Review Detail

Summer, Fenrin, and Thalia Grace are witches…or at least, that’s what everyone says. Everyone in the town is enamored with the beautiful and powerful Graces, a family that has connections in high areas. Fenrin charms everyone, Summer is the lovable rebel, and Thalia is effortlessly cool and composed. River, new to the town, is as in love with them as everyone else, but she refuses to put them on a pedestal. Instead, she wants to join them as an equal, and she’ll do anything it takes to make that happen.

Mix the movie The Craft, an unreliable narrator, a mysterious family, and a supply of magic, and you get the addictive and haunting story, THE GRACES by Laure Eve. The rich writing easily captivates, and an ominous feeling hovers over each chapter. While you know River isn’t exactly trustworthy from the beginning, it’s hard not to want her and the Graces, especially Summer, to truly have a good friendship. However, when magic, secrets, and scandal are combined, no relationship is safe. By the end of the story, each major character is a little darker than they seem.

THE GRACES takes an interesting approach to magic. While the Graces are believed to be witches, Summer is the only one who is particularly vocal about it. Coincidences and timing are tricky beasts in this magical story, and it’s hard to know what is magic, who actually has it, and what can be done with it until the very finish. The story doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, but it does leave plenty of potential for a sequel, and readers will likely finish feeling eager for just that.

With a fluid narration of secrets and hidden pasts, THE GRACES brings the all-consuming nature of magic to the page, and readers will be devouring each chapter on bated breath.