Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton
pages: 405
released: May 2011
publisher: Random House
cover love: ♥♥♥
It starts off simply. Draw a circle…place a dead leaf in the center…sprinkle some salt …recite a little Latin…add a drop of blood…Maybe that last part isn’t exactly simple. Yet somehow it feels right to Silla Kennicott. And nothing in her life has felt remotely right since her parents’ horrific deaths. She’s willing to do anything to uncover the truth about her family—even try a few spells from the mysterious book that arrived on her doorstep … and spill some blood. The book isn’t the only recent arrival in Silla’s life. There’s Nick Pardee, the new guy next door who may have seen Silla casting a spell. She’s not sure what he saw and is afraid to find out. But as they spend more time together, Silla realizes this may not be Nick’s first encounter with Blood Magic. Brought together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick can’t deny their attraction. And they can’t ignore the dark presence lurking nearby—waiting to reclaim the book and all its power. Tessa Gratton’s intoxicating first novel will keep pulses racing, minds reeling, and pages turning right up to the very last drop of blood. (Goodreads)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON 12/3/2011 ON BOOKSLIKESTARS.NET
Review:
Though it had its dragging moments, Blood Magic was a very impressive novel that I felt intrigued by while reading. It sparked my curiosity in areas of occult and blood magic. I do love to read witch stories but they have to be really good to hold my interest and Tessa Gratton used a few methods that did the trick.
After the murder-suicide of her parents, Silla receives an old book from someone named the Deacon filled with magic spells written in her dad’s handwriting. All the spells require different things to work, but they all include blood. Silla begins cutting herself, spilling her blood to experiment with the magic left behind by her father. There has to be a reason he kept this from her and why the Deacon felt differently. Nick, a transfer student from Chicago and Silla’s new neighbor catches her doing magic in the cemetery that divides their property. Nick knows what she’s doing, what the blood is for. He’s seen it before, been used for it by his own mother. At first, Nick wants Silla to stop but soon he’s pulled into the magic too and can feel the connection it weaves between them. But someone else is connected to the book and magic as well. And she’s come to take it back. And it’s up to Silla, Nick and her brother, Reese to find a way to protect it.
What I liked a lot about the book were the journals from the past. The entries were scattered throughout the story taking place in the present with Silla, Reese and Nick, and you get small doses of the history and secrets that surrounded both their families. The writing is exceptional and dark, descriptions involving the forest, the cemetery and the possessed crows and animals creates an eerie atmosphere that helps absorb the power of magic they create. I loved reading about the spells and ingredients used, there was tons of detail included about the herbs, talismans and of course, blood! There’s more blood in this book than anything else. I didn’t really care for the romance between Silla and Nick, it just didn’t hold my attention. The narrative alternates between them and usually I’m partial to this because I like getting more than one perspective but not this time. I just wasn’t feeling Nick. Or Silla. Or any of the characters. They all lacked luster. The real polish is in the plot. I was more focused on Josephine and Philip, the two immortal witches from the past and why they’re connected to three teens out in Missouri and their parents.
The next installment, The Blood Keeper, hints at new main characters, a new town, more magic and definitely more blood. Can’t wait to grab a copy.
4
