Holla if you are sick to death of YA books with cliffhanger endings, or better yet NO CLEAR ENDING? Up front, I am going to tell you that Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton, one of the writing group known as The Merry Sisters of Fate with Brenna Yovanoff and Maggie Stiefvater, has a satisfying conclusion.However, an actual resolution is not the only thing that recommends Blood Magic.
Blood Magic
Tessa Gratton’s story is a perfect fall read, evoking witches and things that go bump in the night. Blood Magic opens on a chilling note, main character Silla’s parents have been brutally murdered. She, along with her brother Reese inherit a book of spells from their father. Silla sets her skepticism aside to try one of the spells in the graveyard, lo and behold the magic actually works. However, Silla is not alone while doing magic. Instead, new kid in town Nicolas Pardee is watching her perform the magic from the woods, hiding a secret of his own.
What unfolds is an intense story, a bit of race against the clock to discover the truth of Silla’s parents’ murder as she also comes into her fledgling powers. The stakes are absolutely real and high in Blood Magic. Not every one gets a happy ending, and I think this serves to magnify emotions. Adding to the intensity is the overall atmosphere of the story, the setting being almost a character. Something very sinister lurks within the graveyard of Yaleylah, a small Missouri town. The creepiness of the area is quite palpable.
Yet, lest you be scared away by the doom and gloom, there is also an underlying love story in Blood Magic. Let me tell you, Tessa Gratton knows how to write a swoonworthy kissing scene. And while the book is dark in turns, there is an undercurrent of hope. There is a certain magic in the chemistry of Nicolas and Silla, what you may see as blood calling to blood. Instead of hindering the story, I thought the romance aspect really enhanced it.
If you are looking for an emotionally intense read with a great ending and no love triangle, ESPECIALLY a good Halloween feeling read, I absolutely recommend Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton without hesitation.
Disclosure: Received for review via Amazon Vine.
Other Reviews:
Obsessed!
Galleysmith
Pure Imagination
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you have for real made me want to read this – good thing I have a copy. Also…Yaleylah is a kind of a creepy name for a town.
love it…saving this one for the fall. Always love a good halloween read 😉 thanks for the suggestion
I really loved this book, too. Excellent.
Now I really want to read this – thanks for the review 🙂
YAY!! I’m glad you liked it too. I’m interested to read the companion. Such an interesting premise and great characters to be able to go back to but in a different way.
Was scrolling through your reviews, this one caught my eye. I loved this book so much. I agree it had that great Halloween feel to it! My fav parts were the journal entries.. I think they were done perfectly at the right parts in the book. I still couldn’t figure out exactly what would happen though. this is a good thing. 🙂
This cover was one of my favs from 2011. I like the way it feels too, if that makes sense. It has a weird texture to it.. kinda like Warm Bodies does. I don’t make a habit of feeling up covers, just for the record. lol.