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Title: Blood to Poison
Author: Mary Watson
Pages: 396
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Release Date: 14th April 2022
Blurb from Goodreads:
An epic South African fantasy from award-winning author Mary Watson,
for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and The Gilded
Ones.
Seventeen-year-old Savannah is cursed. It's a
sinister family heirloom; passed down through the bloodline for
hundreds of years, with one woman in every generation destined to die
young. The family call them Hella's girls, named for their ancestor
Hella; the enslaved woman with whom it all began. Hella's girls are
always angry, especially in the months before they die.
The
anger is bursting from Savannah – at the men who cat-call her in
the street, at her mother's disingenuous fiancé, even at her own
loving family. Each fit of rage is bringing her closer to the edge
and now Savannah has to act to save herself. Or die trying. Because
the key to survival lies in the underbelly of Cape Town, where the
sinister veilwitches are waiting for just such a girl.
Blood
to Poison is a furious and mesmerising story about discovering magic,
historical rage and love in all its guises.
Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop
My Review:
*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Bloomsbury and NetGalley*
A blood curse runs in Savannah's family, one that gives some of the girls an unparalleled anger and causes them to die young. Savannah's beloved aunt died from the curse, and now signs point to Savannah being next, and soon.
Savannah struggles to contain her anger, but she must if she wants to find a way to stop the curse before it is too late.
The premise for this book really intrigued me, so I was excited to read it, but, unfortunately, it ended up being a mixed read.
Savannah was an OK protagonist - there were times when I found her annoying, and times when I felt sorry for her - but I never felt that I really connected to her, or was invested in what happened to her.
None of the characters particularly stood out for me, but I did like that Savannah had family members and friends that looked out for her.
The setting of Cape Town was interesting, as was the magic in the book - the Four Sisters and the Veil Witches - but I would have liked a bit more information on these.
The plot was mixed for me, as there were parts where I got a little bored, but I found other parts interesting. However, I wasn't invested in what happened and did get confused a couple of times - partly due to the writing feeling a bit disjointed.
Overall, this was a mixed read.
