“Gloriously dark and romantic.” –Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen “An alluring and seductive fairy tale.” –Justina Ireland, New York Times bestselling author of Dread Nation “Horrifying, heartbreaking, and heartwarming, a lush fairy tale rooted in a moral quandary.” –Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “An eerie, consuming tale of sacrifice and faith. … (starred review)
“An eerie, consuming tale of sacrifice and faith. Haunting and unique.” —Booklist
“Evocative.” —BCCB
Once, a witch made a pact with a devil. The legend says they loved each other, but can the story be trusted at all? Find out in this lush, atmospheric fantasy novel that entwines love, lies, and sacrifice.
Long ago, a village made a bargain with the devil: to ensure their prosperity, when the Slaughter Moon rises, the village must sacrifice a young man into the depths of the Devil’s Forest.
Only this year, the Slaughter Moon has risen early.
Bound by duty, secrets, and the love they share for one another, Mairwen, a spirited witch; Rhun, the expected saint; and Arthur, a restless outcast, will each have a role to play as the devil demands a body to fill the bargain. But the devil these friends find is not the one they expect, and the lies they uncover will turn their town–and their hearts–inside out.
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Strange Grace is an alluring and seductive fairy tale that asks just what would you give up for the things you love? And what if that isn’t enough? You won’t want to leave the beautiful and eerie world Gratton has created.
3.5 stars
“Nobody can change who he is except for himself, not any saint ritual, not an ignorant, terrified town, not a night spent in the forest, not a dress or a kiss”.
I liked that this book is auto-conclusive and about friendship, change and self acceptance, there’s a town where they send their best boy like a sacrifice to the devil’s forest every seventh year in order to be free of sickness, violent deaths and plagues.
The end was interesting but I expected something different.
This was eerie and creepy and magical. It’s about bargains and sacrifices, which has big implications for even us. In some ways, it reminded me of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery…but if it had witches and a Devil. Mairwen, Arthur, and Rhun are singularly memorable characters, so fully alive on the page, so unpredictable. They face such high stakes and I had no idea what they would choose to do or what was best for the community or whether Three Graces was even deserving of their care. They were so refreshing to read about, not only because of what the novel has to say about gender and sexuality, but because of what they mean to one another and the relationship they forge. This book took me on quite the journey and I’ll be processing it for a while. Suffice it to say, I now need to read everything Tessa Gratton has written.
This book grabbed me from the very beginning and sucked me in. The first day I started reading it on my lunch break, I was already to the point where I didn’t want to put it down. From then on, the book continued to draw me in and pull me along with the characters as the things in their traditions started breaking down one by one, and they made the decision that they must do something about it. I could feel each of our three main characters struggle within themselves as they fought not only for who they loved, each other, their town, but also to seek the truth in what the curse or bargain really was.
It was obvious that something had gone wrong with the last sacrifice, because the good luck and prosperity of the village didn’t last for a full 7 years before the Slaughter Moon came back. Our heroine Mairwen wonders exactly what was the bargain that was made. Her friend Arthur also wonders just what are they giving up, and what happens to the perfect young man that is sacrificed. Why do some never return, while others are able to make it out? And then there is the perfect Rhun, who is ready to give his life in sacrifice for the good of everyone, or is he really? Will he really want that when he gets into the forest and finds out what the true bargain is?
And when the three of them go into the forest, not in the way it is supposed to happen, they come back out changed, yet missing their full memories of what happened. And I was so frustrated as I read to find out that we weren’t going to be taken minute by minute through their time in the forest as a linear story might do. No, the reader gets to “remember” what happened along with the characters, as their memories come bleeding through when triggered by events and people around them.
While the bargain doesn’t turn out to be quite what has always been passed down through the years, even then what the whole truth is doesn’t get shared till close to the end. At that point there is a character that I thought had something fishy about them all along and you see just how they tie into the story, and the way the bargain is fixed? Well, not sure that is exactly what happens, you’ll have to read it yourself to decide and just see what happens.
I really liked that our three main characters have a relationship that includes all of them. It is not a love triangle in that anyone must choose. They all love each other, and they will, in the end, all choose to be together. And I like that the author chooses to show that kind of a relationship.
Once again Gratton has written a book that made me love the characters, and picture a vivid, fascinating and fantastical world.
Review originally posted on Lisa Loves Literature.