I liked the way Gratton wrote the heroine to be a girl who's still dealing with her parents deaths, and is finding solace in a book of Blood Magic her father left behind for her and her brother Reece. Then along comes a boy named Nick who's mother was also a witch, but didn't want the power in her blood after she used it to hurt Nick. So during the course of the book, Silla, Nick, and Reece work out the Magic and defeat the evil witch who killed Silla's parents. I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I must say that I went in with low expectations. I had been avoiding it due to some bad reviews on Goodreads (and Amazon for that matter) but I decided to read it anyway because it was happening in Missouri, and books are hardly ever set in Missouri. My wounded midwestern pride is showing. Anyway, I tear through YA books like they're donuts, so I read this relatively quickly. Mostly I wanted to know what happened so I could be done with it. Silla and Nick's chemistry isn't quite as unbelievable as in some books I've read, and the prose was interesting if slightly stilted. The concept captivated me even if the story line and characters unfortunately did not. I thought Silla was interesting, with her masks, but it didn't really turn into anything. I think that was the problem, nothing turned into much of anything. Suzanne Collins started a trend in Mockingjay that YA writers have turned into a plot device. No, you do not have to kill off dozens of characters for your book to be deep and poignant, and sometimes no amount of killing off can make your book deep and poignant. While it worked in Mockingjay, this does not necessarily mean that it is going to in your book. This device was employed by this author, though I won't say who suffered its wrath. Let's just say it did not work very well. Anyway, if you want a gory popcorn read (weird, but oddly fitting in this case) this isn't such a terrible book to try.
What do You think about Magia De Sangue (2011)?
Dark, haunting, and a different world of magic that kept me reading this book until midnight.
—bookloverjaz
Im loved everything about this book. I especially loved the descriptions and the characters.
—Jccl
Writing/narration was a bit awkward, but the magic use was interesting.
—ninjacat
