Blood Magic
Blood Magicby Tessa Gratton
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. (goodreads.com)
Hey, look! A book that's already out on the shelves so you can just waltz right on in to your local store and pick it up yourself right away if you so desire! I told you that I swear I am not reading books that come out only in the fall on purpose! ;)Blood Magic was one of the 2011 debut books I was most looking forward to. Sadly, it didn't quite wow me as I hoped it would. In fact, I had to put it down because I just couldn't get into the characters right away. I did pick it up again by the end of my week-long holiday from work and I made myself read until the end, but although I did enjoy the story, it wasn't overwhelmingly awesome.Part of the problem was the split narration between Silla and Nicholas. Sometimes I'd sort of miss the block-lettered name at the start of a new chapter or break in one and not realize that I had switched points of view. I sort of liked Nicholas but I didn't care about Silla at all. I found she was much less interesting than Nicholas was.Half the time I was reading I thought, "This reminds me of Beautiful Creatures just nowhere near as poetic". I know it wasn't set in the south, but there was something about the atmosphere of the novel that has a very BC vibe. The problem with that was then I suddenly wanted to re-read BC and I'd get confused when I'd tune back in and realize I was in a different story.I wish I could put my finger on why I didn't get into Blood Magic as much as others seem to, or as much as I wanted to, but I can't. There wasn't just one thing that stood out to me as something I didn't like. The writing is fantastic, the dialogue wasn't wonky and the plot didn't have a whole lot of holes. It was sort of like, there are people out there you connect with instantly and there are others who are merely acquaintances and you don't tell them your entire life story and there are people you hate with a passion. Blood Magic, to me, is an acquaintance. Not someone I hate and not someone I love to pieces and want to spend every moment with. I enjoyed it for the most part but we didn't click. I'm not going to marry the book, but I would invite it to my wedding.Does any of that make sense? I don't want this to sound like a negative review, because it's not. The book just wasn't for me. I don't know why. I just can't verbalize it, but it's more of a feeling I have. We're not soul-mates this book and I.Will I read more from Tessa Gratton? Yes. I did enjoy her writing style and I think she's got one wicked imagination. I think the family relationships she writes are very good and meaty. I just don't think I will read more from this series (because I think it will be a series). I'd like to try something else.