Description

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‘A fiercely compelling, ferocious story’ – Kiran Millwood Hargrave
‘Furious, beautiful, and impossible to put down’ – Katherine Webber
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An epic South African fantasy from award-winning author Mary Watson, for fans of Children of Blood and Bone and The Gilded Ones.

Seventeen-year-old Savannah is cursed. It’s a sinister family heirloom; passed down through the bloodline for hundreds of years, with one woman in every generation destined to die young. The family call them Hella’s girls, named for their ancestor Hella; the enslaved woman with whom it all began. Hella’s girls are always angry, especially in the months before they die.

The anger is bursting from Savannah – at the men who cat-call her in the street, at her mother’s disingenuous fiance, even at her own loving family. Each fit of rage is bringing her closer to the edge and now Savannah has to act to save herself. Or die trying. Because the key to survival lies in the underbelly of Cape Town, where the sinister veilwitches are waiting for just such a girl.

Blood to Poison is a furious and mesmerising story about discovering magic, historical rage and love in all its guises.

Publisher Review

I read this book in one sitting. I literally couldn't put it down! Watson builds an incredibly vivid world oozing with magic, excitement and danger. My heart didn't stop racing until the very last word * Jasbinder Bilan * I flew through this book. It's a gripping exploration and vindication of anger, rooted in South African history... Read this one for witches, a family curse, falling for a childhood friends, girls both expressing and claiming their fury, and a magical Cape Town * Samantha Shannon * A compulsive read. It has everything a bestselling YA novel needs: secret societies, deliciously evil villains, love, and enough twists to keep you gasping from beginning to end * Sally Partridge * A gripping, immersive story, and a powerful vindication of female anger, Blood to Poison is a stunning read * Louise O'Neill * Furious, beautiful, and impossible to put down * Katherine Webber * Bold, visceral, and alive, from the hidden magic swirling under the everyday and mundane, to the slow unfolding of the depth of the curse and fight to break it ... an absolute gut-punch of a novel * Melinda Salisbury * Mary Watson is a writer of great skill, and unsurprisingly, Blood to Poison sings with blood and magic... hard to put down and harder to forget. * Deirdre Sullivan *