Riley has been able to see ghosts since her mom died a few months ago. To start over, her family moves to Scotland in a great big house that used to be an inn. She soon meets this ghost, Ian, who lived in the castle across the street and was murdered by a jealous servant who has cursed him to roam the earth for eternity. This servant – Laria – is determined to stop Riley from trying to help Ian. Let me tell you, this Laria is terrifying! And if you think ghosts can’t hurt the living, you’re wrong. Laria is evil and goes to extremes to try to get Riley to stay away. I’m a real sucker for ghost stories. Even though they scare me to death, I absolutely enjoy reading about them. The Deepest Cut is one of the best ghost stories I’ve read. Although, there were a few elements that I found unnecessary to the story (though not enough to lessen my liking of the book). Like how Riley would cut herself. I felt as if that storyline often got put on the backburner and forgotten for a while. It did help with the character development a little, yet, while I didn’t mind the side-plot, it does feel expendable. I’m also wondering why Tom was so adamant on having Riley spend time at the mausoleum. He seems like a strange character that I hope we get to find out more about later on.

Along with the hair-raising, there is also romance in this story: a convincing and passionate romance. Riley is falling fast for Ian who is clearly gorgeous, but a relationship with a ghost can’t really be real, can it? I loved how the relationship was intertwined with the ghost plot, as well as how much chemistry there was between the two. Ian is a wonderfully mysterious character that pulls on your heartstrings. It’s certainly a really unique relationship that you know can’t have a happy ending. However, JA Templeton leaves us with a killer cliffhanger that will make you rethink it all. I was extremely happy to find out the next installment is due at the end of the month because it’s definitely one of those fun-but-I-may-die-waiting type of endings.

A real page turner full of fear, love, sadness, along with bittersweet ending, The Deepest Cut will be greatly enjoyed by readers who love ghost stories that leave you undoubtedly spooked and full of mixed emotions.