I had seen this online for while so I contacted Tessa and she got in touch with DoubleDay and they kindly gave me a ARC to review. I am so glad I contacted them because this really one the best book of the 2011.

Blood Magic is about a teenage girl Silla is trying to come to terms with the horrific incident of her parents death. Nick has just moved to town where Silla stays he too has a tragic past that he hiding from the world. Together the both are thrown together over a spellbook that mysteriously turns up at Silla's home and together the try to unravel the events that took Silla's parents. However there is always a price to pay and what will their cost be?

There isn't too many characters in this novel. We have our two main characters, Silla and Nick, as well as a secondary cast of characters that really make this story intriguing and there is going to be a character everyone will like and of course hate. Silla is one of those characters who even though I couldn't imagine what she was going through I still felt connected to her. She is just so likable. She is hurting from the lose of her parents yet she is still getting on with her life and trying to life it. Nick really is a charming young man and its easy to see why Silla falls for him. He is harbouring some chilling secrets from his past that are unraveled as the story goes.


The story itself for this book is fantastic! Seriously its awesome! Its fast paced and full of suspense with a few twists and turns when revealing the baddy that I honestly didn't see coming. I thought I knew who the baddy was but Tessa suprise and left me in shock because I thought I had figured it and well I had no clue lol.

Blood Magic is one of those stories you simply can't put down no matter how hard you try. Between the cast and the enchanting and dark storyline Blood Magic is going to be massive hit. Tessa has managed to create such a dark tale for YA novel. She doesn't skip over any details and this I love it and some part even I was getting squeemish as I am not a big fan of blood.


I beg you READ THIS!. If you like your stories dark and enticing then this is the book for you. You will be gripped from page one. However, if you aren't a fan of blood then please approach with caution lol but don't let it put you off this story is amazing I just wanted to warn you.

Also due to some of the contain in this novel I feel its not suitable for younger readers

I'm going to tell you right off the bat that I had very high expectations for this book, which may have clouded my judgment. The unfortunate hurdle that Tessa Gratton faced with her debut is that a lot of readers knew her as Maggie Stiefvater's critique partner. Not only that, but she was the last of the three--herself, Maggie, and fellow newbie Brenna Yovanoff--to become published. Brenna's "The Replacement" and "The Space Between" managed to set her on her own pedestal. They were lovely, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved both. Maggie is the "it girl" of YA right now. Everyone loves her. So Tessa had some big footsteps to follow in, and I'm afraid that she fell a little short.

Don't get me wrong: I see a bright future for Tessa, and I really did like this book. I'm looking forward to seeing what she has to offer. However, she does fall into my most common complaint, which is "good concept, iffy execution". Her problem lies in her main characters, or rather the way their perspectives are laid out. I feel as if, as cool as the diary entries from Josephine were, they remained somewhat unnecessary and took away from our characters' shock factors. It's like: Oh, yeah. Silla and Nick know now. Big deal.

I also felt like there were so many shocks in the book that Silla and Nick did not feel at all. This book has a decent body count, and plenty of WTF moments. But the surprise was dulled, because we read about these moments fifty pages ago and Silla and Nick don't seem to care any more than we do.

Also: Silla needs some drastic work. She wasn't a bad character, but I felt like she was a constant victim. Her quickly evolving relationship with Nick, cute moments aside, reeked of daddy issues and a need for a male protector. Which sucked, because I sense a strong girl behind her shattered persona. I also felt like the way that her fellow teens treated her was just another excuse to victimize our heroine, and was incredibly unrealistic. Nobody acts that way in high school. They might not be incredibly eager to hang out with her due to awkwardness, but they would not actively mistreat her. That's middle school--or Stephen King.

So, yes. Interesting plot--potential. Just... fix these problems and give your characters better voice.