From the author of The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender comes a haunting maelstrom of magic and murder in the lush, moody Pacific Northwest. When Rona Blackburn landed on Anathema Island more than a century ago, her otherworldly skills might have benefited friendlier neighbors. Guilt and fear instead led the island’s original eight settlers to burn “the witch” out of her home. So … witch” out of her home. So Rona cursed them. Fast-forward one hundred-some years: All Nor Blackburn wants is to live an unremarkable teenage life. She has reason to hope: First, her supernatural powers, if they can be called that, are unexceptional. Second, her love life is nonexistent, which means she might escape the other perverse side effect of the matriarch’s backfiring curse, too. But then a mysterious book comes out, promising to cast any spell for the right price. Nor senses a storm coming and is pretty sure she’ll be smack in the eye of it. In her second novel, Leslye Walton spins a dark, mesmerizing tale of a girl stumbling along the path toward self-acceptance and first love, even as the Price Guide’s malevolent author – Nor’s own mother – looms and threatens to strangle any hope for happiness.
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When I first read The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, I fell in love. That book mesmerized me. I’d never read anything like it, and when I finally got my hands on Walton’s second novel, I couldn’t wait to dive in. I even saved it to read around Halloween, since I knew a book by her about witches would be lovely and atmospheric and absolutely perfect for the season. And while it was certainly all of those things, and while I did love many elements of her sophomore novel – her writing is still astounding and the story she tells is almost fairy-tale-like in the best way – I found myself not nearly as captivated as I wanted to be. And maybe, if the book had ended at the last chapter, it still would have been a five-star read, not quite as good as the first but still wonderful. Unfortunately, the epilogue was a dark, twisted, and depressing way to suddenly end on a cliffhanger, and it left a bitter taste in my mouth. I’m curious to see if we do actually get a sequel, though I’m uncertain it would be headed in a direction I’d want to follow if we did.
The writing is very stylistic and fresh, especially in the beginning chapters where the author is setting up the history of the island and characters, and she does great keeping up with the beautiful prose even as the narrative picks up and the action begins. The characters are very unique, and in the setting of this mysterious and tragic island, feel right at home. They do tend to overshadow the main character though, who kind of floats by in the background and is lackluster compared to her stranger and exuberant relatives and friends.
This novel had a lot of potential with its original magic system, tragic familial history, and a fun and eclectic cast, but was bogged down by a cliche love triangle and a villain that had no real motivation aside from “being evil is cool.”
Price Guide to the Occult is a young adult urban fantasy stand alone novel. This book came out in the beginning of this year and since then I have heard more disappointing reviews than positive ones so even though I had already purchased it I was a little weary about reading it. I have learned this year that I need to trust in what I think I will like and not by what others reviews say. Since this sounded like something I would like I gave it a chance, and I am happy that I did. This may not have been the most action packed book but it was perfect for me when I read it.
The writing of this book is absolutely beautiful. This is the first book that I have read by this author but I am going to have to give her other book a chance just for the writing alone. This story opens with a backstory that lays the ground work for the whole story. Yes the back story is important please do not skip it just because its before chapter 1. I am very happy you get this upfront instead of through out the story. It made everything make so much since from the beginning and there was no flipping back and forth trying to figure out what was happening.
I’m sorry I don’t have any really deep thoughts about this book and I am not going to go into too much detail due to the fact that it is a short book and would be very easy to spoil. This is not meant to be be a fast pace book, which is where I think most of the bad rep came from. I read this coming out of a reading slump and it was the perfect time for me to read it.
There is a Trigger Warning for cutting and self harm.
If you are on the fence about reading the book because of all of the reviews I say you should give it a chance.
I loved the idea: a line of cursed daughters, descendants of a powerful but benevolent witch, each born with a single power… I just wish the execution was better. Leslye Walton does a great job of setting the scene here, writing in moody and atmospheric detail about the curious island where the Blackburns live, and she sketches out some interesting and quirky characters – but those characters are never fully fleshed out, so we don’t feel the full impact of Nor’s interactions with them. The same goes for the plot/pacing: there’s a lot of set-up, but when things finally begin to unfold, it all seems to happen in a hasty, rushed manner, so by the time we’re getting into a scene suddenly the book jumps to the next one.
*Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, provided by the author and/or the publisher in exchange for an honest review.