Why’d I Pick This Book To Read?
Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton is the kind of book that makes me think of fall. The storyline looks dark. The setting and writing is quite atmospheric. Also, there are witches. I thought I would enjoy this because a long time ago, I liked Gratton’s Blood Magic book. Unfortunately, it just did not pan out with this book.
What’s The Story Here?
Strange Grace, from what I gather, is about three young adults – Mairwen, Rhun, and Arthur. All three are in love with each other. They live in this magical valley where no one ever gets sick and where there’s always a plentiful harvest. It is blessed because of a bargain with the devil. Every seven years, the best boy goes into the forest for the night. He either comes out at the end or doesn’t, but the devil is satisfied. Mairwen and her mother are the Grace witches. Anyways, the forest calls for a sacrifice only three years out from the last one, thus there’s concern that the bargain is broken. And, yeah, that’s about the gist of the story.
How Long Did I Last?
I got to page 110 out of 400 per my Kindle.
Why Did I DNF?
Honestly, I was B O R E D. BORED. It isn’t like I did not want to try to finish this book. It gets some really great reviews. One even compares it to books by one of my favorite authors. However, I just could not bring myself to care. You know how some books are so slow? You find yourself doing things like reading all of social media until the bottom where it says, hey no more posts to read. That happened. I got to the end of Instagram while reading this book. I had not attachment to any of the characters. Also, while the prose is very pretty, I just felt so bogged down with it. It just seemed a bit overwritten. And you know, I gave it the old college try. I had every intention of finishing. However, now I am reading a romance novel and feel much more driven to keep reading.
Is There Anyone This Book Would Appeal To?
People who like a good turn of phrase that happens to be super poetic and pretty. Also, people who are into dark, lush stories. If you’re a patient reader obsessed with witch books, give it a shot. Also, I will say that this book is cool because it explores different types of sexuality and gender. I won’t discount that at all — I think it’s great to see representation in a book and would recommend to anyone looking for pansexual representation and I guess also possibly non-binary representation.
Other reviews of Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton:
- Words Like Silver – “I really loved it“
- Literary Dust – “a unique book“
- Ink And Myths – “a book that just gets better and better“
Purchase or Preview Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton:
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Lovely DNF review April 😀 Thank you for sharing about this one. <3 I was curious about it for a while, but then decided that it probably wouldn't be for me, haha. Glad I did not give it a try 🙂