Review – The Price Guide to the Occult by Lesley Walton (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Length: 288 pages
Publisher: Candlewick
Release Date: March 13, 2018
ISBN-13: 978-0763691103
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: To review from Publisher
Rating: 4/5 stars

“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.”

I absolutely adored “The Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender” and was excited to see Walton had release another book. This is a very different book than “The Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender” but I still enjoyed it. I love Walton’s writing style, although this book is not quite as unique and beautifully written as Ava Lavender, it’s still very well done.

Nor is the descendent of witches and has a painful past. She spends most of her time trying to not be noticed and trying to ignore her magical abilities. However, when her mother returns to terrorize the island Nor has to rethink her life and step up to the challenge.

I loved the island setting and the interesting characters. The storyline involves magic and a theme of good vs. evil. Additionally, the book does feature a character who has historically had issues with self-harm and is trying to find meaning and self-worth in her life.

I read this in a couple days and really enjoyed it. It is a bit slow at points but things really pick up at the end. The books is a bit open ended which made me wonder if this is going to be part of a series. I hope it is, I would love to read another book with this world, characters, and setting.

Overall I would recommend; I enjoyed the small town setting and the malevolent magic. Just remember this is a very, very different book from “The Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender”, it’s well done for what it is and I would recommend to people who enjoy paranormal YA books.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge
– New Release Reading Challenge