Nor is a ninth generation, modern day witch. Nor is just 17 and trying to live life as a normal teenager and recover from the wounds inflicted by her disturbed mother, Fern, who abandoned her years ago. But when Nor's mother appears on the national scene as a witch who can perform miracles - for a price, Nor knows she is practicing black magic - the kind that requires a blood sacrifice. When Fern comes for Nor, not out of love, but to use her for her own nefarious plans, Nor resists. As Fern attempts to destroy Nor's world, and Nor herself, Nor must summon the deepest parts of herself to save those she loves. Walton deftly creates a realistic world in which witchcraft and normalcy can go hand in hand. I really enjoyed the book but I wished that Walton had spent more time on the backstory, which seemed fascinating. A prequel would be great. Fans of Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen will enjoy this book.

The Blackburn women are cursed, ever since Rona Blackburn arrived on Anathema island long ago and was shunned by the eight original settlers. The Blackburn witches are doomed to have a brief whirlwind romance with a descendant of the original eight. The curse has side effects- like diluting the Blackburn supernatural powers.

But that's fine with Nor Blackburn. All she wants is a quiet normal life. She hopes the curse has worn off but when a mysterious book comes out, promising to cast any spell for the right price, Nor knows something is coming for her and Anathema Island.

First off, this cover, how gorgeous is it?! 😍 This is the first book I have ever read by this author. The storyline and writing are great, it kept me reading, but some parts were just too drawn out that I felt myself wanting to put the book down. Based on others recommendations I really want to read The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavendar now.

A PRICE GUIDE TO THE OCCULT immediately drew me in. With it's intimate voice and rich magical backstory, Nor's story started strong. Though readers should be warned that A PRICE GUIDE TO THE OCCULT deals with issues of self-harm and child abuse.

Unfortunately, by the time I'd made it halfway through A PRICE GUIDE TO THE OCCULT, my attention began to waver. While the impressive beginning was enough to keep me reading, the pace immediately slowed. Nor doesn't actively do much except go for runs around the island and attempt to ignore her multitude of powers. She knows a storm is coming, but she doesn't talk about it with the other characters or do anything to prepare for it. She's stagnant and remains that way until the storm finally hits the island, but by that time I hadn't been convinced I should care.

With beautiful writing and intriguing lore, A PRICE GUIDE TO THE OCCULT had tremendous potential but ultimately fizzled for me. Many readers may be enraptured by the slow romance and dark atmosphere of the novel. While that was enough to keep me reading, I was disappointed by the rushed ending, which felt undeserved after pages of Nor's passivity.

While I didn't find this book quite as captivating as the author's previous one, "The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender", I did enjoy it quite a bit. This book has witches and witchcraft at the heart of its story and while there are tons of books out there that deal with similar tropes, I was pleasantly surprised by the uniqueness with which the subject was dealt with here. Because even though the focus is largely on witchcraft, the story is first and foremost about relationships, including the relationships that exists between our main character, Nor, and the members of her community. In that respect, I think the book did a great job establishing Nor's connections to the other characters.

However, speaking of the characters themselves, I did feel that they could have been fleshed out better. The book has a huge cast of characters and because many of these characters' descriptions are left a bit vague, it did get hard at times to remember who is who. Or even to properly picture them in my mind.

That being said, Nor herself was a great main character. She has her flaws and her weaknesses but throughout the book, we get to see her come in terms with her situation and slowly set out to conquer her problems and fears. Nor was largely the reason I finished the book as fast as I did, because I just really enjoyed following her character growth.

Now regarding the execution of the book, I will admit that while the plot itself was pretty interesting, overall I found the pacing too uneven and the descriptions and explanations often too vague. Whether it's character or setting descriptions, or explanations about things that were happening in the book, things were often left rather vague, which I did occasionally find a bit confusing and frustrating.

With regards to the book's ending, it seems that future sequels are a possibility. While I did overall enjoy the book, and while I really liked Nor as the main character, I'm not sure if I'll be continuing with this series, should it become one. That being said, if the potential future books offer clearer explanations regarding some of the story elements I had issues with, and if the issues regarding the pacing and characterizations are fixed, I wouldn't mind giving a sequel a fair try.

This story deals with tough subjects such as child neglect and self-harm which makes it more interesting. The author has a magical way of weaving words and creates good, strong characters. Loved some of the witchcraft, mystery and the atmosphere.

Walton's first book is a beautiful oddball in that not every reader will love and appreciate it, but those that do are over the moon about it (me). This second one (we've been waiting) is still an acquired taste, but not as specific and with the fusion of witchcraft, atmosphere, and family dynamics (along with a more contemporary romance and a quirky friendship-- Savvy, how I adore you) this does open up her audience to more readers than the niche of those from Ava Lavender.

It's her creation of generational stories with heavy atmosphere and feeling. Not everyone is comfortable with the emotions Walton presents nor do some readers have the family network to understand her generational dynamics but Walton does it so well.

In her story about the founding of an archipelago of islands by eight settlers and one witch, Rona Blackburn as the matriarch of a line of female Blackburn's with different but significant powers who are swept up in three-day romances with men that leave them to carry on the next generation (reminds me a bit of Impossible by Werlin). The contemporary story of Nor, the teenage Blackburn who hasn't finished high school, lives with the older generation of Blackburn's, and has suffered greatly (physically and emotionally) at the hands of her mother, Fern Blackburn, who is making a living dealing in the black arts of casting spells using "The Price Guide to the Occult" and making herself a household name... until she comes back to descend on their island and Nor must harness her own power, weakened by the abuse her mother has meted out, with the help of other islanders and understanding the power dynamic, loyalty, and friendship.

It's another moody book with moments of levity with the setting an additional delightful character. I can imagine walking through the streets of the town, being in the woods, in the houses and when the action really picks up, all of these other locations. Plus... when Nor meets someone very specific in the basement as the water builds... oh! The beauty and suspense and loveliness!

I really enjoyed this book, but I would give a warning to those who aren't comfortable with reading about self harm or scars etc. as it does describe this and other topics in great detail. The book itself had a great story, of a witch finding a home on an island and being hunted by men as they feared her. It stems from there and how the witches descendants have powers and what they do and do not have. I can see this book becoming a sequel and I definitely shall read it.

Walton’s new novel is an interesting tale about a local witch who after arriving in a small community is burned at the stake and curses those and generations to come. Even though the premise is very promising, I did find the writing very flowery for my own tastes. This basically comes down to personal preference and not about the writing style of the authors.

She paints an ideological sense in the environment and setting and she has a keen sense with characters and their relations with each other. The plot flows at a good pace and there is lot to really relish with the pages. It felt like a teenage novel written for the female sensibilities.

The story is very richly written and although the writing style is not my regular reading, I found Walton to have an interest grasp and handling of her subject material. Although I struggled through the first few chapters, eventually I was wrapped up and involved in the tale.

The book is not necessarily something that I would recommend for everyone but for the right audience, they will dive into and it will be on many people’s favourite reads list. Unfortunately, due to my own preferences, I will mark this down slightly. Overall, this is a solid involving novel and very impressive. For a general audience, I would definitely rate this four stars but for my own personal tastes, it unfortunately gets marked down to a three.

3.5

Generations ago, Rona Blackburn landed on Anathema Island and was henceforth shunned by the original eight settlers. When Rona finds herself pregnant, the settlers’ aggressively turn on her for being a witch. Being every part the powerful witch they think she is, Rona doesn’t let the settlers’ violent actions go unpunished, unfortunately in Rona’s rage she also unwittingly curses future generations of Blackburn women: Each woman will be doomed to carry out a brief, illicit affair with a descendant of the original eight. From this affair the next generation of Blackburn witches will be born, but this also dilutes their magic until each woman is only gifted with one “Burden”. To cast magic outside of one’s Burden is considered to be black magic.

Nor Blackburn, the ninth Blackburn witch, is happy with her less-than-extraordinary gift of being able to communicate with nature. She’s ok with a non-existent love life, and she’s hoping the curse has just run its course. After suffering years ago at the hands of her power-hungry mother, Nor would almost prefer to just disappear completely. But when a book shows up, written by Nor’s mother no less, offering to cast spells for anyone who can pay the right price, Nor sees the glaring red flag, and as the threat of her mother’s reappearance in her life looms large, like it or not, she’ll have to embrace the gifts she was given if she even wants a chance to save those she’s cares about.

A little background: Leslye Walton’s debut book The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender is a book that I hold very near and dear to my heart. We’re talking desert island type book. So while I went into Price Guide not exactly wanting Ava Lavender 2.0, I would be lying to say that it had no bearing whatsoever on my expectations. Keeping that in mind:

With Leslye Walton’s writing style I wouldn’t be surprised if Price Guide is truly infused with some kind of magic. The descriptions of the manifestation of the Blackburn’s magics and the images they conjure simply fly off the page with such uniqueness and beauty, yet it never overpowers the narrative. As with her previous work, Walton doesn’t shy away from the grotesque or difficult subject matter as shown by Nor’s struggle with self-harm, but these topics feel like they’re handled with such care in the way they’re conveyed on the page.

Nor has survived a lot in her sixteen, going on seventeen, years of life, and for much of that survival she’s still struggling. We see her contemplate the ease in which she could hurt herself pretty consistently throughout the book, but each time she keeps from going back over that threshold. This speaks to a great strength in character, and shows her strong will. I do wish that Nor had confided more in regards to her power, especially to her grandmother. I also thought it felt a little off center that Nor was surprised that people (namely her best friend) knew about her family being witches. I mean pretty much the whole town is an homage to the mystical and magical. This should be no surprise.

Where the book lost a little for me was the incongruity between this being a story about generations of a family of witches overcoming a curse, and battling a power-hungry bad seed in the family. This book could clearly lead into a series if the author so chooses which makes me think that’s the reason the latter is the main conflict of the book.

Overall, Leslye Walton is definitely an author who needs to be on your To Read list no matter what. While Price Guide was a bit unexpected for me, I was drawn into the story, and the writing is spectacular. I look forward to whatever Leslye Walton writes next

The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton

4.25 stars

“The link between the Blackburn daughters and the island was so strong Nor often imagined that the veins that ran underneath her skin and the tree roots that ran under her feet were one and the same.”

The Blackburn women have lived on Anathema Island for nine generations and are plagued by a curse. Rona Blackburn was scorned and left abandoned by a lover who felt guilt over having affair. To assuage his guilt, he decided to take it out on Rona, but she fought back. In retaliation, she put a curse on the Original Eight founders of the island who helped participate in the crimes against her. However, the curse had effects on the Blackburn women. There powers are not once they once were and are now focused to only magical talent instead of the multitudes that they once were. Nor Blackburn is the ninth generation on Anathema Island and is content with her ability to her animals and the earth. Her past is clouded in blood— forced from her body at the hands of her mother obsessed with power and from herself by cutting herself. Things on the island are calm, that is until her mother, Fern, releases the novel The Price Guide to the Occult and it quickly becomes a bestselling sensation. Nor knows her mother is uses magic at a price—the blood and pain of others. Things of Anathema Island are shifting and things are ramping up to magical heights. I greatly enjoyed Leslye Walton’s debut novel, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender. Since reading an ARC of that novel, I’ve been anxiously awaiting another novel by Walton. Imagine how excited I was when I received an ARC for her sophomore novel. Walton uses her lyrical prose to create a magnificent story seeped in magic and dealing with pain. It is quite different from Ava Lavender, but it sticks to the same dark themes of abandoned love, pain, women in families, and interconnected histories. I do wish that Walton had used her talents for genealogical storytelling to paint each Blackburn woman and give further context into the story (and it would have been incredibly interesting so that the reader would have a full understanding of all of Nor’s powers). This is not a perfect novel, but it is a wonderful story that is full of heartbreak, sorrow, and overcoming the past and oneself.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 4.75

“Some pain did not want to be healed: it had to be convinced, compelled, coerced into submission. No pain was alike.”

The main female character is Nor. I greatly appreciated how delicately Walton tackled a heroine who has suffered with self-mutilation. As someone who has also been there and done harm to myself, my heart broke for Nor and I greatly wanted her to see her worth and break free from her fear. When she does become fearless, it is a moment of victory. Nor is a character I easily rooted for and she has a quiet strength and desire to survive. She is an admirable character and I greatly appreciated seeing her narrative come to life.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 4.5

The Villain- Fern Blackburn is scary. She starts a cult through chain letters and preying on peoples’ emotions. She knows that people will flock to a poor pregnant girl without “love” and trapped on an island. Her cult starts before Nor enters this world, but her thirst for power grows greater after her novel becomes instantly popular through a YouTube video. She is horrifyingly manipulative, sadistic, and will stop at nothing to gain ultimate control. It is incredibly interesting how Walton interweaves Nor’s nightmares into the reality of Fern’s monstrous murder sprees. It’s scary and heart-stopping.


Villain Scale: 5

There is some romance in this novel, but it is not the focus and I greatly appreciated that. I felt that if Nor had become hopelessly in love with someone then it would have ruined her own journey of strength and overcoming her fears. Reed seems very sweet, but I wasn’t really all that in to him and Nor. There was also a trope that I greatly despise: the let’s make out/kiss before I go into battle trope. I hate this trope with a fiery passion, but surprisingly it occurred with a character that Nor had a lot of tension with and I thought from the beginning that they would wind up together.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 3.25

My favorite character is hands down, Savvy. She is an enduringly fun character with a fro that always changes colors and is not afraid to speak her truth. She is light and a nice contrast to Nor’s darkness for the majority of the novel. They contrast each other’s as best friends so nicely. I was also a fan of Judd and Apothia, Nor’s great-grandmother and grandmother. I just wish that there was more development and conversations between all of them.


Character Scale: 4

Overall, I highly recommend this novel to fans of witches and Walton’s prose style. I think that this will be popular with a lot of readers and I’m so glad that I enjoyed it. Also, I want a sequel because that epilogue left so much to be desired for the world and the aftermath of the havoc Fern wreaked upon humanity.


Plotastic Scale: 5

Cover Thoughts: I love this cover! I love it even more after knowing how evil Fern is and the use of the fern plants. *shivers*

Thank you, Netgalley and Candlewick, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book overall. The atmosphere was great and the overall setting was magical. However, I don't know if it was quite what I was expecting. The cutting imagery was hard to read, but if that does not bother you, then it is worth a read.

Thank you to netgally and Candlewick Press for the e-arc

TW: self-harm (mentioned frequently), suicide

I requested this from netgally for two reasons, I loved Walton's previous novel: The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, and the premise had promise. This started well, reminding me of her previous novel while starting its own path. However, as the story went on it started to feel repetitive, slow-paced, and without characters I cared enough about to keep me going. It felt like the main characters self-harm was mentioned every second page to the point that it grew viciously tiresome. I will own up and say around the halfway mark I started to skim read, only pausing to take in some of the more important moments.

I do think this novel will hit the right spot for some people. They'll connect to the characters more and enjoy the writing. It was just a shame that this wasn't for me.


Characters

At first, I liked Savvy, but as the book went on it became harder to grasp what her character was really about. I knew Gage to be the bad-boy-good-at-heart stereotype. The rest was a wash (which was maybe because I skimmed the second half of the book, and maybe because they just didn't click with me).
The main villain felt too mustache-twirling, evil for the sake of it. Despite all the build up, I wasn't really interested in any of the encounters with her.


Plot

It really felt like not a lot was happening throughout. For such a short book, there's a lot of characters, and it took a while for me to understand who was who.


One of my biggest problems with the plot was what was set up in the prologue. I was behind that set up, and it left me with expectations of what at least some of the plot would deal with, and other than a few mentions, it wasn't answered or dealt with at all in the actual plot, and left the book, as a standalone, not feel rounded and cohesive.

I thought a reason this hadn't been dealt with the plot it set up was for the potential of a sequel. The ending very much leaves off with a sense that there's more to come. If it had been advertised as a start to a series, some of my issues with the plot and ending may have been eased, but I went into this thinking it was a standalone, and it left me feeling like the novel as it stood on its own was unfulfilled.

Overall

This was a disappointing read for me. I'm always grateful to receive advanced reader copies of novels, and I was really hoping to click with this, but in the end it wasn't for me. It was around halfway that it dropped from 3 to 2 stars, purely because I lost any enjoyment in the story and became unengaged. As an escapist reader, this was an issue for me.

If a sequel does comes out, I don't think I'll be picking it up, but I would possibly be interested in another standalone.

Also- this comes out in the 13th of March 2018, and I wrote this review 12th of March 2018.

I am a huge fan of witch novels, particularly those from Salem or reminiscent of that type of witchcraft. I was extremely excited to find this on Netgalley, and found most of the book enjoyable.

Nor is a descendant of a long line of witches, cursed to have a brief affair culminating in the next generation of witches, and confined to only one talent. Nor wishes she didn’t have to deal with any of this, however: her childhood was unstable until moving in with her grandmother, and Nor is just getting over PTSD and an inclination to self harm. But something wicked is coming to her tiny island, and Nor is their only line of defense.

I liked most of this book. Nor is my perfect brooding, reluctant heroine, and I enjoyed the atmosphere of her witchy town complete with an occult shop. About 3/4ths of the way through, however, the action ratcheted up and the writing got a little choppy. The ending didn’t work for me either, unfortunately.

Thank you to Candlewick and Netgalley for an ARC.

This was a tough book for me, and even tougher to review. I love the premise of following a female line of witches, and the characters, especially Nor, were multi-dimensional. But this novel was very slow-moving, and often felt like we were just treading water instead of actively moving forward. I have heard a lot about Leslye Walton's previous novel, and might seek it out because her prose work is so strong.
I received this novel through NetGalley, from Candlewick Press, in exchange for an honest review.

Leslye Waltons’s The Price Guide to the Occult is a captivating fantasy that pits its heroine against her own mother in a novel full of magic and pain. Nor is part of a long line of Blackburn women whose magical abilities have both beguiled folk on Anathema Island and caused them to regard these women with suspicion. Nor would like nothing more than to have everyone forget the notoriety of her family name even as the magic that courses through her veins grows harder and harder to ignore. When the book, The Price Guide to the Occult, makes its way to the island, Nor can’t help but notice its contents bare a striking resemblance to spells cast long ago by her ancestor Rona Blackburn. Something grows amiss with the people on the island who once pledged their allegiance to Nor’s mother and she can’t shake the feeling that something is coming. As much as Nor would like to fade into the background, the danger heading her way will force her to confront her past and embrace the magic inside her she has tried so hard to deny.

When one loves a book like I have loved Walton’s first novel, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, it’s inevitable that I will compare this second to the first. While Ava Lavender was steeped in magical realism, The Price Guide to the Occult reads more like a fantasy novel. Curses, witches, and spells fill this new world. While I found lots of charm in the idea of people like Nor’s grandmother using her Blackburn gift to heal ailments that may not be treated with modern medicine, I really wanted the author to delve more into this world. But the novel is limited to Nor’s perspective and she would rather distance herself from any kind of magic and so we as readers miss out on exploring this kind of magic more in depth. The island felt like a distinct character itself. Being isolated from the mainland, it felt like a place where magic could be whispered about, but go largely unnoticed to the rest of the world. Nor’s world is small, but also full of people who have taken part in her upbringing, who have occupied that space once reserved for her mother who abandoned her long ago.

Nor’s avoidance of magic is tied specifically to her relationship with her mother. Next to Nor, Fern Blackburn is the most clearly defined of the characters. Fern was never a nurturing mother. Her obsession with Nor’s father overrode any love she may have once felt for her daughter. Willing to do anything to get what she wanted, Fern didn’t bat an eyelash when it came to harming her own daughter in order to do so. Able to manipulate others, Fern has made a living off of other people’s pain. Nor lives in fear of becoming her mother, of being the kind of person that uses others without a second thought. But the people in Nor’s life, from her best friend Savvy to her grandmother Judd, are evidence that Nor is not like her mother at all. I do want to mention that the novel does deal with self-harm. Nor has hurt herself in the past and struggles with overcoming the urge to do so again throughout the story.

The Price Guide to the Occult is a short novel and in many places this shows. The development of certain relationships suffer from lack of page time. While there’s a budding romance between Nor and a boy she thought she would never see again, I found myself more invested in her relationship with the prickly Gage Coldwater. He and his family play a vital role in the island’s history and while this explains the animosity he feels toward Nor, I really wanted to see more about how this relationship shifts. There is a time-jump later on in the novel where this development takes place and so wish I could have witnessed more of their interactions. The novel also comes to a close rather quickly. There is a lot of build-up where Nor’s mother is concerned and I expected the battle to be a bit longer.

Overall, The Price Guide to the Occult is a wonderful example of Walton’s storytelling ability. Nor is a memorable character and the world Walton has built is filled with both beauty and horror.

I read this author's first book, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, and found, while the plot was pretty unmemorable, the writing was hauntingly beautiful and carried me through the book absorbing each and every word. So I was excited to be lucky enough to read this book. What I found was a completely opposite experience. This book had a pretty decent and memorable plot but the beautiful writing was gone. What happened?? My first experience with this author led me to believe each word of the book had been sat over and contemplated until just the exact meaning and emotion were expressed. So much so that the plot was secondary. On the other hand, this book felt like a good bit of time went into the plot but then was hastily hashed out as a means to an end without much, if any, care and thought of how it was conveyed to the reader. I am left disappointed but mildly entertained.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this novel, but I’m very happy I gave it a try. I got sucked into the story and devoured it in a single evening, it was so good!

The book takes place in a magical version of our world. Nor Blackburn is the descendant of a powerful witch who cursed the inhabitants of the island where she lived when they tried to murder her. However, the curse also affected the witch’s family; in each generation since, the Blackburn daughter has only one strong magical talent rather than a range of powers. That doesn’t mean that they can’t do other kinds of magic, however, as Nor’s narcissistic and cruel mother Fern demonstrates when she uses the power of human blood sacrifice to achieve national fame. All Nor wants is to live a quiet life on her island home, enjoying her simple magic of understanding the language of plants and animals and trying to avoid other aspects of her ancestor’s curse. However, as a child, Nor was her mother’s first victim, and she watches in horror as Fern’s power begins to taint life on the island. As the darkness grows, Nor has to try to find the strength to stand against Fern, even though her mother has always terrified her.

At the beginning, it seemed like the story was going to be about unusual people living in a quirky little town and about Nor’s fledgling romance with a very nice guy. And that’s how it starts, yes, but then the story goes dark. Fern’s madness is displayed pretty horrifically, and people die rather gruesome deaths. Some of the lighter elements from the beginning remain in play as the narrative darkens, which made for what I thought was an odd juxtaposition at times. Overall, though, the book’s mixture of light and dark moments and beautiful writing really worked for me, and I just couldn’t stop reading.

One thing that might bother some people even more than the darkness of the storyline is the book’s discussion of self-harm. Fern’s early attempt to perform magic using Nor’s blood caused Nor to turn to cutting to relieve her anxiety. By the time the book begins, Nor has been in treatment and has largely learned to cope, but she does experience the temptation to injure herself at some points in the story, which might be triggering for some people.

Nor’s story clearly isn’t over at the end of the novel. Not only are there still elements of her ancestor’s curse that haven’t played out, but now everyone from the president on down knows that magic and witches exist. That’s obviously going to create problems for Nor in the future, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next!

Highly recommended for anyone who loves dark fantasy.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

It had an interesting premise, but I was very disappointed when I finished it, because not only it didn't fulfill my expectations, but I wasn't the biggest fan of the novel at all. I couldn't help but compare it with her previous book. I tried not to, but there were times where something that I adored about her debut novel was lacking in this one.

I didn't like the writing in The Price Guide to the Occult as much. It was much simpler, and not as whimsical as I expected to be. Maybe it had to do a bit with the story that she was narrating, but it wasn't as amazing. I noticed as well that nothing really interesting happened at all. It started really good and mysterious, and I enjoyed the path it was supposed to take, but it turned out to be a very plain story about witches.

The main character Nor, had no development at all. She was exactly the same at the very beginning and at the end of the novel, and having in mind everything that she went through in the book, I was expecting a much more complex main character. The side characters were thrown there just so Nor could sometimes interact with them, and nothing else. I didn't care about any of them, and that was a major let down for me.

The romance was very weird and happened a bit fast. I didn't like how it was done, because I feel it didn't add anything to the story. It came basically out of nowhere, and there weren't enough interactions between both characters for a relationship to start.

The ending was anticlimactic and quite simple. It didn't have much to be with the prologue where we were told about the curse, how it worked and how it affected the two families. In some way, it did have a bit to do with that, but it all happened so fast and it was very convenient that I didn't like it.

Like I mentioned above, nothing happened throughout the entire novel. I know that magical realism stories tend to be a bit slow when it comes to the pacing, but thinking about it now, there was nothing interesting that was added to the book. It was so slow and then the end happened so suddenly that it made the whole story a bit unrealistic.

Overall, I think this novel had a very interesting premise, but apart from that, nothing was remarkable. Neither the characters nor the plot were intriguing, and it wasn't the story I was hoping to read.

*Actual rating is a 3.5*

The extra half star is for the delightful strangeness of this book. When you read a ton of YA, it can start to feel like everything has been done before. The world of <i>The Price Guide to the Occult</i> is a peculiar one, filled with purple puffs of lies, plant life with a mind of its own, and unusual family lore is wonderfully done. This was by far my favorite element of <i>Price</i> and it's wonderfully done.

While the book claims to be about a spell book, it's actually about so much more than that. Walton does a lovely job using magic to reveal truths about human nature. Nor's conflict with her mother may involve Burdens and blood magic but through it Nor grapples with how she makes sense of herself and her past.

I wish I had felt more an emotional attachment to the characters. I was intrigued by Nor and the strange people who live on Anathema Island but I never felt very invested in any of them.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.