cruelties. But Skye often finds himself reading about The Daughters of Light. Astonishing women, able to yield nature to their will, with just the snap of a finger.

Then stands the Gravedigger. A specter shrouded in black, burying this world one soul at a time, with every dig of its diamond shovel.

Book
"I hear them say. Please send me back. If only I could go back, I could do it better. Some are lost in the past, some lost in the future. None of them understand that neither matters. It's only ever now. And the now never seems to matter to them."-Thoughts of the Gravedigger

325 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2023

Reviews

[Zarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hyms from the Lighthouse by C.J. Amato

To start I want to say I absolutely love the cover art and font used for the title. I think the art looks amazing and reflects parts of the book.

This is C.J Amato's debut book and the first book of this series. For anyone who reads or writes epic fantasy you know how hard world building is especially at first. I think he did a great job of world building for this first book and by the end of the book it was starting to all come together.

This book is wrote in third person and goes back and forth between different time periods. The first thing that comes to mind to describe the structure and overall feeling of this book is how I felt watching the movie cloud atlas, which I enjoyed. How past, present and future are so separate but still affect the flow of events.

This book shows an overview of life, death and those moments in between.

This is a complex storyline with a lot of dark elements, elemental magic, and Dragons, Wyverns and Wyrms!

I am looking forward to seeing the story evolve and continue in this series.

Thank you for this signed book!

[Robin.Bookish.Escape · Rating 4 out of 5]

Epic high fantasy set in a dystopian world with dark themes, dragons and elemental magic which touches on all facets of life and death. I absolutely loved the illustrations throughout the book, they assist with not only envisioning the scenes but providing a beautiful aesthetic.

This story is easy to read because it is very well written. Multiple timelines and flashbacks but flows well with the story line and doesn’t seem unnecessary or redundant. If keeping track of those kinds of story points is difficult, this book may not be for you.

Dining scene gives the Red Wedding (from Game of thrones) a run for its money.

However, this book is not for the faint of heart or mind, please CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS (including but not limited to: SA of women and children mentioned, SA of side character, cannibalism, still born and infant death, suicide, forced lobotomies for control).

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, it took me out of my comfort zone (in a good way). I am looking forward to seeing what the next installment holds.

[Zury Z · Rating 5 out of 5]

This art work and book redesign is gorgeous. I listened to the Audiobook book last year and i loved this story. With the book in my possession, I read it along while listening to the Audiobook. This time around i understood some of the deeper meaning of the story.
I was a completely submerged.
I highly recommend both the Book and the Audiobook and if you can read it along while listening to it, even better.

Read my first Review below...

This book is a series of fragmented stories set in a dystopian world. An epic dark fantasy from the ingenious mind of the author that had me emotionally consumed from beginning to end.

This story begins with a sequence of calamities that befall each of the characters due to the circumstances that surround them.There are so many layers to this story and it jumps around a lot between the different characters and their experiences, but every story and character has a purpose, and is pivotal to the essence of the story as a whole.
There were a lot of shocking moments that I was not expecting.(Trigger warning) There were many revelations in the end and things start to make sence.

🖤I highly recommend this book. It is not for the faint of heart or the Squeamish. It is not the type of Fantasy i am used to but is kick ass.

[Katlyn Bolingbroke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dig my grave: Hymns from the lighthouse is an amazing book. I could not put it down. The writing is flawless and the story is one that will keep readers like you and I on the edge of our chairs till the very end. C.J. Amato is a wizard with his story telling. From the very first sentence he captures your attention and will not let go until you have finished the entire story. The characters were spot on in description as well as the settings for each part. I loved the illustrations that were included throughout the entire book. I cried for Gracie knowing that her mother was someone who did not love her. Skye Wallace was interesting to follow throughout the story. I could relate to him because when it says that he could be found reading, I thought wow that is me to a T because when I am not working or in school all I do is read. CJ Amato is a must-read author for those who love action, fantasy, and a little darkness.

[Kristen N · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book brings you a whole new world full of fantasy. You meet new creatures and different types of people. You also see how this world C.J. Amato comes up with is so much different than the world we are so used to living in.

There are certain triggers and dark aspects to this story that aren't mentioned. (Suicide, thoughts of self harm, and killing). But they do not overtake the actual story and the plot in which the story gives.

You walk along with Gracie, a fire tempest. Skye, a man with such power that one needs to read about and experience. Summer and Summer, two nameless children that live in such pain and suffering. Then Magnus, the king with an unbelievable power and a such story that leads him to the person he is.

Always read the dates that are set for you. If not, you will tend to get confused about where and when you are. The story overall draws you into a fantastic world and ends with you wondering what will happen in the next book.

[DianaKay Abraham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. I plowed right through it. With around 300 pages it's a shorter book. The art in this book is astounding. The writing style took me a few chapters to get used to and figuring out what everything meant, ie The Five, The Sisters, The Black etc was a little bit of work in the beginning as you figure out the world building. There weren't a lot of explanations of different terms so if you aren't a high fantasy fan, this may be hard to follow.

There were some grammar issues that made it difficult to get into, but like many indie books, this is common and perfectly fine-especially when you have a strong storyline.

The book hops around in the timeline as well, so you have to pay a bit of attention to that, but the main characters are interesting and multifaceted. The story arc was fast paced and easy to binge. There were some heartbreaking moments that kept me flipping pages to discover more of this sinister world.

🌟🌟🌟⭐✨3.75

[Megan Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW. I am blown away. If it says anything- I started this book this morning and finished it tonight. I couldn’t put this book down and kept going back to it when I did- the story was that compelling. This is very uniquely written- every chapter your switching to someone else’s point of view and eventually each of the separate characters with their own story ends to sharing the story with the other characters and merging storylines. I found this so refreshing and loved it! I loved the writing style and found it so easy to read and the descriptions so vivid to imagine. I also appreciated the beautiful artwork placed throughout. There were many heartbreaking moments but also so many life lessons. This is a great book and it’s a MUST read!!!!

[Stacy MacEachern · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just wanna start by saying this is not a typical read for me. Yes it’s dark fantasy BUT isn’t that the point of reading is to read most things that are not typical for u? I was a bit confused at first but then it started to make sense. I love the layout of the book and the concept of day and night, and how things are different and how one is more dangerous than the other. Bonus if u love magic and dragons 😁. Overall it follows what happens to the broken king and different characters that in the end come together and tells their separate story before. My opinion is that it’s well written and well thought out and the world building is amazing! LOVED it! Can not wait to see if there is a book 2 :) definitely will be reading it

[Raccoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book! The writing was a bit difficult to get into but after around 50 pages I started to understand it better and by the end I was in love with the style. It can be hard to follow at points as it jumps between perspectives from different times in the book's history but it was another thing that over time started to make more sense. The whole concept felt very unique and the magic system stood out from a lot of other fantasy books. It is very dark and isn't a book for everyone but for people who are ok with gore and violence I would definitely recommend this book!

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw the cover pop up on my fyp, I was already wondering what this book was about. And I was able to be apart of this journey.

This book is from C.J.Amato.The way he wrote it Past present and future. Are separate but still effect the flow of events. It shows an overview of life death mand in between. Alot of dark elements, magic dragon's and if you like things like that you will definitely love this. Keep in mind he is a new author but he has done an amazing Job bring to life what was needed. I won't give any spoilers but definitely go read this book

[Laura DeGrave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Main characters live in a world of Sun and Night.
The Black (Night) season drives men underground for their lives.
Dragons, wyrvens, wyrms, and a great deal more rule in the Black.
Magic wielders, known as Tempests, are lobotomized and sold as property.
Those who still have their abilities hide to survive.
The Gravedigger entity is weighed down by the darkness of mankind's souls.
In such treacherous times, will anyone outlive the Black?

[Kylee Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

while i did enjoy the world building, magic, and characters, i just found myself waiting for it to be over. i can definitely see this being someone’s cup of tea, but it just wasn’t for me.