Publisher: Faber and Faber
Release: 1st September 2016
Genre: UKYA, Thriller
Source: Copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Synopsis:
"Everyone said the Graces were witches.
They moved through the corridors like sleek fish, ripples in their wake. Stares followed their backs and their hair.
They had friends, but they were just distractions. They were waiting for someone different.
All I had to do was show them that person was me.
Like everyone else in her town, River is obsessed with the Graces, attracted by their glamour and apparent ability to weave magic. But are they really what they seem? And are they more dangerous than they let on?"
Review
The early whisperings of excitement for The Graces has been impossible to ignore, so despite feeling so over stories about witches and the paranormal I *had* to read this book to see what all the fuss was about. Woah. Just…woah. This book was nothing like what I was expecting it to be! It’s very unique and like nothing else on the YA market right now. If, like me, you thought that you were done with books about witches – think again!
Everybody knows the Graces - glamorous, magnetic and unabashedly different – the Grace siblings Thalia, Fenrin and Summer are their high school’s celebrities and everyone wants a piece of them. New girl River is no different and quickly becomes enchanted by the rumours that the Graces are witches. So many have tried and failed to befriend the siblings and so everyone is surprised when they take River under their wing. At first, hanging out with the Graces seems like all fun and games, but as the stakes get higher River quickly learns that being allowed into the Graces circle comes with a price, and that power of any kind carries consequences.
In The Graces, Laure Eve strips back witchcraft to its basics, this story is one of small magics that are so delightfully coincidental that you’re never sure whether to believe in this books magical element or not. The way that Laure Eve teases readers is both tantalising and fun, it really is showmanship as its very best. Reading The Graces is like watching a magician perform, as the audience you want to believe in the magic, but is there such a thing? Or is what you’re experiencing simply clever illusions and smoke and mirrors? That drive to know the truth is what makes The Graces so compelling to read.
River was such an interesting character she’s very ambiguous to the point where we only know her by the name that the Graces call her. Her identity is solely made up of the Graces and their love and approval of her. This book is a real testament to how other people perceive us versus our true selves and how they can differ. At its heart The Graces is a story about fully embracing both the things that make us ordinary and the things that make us different.
With heady writing and intoxicating characters, Laure Eve has spun a gothic tale about power and obsession that breathes new life into witches. Thrilling, dark and atmospheric, The Graces will hold you spellbound from start to finish. Don’t miss the next big thing in YA Fiction.
