Happy book birthday to my birthday twin, The Graces by Laure Eve! While it doesn't release in the US until Sept. 6, I wanted to celebrate The Graces today, on the UK's release day! For obvious reasons, of course. ;) What I liked about The Graces was how author Laure Eve makes readers question what is real and what is not; what is true and what's not; and if there are such things as magic or coincidences. Nothing is as it seems. You might as well as leave your theories at the door because someone's going to pull the rug right out from under you. That was what drew me in and made it onto my favorite shelf. I hope that this book has the similar effect on readers, because it is splendid and magical...but not in the way you might expect.
The Graces by Laure Eve
Young Adult Contemporary, Fabulism
September 6, 2016 from Amulet Books
In The Graces, the first rule of witchcraft states that if you want something badly enough, you can get it . . . no matter who has to pay.
Everyone loves the Graces. Fenrin, Thalia, and Summer Grace are captivating, wealthy, and glamorous. They’ve managed to cast a spell over not just their high school but also their entire town—and they’re rumored to have powerful connections all over the world. If you’re not in love with one of them, you want to be them. Especially River: the loner, new girl at school. She’s different from her peers, who both revere and fear the Grace family. She wants to be a Grace more than anything. And what the Graces don’t know is that River’s presence in town is no accident.
This fabulously addictive fantasy combines sophisticated and haunting prose with a gut-punching twist that readers will be dying to discuss. Perfect for fans of We Were Liars as well as nostalgic classics like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the 1996 movie The Craft, The Graces marks the beginning of a new wave of teen witches.
"We all hide our true selves."
--Laure Eve, The Graces (eARC Loc 645)
The Graces
There was a story about the Graces, a story so woven into the fabric of the town. The Graces are the three Grace siblings: Summer Grace, and the twins, Thalia and Fenrin. The Grace family are rumored to be witches, which makes the siblings the popular and most envied and feared in school. They had friends, but then they didn't. They changed friends like some people changed hairstyles. Everyone wanted to be with them, or be a Grace. They were one step removed from the rest of the school, minor celebrities with mystery wrapped around them like fur soles, an ethereal air to their presence that whispered tantalizingly of magic. The twins' birthday is August 1st; it was the town's own Friday the 13th. It was believed that being a Grace was like being in a cult.
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Witches
The Graces are rumored to be witches; there's a whole website dedicated
to the family and what kind of witches they might be.
Water
Charmers. Restless. Persuasive.
Like water, they eroded people's wills away.
Symbol: Bilios, the world tree, which sat in a circle representing the universe.
Fire
Protectors. Confident. Powerful.
They could fight. They protected people.
Symbol: Thick cross with tapered ends inside a circle.
Air
Seers. Truth tellers. Sensitive.
They told the future and could see the truth of the present. Most used as consultants by powerful people and the was how they made their living.
Symbol: Three-pronged rod inside a circle.
Earth
Leaders. Grounded. Calm.
The practical witches well-versed in herb lore: health products and medicines, home protection, magicked food.
Symbol: Five-pointed star, representing the senses, usually with a gem studded in the middle to symbolize themselves at the calm center of all things.
-- I think I'd fit more as an earth witch. That might be a bit biased as a Virgo. ;)
What kind of witch would YOU be? --
Misc. and things
Hoffy Man. A local nature god. The face was soft and round with big, pursed lips and hollow edges, it's forehead crowned with hair that looked more like bunches of leaves.
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Crystals. I don't make this fact about myself publicly known too often, but I dabble in what is called "crystal cleansing and charging", so when one of the characters briefly mentioned crystals and its properties, naturally, I flipped in excitement. Sure, they didn't do any cleansing or charging in this book, but I just loved how there was acknowledgement of crystals. Maybe they dabble as well? Perhaps we'll get to see it in action in the next book, I hope? ;) Rose quartz represents love, romance and friendship.
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Lammas. It is a time frame on The Pagan Calendar, around the first of August (note: the twins birthday). A traditional English ritual occurs where you split bread into four pieces and will be put at the four corners of the house for three days. It's a good luck thing.
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Favorite Quotes
"It was my favorite thing to do--eat and read. The world just shut up for a while."
--Laure Eve, The Graces (eARC Loc 147)
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"I can stop pretending when I'm alone."
--Laure Eve, The Graces (eARC Loc 164)
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"Words have power. But the words are meaningless without your intent behind them, driving them."
--Laure Eve, The Graces (eARC Loc 285)
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"What a person chose to keep secret could tell you all you needed to know about them. What they showed was who they wanted to be. What they hid was who they actually were."
--Laure Eve, The Graces (eARC Loc 1197)
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"I wasn't good with people, and it was hard to get along in this world if you weren't. Easier to not put yourself out there, less hurt all around."
--Laure Eve, The Graces (eARC Loc 1216)
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"It's only when you believe in a thing that you give it power over you."
--Laure Eve, The Graces (eARC Loc 1591)
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**Quotes are taken directly from an uncorrected advanced review copy and are subject to change in final copy**
Book Playlist
The Witch // The Cult
Dark Secret // Matthew Sweet
The Pretender // Foo Fighters
Everyday Is Exactly The Same // Nine Inch Nails
Dirty Magic // The Offspring
Lotus Flower // Radiohead
Hell Is Round The Corner // Tricky
Demon Cleaner // Kyuss
All The Love In The World // Nine Inch Nails
Lamentation // Delerium
Numb // Portishead
Something I Can Never Have // Nine Inch Nails
Climbing Up The Walls // Radiohead
Touch Me I'm Sick // Mudhoney
Stupid Girl // Garbage
Weak // Skunk Anasie
Everything Zen // Bush
Weak And Powerless // A Perfect Circle
You've Seen the Butcher // Deftones
#1 Crush // Garbage
Magdelena // A Perfect Circle
The Crow // Hurts
I Wanna Be Adored // The Stone Roses
[embed]https://open.spotify.com/user/laureevewriter/playlist/3UqDT5lhc4wF4i08S232RX[/embed]
**Playlist is compiled by the author and can be found on her website**
"Magic never felt magical. It was hard, and weary, and sometimes awful."
--Laure Eve, The Graces (eARC Loc 3191)
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Meet Laure Eve
The question I dread most when meeting new people is “Where are you from?” For some reason, possibly to do with being an idiot, I can’t just give one answer. Because it’s a bit complicated. Where are you from – you mean where do I live? Where did I used to live? Out of all the places I’ve lived, which one do I most identify with and thus would feel comfortable about choosing to answer your question? Where am I from ‘genetically’? Where was I born?
‘Idiot’, you’re thinking right now. It’s cool.
I’m both French and British (none of this ‘half’ stuff – I don’t have a half citizenship or half a passport); and I live and work in London. I was born in Paris, but grew up in Cornwall. Sometimes I feel very French. Other times exceedingly British with biscuits on top. Often the proud Cornish part of me rears its affable head. I strongly suspect the British part of me has more than a hint of Scottish. Ah, the Old Alliance, as the Boy is fond of saying.
This is both complicated and pretty damn enjoyable.
I work in publishing [career 1], in an area that crosses over substantially with the kind of fiction I write [career 2]. I try hard to keep them separate. I don’t talk about my writing when I have my publishing hat on, and vice versa. It’s basically like I have a secret identity. Yes of course that makes me cool, why do you ask?
Purchase The Graces
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The Graces by Laure Eve
Crystals. I don't make this fact about myself publicly known too often, but I dabble in what is called "crystal cleansing and charging", so when one of the characters briefly mentioned crystals and its properties, naturally, I flipped in excitement. Sure, they didn't do any cleansing or charging in this book, but I just loved how there was acknowledgement of crystals. Maybe they dabble as well? Perhaps we'll get to see it in action in the next book, I hope? ;) Rose quartz represents love, romance and friendship.
Lammas. It is a time frame on The Pagan Calendar, around the first of August (note: the twins birthday). A traditional English ritual occurs where you split bread into four pieces and will be put at the four corners of the house for three days. It's a good luck thing.
The Lovely Reckless by Kami Garcia
Stick shift facts:
Kami Garcia is the #1 New York Times, USA Today & international bestselling coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures and Dangerous Creatures novels. BEAUTIFUL CREATURES has been published in 50 countries and translated in 39 languages, and the film Beautiful Creatures released in theaters in 2013, from Warner Brothers. Kami’s solo series, The Legion, includes the instant New York Times bestseller UNBREAKABLE, and the sequel UNMARKED, both of which were nominated for Bram Stoker Awards. Her forthcoming YA contemporary romance THE LOVELY RECKLESS releases on October 4, 2016, followed by THE X-FILES ORIGINS: AGENT OF CHAOS, a novel about a teenage Fox Mulder, in January 2017, both from Imprint (Macmillan).
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