Book Review – Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton

This is another book I read for a secret TBR which I’m hoping to reveal before the end of October. Strange Grace is a much darker book than I thought it would be!

About The Book 📚

Title: Strange Grace

Author: Tessa Gratton

Published: 2018 by Margaret McElderry Books

Genre: YA Fantasy, Romance, LGBT, Paranormal (witches)

Goodreads Link

My Review

›The village called Three Graces is a special place to live where no child dies, food grows in abundance, and the plague can’t venture near, thanks to the deal three witches made two centuries ago. The three witches were sisters, all named Grace. The youngest went into the forest and fell in love with the devil. She asked her sisters for their blessing to marry the devil and in return, they made a deal with the devil:

“They made this bargain with the devil: Every seven years their best boy is sent into the forest from sundown to sunrise, on the night of the Slaughter Moon. He will live or die on his own mettle, and for his sacrifice the devil blesses Three Graces.”

› Mairwen Grace is white. She’s the daughter of a witch and a saint. Her father, Carey, sacrificed himself to the devil’s forest seven years ago, not knowing Mairwen’s mother, Aderyn, was pregnant with his baby. She wants to go into the forest to find her father’s bones. Grace witches are drawn to the forest, but all who’ve entered never return. Mairwen finds a sick horse and suspects there’s something wrong with the bargain.

› Rhun is black. He’s a positive person who always seeks the good in everyone. It’s suspected that he’ll be chosen as the next saint, and if he survives Mairwen thinks she’ll probably marry him. However, Rhun has a crush on their friend Arthur, who’s in love with Mairwen. This is a love triangle that becomes a beautiful relationship between the three of them which moved me to tears.

“Mairwen strokes a finger down his crooked nose. “Survive, and I’ll marry Arthur to trap him here, and you can live with us, because I’m a witch and you’re a saint and we can do whatever we want, and then you can spend the rest of your life seducing him. We’ll fight all the time, but we’ll be happy.”

› Arthur is white. Afraid that he would be chosen as “best boy”, his mother raised Arthur as a girl. After his gender was revealed, his mother left him and Arthur struggled with which gender felt “right” for him. He’s determined to be chosen during the next Slaughter Moon.

“What hurt him was the rule change. Being forced out of girlhood into boyhood, as if it were only an either/ or, as if to make any other choice was unnatural.”

› Mairwen, Rhun, and Arthur work together to figure out what’s going on with the devil’s bargain and in the process, we learn more about what’s really been going on for the past two hundred years.

“Nobody can change who he is except for himself, not any saint ritual, not an ignorant, terrified town, not a night spent in the forest, not a dress or a kiss.”

› Likes 😻
• I love the cover, the setting, the characters, the plot. Strange Grace is such a well-written story that I’d love to re-read. And that’s saying something because I NEVER re-read books.
• Mairwen’s mother was such an interesting character, and I really like Mairwen’s best friend Haf. All of the characters are well-written with distinct personalities. I love the diversity and how it didn’t feel contrived. There’s a lot of queer love in here and I loved it. I’m pretty sure Mairwen and Rhun are pansexual, and I think Arthur is non-binary and Mairwen’s mother is bi-sexual.

› Dislikes 😾
• The big reveals weren’t shocking for me, however, I’m the kind of reader who pays attention to every little detail and often figures out the ending, so I think many readers would be surprised.

› Final Thoughts
• Strange Grace is an imaginative, queer, dark fairy tale about gender roles, human sacrifice, unconditional love, good and evil that reminded me of When the Moon Was Ours. I want to read more Tessa Gratton, any recommendations?

About The Author

“Tessa Gratton has wanted to be a paleontologist or a wizard since she was seven. Alas, she turned out too impatient to hunt dinosaurs, but is still searching for a someone to teach her magic. After traveling the world with her military family, she acquired a BA (and the important parts of an MA) in Gender Studies, then settled down in Kansas with her partner, her cats, and her mutant dog. She now spends her days staring at the sky and telling lots of stories about magic.”

http://tessagratton.com/tessa/