The Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton

Paranormal romance fans who are looking to up the ante will be drawn to this tale of horror, fantasy, and romance. 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 kept 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 am Josephine Darly, and I intend to live forever.
 
I was so excited for this book after Blood Magic and I certainly was not disappointed. With an introduction like that how could I be? Although there is little intersection in the characters between Blood Magic and The Blood Keeper I didn’t feel lost for long, and this book turned out to be even better than the last! There is a gifted pacing to this book. It seems almost lazy, slow but not in a bad way, more in the way I feel when I go home to Kansas. Time just seems to run differently there, as if there is not the urgency the rest of the world feels. The plot builds more slowly but solidly, piece by piece, with each reveal informing the last as well as the next. There is a complication to it as well, with the multiple narrations and the diary to follow and keep straight. The romance is natural, without a triangle, and grows organically with the story, making it feel like there is really a connection between Mab and Will and not just an electric attraction. I really liked how Mab takes care of herself, too, and has a self-assurance and grown-up-ness about her that make you believe she is an experienced practitioner that can work her own way out of things without losing her teenage innocence. And I really can’t say much more without spoiling things! This is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year and I highly recommend you go out and get it!



I received a copy of this book free through NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. I’ve since purchased my own copy since I loved it so much.