Thank you Walkers books for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsys:
The Blackburn women are cursed. Ever since the extraordinary witch Rona Blackburn landed on Anathema Island centuries ago and was shunned by the eight “original” settlers, Blackburn witches have been doomed to carry out a brief whirlwind affair with a descendant of the Original Eight. The vengeful curse, however, had unintended side effects: it diluted the Blackburns’ supernatural powers. That’s perfectly all right with seventeen-year-old Nor Blackburn. All she wants is a quiet, unremarkable life—her powers are blissfully unexceptional, her love life pretty much nonexistent. Nor hopes the curse has played itself out through enough generations that she’ll finally be spared the drama. But when a mysterious book comes out promising to cast any spell for the right price, Nor senses a dark storm headed straight for Anathema—and straight for her.

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.

Review:
I have to admit I finished chapter one and I was up in the air to whether I liked it or not. Don’t get me wrong I completely love the writing style, it’s fantastic but I sat there wondering if this story was something that I was going to enjoy or not. Well I finished The Price Guide to the Occult and I am pleased to say that I was brilliantly surprise to how amazing this beautiful book turned out to be.
Let’s start with Nor. I loved her dark humour, and how she wanted nothing more than to blend in. Let’s face it, how many books have you read where the main character ‘wants’ to blend in but then ends up screaming a crappy karaoke song on stage in front of the world?? A lot. Well Nor has the art of blending in and you guessed in Walton managed to have the character draw as little attention to herself as possible.
Also this is a book within a book. Yep this part had me convinced to read it, not only do I love books but I love the added advantage of a book with in a book. So much so that I didn’t even realise that this book would contain romantic elements to it, which the author used to keep you on the edge of your seat. Literally, the build-up between these two characters was intense and enthralling.
Just a quick rundown, the writing style in this book is fantastic, the characters were great but I honestly don’t think anyone could compare to Nor and the storyline was interesting and refreshing. Don’t get me wrong, her mother Fern and best friend Savvy were remarkable but Nor had me hook, line and sinker. The only thing that let me down in this book was I craved more of their lineage. I need to know more about their witching past, even if it was little snippets every now and then.
Sorry for the short review, I liked the book but I honestly can’t ramble on and on about this book like I can others. It’s a great book but it’s just not one of the most amazing books I have read so far this month.

Publisher: Candlewick Prss

ISBN: 9780763691103

Rating: 3.5 /5