"Blood Magic" by Tessa Gratton

From Goodreads: "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.

Tessa Gratton's intoxicating first novel will keep pulses racing, minds reeling, and pages turning right up to the very last drop of blood."

I must admit that I found the beginning of this book to be extremely slow- I didn't find myself fully invested into the book until Nick and Silla's relationship became well, a relationship- a relationship that entailed them being more than just neighbors who happen to stumble across one another (quite literally) in their local cemetery. However, while I enjoyed Nick and Silla being together I did not like him constantly referring to her as "Babe"- admittedly the first time I read of him doing so that I thought that it was cute, but after the 859028308620862th time I was annoyed- finding it to be overdone (and frankly a bit cheesy).

I think that my largest complaint about this book is the way in which it was set-up, it was painfully obvious within the first fifty or so pages who the villain was and how the remainder of the book was going to play out. I like to be taken by surprise by a book's plot and I wasn't with this (and I must admit that I kinda suck at foreshadowing what happens in a book, so if *I* could guesstimate how the remainder of a book would play out I am sure that y'all definitely could guesstimate correctly).

That being said, this book is quite literally unlike any other YA paranormal I have read to date, delving into a topic that I think few YA authors have touched. What sets this book apart from other YA books, especially those books involving paranormal elements like werewolves or vampires is that after finishing this book you don't find the paranormal element of this book, blood magic, to be farfetched in the slightest- in fact, it seems quite realistic as the characters of this book, Silla and Nick are just like ourselves, everyday people.

All in all, I think that this was an amazing debut from Tess and I am quite looking forward to what she has in store for us next!

Rating: 7.5/10