The Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Double Day

Pages: 416pgs

The Story

A stunning blend of romance, horror and magic.

For Mab Prowd, the practice of blood magic is as natural as breathing. It's all she's ever known. Growing up on an isolated farm with other practitioners may have kept her from making friends her own age, but it has also given her a sense of purpose - she's protective of the magic, and is able to practice it proudly and happily out in the open with only the crows as her companions. But one morning while Mab is attempting a particularly tricky spell, she encounters Will, a local boy who is trying to exorcise a few personal demons of his own. He experiences Mab's magic in a way his mind cannot comprehend and is all too happy to end their chance meeting. But soon, secrets that were kept from Mab by earlier generations of blood magicians are revealed, and she and Will are drawn back together, united against a dangerous force looking to break free from the earth and reclaim its own dark power.

The Review

Blood Magic was one of my favourite books from 2011 and I was really looking forward to reading this sequel, even though I was quite disappointed to find out that it was not a continuation from the characters we met in the first book of this YA series but rather a continuation with newly introduced characters and an entirely new story instead. THE BLOOD KEEPER may not have beaten my love for Tessa Gatton's debut book, but there was enough there in the sequel to keep me entertained - with blood (trust me there's lot's of it and boy I loved it), romance, spells and all sorts of deadly things hidden beyond our reach, it's all there for witchy fans out there like myself.

THE BLOOD KEEPER, unlike its predecessor, takes quite some time in getting use to as it builds gradually with the storyline and with its characters. Even with it being rather slow in pacing and with me not being entirely sure about the book itself and where it's heading, I still managed to connect with the book on a whole and it gave me enough time to get the feel of the book . . . eventually. To make up for the slowness it would have to be Tessa Gratton's beautiful writing, the way she makes you feel the heat of Kansas and the chills when the blood is being smeared in - and on - dozens of places . . . it was needless to say a joy to read and one I take pleasure in reading.

Regarding the new set of characters, they may not have been a huge favourite of mine but I still enjoyed their own tales that were told to me. Told in two perspectives we get to meet the characters, Mab and Will, along with some extra special chapters which are told in another perspective of letters by Evelyn and Arthur. Mab was a great character to have in the backdrop of this Kansas setting. She was quirky, confident, comfortable in her own skin, and was someone just so content with her life, even one full of unspeakable magics and dark things of the past. She was just a blast to read about!

But I think - all in all - my favourite character out of everyone would have to be Will, the love interest of Mab. Will was someone who was the complete opposite to Mab, an element that was so cleverly used and yet one that I loved the most as these 'opposite ends' complemented the two characters very well. But unlike the confident and bright Mab, Will is pretty uncertain about his life and he always seemed lonely to me. But when Mab comes into the picture . . . it somehow changes him and I think for the better. I guess the thing I loved most about Will's character, without spoiling too much here, was that he was the character that I felt was so real to me - you know, believable.  He's someone I think readers will instantly connect with in some way and I hope you do connect with him because he's definitely a terrific character to have in this story. He kind of reminded me of the other leading boy in the first book of the series, Blood Magic, Nick, so if you have read the first book you will definitely enjoy reading about Will also. Especially if you loved Nick like I did!

Overall, while meeting the new and the old characters of this series, I truly felt THE BLOOD KEEPER was the perfect addition to the series. It may not have captivated me from the start like Blood Magic did, but when you overlook the slow pace and the less-favorable set of characters you're still left with an intriguing storyline and one you must finish until the very end!

The Rating

4/5 stars