The Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton + Vamps by Nancy A. Collins

Series: The Blood Journals
Author: Tessa Gratton
Page Count: 432
Published: August 28th, 2012
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
  3 Stars ★★★

Mab is the new Deacon, leader of those who practice blood magic. Blood magic is a normal part of life for her, living on a farm, spending time with other blood witches like herself. Her peaceful existence is threatened, however, when she awakens a curse.

Will is an ordinary boy in an ordinary town. One day, a humanoid creature made of mud attacks him and he meets Mab. She's strange, and he tries to dismiss what happened, but a strange bruise leads him back to her, where he learns that he is now marked by a dangerous curse.

I really enjoyed Blood Magic, and I thought I'd love the sequel just as much, but honestly I can't say that I did. I liked Mab and Will, they were both interesting and good people, and I love how they were brought together through magic, but the book just took too long to get really, truly interesting. It was too slow paced for me. I spent a good portion of the book just wondering when the action was going to really get started!

I liked that the author included writings from the past, like from Mab's ancestor. It filled in the blanks and foreshadowed what was going to come. Sometimes I feel it distracted a bit from the main plot, though. And it made the book seem even more slow than it already was. 

Overall, I did enjoy reading about Mab and Will, but this book could have been a lot better. The pacing was too slow for me and it took too long for the action to really get going! 

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Series: Vamps
Author: Nancy A. Collins
Page Count: 235
Published: July 22nd, 2008
Publisher: HarperTeen
  2 Stars ★★

Lilith is the daughter of a very rich vampire, and as an Old Blood vampire herself, she attends Bathory Academy, a night school for young female vampires. Going out with her friends one night to find some humans for dinner, she gets into a fight with a New Blood, Cally. Vampire hunters descend upon them and kill one of Lilith's friends, leaving Lilith hating Cally and blaming her for the death. 

Cally is upset when she learns that she must leave her New Blood school and attend the Old Blood Bathory Academy. After narrowly escaping vampire hunters, she must now deal with the wrath of Lilith at school. Furthermore, one vampire hunter seems particularly interested in her, and she thinks she might be developing feelings for him too. 

I picked this up because I love vampires! And the idea of vampire feuds sounded really interesting to me. Unfortunately I found myself pretty disappointed.

First off, the characters weren't developed very well. They all seemed very shallow and I wish that the author had taken more time to make them seem more real. I outright hated Lilith, and I think I was supposed to care about Cally but I honestly didn't. I also think the romance between the vampire hunter and Cally was very unrealistic and happened way too fast.

There didn't seem to be any concrete plot to this book, so I kept reading wondering where this was going. Nothing seemed really connected to a greater story-line.

I did like the author's writing style, her choice of words was excellent in my opinion. I also thought there was an interesting twist near the end. Had the story been more solid and the characters more developed, this could have been a great book. Unfortunately it didn't really do it for me.

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Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton

Series:The Blood Journals

Author: Tessa Gratton

Page Count: 405
Published: May 24th, 2011
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

5 Stars ★★★★★

Silla's parents died under suspicious circumstances; what appeared to be a murder-suicide. But after receiving a mysterious book of spells, she begins to wonder if there is more to what happened on that fateful day.

Nick moves in next door and finds Silla in the cemetery, and her blood brings back memories of his mother.....and magic. Together, along with Silla's brother, Reese, they unravel the mystery of their families' histories, the surprising connections, and the terrifying truth.

I really loved this book. It has earned it's way into my list of favourite books. First, there was Silla. A complex character, I felt connected to her and I cared about her story and her life. I often saw things the way that she saw them, and I felt her every emotion as if they were my own feelings.

Nick is a likeable love interest. He is perfect for Silla, and he has a mysterious past which connects him to her in ways that he never thought could be true. I found this a unique idea because I haven't read many books where the love interests are more closely connected than they thought; usually they just meet, sparks fly, and romance ensues. But with Nick and Silla, it went much deeper than that.

I was so deeply involved in the story that I cried at times. I had to put the book down so that I could grab a tissue! The beautiful writing mixed with the complex plot and amazing characters made me forget that I lived in the real world and not in the world of this book.

I recommend this book to those who want a dark, unique paranormal story without a love triangle. If you like emotional stories with supernatural elements, this book is for you.


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