The Graces - Laure Eve

"Everyone said the Graces were witches.

They moved through the corridors like sleek fish, ripples in their wake. Stares followed their backs and their hair.

They had friends, but they were just distractions. They were waiting for someone different.

All I had to do was show them that person was me.

Like everyone else in her town, River is obsessed with the Graces, attracted by their glamour and apparent ability to weave magic. But are they really what they seem? And are they more dangerous than they let on?"

This book was actually quite good. Don't get me wrong there are a few things I dislike. But this book's magical realism with a dash of witches and I think the most aesthetically pleasing settings and people made it a firmly recommendable book.

It's all about River (not her real name) and her obsession with the mysterious, obscure, rich family called the Graces. You know the drill: small town, gossip that the Graces are witches, the Graces being beautiful and rich, plus slightly magical things happening and the odd curse or two. It could've easily slid down the cliché slide, but it didn't. I couldn't stop reading. There are so many secrets that I needed answers to. River was hiding things and I desperately wanted to know why. 

Unfortunately, I have to admit River is a little awful. In the beginning I thought she suffered from some serious ego problems. She makes it her #1 goal to be friends with the Graces because they're mysterious, wild and possibly witches and ergo they're good enough for River or that's how it seems. You only understand why she wants to be friends with them right at the end. She also puts a lot of girls down, in her head at any rate, just because they like Fenris, one of the Graces. Girl, you like him too, you can't call them shallow because you THINK you have a deeper connection with him.   

The Graces were very interesting. They were equal parts entrancing and awful. I didn't even care that they were gosh darn beautiful (River only mentions it 938943 times) because I was totally under the spell too. There's three of them, Fenris and Thalia are the twins, and Summer is the younger, slightly goth, sister who believes in spells and curses. She's the one that befriends River. They were all amazingly dynamic and complex. Thalia is all woody, earthy and fairy hippie(is that a thing?). Fenris is dashing, cocky, handsome and he knows it. Summer wears black, metal band t-shirts and listening to screeching cat music.

This leads me very well in to the AESTHETICS!!! I loved them. I know I should talk about the plot and things, but muhahahah. When a book has beautiful rich houses and slightly-creepy-woods where they make spells and dance. Everyone wears exceptional clothing and goes to strange little crowded stores to buy odd things, I just fall in love with it. I mean, the plot was good too although I think it was a bit too long. It lagged in the middle. Sometimes they'd do something huge and important and then the next chapter would be like "oh and a week later"...

More over I loved the writing! Except for when it got redundant. Such as the Graces are beautiful. Oh the Graces are beautiful. DID I MENTION THE GRACES ARE BEAUTIFUL??? But otherwise it was ethereal and gorgeous.

The book had many plot twists that were just weird and wonderful, and it really amped up the magical-realism aspect at the end. I also really appreciated that everyone had a dark side. I love it when everyone is slightly villainous. Keep at it, my little psychos.

So basically my only cons are:
• River was an insufferable little lemon (until at the end when I actually quite liked her.)
• Bit slow
• Everyone got drunk a lot and things went badly but yet they still kept drinking??

However all in all I loved this book. It just is the kind of book I adore. Slightly magical, witchy, aesthetically pleasing with woods and mayhem, a cast of characters who are beautiful but totally damaged, and a few punches to the feels. It's entrancing and surreal.

I would suggest age 13+ as the writing can get disorientating and a little dark when the group of friends drink. Someone dies but it is not shown.