Review: The Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton

The Blood Keeper (The Blood Journals #2)
Tessa Gratton
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 28, 2012

For Mab Prowd, the practice of blood magic is as natural as breathing. It's all she's ever known. Growing up on an isolated farm in Kansas with other practitioners may have kept her from making friends her own age, but it has also given her a sense of purpose--she's connected to the land and protective of the magic. And she is able to practice it proudly and happily out in the open with only the crows as her companions. Mab will do anything to keep the ancient practice alive and guard its secrets. But one morning while she is working out a particularly tricky spell she encounters Will, a local boy who is trying to exorcise some mundane personal demons. He experiences Mab's magic in a way his mind cannot comprehend and is all too happy to end their chance meeting. But secrets that were ktp from Mab by the earlier generations of blood magicians have come home to roost. And she and will are drawn back together, time again by this dangerous force looking to break free from the earth and reclaim its own dark power. 

I really enjoyed Blood Magic, and was excited to read its companion novel. Although I didn't enjoy this one as much, I still found myself attached to this world and its quirky characters. 

I've really grown to enjoy this world. It's filled with magic, but not the kind that I'm used to. Although the idea of witches isn't new (they aren't called this in the book, but it's pretty much what they are), Tessa Gratton is able to bring something hauntingly new and mysterious with this world. 

We are introduced to two new characters in this book. There's Will who is looking to follow a different path than his father and brothers have; then there's Mab, who has embraced her magic and abilities, unlike some of the others around her. I can't describe her as anything but quirky. Even though I missed the perspectives of the characters in the last book, they still made an appearance and I was able to enjoy getting to know these two characters. 

For whatever reason, I didn't find myself as addicted to this book like I was the last. I still liked the world and characters, but I just found this book to be--excuse the pun--lacking the magical quality Blood Magic had. 

Overall, I'm looking forward to more of Gratton's work. I've really grown to enjoy this world that she has created. 

3.5/5