Book Review: Strange Grace

Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of the most conflicting reviews/ratings I've given lately. Strange Grace is dark, creepy and just the right amount of gory for me. So you'd think it would hit the mark for a teen fantasy read. And it mostly does. However there are moments and times where I feel like something was missing or a connective tissue wasn't quite there. Also refreshing is that it's a stand-alone!!

Foreshadowing
When you write a book that focuses on tidbits of information dropped like easter eggs throughout the narrative you need to be very confident that you've given enough context for the reader to have an 'ah-ha' moment when that tidbit becomes relevant. This was the biggest missing piece for me with Tessa Gratton's dark novel. It felt like the 'ah-ha' moments were dulled or just not even there. The one key moment, where you go 'OMG', I did have a reaction to; but even that felt a little muffled by the attempt to stay up on what I'd been told to date. I'm not quite sure how else to describe what was missing except to say that a good mystery or thriller author could likely solve this issue quickly as I believe it would be obvious where the links are not meeting.

Flashbacks
Ever since I read LOTR at age 12 I have been vehemently against flashbacks. I abhor being told what happened for key moments if the flashback isn't in a journal entry, orally being told story, or really, really interesting. Luckily for Gratton she fits into the really interesting category. It's a very risky thing to tell 90% of your compelling story in flashbacks; and yet that is exactly how Strange Grace is set-up. This format allows for bits and pieces of the story, from different characters POV, to be told in a jumbled up way which could work but in this case I'm not sure it was as effective as it could be (see foreshadowing above).

Endings & Romance
The absolute best endings to me have a few things in common. They don't please everyone, not everyone survives (if applicable) and everyone leaves changed. Without a doubt Gratton meets my ending criteria.
It also helps that the romance in Strange Grace is fairly well done. It's a typical confused and conflicted teen romance (between three people); but I really loved the way Gratton incorporated the pan sexuality into the complex trio's lives. I genuinely believed that a three-person relationship would be possible in certain scenarios here. And not because the characters were trying to all be happy but because it just made sense for these characters. It's difficult to handle a unique teen romance, in a vicious, fairly bloodthirsty book without having the trauma become 99% of the focus. But somehow Gratton manages to give us three independent and unique characters who all need each other and not just because of the horrors they may (or may not) have witnessed; but instead because their souls feel entwined. I realize this may sound lame... (or maybe it's because I have a hard time with romance) but I felt like this was a teen romance that I could understand and support.

Overall
The darkness and romance of Strange Grace certainly pushed me into 3-4 star territory (there is also a really good moral dilemma); but the missing 'ah-ha' moments and lack of lines to tug on brought it down. I feel if Gratton paired up with a couple great mystery editors or writers for comments, reviews and edits that this could be a stellar book. I will certainly read Gratton's books in the future as I believe her and I have something in common. A dark place in our souls that we don't quite know what to do with sometimes. Strange Grace touched that deep place (that all of us have to some degree) and gave it a life (that is less horrific and more gothic) for a short period of time.

To read this and more of my reviews visit my blog at Epic Reading

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

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