Blood Magic

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton 

I read Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton and I beg you, if you only read one review for this book, make it mine. 

On Goodreads, it seems like many people rated this book badly because they didn't understand it, they didn't look deep enough, or they couldn't handle the subject matter of the book. I'll tell you now though, if you want rainbows and sunshine, this book is not for you. If you're like me and you enjoy blood, dark themes, gory descriptions written wonderfully enough to make your stomach churn and your heart ache, 

this book is for you.

I'm going to try to keep spoilers to a minimum but beware, I have a lot to gush about and I might slip up.

~*Edit*~

There are spoilers. Read ahead at your own risk.

Synopsis:

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.

(Source: Goodreads)

Personal Opinion: 

I f**king love this book.

I'll start with the protagonists. 

Drusilla Kennicot and Nicholas Pardee are beautiful characters. The both of them have magic in their blood and they are instantly drawn to each other. Silla needs something good in her life and Nick does, too. The two of them find in each other what has been missing in themselves in their search for who they really are. The most beautiful kind of love in my opinion. My absolute favorite part about these characters is that they are teenagers. They are far from perfect and both of them are often selfish and forget about the other's needs. Love is not perfect. It takes work and with everything these two characters have going on around them, it's no surprise that they would sometimes forget about the needs of the other. That made it so real for me. It wasn't the typical "Here are two teenagers who get it perfectly right the first time" novel. They argue. They get angry with each other and they make up. I love that.
Now Reese.
I love Reese. He is so real and believable just like the others. He is a big brother, working his ass off to protect his baby sister. The best part about Reese is when he calls Silla "Bumblebee" The second he called her that I handed him my heart on a silver platter. There is nothing sexier than a man who is a sweet big brother.

Okay, I could literally gush about Reese all day, but that would spoil, like, pretty much the entire book. (Not really)
So on to the story.
There is a good chance that I love this book so much because I love things that are dark and sadistic. I am dark and sadistic some days.
I also love original stories. I love original stories with lots of blood. 

I LOVE THIS BOOK.

Just when I thought I had it figured out everything changed and I realized I was wrong.

 Miss Gratton knows how to drop a red herring like a pro. 

This book is not for the faint of heart, or for those who can not handle a healthy dose of reality with their fantasy. I saw reviews that had people who were absolutely appalled at the fact that there were animal sacrifices in the book. 

I'm sorry, were you expecting something prettier? 

One should not pick up a book called Blood Magic without understanding at least a little bit about what the words "Blood Magic" mean. 

Blood Magic is a dark practice. It requires blood which is, more often than not, acquired through the sacrifice of a small animal. Blood Magic is never pretty, but this book takes the parts of it that aren't pretty and mold it in to something dark, gruesome and beautiful while remaining absolutely terrifying and heartbreaking. That is not an easy thing to do. 

The antagonist was another part I loved. Allowing us to see Josephine's decent in to madness every other chapter pleased me. She starts out as very relateable and then slowly, I became horrified, because even as she begins to become crazed, I could still relate. I'm sure anyone could if they put themselves in her shoes. Which again adds to the reality in the book that I love so much. 

Her Prospero has left her in a similar fashion to the actual Prospero after thrusting her in to the world of blood magic and letting her grow addicted to it. Anyone would be angry. And when you have anger and power mixed together, combined with a thousand lifetimes for it to boil and fester it can never end well. 

This book made me laugh. This book made me cry. It made me cuss out loud. It made me tweet the author at 3 AM while sobbing, to which she replied with:

Favorite Quote: 
I'm picking my top three again. One will just not cut it. Try not to be freaked out by the last one. I like dark things.

“Girl surrounded by flowers

Technicolor kiss

For all the night's lengthy hours

I'll miss...” 

 “By lunchtime, the glitter was flaking off my mask. Three pearls dropped off and rolled down the tiled hallway.” 

"Shoving the blade against the rabbit's neck, I pressed down, all my weight behind the knife. The screaming stopped as the blade popped through the fur and skin and muscles and bone and dug into the earth beneath."  kiss

For all the night's lengthy hours

I'll miss...” 

 “By lunchtime, the glitter was flaking off my mask. Three pearls dropped off and rolled down the tiled

"Shoving the blade against the rabbit's neck, I pressed down, all my weight behind the knife. The screaming stopped as the blade popped through the fur and skin and muscles and bone and dug into the earth beneath." 

I feel like I need to explain why I love this last one. It's because it's painful. It's not a pretty thing,  but the way it's worded made it beautiful and made me feel sick at the same time. The fact that words can do that leave me in awe. 

I LOVE THIS BOOK. I LOVE THIS AUTHOR. 

I cannot wait to read her other stuff.

Overall Rating: 
15/10
Yup. Loved it THAT much. It broke my rating scale.