The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton is one of those witchy books that just grabs you and pulls you in, enveloping you with both beautiful writing and magic. This story follows Nor Blackburn, a teenage girl living on Anathema Island. Nor seems like your typical teenager: she has a part time job, she has a quirky best friend, and she has a crush on a boy. But what's not so typical about Nor is that she's a witch. In fact, she's ninth in a generation of famous witches, tracing back to Rona Blackburn, the first female to ever inhabit Anathema. While Rona was an all-powerful witch, each of her descendants has been blessed with only one power, or "burden" as they call them...all that is except for Nor, who has all of them, just like Rona. 

Abandoned at a young age by her mother Fern, Nor has been raised by her grandmother Judd and her partner Apothia. She keeps all but the most basic of her powers (being able to understand animals) quiet, since all she wants is a normal life. She works at The Witching Hour, a store for witches famous for its tours of the island. One day a book turns up while she is working called The Price Guide to the Occult...and it's written by her mother. The book contains a multitude of spells and their prices, and Nor doesn't think anything of it until her mother becomes internationally famous for her mail-order magic. But all magic comes at a price, often much steeper than money, and soon they will all find out what that price is.

I absolutely loved this book. Walton's writing was gorgeous and poetic. Nor was a fantastic character, and you were really able to get inside her head and feel her internal struggles. I also loved all the minor characters, including Savvy, Judd and Apothia, and even the little dog Bijou. The magical realism was authentic, plausible, and very well done. My only real complaint with this book was that I wanted more. I wanted more at the climax of the story, and more follow-up at the end. You know that feeling when you finish something amazing but are suddenly let down because it's over? That was me with this book. I became immersed in Anathema and its inhabitants, and really invested in Nor and what happened to her, her family, and her friends. Plus this cover is utterly stunning, and super relevant to the plot as well!

I've heard that Walton's first work, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, is amazing as well, so now I'm going to have to pick that one up!

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Thanks so much to Candlewick Press for an ARC of this fantastic read. The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton  releases March 13th, so be sure to pick up a copy!