* 3.5 stars *

Books like this are always hard to write reviews for because it sort of hovered around the midpoint between really good and not so great for most of my read so I’m going to make a sort of pro and con list in a way to balance out those feelings.

What I enjoyed was the subtle nods to classic witch stories as featured in novels like ‘Practical Magic’, there’s nothing more interesting to read than a long line of strong women taking care of each new generation under the looming threat of a curse placed on them by their matriarch and this book tackled that trope beautifully.

The main character Nor was also unlike most characters I’ve read about whereas she didn’t go to high school, sought out social invisibility because she preferred to be alone or with the comfort of animals more and struggled with self harm. This made me more excited to see just how she would deal with the past and the present obstacles and rise to the challenges that were soon to greet her and I was not disappointed.

What I didn’t enjoy, though it was mentioned in the acknowledgments at the end with resources for those who are struggling with similar issues, was the lack of reference to self harm. With the amount of blood and depiction of the act itself in some scenes might be difficult for some readers and a little more in the beginning giving fair warning would have been nice. Although I will say I liked that that aspect of her character wasn’t fixed with magic and instead was something continuously worked through with professional methods.

I don’t know if this was supposed to be a love triangle, and for a moment I thought it was leaning that way in a sort of tug and pull between what one wants and what has been cursed upon them but at the end of the day I was underwhelmed with the entirety of the romance subplot. It didn’t help that almost all of the side characters, and there were quite a few more than once I had to go back and check because I was confusing them, lacked development to the point that it was easy to mix them up or forget them completely unless it became plot relevant.

All in all it’s an okay book. I’m guessing there’s going to be a sequel and maybe that will work out the few issues I had with the characters and romance element but it plays well with the witch mythology and as long as that holds up most people should enjoy it!

**thank you to netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review*

To backtrack a bit, I've been a huge fan of Leslye Walton's writing ever since I finished reading The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender back in January 2016. I think about that book more often than I think about any other. It holds such a special place in my heart because it introduced me to two of my favorite aspects in books: family-driven drama & magical realism.

Though I was caught up quickly in the storyline, as I mentioned above, it still took a bit of time to fully settle into the world of The Price Guide to the Occult... And then. Then we get some character dynamics introduced, from Nor's sweet and lasting encounter with a certain boy to the story of her mother's "formidable ability to manipulate the minds of those around her." And it wasn't long before I was lost in their world, repeating the same old mantra of "just one more page." Once again, Leslye Walton excels at weaving together an intricately compelling family narrative.

Full review can be found:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2116915216
Blog: https://bookspoils.wordpress.com/2018/01/09/review-the-price-guide-to-the-occult-by-leslye-walton/