Kate’s is attempting to get back to normal following her dad’s unexpected death at the start of summer. Sleepless nights, numbness, and dreams of an abandoned house and a mystery boy forces Kate into isolation – cutting herself off from her friends and mom.
However, on the first day back she is forced to face reality in the form of Nicholas Nightshade – the school’s bad boy that everyone loves to hate – and he has plenty of secrets of his own.
Struggling to come around to her new-found powers, people are thrown into harms away until she is forced to deal with the magic inside of her.
Nicholas will do anything to keep the truth from her – even if it means distancing himself from Kate and leaving her to be a ticking time bomb of dark magic.
With students dying in freak accidents, two covens playing a tug of war with Nicholas and Kate’s souls, and a terrifying foresight between their relationship, shrouding her future with darkness – senior year will be more exciting than Kate could have ever anticipated.
Warning: This book is intended for adults. It has some scenes of a sexual nature, strong language and violence, with references to occultism. This novel is fictional, and all spells and rituals performed are not intended to be instructional. The references made to witchcraft are not accurate to the study and practice of modern-day witchcraft or the pagan religion.
I want to first state that I actually received a copy of this book from the author alongside a book box. At the end of this review is the link to my video on YouTube. You can follow it for future unboxings and writing/book related stuff. What follows is my opinion on the book itself and there was no compensation for this review.
I have read a few of R.L. Weeks’ books and she has a good imagination. Each story is better than the other. And though I prefer her short stories, her books aren’t bad. This includes Blood & Magic.
Blood & Magic follows the life of Kate Bathory, a senior in high school and a girl who pretty much secluded herself after the death of her father. Upon coming back into the real world, she learns something that was kept hidden. It is both something beautiful and dangerous, two sides of the same coin.
The magic part had to be the most interesting to me. The world is dark and beautiful and well thought out. I felt Weeks made her own witches, but was also understanding to the witches of today. They could coexist together in this world without really being an impact to one another, and I liked that. This world also made me think of Sabrina on Netflix, another witchy story where magic can be dark and beautiful at the same time.
The romance wasn’t bad. There were parts where I could see the chemistry between Kate and Nicholas, but I feel there might have been something missing. Maybe it’s more quality time? I’m not sure. They are well written and you could see how the romance grows. As for Nicholas being a bad boy, lies! He’s actually a cuddly teddy bear and intuited Kate’s needs. Dude, this guy isn’t a teenager, he’s closer to his twenties or thirties with the amount of presence he has with Kate.
I bet you can guess who I really liked in the book. Yep, it was Nicholas. Though you are seeing the story through Kate and she isn’t a bad character, it was Nicholas who I found to be a bit more interesting. You don’t get much about his personal background, but what you do know, you are interested in what he has to bring. He may have made some stupid choices, but I feel he was just an overall more thought out character.
All in all, the book wasn’t bad and it hasn’t pulled me away from supporting R.L. Weeks and her writing. If you like paranormal reads, but don’t want a series per se, you should check out the Supernatural New Order books. Each book is set in the same world, but all are standalones. Blood & Magic is the first and coming soon is Dead Girls.
Final Rating: 3/5
Want to see the unboxing? Look below! Be sure to find me and subscribe on YouTube!
Casia's Corner 