Anointed by Blood by Edith Ryder
What's It About?
When Neave Ashcombe goes to get her fortune told, she’s not expecting to hear that she’s a witchling. All she wants is a clue to her mother’s whereabouts after six months of fruitless searching. But it turns out there may be a magical connection to her mother’s disappearance — and if Neave gains the ability to perform magic, she may be able to find her.
Even with magic, things aren’t as simple as they may seem. For every witch, there is a dydimogens — a man who serves as the source of her power. Without a dydimogens to fuel her magic, Neave’s powers will fade. The clock is ticking — Neave only has a matter of weeks to bind with a dydimogens before she loses the chance to gain her magic.
Neave thinks she’s out of the woods when she meets Lachlan, the son of a powerful witch and already well-familiar with the world of magic. But Lachlan has motivations of his own; he’s sick of living in a world where men are unable to perform magic, left to be used as batteries by the witches they serve. His brother Jack, meanwhile, doesn’t share Lachlan’s ambitions — in fact, he wants nothing to do with magic at all. But when a disastrous mistake leaves Lachlan facing a terrible fate, Neave and Jack join forces in the hopes of rescuing Lachlan from the clutches of a curse — and from himself.
A DESCENT INTO DARK MAGIC
Edith Ryder has a gift for sowing the seeds of discord in her writing. While at first the magical society of Anointed by Blood may seem benign, things soon take a darker turn. Goblins have grievances with witches; fairies are persecuted. With so much strife, this fractured society is the perfect breeding ground for a radical new group of magic users, ready to impose their authority with an iron fist. By establishing the complicated politics of the witching world, Ryder leaves a proverbial trail of breadcrumbs for readers to follow, hinting at the misfortune that’s about to befall the characters.
A particularly satisfying payoff is Lachlan’s descent into the world of dark magic. Ryder reveals early on that the relationship between witches and their dydimogens are far from equal. For women, the bond provides the strength to perform incredible feats of magic. But for men, it heralds an existence of weakness and pain as their energy is slowly leeched away. It stands to reason that it was only a matter of time before one dydimogens decided to change his lot in life, no matter the consequences.
Another notable part of Anointed by Blood is the setting itself. Ryder transforms modern-day London into a world of enchantment; from an evening at the underground goblin market to a nightclub populated by supernatural creatures, magic can be found around every corner, within every nook and cranny. Altogether, the book’s different elements combine to create a plot-driven story full of suspense and adventure. As the action accelerates throughout the story and the stakes grow higher, readers will be swept away on a journey of forbidden magic, complete with a missing persons case and one haunting question: to what lengths would you go on a quest for power?
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