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

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton

Release Date: 24th May, 2011

Publisher: Random House

Pages: 405pgs

The Story

Everywhere Silla Kennicott turns she sees blood. She can't stop thinking about her parents alleged murder-suicide. She is consumed by a book filled with spells that arrives mysteriously in the mail. The spells share one common ingredient: blood, and Silla is more than willing to cast a few. What's a little spilled blood if she can uncover the truth? And then there's Nick - the new guy at school who makes her pulse race. He has a few secrets of his own and is all too familiar with the lure of blood magic. Drawn together by a combination of fate and chemistry, Silla and Nick must find out who else in their small Missouri town knows their secret and will do anything to take the book and magic from Silla.

The Review

As soon as I heard about this book and reading all of the rave reviews, I knew it was going to be my kind of story! Blood. Magic. Love. Mystery. Yes - I was right. But I didn't like it . . . I LOVED every moment of it! A lot of young adult books haven't been uniquely written (at least when it comes to magic and romance), but with BLOOD MAGIC it brought a fresh insight into the world of witchy magic and I've read plenty in the past, but nothing will be so unique than this one right here since it's brought something new onto the table. For which, I'm thankful for. From the interesting journal accounts of magic to the mysterious deaths of Silla's parents, this book will bewitch you!

The thing I loved most about BLOOD MAGIC was the alternative POV chapters told between Silla and Nicholas, our main heroines. Each of these characters had their lives affected by magic which ultimately brought them together and boy . . . they awesome. But while the story is being told by two characters, you will also be introduced to a character named Josephine Darly, whom you'll learn more about throughout the book. She's weird that one. But let's talk about the main characters.

First you have Silla. There's a lot of things I loved about her. Silla maybe considered the "weirdo girl" in her town, but to me, she was sooooo fascinating. When her parents died, Silla then used the likes of acting to pretend everything in her life was fine - to mask away what she truly feels about her parents death and how it's affected her. Until Nicholas shows up. Through all the masks she puts up to hide herself away, Nicholas can still see right through it all. He gets her in ways no one can, and most importantly, he's the type of person Silla needs in her life in order to become a stronger person, to fight away the evils that are in her way. He brought her to life both through magic - magic she's only just discovering - and through her personality. By the way, I LOVED Silla's brother! However, what the author did to him . . . so NOT cool!

And lastly, you have Nicholas. Nicholas . . . Nicholas . . . Nicholas! Why are you so awesome? Why are you so hot? Why are you so fascinating like Silla? From the very first page, I loved everything there was to know about him and I wanted to know more! He's straightforward, snarky, super fun to read about, and he's just the type of character you have to care about! Now unlike Silla here, Nicholas knows all too well about blood magic and what it can do to people. He should know considering his mother went crazy! The thing that was great about Nicholas's character was that he seemed more relatable to readers than Silla was (though Silla did relate to me in some level of not caring what people think), but nonetheless, both of the characters were essential to the story. The only thing I hated about dear old Nick was the way he called Silla 'babe' all the time. I hate that girlfriend nickname!

Overall, I thought BLOOD MAGIC unfolds unlike any other story I've read. It's so flawless in its details and writing, not to mention the steamy making-out scenes that helped the story too! *evil grin* And the bloody scenes . . . Whoops! It's called BLOOD MAGIC for a reason (here's a spoiler): there's plenty of blood for you blood fanatics! While BLOOD MAGIC seemed very familiar to Beautiful Creatures story, but damn me for saying this . . . shamefully I love this book MUCH MORE! Even with Silla who's a lot like Lena in a way and the same goes for Nicholas who has the same likeness to Ethan's character, BLOOD MAGIC rocked in a way even Beautiful Creatures cannot! Anyway, the message I got from the books was that no matter where you come from or who your family are, it's what you do NOW that defines you! I don't know if that's the same message other readers got, but that's what it was for me. When it comes down to it, READ THIS BOOK OR YOU'LL REGRET IT! If you loved Beautiful Creatures, then you'll love this!

The Rating

5 /5 stars