Blood Magic - Tessa Gratton - 4 star

I have had this book for awhile and decided to read it for my "why have I not read these books" challenge, and I am so glad I picked this one. Usually I don't like witch type reads, but this one was pretty good. I was very fluid and also very engaging making it a pretty quick read. I am suspecting there will be a sequel to this book. I am hoping so anyway because I feel like this has great potential to be at least a trilogy.

In this story we have Silla who lost her parents. It was said that her father had gone crazy and murdered her mother and then killed himself. Silla refused to believe that especially after she received a book in the mail, a very important, mysterious and magical book. Silla tries a spot of magic with a simple spell, and discovers it is real along with Nick who catches her in the cemetery. What does Nick know about Magic?

At first I did not think I would like the book because I don't tend to read too many books on magic and witches and such. But the book was really good, so much better than I first expected. Tessa Gratton is a great author. The very first chapter had one sentence and it was enough for me to keep turning the pages. "I am Josephine Darly, and I intend to live forever."

I loved the imagery in this book. It made for a very realistic read. The scenes from the cemetery and the forests I think were the best. So believable, creepy, and alive. I had no problem completely immersing myself into this world the author created, she made the magic come to life by use of so many different elements and I could barely tear myself away from the book at times.

The characters were well developed, scarred and flawed. Three of my favorite traits when it comes to characters. It makes them so much more believable. I really like Silla and Nick. I don't read romance, but I liked this pairing. Even though 'the love element' was pretty quick I felt like like they just fit right together. I also liked the different mix of characters the author used in this story, from sad and depressed characters to happy and then also some hateful characters who were not really the bad guys, but made you think about it. Josephine was a great villain because we got to watch her develop into what she would later become by way of interludes included in the story from back into the very early 1900's. I loved the backstory on her it was great.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes magic and witchery. It has so many elements to the story that I am sure almost anyone could enjoy this story. I really like Gratton's style of writing and I will be looking for more books from her for future reads.