Blood to Poison

Thanks net galley and Bloomsbury ya for the digital copy in exchange of an honest review.

Blood to poison by Mary Watson came at the exact moment I thought “I really need to ready something that is not about werewolves or gays”, and I was lucky enough to got this gem.
Reading it was like walking down a street in the early morning of a very misty-cloudy day. The path was familiar -the afterwards of decades of violence against POC in Cape Town- but the land was a mystery. Watson decided to use magic as a subterfuge of the heavy burden that is the impotence and rage that we carry through ancestry. I was not disappointed. I loved Savannah at first sight. She’s this wild, creative, angry girl who wants badly survive her family curse. Through her journey, she makes mistakes, but it all fades away because navigates through one’s family history can be very traumatic and disoriented. I love that I got to know a little bit more about Cape Town and it’s landscapes, Savannah’s relationship with the aunties that felt very love warming despite her relationship with Kim not. Rosie and Dex were a surprise at each turn, and I really liked how we got to meet them through bits and pieces. BUT what really touched me about this book was how Savannah ended the curse. I got gut punched and sidetracked about the moral of the story. I feel like this book is a very great example to learn at school about black history and how we- the descendants- can do to deal, both mentally and emotionally, with all this retrospect knowledge about our history and family.

Blood to Poison is a bold and unique YA contemporary fantasy, set in South Africa.

It's a slick story, with a compelling mystery, punchy action sequences and a well-wrought mythology. This is a Cape Town where magic lurks just beneath the surface, both beautiful and deadly.

I don't think I've ever read a book which deals with the concept of anger so cleverly, as both a weakness and a strength. Through the curse which has been passed down through generations of Savannah's family, Watson explores many of the issues that should make us justifiably angry: from everyday sexism and racial microaggressions to the weighty trauma of history, from slavery to the apartheid.

Without a doubt, one of the best YAs I've read in some time.

An absolutely mesmerising and powerful YA fantasy in which the injustice, trauma, and pain suffered by generations of POC in South Africa, is told by entwining real beliefs and history with the captivating powers of fantasy & magic.

A curse that has plagued generations is set to claim Savannah next. The rage she feels within is becoming stronger every day. With each outburst, her skin is marked and her days numbered. This cursed magic is seen as a weakness, but as Savannah sets about ending the curse for good, she soon discovered that there is strength in her anger.

This curse is rooted in the evils that blight such a beautiful country. Generations of suffering stemming from the horrors of slavery and the apartheid, with POC still being subjected to racial persecution and women dealing with sexism and violence daily. With such a heartbreaking history and present, the rage WOC feel is truly justified.

Mary Watson has infused witches and magic with everyday life in a raw & captivating way that has you falling in love with her bold storytelling.

Also, I can’t leave a review without mentioning the outrageous array of delightful & wacky family members. From Aunties & Uncles to childhood friends & neighbours that add to this enchanting story. They fill the pages with love, laughter, strength, courage, and so much joy.

I feel blessed to have read this and can’t wait to add it to my collection. Thank you.

2 final things:

1: The cover is even more stunning after you’ve read the book &

2: You (IMO) MUST read the author's note!

Thank you NetGalley & Bloomsbury Publishing for the gift of the ebook.

Savannah is angry, and understandably so.

And it feels good to read a story about a teenage girl who is allowed to be angry. But she's also kind, and driven, and someone I would have wanted to be friends with at 17.
Savannah is cursed, and as she learns about the curse and her history, she discovers that magic is hiding in plain sight in Cape Town.

I hope we will have a second book because I have a lot of questions !!

This was such a unique and interesting book full of magic, mystery and the supernatural. There were so many sensitive issues and dark periods of history that were dealt with in a really sensitive way that was also enaging. This book was so well written with good character development and a good storyline. I really enjoyed it.

I wanted to read this book from the blurb, curses, magic, fate. It sounded like the perfect book for me. And I wasn't disappointed, So much so that I forgot to look at the time and realised I had work in the morning.
Savannah is so angry, and there is so much angst that it feels so different from other YA reads.
I love how the book ended and look forward to reading more from the author.

This book is so powerful, and so clever. On the surface it is a story of a cursed girl, trying to free herself from the fate of so many girls before her, doomed to die before their time. And beneath the surface, both of Savannah and the book itself, there is rage. Endless burning rage.

The story is set in South Africa, where the history of slavery and apartheid cast a long shadow. The book weaves the rage and hurt of generations into the story of a girl just trying to survive, and find her way in a world of magic she didn't know existed, but that she was born to enter.

There are so many twists and turns in this story, it had me utterly gripped, staying up late to read it, unable to put it down, gasping and weeping in turn. An absolutely astonishing read.

“There’s a story that’s been handed down the generations in my family. The story of a woman so wronged that she burned with anger until it destroyed everything. The story of Hella, my ancestor, whose anger is passed down from mother to daughter.”

First 5 star rating of the year!
I have loved Mary Watson’s writing in her previous books. Her narrative style is easy to read, but she still manages to twist mythology and folklore with important topics. Previously Irish mythology, this time she explores her South African heritage whilst dealing with topics such as racism and misogyny.
I thought Savannah was a formidable main character. I loved her anger and how she was allowed to celebrate it. It’s rooted in her culture and her history - an anger that’s generations old. Yet anger doesn’t define her, she loves fiercely too and she’s kind.
Had it not been for work, I would not have put this book down. I just found it so easy to read and I loved the story line. The characters and relationships were so genuine. There were some twists at the end I really didn’t expect.
Savannah explores her anger through a culture she finds difficult to track. I also really enjoyed the witches and magic that was tied into the curse, plus all the general beliefs and stories of South Africa that were a part of Savannah’s world.
It was really interesting to begin the story with a foreword from Mary Watson, explaining her own experiences and inspiration for this novel. I started tabbing this book from the first page.

Seventeen year old Savannah is angry - it's part of a family curse laid upon them by an enslaved ancestor named Hella. She is doomed to get angrier and angrier and then die young.

But Savannah has no intention of going quietly and goes in search of a cure, discovering a half-hidden world of magic and witchcraft and that the power of the curse is alive in her, and can be used.

This book was an amazing read on so many levels. I loved the magic and witchcraft elements, I love that it's set in Cape Town, a location and culture that you don't read much about in YA, and I love how the author weaves in the idea of anger as a curse - when so much of the anger Savannah and her ancestors feel is justified and even empowering. It's magical, intriguing and though-provoking... and I'm hoping there'll be more stories set in this world.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed Blood to Poison by Mary Watson.
It was a great YA fantasy set in South Africa.
I like how this book dealt with a lot of serious topics including misogyny and racism.
I definitely highly recommend this book and I'll definitely be checking out the other books the author has written.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for granting me an arc

Blood to Poison follows Savannah, a 17 year old girl living in Africa who not only has to deal with the effects of Apartheid, especially harder on the women, but a centuries old blood curse fuelled by anger.

After unwittingly speeding up the process in which the curse will take her life, Savannah races, literally, against time trying to break the curse and save her life. On top of that she has to deal with a strange woman calling herself The Jackal, whose sole intention is to drain Savannah's magic for herself, the brooding Dex who seems to be harboring a secret and Quentin, her mother's, Kim, new boyfriend, who takes great pleasure in pushing Savannah while pushing his wants and needs on to Kim.

I really hope Mary is planning a second book.

Blood To Poison is a book that deserves to be picked up and discussed by everyone. It is striking, original and endlessly fascinating.

First things first, this is a phenomenal concept. I was utterly sold on Watson’s vision of a family curse born of anger in a South African urban fantasy with veilwitches and prophecies. In fact, I really enjoyed Watson’s exploration of anger. A lot of this book sits with the idea of anger, its righteousness and the way it bubbles up and over into fury. This is a book that unlocks the power of anger when channelled through the correct sources. It is a book writhing with righteous fury and sadness at the historical and institutional injustices confronted by this book.

This is a very thought-provoking book in terms of its ethical considerations. There is a lot of scope for discussion and debate, which Watson actively encourages throughout the narrative. Personally, I loved the message of this book and the way magic was depicted in a nuanced, considerate way. Magic here is a force for both good and evil, but it also is far from as simplistic as that description. The magic here is messy and flawed, with categorisations such as good and evil being constantly challenged and updated by the narrative. Watson’s writing is so immersive and spins this creative, magically charged world around you. It is also emotionally complex and challenging, with a few plot twists and turns that will definitely hit home. This is not a book that plays it safe, with some extremely dark and graphic scenes. Watson is unrelenting in her presentation of this world of betrayal and trauma passed down through generations. The anger here is an anger stretching back through time, speaking to unresolved injustices and the way they still pervade into current society.

Blood To Poison builds on its excellent concept to create a fresh, challenging and fantastical narrative.

this one was INCREDIBLE! full of magic, friendship, myths and fairytales. my favourite type of book - creepy, magical and haunting.

"I think of Hella, running across hard earth, the dark night lit by the fire behind her. Running until she felt her heart would burst. This story lives in my bones."

Blood to Poison is a South African inspired fantasy that keeps you turning the page from the beginning to the every end. It follows the character of Savannah, a seventeen year old girl who is a descendant of Hella, a slave who cursed her enslaver and his descendants to die young, not knowing that his child currently lived inside of her. Anger is filling Savannah and each fit of rage brings her closer to death. She must find a way to save herself, or die trying.

Before I go into my review of the contents of the book, I can't ignore the masterpiece that is the cover. If I saw this in the bookstore there is no way that I could ignore it, and i'm sure i'm not alone in this. It is ultimately what drew me into the book, and I am so glad it did.

This book discusses so many important topics, including: slavery, racism, poverty, misogyny to name but a few. The Author, Mary Watson, also added her influences and reasons for what she wanted to convey which I thought added more depth and insight and I really enjoyed reading this before beginning the book.

The characters were each enjoyable to read, Savannah being my personal favorite, a bold, unapologetic, angry heroine who dealt everything she faced in a way that was true to herself. I enjoyed the plot but I must admit I didn't completely follow everything that was going on with the Jackal in the middle of the book, but that being said as i reached the end i think more clarity was developed.

Overall a really enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend. (Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me the eARC to review)

Really liked this book. The characters were interesting, especially the main character and her relationships with those she was close to. I liked the way she knew her own mind even when facing absurd situations. The book itself was engaging, the plot was different to stuff i have read before and it also managed to end in a satisfactory way - which many books that start off well seldom do. I will probably look for it when it is properly published.

As a child Savannah heard rumours throughout her family of ‘the curse’. That some women of the family would die before their time because of a cause put on a long gone ancestor of theirs. But it was all stories the older aunties told the children.

As Savannah gets older she wonders about the curse. With her auntie dying young it makes her think there may be something in the stories, especially when she finds marks on her body, the same marks that appeared on her auntie before her time was cut short.

Are the stories of curses and witches just that or is it more magic than myth?

I have absolutely loved this book. I enjoyed the magic and story of the curse and the characters were brilliant. Just when I thought I knew where the story was going there was another twist to put me off the scent. I thought Savannah and Dex’s relationship was really interesting and I could imagine this book as a series because even though it ended really well I feel like there could be many more stories to be told from Savannahs magical world.

This is going to be one of my top reads of this year for sure.

Firstly, I must talk about how this book discusses so many important topics. Slavery, misogyny, rape, racism, poverty, to name some. The author discusses her influences for the story at the beginning and what she wanted to convey which I felt was a really great touch and insight. These important topics really added value to the story and a thought prevoking aspect that fantasy doesn't always possess.

I have so much admiration for Savannah who is bold, shameless and unapologetically herself. Its so refreshing to have a female character who is allowed to be angry and emotional. I was always her no.1 cheerleader throughout this book 📣 She refuses to let her spirit be crushed or to let men hound her into changing. We see her brazen moments but also her vulnerable ones which creates such a 3D character.

The community of aunties surrounding Savannah was an aspect I loved, I loved seeing Savannah have such a comforting support network of women. All the aunties have their own personalities which are so endearing, my favourite being Aunt Dotty who ICONICALLY says "...for heavens sake, wear a damn bikini. Nothing wrong with showing a bit of tit" 😂

My favourite thing plot-wise about this book is how Savannah combats the curse. Rather than using violence as often portrayed in fantasy, the solution is through unlocking her heritage and undertaking a journey of discovery - it felt so fresh!

The ending of this book isn't necessarily surprising and it did feel a bit rushed but I still thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and it still conveyed an intensity that makes the reader devour it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for this amazing ARC 💜

I requested this on behalf of my 11year old daughter.

She wouldn't quite give me a review, but for me- she really isn't in to reading and this is the first book in years I've witnessed her start and finish. She gave me a casual "Yeh it was good" in response to me asking her for a review.

She said she would definitely read a book by this author again.

So I think it's a solid 5 stars from her (and from me for getting her to read!!!) *****

The story of Savannah's curse, passed down through generations of women and destined to kill her before her time, is one of the most compelling stories I've read for a long time. As a metaphor for intergenerational trauma it is haunting and a must read for young adults.

When I start thinking about my review for books I always like to think “what did I NOT like” first because that’s usually the easiest thing to think of. With Blood to Poison when I asked myself that question I had nothing!
Blood to Poison manages to weave a tale of a cursed girl, simmering (and at times boiling) coming of age anger, generational trauma and magic, into a well paced, intense, interesting story that I couldn’t get enough of.

Amazing read, truly memorable.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my feedback.

Mary Watson is a writer of great skill, and unsurprisingly, Blood to Poison sings with blood and magic. This rich, vibrant story of a girl living in the shadow of a curse, and the delicate balance of personal stakes and the weight and brutality of intergenerational trauma makes for an impactful and compelling read. Female agency, and the different shapes that seeking autonomy and power can take, the need to feel safe within your home and skin, and the desire to make sense of the world around you provide the backbone and Watson's facility for building magical systems that feel grounded in grit and folklore as well as plots that keep the reader in suspense without ever feeling contrived or inorganic combine to form a book that is hard to put down and harder to forget.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an EARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.
"'Don't poke the bear.' What if the bear pokes you first?"
Blood to Poison is a tale of generational trauma, female anger and the power of finding your people, set against the background of South Africa's Cape Town, it takes myth and magic and blends it effortlessly with an urban setting in a way that makes it truly believable. Part mystery and part magica., coming for age, it really was a joy to read and I am surprised by how little buzz I have heard about it. It truly is a standout of my reading year so far.
You wouldn't think an urban fantasy could conjure up an atmosphere so vivid and vibrant, but the author does such a great job at featuring settings that are so sensual and brilliant that you cannot help but be drawn in.
The characters have so much anger and faults that are so deeply human and believable and their relationships are strained at times which really just adds to the believability. I loved the family element of this book and it truly did feel like a little community.
There are definitely some harder to read scenes and themes in this book so check content warnings, I do think things were handled with care and only included where it made senses to the plot and weren't used for shock factor. The mystery did still keep my on my toes and paired with the writing and pacing, I sped through this one.
Definitely check this book out, I will be looking at this authors previous books too.

Blood to Poison is an enchanting fantasy novel set in Cape Town, South Africa. Savannah is the latest woman in her family to take on 'Hella's curse'; powerful angry magic that seems to be consuming her and the city she lives in.

I'm not generally a fantasy reader, but I chose this ARC because of its location, which I know well. Cape Town felt like the perfect setting for angry magic, and the writers use of Afrikaans and Capetonian slang throughout connected so well to the story. The re-envisioning of Green Market Square was perfect.

It took me a while to get into it but once I did, I was hooked and didn't want it to end. I will definitely recommend this to friends who have been to Cape Town and I'm really hoping there will be a sequel.

Thanks Bloomsbury and Mary Watson for the ARC!