Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton
Book Summary
Once, a witch made a pact with a devil. The legend says they loved each other, but can the story be trusted at all? Find out in this lush, atmospheric fantasy novel that entwines love, lies, and sacrifice.
Long ago, a village made a bargain with the devil: to ensure their prosperity, when the Slaughter Moon rises, the village must sacrifice a young man into the depths of the Devil’s Forest.
Only this year, the Slaughter Moon has risen early.
Bound by duty, secrets, and the love they share for one another, Mairwen, a spirited witch; Rhun, the expected saint; and Arthur, a restless outcast, will each have a role to play as the devil demands a body to fill the bargain. But the devil these friends find is not the one they expect, and the lies they uncover will turn their town—and their hearts—inside out.
Book Details
Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton
Releases September 18, 2018 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Young Adult Fiction / Dark Fantasy / Supernatural
Hardcover, 400 pages
Source: Edelweiss
My Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Book Review
Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton is filled with lush and atmospheric writing as it weaves a haunting and dizzying tale of witchery, secrets, and sacrifice. Picture a small idyllic village, surrounded by a dense forest, isolated and protected from all harm. A village that knows no sickness, one where everyone prospers and harm never befall its people. Now picture within that forest a dark spirit of terror lying in wait—the devil, and he is waiting for his sacrifice.
You see, long ago a witch fell in love with the devil when she entered the forest and struck a bargain.
To ensure their prosperity, every seven years when the Slaughter Moon rises, the villagers of Three Graces must send out their "best boy" into the depths of the Devil’s Forest. Rarely do they return, and if they do—they are changed forever. But, this year the sacrifice has come early and the bargain struck so long ago is failing.
What I loved about this book is the building sense of foreboding mixed with the lush, yet grim atmosphere which really plays upon the senses.
As the devil's bargain looms ever closer and the forest seems to be just waiting to grab its next victim; the eerie atmosphere and inevitable feeling sink in, yet Gratton gives us hope in the form of three defiant teens. Through Rhun, Mairwin, and Arthur's eyes we see just how the far the bargain's effects reach goes and what ultimate sacrifices they're willing to make to save one another.
Teenagers Rhun Sayer, Mairwin Grace, and Arthur Couch share a bond that goes beyond friendship.
Each one is on the cusp of something extraordinary, and this year they vow to each other to make a change in the devil's bargain struck with the Three Graces so long ago—a bargain made of secrets, betrayal and forbidden love.
Mairwen is a spirited girl and comes from a long line of Grace witches who seems to be called to the forest more than anyone. She's defiant and willful—walking up to the very edge of the forest, toes pressed deep to the ground, you can imagine her tossing caution to the wind just to peer beyond its forbidden borders.
Rhun is the expected saint, the "best boy" who is supposed to run the forest next. He accepts this challenge with a quiet dignity that belies his age; though he fears what lies ahead, he would do anything to protect those he loves and is willing to sacrifice himself.
Arthur is a rebel and outcast who feels he must prove himself to the village, and because of his love for Mairwen and Rhun. He burns brightly and fiercely, yet he struggles with his identity, trying to find how he fits in it all.
Although I loved the strong bond Rhun, Mairwin and Arthur share, the friendship that dips back and forth into romance did not work for me.
Their friendship was beautiful to see and easily felt, but at times when the romance spills over between the three of them, for me personally, it took away story.
The plot is rather simple—break the bargain and beat the devil at his own game, yet it is the way the story is written that some readers are going to find fascinating or frustrating.
Told in the present tense, with a somewhat dry narrative, the story unfolds with flashbacks and a timeline that zigzags into a surreal read. Somewhat unreliable, you almost just have to go along for the dizzying ride.
In the End
Despite enjoying the buildup, the lush and eerie atmosphere, and the unique friendship presented in the story, the overall plot left me disappointed in the end. It felt vague and tied-up to neatly, if hazy, after the long climatic wait. Violent and filled with the macabre, the forest lived up to its terrible bargain but the ending did not for me.
