Reviews

Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton

missbookiverse's review against another edition

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3.0

Lang und breit
Das Beste an Blood Magic findet sich schon im Titel wieder. Tessa Gratton verbindet in ihrer Welt Blut und Magie untrennbar miteinander. Ein Tropfen Blut kann wahre Wunder bewirken, aber manche Zauber verlangen ein wenig mehr Treibstoff. Dieses kleine Selbstopfer hat die Magie in diesem Buch zu etwas Gefährlichem gemacht. Manchmal wurden mir die vielen tiefen Schnitte sogar zu eklig, aber die Idee hat mir gefallen und die Art der Zauber hat mich an klassische Hexen- und Voodoorituale erinnert. Besonders gut hat mir der liebevoll beschriebene Zauberkasten, den Nick von seiner Mutter geerbt hat, gefallen. Darin gibt es unzählige Zutaten, sorgsam verpackt, die ich mir gern mit eigenen Augen und Fingern angeschaut hätte.

Die Verstrickung, die alle Charaktere miteinander verbindet, war nicht allzu schwer zu entknoten, hat aber mein Interesse aufrecht erhalten und mich am Ende sogar an manchen Stellen überrascht. Wer Josephine ist, war mir relativ schnell klar, aber als mehr über Philipp enthüllt wurde, war ich doch erstaunt.

Am Schönsten hätte ich es gefunden, wenn die Geschichte sich ausschließlich auf Silla und ihren Bruder Reese konzentriert hätte. Die beiden haben gerade ihre Eltern verloren und man hätte die Geschichte wunderbar auf die beiden Geschwister minimieren können. Stattdessen taucht Tölpel Nick auf. Er bringt durch seine Mutter, die ihm als Kind die Blutmagie gezeigt hat, zwar eine interessante Note ins Spiel, aber die meiste Zeit ging er mir auf die Nerven. Vor allem wie er mit seiner Stiefmutter umgeht, die er Lilith (nach der Dämonenurmutter) nennt, fand ich unerhört. Mit seinen 16 Jahren führt sich auf wie ein pubertierender Rotzlöffel! Er führt lächerliche Streitgespräche mit ihr und behandelt sie von oben herab. Ich kann es verstehen, wenn man die neue Partnerin seines Vaters nicht leiden kann, aber sich ihr so gegenüber zu verhalten, war mir unsympathisch. „Lilith“ wird zwar auch nicht als Unschuldsengel dargestellt, aber diese stereotype böse Stiefmutterrolle fand ich eh blöd.
Silla war mir da schon viel lieber. Die Idee, dass sie sich für jeden Moment und jede Stimmung eine passende (gedachte) Maske zurechtlegt und aufsetzt, fand ich fantastisch. Die Masken waren nicht nur farbenfroh beschrieben, sie haben auch Sillas Gefühlswelt widergespiegelt. Ihren Bruder Reese mochte ich genauso gern. Schade, dass er so wenig Spielfläche bekommen hat.

Hörbucheindruck
Corinna Dorenkamp liest Silla. Von ihrer Stimme war ich sofort eingenommen. Sympathisch, stimmungsvoll und passend zu Sillas Rolle. Auch Hildegard Meier, die Josephines Parts vorträgt, konnte mich überzeugen. Erst fand ich den Übergang zwischen ihrer deutlich älteren Stimme und den beiden jüngeren etwas hart, aber das Alter passt zur Figur und Zeit aus der die Tagebucheinträge stammen. Martin Baltscheit liest die wenigen Stellen des Charakters Philipp. Auch seine Stimme und Lesung hat mir gut gefallen.
Mit diesen drei Lesern hätte ich das Hörbuch durchweg genießen können, aber der Vierte im Bunde – Patrick Mölleken, Stimme der zweiten Hauptfigur Nick – hat mir alles kaputt gemacht. Seine Stimmfarbe ist zwar angenehm, aber seine Betonung hat überhaupt nicht hingehauen. Jeder Satz klang unnatürlich und als wenn er sich bemüht in der Schule ordentlich aus einem Buch vorzulesen. Das hat mir Nick zusätzlich unsympathisch gemacht.

Kurz und knapp
Ein solider Teenieroman für alle, die mal wieder was über Zauberei und Magie in unserer Welt lesen möchten. Die weibliche Seite des Hörbuchs wird toll gelesen, während man bei Nicks Kapiteln vielleicht lieber zum gedruckten Werk wechseln sollte.

sony08's review against another edition

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4.0

Actually loved this book and will be looking out for the second one.

fokmok's review against another edition

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3.0

Rather exciting book from start to end.
It's a long time since I read this one but I loved it all the way through.

There are a lot of reasons to read this, but if I had to choose one reason to re-read it, it would be the pain factor in the book due to the usage of blood to perform magic.

redinteeth's review against another edition

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4.0

I stumbled across the first-chapter excerpt online. I wasn't going to read this book
before I saw the first chapter. It completely changed my mind. I'm definitely adding
this to my want-list.

sugarpop's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

singsthewren's review against another edition

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4.0

This book was sitting on my to-read shelf, literally, for five years. The title sort of put me off, and the main character's name is so silly I assumed it would be really painfully typical YA. And I got it for free, so I just kept putting it off.

I finally decided to read it since I was on vacation, and I figured I could leave it behind when I was done. Well, unfortunately, the book was so darn good that I had to shlep it all the way home so I can lend it to other people!!

The plot is really different - I love how accepting everyone is of the magic, and how open and honest the main characters are with the other people in their lives. The romance feels very real and engaging, and the different points of view are earned and interesting. Can't wait to read the next one!

emma211's review against another edition

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5.0

This is an amazing book. I loved the characters, the plot, the setting, the magic, all of it!

amaldae's review against another edition

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2.0

Written in April 2014. Slightly edited April 2016... and I do mean slightly.

There are just a few things I would like to point out after reading this book. In no particular order:

1. Cursing in one's thoughts doesn't make them "cool", "masculine" or "convincingly angsty". The male protagonist, I swear... I couldn't even tell the MCs apart most of the time!
2. I didn't hate Silla so much after
SpoilerReese's death
, but she never became my favourite character - I couldn't feel for her and felt that rather than a flaw in her characterization, something in the actual narrative kept me from getting involved in the story.
3. Reese's every word only managed to piss me of more. No one is supposed to "get over it" in (a few) months when someone close to them dies. NO ONE. I get that he didn't necessarily mean his words this way but wouldn't he be able to take care of his sister a bit better if he's being the over-protective idiot he pretends to be? I couldn't see past the annoyances at any point in the book.
4. I, like, really have had enough of these curly-haired lipstick bimbo sidekick girls as the main character's empty-headed "best friends". And no, those are mostly not my words.
5. While Judy wasn't one of the characters I loathed, I fail to understand why exactly was she in the book.
6. The Big, Bad, Mysterious Evil in this book is ridiculously simple and unoriginal. And by gods, how I dislike cheap shock/horror elements replacing everything else. (Yep, referring to the ending here.)
7. I loved Philip as well as Nick's mother. Adorably insane, though I doubt this would have worked had they had more pronounced roles in the kids' lives. As side characters, they didn't feel too much like yet another shock factor.
8. To everyone in this book and outside of it: Never, ever cut yourself with a dirty object. Nothing good will follow.
9. The writing wasn't bad but it never grabbed my interest, although that may be partly because I initially disliked the characters so much.
10. I have to say, Gratton managed to create a nice distanced atmosphere at times - I hope it was intentional - but it made everything feel a bit boring and not very well-thought-out, especially since the romance, which of course has quite a big role, has practically no basis and isn't convincing at all.
11. Also the magic, while drawing upon an interesting concept, made me roll my eyes at times. Really, how much does a little cut hurt? etc. etc. - Nothing felt deep. It was a part of the atmosphere, but distracted me fairly much.

I was close to DNF'ing this at page 24 but as I got closer to the end and begun to understand what kind of an YA this is trying to be and learned to appreciate its... grayness more (as well as its characters, after some plot- and other twists), enough to consider giving it a 3 with some reservations. But no, in the end I'm just not sure if it'd have indeed been smarter of me to call it to quits early on and leave this book to people who actually like it more than I did.
I remain unimpressed.

j_elphaba's review against another edition

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4.0

Primeiro chegou a morte, trazendo consigo a loucura provocada pela perda, em seguida apresentou-se uma máscara de esperança, envolvida num amor por descobrir, e por fim tudo o que lhe restava era o sangue, sufocante, que lhe dominava a alma com algo inimaginável.

Magia de Sangue foi, e será, uma agradável surpresa para todo o público jovem-adulto que gosta de fantasia, com personagens intrigantes e um enredo apelativo, estamos perante uma leitura sedenta que nos prende com o folhear de cada página.

Tessa Gratton traz-nos uma narrativa criativa e inovadora neste género literário que, complementa o interesse do leitor, com uma escrita fácil e sedutora perfeitamente adequada ao público-alvo sem se tornar infantilizada. Promessas de amor, sangue, morte e magia dão as cartas a este livro, que foi para mim, uma revelação.

Opinião completa: http://historiasdeelphaba.blogspot.com/2012/01/magia-de-sangue-tessa-gratton-opiniao.html

acbwalsh's review against another edition

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4.0

Well written book with distinct, believable characters who have great chemistry with each other. Lovely pacing with well earned surprises and twists that feel natural and in line with the worldbuilding.

Docked a whole star because these kids are too horny. You're being chased by a demon of a woman, STOP MAKING OUT!!