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 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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The Price Guide to the Occult
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 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.
Popular Reviews(1)
Reviewed by Natália Oliveira<blockquote><b><i> “Time might heal all wounds, but what about the scars those wounds left behind?” </i></b></blockquote>I don't know how to feel about this book - I mostly enjoyed the story and the characters, the main plot and the backstory surrounding the island and the main character's family, and the villain is properly terrifying and evil and offered danger to our protagonist. But, on the other hand, I felt like it took a while for the book to reach the point where the plot starts to move and things start to get answers. I also found the confront at the end lacking, and it was all too fast and rushed and it felt all too easy. There was a bit of romance here too that felt unresolved and like it shouldn't be there at all, and to top it all off, there was a hint of a romantic triangle that made me roll my eyes. Again, very unnecessary. Still, I loved the friendship in this book and the secondary characters. Overall I like the book and it was a short, interesting read. It has this cloudy, almost creepy atmosphere at times and it was something that drew me in and kept me reading. Yes, it had its flaws and the actual ending felt like it was setting up a sequel - that I would be interested in reading, but I finished the book with a positive feeling.