Blood Magic (Blood Journals, #1)

by Tessa Gratton

The murder of her parents has left Silla damaged and lost, and Silla's insistence that her father is not to blame only alienates her further from her friends and family. When a mysterious spell book arrives, Silla hopes it will lead to some answers about her parents' killer. In her first attempt at magic, in an old graveyard near her home, Nick, the new boy in town spies on her; he recognizes the magic that Silla is performing as the same magic his mother performed with him, before she went mad. Before long, Silla and Nick connect, though Nick is unwilling to share his history with blood magic with Silla. When Silla's friends start showing signs of possession, Silla, Nick and Silla's brother, Reese, must contend with a deadly, immortal woman who will stop at nothing to take the book of spells from them.

• ISBN10: 0375867333
• ISBN13: 9780375867330
• Publish Date: 1 April 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 408
• Language: English

Reviews

The book is told in the alternating POV's of Nick and Silla, the main characters, and a diary entry which at first means nothing, but later on begins to play a central role in the book. Usually I love alternating POV's and learning how different characters view a similar situation. Nick and Silla's POV was simliar. Sometimes I would have to go back a few pages to find out whose POV I was reading in and felt that the story would have been more fun to read from one POV.

The other issue that I had was with Nick and Silla's relationship. They are attracted to one another at first, but after a few pages, their relationship progresses into love. I felt that their relationship was fast-paced and unrealistic. I did not see the progression of their relationship and therefore I wasn't invested in it and really couldn't care about it.

One thing that I did enjoy was the interesting and original concepts. It felt so cool to read a book about using your blood to create magic. I would admit though that at times the magic aspect of the book seemed really gory and creepy. As a lover of mysteries, I enjoyed trying to figure out a huge mystery in the book, but I found the mystery easy to figure out.

This novel had dual POV's which didn't suit the book and it contained the dreaded insta-love, but I did enjoy it's original concepts, the mystery and the horrifying magic.

[notajammiedodger]

I really liked this book. I've never really read anything like it before, so it was a very refreshing change. The only other book that I have read about magic is Beautiful Creatures, but Blood Magic was still really different from that.

Nick and Silla are special, they can do magic. Blood Magic. Silla came home one day and discovered her parents in a pool of their own blood. They told her that her father shot her mother and then shot himself. Nick is the new guy in town who we learn had a disturbing childhood with the magic. When their paths cross and Nick finds Silla in the cemetery doing magic he is instantly worried and partly intrigued. Nick, Silla and Silla's brother Reese all work together to try and learn what really happened to their parents and stumble across someone who uses the blood magic for evil.

The story was really well written. I like stories that switch between the guy and the girl, it gives you more of an insight to both of their stories and feelings. The journal entries were an interesting way to get some of the background story of the characters. I enjoyed reading about Silla and Nick's relationship. It was very real. There was no, they see each other for the first time and know that they're meant for each other, it's just normal. They're two teenagers, they develop crushes on each other, they're full of regular teenage desires.

I liked all of the characters in the story. Nick calling Silla babe so much, and so early in their relationship was a little annoying, but other than that I really liked Nick. Silla was interesting. The Silla we see in the book is very opposite from the person she used to be. The Silla we meet is broken and very damaged from what she has gone through. I found it interesting how she used the idea of masks to keep her emotions hidden from people. Gram Judy was sweet. Reese was a really good brother. Josephine was a really well written and developed character. She was fun and really interesting to read about.

I really enjoyed this book. It was really different, I have never really read anything like it before. There was a lot of blood and dead bodies in this story. So some of it would be a little scary and disturbing for some people. I would probably recommend of 14 or 15 +

I love the cover of this book. The copy that I read had a plain white cover. I personally like the black better. The white seemed too pure and good, where I felt the blood magic was a little bad and maybe even a little evil. So the black cover with the forest looming in the back ground suits the story much more for me. I love the chipped nail polish, very nice touch. It makes me think of Silla. Going through such a traumatizing experience, just trying to go with the flow and just get through the days, neglecting something as mundane as repainting your fingernails.

This review is also on my blog The Confessions of a Book Nerd :)

[Linda]

This is the second book I've ever read where I feel like I need to change ALL my other five stars to 4 or 4.5 to give justice to this one!

All I can say is WOW, I love Silla and Nick, Reese and Judy. What a wonderfully tangled story, with such believable characaters, who are both strong and weak, wonderful and awful, brave and scared. The magic part was truly magic, and the way both Silla, Nick and Reese had to deal with so many things left me without breath for most of the book.

So many things happened, and the plot was really well thought out - I could not guess in advance what was going to happen next.

This is one of the few wonderfully dark, but still hopefull YA novels I have read in a very long time.

And I recommend this book to ALL people I know who like reading - there is suspense, magic, romance, teenage angst, hope for the future, all the ingredients needed for a wonderfully twisted tale that left me hungry for a lot more.

[Amanda]

Actual rating: 4.5

Blood Magic is told from a total of 4 different character perspectives, all of them in the first person. This was probably my only complaint. One first person narration I can handle, but more makes the switch difficult, even with clearly marked headings. The transitions between Silla and Nick were the most difficult to make, but I found myself overlooking this annoyance after realizing how each character was given his or her own voice that was as subtle as it was profound.

Josephine – who we are introduced to first – baffled me at first because there is no indication of the role she plays in Silla’s and Nick’s story. But it was a bafflement that I knew would not last, and served to make me curse the story for not going faster, at the same time wishing I could read it forever. The romance between Silla and Nick was sweet, and didn’t feel forced or too fast; I felt the inexplicable draw they felt toward each other. Between Silla and Nick, I liked Nick better and looked forward to the portions that he narrated, but I don’t think that is really all that relevant. Perhaps it was just my personal preference.

Knowing that every character in the book was important in some way kept me engaged. Even characters that did not narrate – Nick’s mom, Silla’s brother – play a vital role in how the story and various plot lines are woven together into one glorious tapestry. Tessa Gratton knows how to tell a story, and her writing style is descriptive without being overdone and tedious. We were told everything we needed to know for this story, and at the same time, there are tendrils that remain waving free and unanswered, hopefully to be addressed in the second book of this series. There is a delicate balance between the knowledge we are given right away, and the knowledge that is held back for us to piece everything together at the end, and Tessa manages this balance with skill.

Full review: http://onabookbender.com/2011/06/15/review-blood-magic-by-tessa-gratton/