Name: Alexa M's review of Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton
Item: Strange Grace
Rating: 4
Author: Alexa M

Tessa Gratton

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.

Strange Grace

Addison Degginger

“Gloriously dark and romantic.” —Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen “An alluring and seductive fairy tale.” —Justina Ireland, New York Times bestselling author of Dread Nation “Horrifying, heartbreaking, and heartwarming, a lush fairy tale rooted in a moral quandary.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “An eerie, consuming tale of sacrifice and faith. Haunting and unique.” —Booklist “Evocative.” —BCCB 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.

Alexa M

The writing, the scenery, the descriptions, the characters, the relationships... all amazing. I loved!

Elisa Bieg

Well, there it is: my most disappointing read of the year.
I couldn’t have imagined this book would be it.

I read Tessa Gratton’s The Queens of Innis Lear earlier this year and truly, absolutely loved it. It is one of my absolute favorite books of the year, or even the past couple of years. Her writing is beautiful and evocative, so when I found out she had written a mystery novel full of magic and a touch of horror, I was really excited. 

But this book... this was NOT GOOD. It was confusing, disjointed, weird — and not in a “I have no clue what’s going on but this is so exciting and I can’t wait to find out more” way, more in a puzzled “okaaaay... ?!?” way, where you want to trust the story, but you just can’t see how this disjointed, piecey narrative is going to come together, so you spend most of the time dreading it but hoping to be wrong.

The setting was clear and fairly vivid, and the world building was ok. But I found the characters so... distant, and I feel like despite this being a character-driven story, we don’t really get to 
  know
 them. They feel remote and kind of vague, like they are just a sketch of a full character. They didn’t pull me in, I didn’t feel close to them; and I really tried! But they feel a tad one-dimensional and somehow sort of doing their thing in the background, even though we are reading about them 
  all
 the time. It’s the weirdest thing.

I am still nearly drowning in disappointment and I don’t want to get bitter, so I’ll just say I’m giving this 2 STARS and I can’t really recommend it, sadly.

Toni Turner

This is one of those books I read and thoroughly wish I wrote myself. I am in love and I’m not going to be able to sleep ever again because I’ll be too busy thinking about this story and how much I love it and the gorgeous poly trio who stole my heart.

Corrie White 

Wow. I am simultaneously awed and also thinking to myself: what the fuck did I just read?

A stunningly unique novel with very beautiful writing. While I was totally engrossed by the beginning, I did struggle midway and wasnt too keen on how the author decided to divulge the secrets of the story by using flashbacks and dream sequences. The ending was a bit too predictable in my opinion as I wasnt stunned by the revelations, nor was I surprised when twists began to unfold, so that was a bit disappointing. 

Otherwise the ending, and the beautiful relationships between our three main characters, really made this an unforgettable read.

I don't usually round my reviews up, but I'd say this was a 3.5 to 3.75 rating for me that I rounded up to a 4 because there was just something special about this book.

Cristina Cicivelli 

4,5 ★

Strange Grace has intrigued me since the first time I read the synopsis, and I must say that it didn’t disappoint at all: I was so captivated by this story, eager to see where the plot was going and to discover what the big plot twist was (and for once, I was truly surprised by it and didn’t get it earlier as usual!!!), also thanks to an amazing writing style that fits so perfectly to the story. 
I’m not giving it 5 stars just because near the end it was a bit messy (too many revelations and actions in the span of too few chapters) and the creepy vibes were almost out of my comfort zone, but I enjoyed it all the same!!!

The whole idea of the triad of life, death and the ‘blessing in-between’ was incredibly brilliant, and I could spend this whole review just rambling about how much I adored that all of this is reflected into the relationship between Mariwen, Arthur and Rhun (probably my favorite thing of the whole book)… its development was handled in a way that really allows to show all the feelings of mutual love and care between these three people that are so different and yet perfectly complement each other. I swear that the extent of what they would do for the other makes me cry REAL TEARS 😭😭😭

( If you can’t tell, I’m definitely and totally in love with Strange Grace… just read it, pls )

Ashlee

View review on my blog, Library in the Country

Review copy generously provided by the publisher via Edelweiss.

Strange Grace was such a beautiful tale about love and sacrifice, with a wonderfully eerie and unsettling twist to it. This is the PERFECT Fall read and perfect if you're looking for something to sweep you up and cradle your heart.

Many generations before Mairwen, Rhun and Arthur were born, their village of Three Graces made a bargain with the devil. Every seven years, the village will willingly sacrifice their best boy into the Devil's Forest. Only the sacrificed saints go into the forest, for it is full of otherworldly creatures, whispers that promise wicked and delightful things and if you look close enough you may see the shadow of the devil himself. It's been three years since the last boy went in, ten years since Rhun's cousin went in, seventeen years since Mairwen's father went in and almost two hundred years since the devil fell in love with a Grace witch. Nothing bad befalls Three Graces, except now. Something is wrong with the bargain and the Slaughter Moon has risen early.

Bound by their love for each other, Mairwen, Rhun and Arthur set out to seek a way to fix the bargain, save their village and each other from the clutches of the devil. 

This book is certainly a dark fantasy, but it had so many inspiring moments - it constantly had me smiling and screaming "YASSSS!" for the triumphs of my favorite characters. Mairwen is smart, fierce as a wildcat and loves with no bounds. Rhun is a damn blessing, the perfect saint and you will adore everything he does. Arthur doesn't fit the mold he has made for himself, he burns brightly despite his longing to stand in the dark and all I wanted to do was force him into a hug (that he would certainly grimace over).

This is absolutely a character driven story and you never know what these three characters will do next, but you'll support them every time. Also, love triangle? No, not exactly. There is a triangle but it isn't what you may expect and I LOVED it. There was really only one relationship to "ship" and let me tell you, it WORKED.

I was so lost in the chilling atmosphere of this story, the depth of the characters, the mystery surrounding the bargain, and especially the devil himself. There are SO many amazing twists in this book, it will keep you turning the pages well past your bedtime.

This book also has some lovely LGBT+ rep, including trans rep that never even made me think of it that way. It just fit the story so perfectly.

Overall, after reading Strange Grace, I want to own and read everything Tessa Gratton has written. She has been on my radar for a few months now and this book was EVERYTHING I needed to decide I need to read more by her! Put this on your Fall reading list! This is definitely one of those ARCs I immediately wanted to pre-order as soon as I finished it.

Addison Degginger &
Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton

Reviews

Join the club

Addison Degginger &Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton

Reviews

Join the club

Addison Degginger &
Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton