Thursday, September 20, 2012

The Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton


Series: The Blood Journals (bk. 2)

Genera: Paranormal Romance

Subjects: Magic, supernatural, love, Kansas

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 419 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Random House

Summary/ product description: “Paranormal romance fans who are looking to up the ante will be drawn to this tale of horror, fantasy, and romance. 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 in Kansas 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 connected to the land and protective of the magic. And she is able to practice it proudly and happily out in the open with only the crows as her companions. Mab will do anything to keep the ancient practice alive and guard its secrets. But one morning while she is working out a particularly tricky spell she encounters Will, a local boy who is trying to exorcise some mundane personal demons. He experiences Mab's magic in a way his mind cannot comprehend and is all too happy to end their chance meeting. But secrets that were kept from Mab by the earlier generations of blood magicians have come home to roost. And she and Will are drawn back together, time again by this dangerous force looking to break free from the earth and reclaim its own dark power.”

My Rating: êêêê

My Review: The story takes place 5 years after the events of Blood Magic, the first book. There was some short story called Crow Memory, about Reese turning into crows, that I didn’t get to read. I felt a little lost at the beginning because the new characters. I wanted to figure out who they were, who they were related to. It’s very strange that Silla and  Nick are already graduating college, so is this in the future, or was Blood Magic in the past (like 2008) while this is the present (2012)? Despite that, I enjoyed the book. Will’s an awesome character. I love his relationship with his dogs, Valkyrie and Havoc. Funny names for two female German Shepherds. Mab’s a bit weird because of how she was raised, but all the magic was very cool. I think it’s dumb that Ben want to push Will to be a Marine. Why Marine? Is there anyone out there with a death wish. Why not navy or air force. Less risk involved. It just seems very unrealistic that a brother would push his younger brother to be a Marine after all the death he’s seen and people he’s killed. Usually Marines come out of war with PTSD, or very bad nightmares, at least. They wouldn’t want that for their siblings.

What I loved about this story were the descriptions. It was very visual, show and not tell. The mysterious magic and scenery of the Kansas prairie and farmland. I love books that have magical rural setting. Blood Magic was more suburban (even though Will lives in a suburb of Kansas City).

This book reminded me of Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore, and Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. So if you liked those magic witch/magic user books, then you might like this one. Blood magic is a realistic kind of magic. For all we know it could be real, and the author might know something most of us don’t.

Cover Art Review: So much more fitting that the old cover! Very occult/American Gothic.  I like how it looks like it was carved into the wood, and filled with blood.

 

~Haley G

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