The Wtichfinder's Sister ~ Beth Underdown (earc) review [@bethunderdown ‏@penguinrandom]

The Witchfinder's Sister
Ballantine Books
April 25, 2017
304 pages
add to Goodreadsf/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

'VIVID AND TERRIFYING' Paula Hawkins, author of The Girl on the Train

The number of women my brother Matthew killed, so far as I can reckon it, is one hundred and six...

1645. When Alice Hopkins' husband dies in a tragic accident, she returns to the small Essex town of Manningtree, where her brother Matthew still lives.

But home is no longer a place of safety. Matthew has changed, and there are rumours spreading through the town: whispers of witchcraft, and of a great book, in which he is gathering women's names.

To what lengths will Matthew's obsession drive him?
And what choice will Alice make, when she finds herself at the very heart of his plan?



'A richly told and utterly compelling tale, with shades of Hilary Mantel' Kate Hamer, author of The Girl in the Red Coat

'Anyone who liked Cecilia Ekback's Wolf Winter is going to love this' Natasha Pulley, author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street

'Beth Underdown grips us from the outset and won't let go...at once a feminist parable and an old-fashioned, check-twice-under-the-bed thriller' Patrick Gale, author of Notes from an Exhibition

'A tense, surprising and elegantly-crafted novel' Ian McGuire, author of The North Water

'Beth Underdown cleverly creates a compelling atmosphere of dread and claustrophobia... Even from the distance of nearly four hundred years, her Matthew Hopkins is a genuinely frightening monster' Kate Riordan

The Witchfinder's Sister is different than other novels about witch hunts or witch trials from the very beginning: rather than being about the accused or the accuser, it's character is the sister of the man to whom people take all of those accusations. It offers a different perspective than other books I have read focused on similar events and also allows readers and outside view of those who are accused or making the accusations. It's at once both more objective and that much more personal.

We see how Alice and Matthew's relationship was when they were children - how they were with each other, how other's treated him - and know that relationship is now very strained, without at first having a the full reason why. Knowing both how they were and how they are let's us infer more about both of them while also adding an element of uncertainty, maybe even danger, to Alice's tale.

This novel does an excellent job portraying of what little concern women - especially those who were not your mother or your wife - were to men at the time. Through the different accusations made against women, most especially when we learn what they're for and the circumstances around which they came to be - as well as how people react, what they'll believe, if they care even if they don't, etc we really get the bigger picture, too.

You can understand much more, after reading The Witchfinder's Sister, how so many women came to be accused of witchcraft, why other women were often their accusers and how things could spread so quickly. Having Matthew at the center of things, and viewed through his sister Alice, suggests some possible reasons (historically accurate or not) why someone would help fan these fears and doubts. You can see why people didn't try to calm things, why there was the hysteria.

I would not have assumed this was Beth Underdown's debut novel; it is well researched with fantastic characters. The characters and the historical setting work together to give us a tale both fitting within the period but with great modern day relevance. I am very much looking forward to more from this author.








digital review copy received from publisher, via NetGalley

Bad Blood ~ Demitria Lunetta ((earc) review [@demitrialunetta @DelacortePress]

Bad Blood
Delacorte Press
March 14, 2017
272 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

A girl discovers a family secret and a past full of magic that could both save her and put her in mortal danger in this suspenseful novel that’s perfect for fans of Katie Alender and Natasha Preston.

All sixteen-year-old Heather MacNair wants is to feel normal, to shed the intense paranoia she’s worn all year like a scratchy sweater. After her compulsion to self-harm came to light, Heather was kept under her doctor’s watchful eye. Her family thinks she’s better—and there’s nothing she wants more than for that to be true. She still can’t believe she’s allowed to spend her summer vacation as she always does: at her aunt’s home in Scotland, where she has lots of happy memories. Far away from all her problems save one: she can’t stop carving the Celtic knot that haunts her dreams into her skin.

Good friends and boys with Scottish accents can cure almost anything…except nightmares. Heather can’t stop dreaming about two sisters from centuries ago, twins Prudence and Primrose, who somehow seem tied to her own life. Their presence lurks just beneath the surface of her consciousness, sending ripples through what should be a peaceful summer. The twins might hold the key to putting Heather’s soul at rest…or they could slice her future deeper than any knife.

The premise of Bad Blood and all that goes into it is a lot of fun and very intriguing. The main character, Heather, feels a compulsion to cut herself (there maybe should be a warning on this for those who self-harm; it isn't glossed over or portrayed abstractly), even after her stay in Great Lakes Wellness Center. It's something she can sometimes control, but not always - nor does she always wish to do so. There may be a more supernatural element to what she does - or at least why - though.

Adding in her trip to Scotland, the things afflicting her aunt and grandmother, and her nightmares about two twin sisters, Prudence and Primrose, who lived and died centuries ago and it is a very original tale.

I loved that the book really felt set in Scotland. We didn't have characters waxing poetic about the beauty of the land, so it wasn't overdone but it also didn't feel written by someone who'd only researched Scotland. Heather spends her summers in Edinburgh and you feel that she really knows the city.

That we are able to experience things from both Prudence and Primrose's points of view gives readers a better understanding of who the sisters were and what their relationship was like, which only makes some of the latter revelations better. (Or harder/more painful, I suppose.)

By the end, I didn't feel that we knew Heather as well as I would have liked. Her love of filmmaking and who she was beyond the dreams, the compulsions and the paranoia seemed somewhat ignored. As the book was so focused on the here and now, on the immediacy of the threat(s), I didn't mind much but would have liked to know her better.  Her personality does shine through in her talks with her parents, especially. We do learn some great things about her friends and they're a lot of fun.

Bad Blood is a fun, enticing read full of magic, family, Scotland, and history and I recommend it.





digital copy received, for review, thanks to publisher via NetGalley

The Bone Witch ~ Rin Chupeco (earc) review [@SourcebooksFire @rinchupeco]

The Bone Witch (The Bone Witch #1)
Sourcebooks Fire
March 07, 2017
400 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

The beast raged; it punctured the air with its spite. But the girl was fiercer.

Tea is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy makes her a bone witch, who are feared and ostracized in the kingdom. For theirs is a powerful, elemental magic that can reach beyond the boundaries of the living—and of the human.

Great power comes at a price, forcing Tea to leave her homeland to train under the guidance of an older, wiser bone witch. There, Tea puts all of her energy into becoming an asha, learning to control her elemental magic and those beasts who will submit by no other force. And Tea must be strong—stronger than she even believes possible. Because war is brewing in the eight kingdoms, war that will threaten the sovereignty of her homeland…and threaten the very survival of those she loves.

The Bone Witch does a fantastic job combining pieces reminiscent of folklore, mythology and history of other cultures (from ancient Greece to Japan to the Middle East) with things wholly original to create its world. It is just familiar enough to help you imagine things but exciting because so much is new.

The asha in this book made me think a bit of geisha who could also do magic and who were skilled in combat, as well; I loved it. The use of rune magic, of glamours and spells, and the different things an asha was required to learn, along with the dangers they faced made for a thrilling, magical world. I liked, too, that the magic wasn't used for technology. That it was all so, literally, elemental really fit with and further solidified the feeling, the ambiance of Tea's world.

How the story is told, with a 'now,' that starts the novel and is then located between chapters, but takes place after the main narrative really builds the intrigue. It lets you in - just barely - on enough that you want to, need to know how things got to that point, while leaving out specifics and keeping you guessing. It really makes you want to get to the end and find out how that beginning came to be!

That said, there are still some things I do not know or do not quite understand. Some was, likely, because readers haven't been given that information, yet but some may be things I didn't quite understand all of. Nonetheless, I am really eager to see what happens in the next book. A lot happens to Tea in this first book: from that young girl, at home,  mourning her brother to the young woman, with the beast on the beach who begins telling that young girl's story. Through her we not only learn about the asha, the different kingdoms, the beliefs and magic of a world with witches and rune magic, but a lot about Tea, as well.

I want to finish finding out how she became the one commanding a daeva on the beach and what, all of what, lead her there; and, I absolutely want to know what she'll do next - and what it will mean.







digital copy received for review, from publisher, via NetGalley

The King Slayer ~ Virginia Boecker (earc) review [@lbkids @virgboecker]

The King Slayer (The Witch Hunter #2)
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
June 14, 2016
368 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

An action-packed and suspenseful sequel to The Witch Hunter, perfect for fans of Graceling and the Grisha Trilogy.

"I think, in time, you'll either be my greatest mistake or my greatest victory."

Former witch hunter Elizabeth Grey is hiding within the magically protected village of Harrow, evading the price put on her head by Lord Blackwell, the usurper king of Anglia. Their last encounter left Blackwell ruined, but his thirst for power grows stronger every day. He's readying for a war against those who would resist his rule--namely Elizabeth and the witches and wizards she now calls her allies.

Having lost her stigma, a magical source of protection and healing, Elizabeth's strength is tested both physically and emotionally. War always means sacrifice, and as the lines between good and evil blur once more, Elizabeth must decide just how far she'll go to save those she loves.

"[Filled] with everything a good fantasy book needs: swords, poison, black magic, and betrayal."--April Tucholke, author of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, on The Witch Hunter

In the very beginning of The King Slayer I didn't remember who the characters were, aside form Elizabeth. I remembered things that had been done, but couldn't match up those characters with these names. As the story progressed, though, because it was so well done and the characters so well written, I came to remember who they were, but more than that, I cared about them for what was happening now. It really deepened my connection with all of them.

I liked that the beginning of The King Slayer is what it was. It was a nice, almost calm way of bringing readers back into the story while still keeping an edge of tension and letting you know that things are about to come, likely dangerous things.

The King Slayer is at least as exciting as the first book. We are now seeing a whole new side of Anglia and they're all facing a new set of challenges and dangers with Lord Blackwell as king, but it's still those characters we came to love (or hate) in The Witch Hunter. I liked seeing how Elizabeth had to adjust to this new role, this new life. She was a witch hunter and is now aiding the witches and wizards. (Plus, I still love Fifer and Schuyler.)

There were times in the book when I was sure the characters were up to something, that there was no way they would let what was happening actually happen and times when I didn't realize they were up to something. Even when I knew (or really, really hoped) they had a plan, I didn't have it figured out. I loved the way you could know something was about to happen, but not what. Whether it was a plan of Elizabeth's that likely wouldn't go completely as planned or something from another character, I loved how things could be unexpected yet then still make so much sense.

I love the characters of The Witch Hunter books, the world they live in, all that they do and all that happens to them. This series is thrilling, exciting, action-filled, at times humorous, at others romantic and always, always a great read.







received for review from publisher, via NetGalley

The Witch Hunter ~ Virginia Boecker (arc) review [@virgboecker @thenovl @lbkids]

The Witch Hunter
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
June 2, 2015
368 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depository/or Amazon

The magic and suspense of Graceling meet the political intrigue and unrest of Game of Thrones in this riveting fantasy debut.

Your greatest enemy isn't what you fight, but what you fear.

Elizabeth Grey is one of the king's best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice. But when she's accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to burn at the stake.

Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can break the deadly curse that's been laid upon him.

But Nicholas and his followers know nothing of Elizabeth's witch hunting past--if they find out, the stake will be the least of her worries. And as she's thrust into the magical world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and one all-too-handsome healer, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate.

Virginia Boecker weaves a riveting tale of magic, betrayal, and sacrifice in this unforgettable fantasy debut.

Virginia Boecker's The Witch Hunter is a fantastic, magic and witch filled fantasy adventure. In the very beginning, I did think of Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. Yes because of the similar name but also for the historical-but-somehow-shinier feel.

The novel definitely fits into the time period it's set, but the story and the characters also transcend that. There are a few things that feel more modern, but because of how they're included, it seems to work.

I really liked Elizabeth's character from the beginning. We see her as a witch hunter, one of the best, but we also see that she's making mistakes - and she knows it. It's why she's slipping up that's the question . . . and if she can stop.

Then, she's accused of being a witch, arrested and sentenced to die and things get even better. Nicholas Perevil comes into her life just as she believes it's ending and things change for Elizabeth. I thought that the changes in Elizabeth's character were done very well. It wasn't sudden nor did it feel forced. We know about her life prior to her imprisonment so it's easy to understand how she felt. Now, as circumstances change, as new facts are revealed, she has to reexamine things.

I loved that any changes in her were done gradually and that we got to hear her questioning herself and the best course of action.

I really liked how magic was included in The Witch Hunter. There were the more dramatic scenes, but also those that showed how it could be more commonplace, more everyday. It made it easy to see how it was a part of the characters' daily lives.

The romance fits nicely in the story. It doesn't stick out, it doesn't overwhelm the characters or their thoughts or actions, it just works. It's not overdone.

I loved Elizabeth, Nicholas and the other characters she encounters as well as how the world of The Witch Hunter works. I liked that it was mostly Elizabeth's choices, her actions and decisions that made her 'special' not something arbitrary or by birth, etc.

It is the first book in a series but the ending wraps things up nicely. Though there are more than enough plot lines, questions and parts of character relationships there to have me eagerly anticipating Book 2, if you don't like cliffhangers this is a series book to read.




Other Books You Might Also Enjoy: the Steampunk Chroincles (Book 1 review) by Kady Cross and Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini





arc received though NOVL newsletter, thank you to the publisher

The Witch of Painted Sorrows ~ M.J. Rose (earc) review [@mjrose @AtriaBooks]

The Witch of Painted Sorrows (The Daughters of La Lune)
Atria
March 17, 2015
384 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from TBD/Amazon

Possession. Power. Passion. New York Times bestselling novelist M. J. Rose creates her most provocative and magical spellbinder yet in this gothic novel set against the lavish spectacle of 1890s Belle Époque Paris.

Sandrine Salome flees New York for her grandmother’s Paris mansion to escape her dangerous husband, but what she finds there is even more menacing. The house, famous for its lavish art collection and elegant salons, is mysteriously closed up. Although her grandmother insists it’s dangerous for Sandrine to visit, she defies her and meets Julien Duplessi, a mesmerizing young architect. Together they explore the hidden night world of Paris, the forbidden occult underground and Sandrine’s deepest desires.

Among the bohemians and the demi-monde, Sandrine discovers her erotic nature as a lover and painter. Then darker influences threaten—her cold and cruel husband is tracking her down and something sinister is taking hold, changing Sandrine, altering her. She’s become possessed by La Lune: A witch, a legend, and a sixteenth-century courtesan, who opens up her life to a darkness that may become a gift or a curse.

This is Sandrine’s “wild night of the soul,” her odyssey in the magnificent city of Paris, of art, love, and witchery.

M.J. Rose's The Witch of Painted Sorrows paints a beautiful, seductive portrait of Paris in the 1890s. Our character Sandrine is different, from the start, from most women of the time period. Growing up in New York she had a father who embraced her learning and her love of art.

When Sandrine's beloved father dies and she lays fault at her (much less than beloved) husband's feet, she escapes to Paris. Her plans to stay at the mansion of her grandmother, a famous courtesan, fall apart when she finds the house closed up, her grandmother not in residence.

It's why her grandmother has left h home, why sh thinks it dangerous for Sandrine to be in Paris that bring about the first questions.

The Witch of Painted Sorrows is far from the first book to have a character change and have the other characters worry for them, to see those changes as for the worse. Yet, it is the first, insofar as I can remember, where I can understand that character when they wonder, "Why is this not for the better? Why am I not better like this?" So many books I have wanted to knock some sense into characters when they couldn't see the wrongness of who they were becoming. With Sandrine, you can understand.

Belle Époque Paris is a great time period and the author really enhancing the story - and your love of the setting - by adding real characters and places from the time.

Sandrine's relationship with Julien develops very nicely. Readers can easily see why Sandrine is embracing the changes in herself and the parts of Paris he introduces her to are essential to the story and her character's development. The way we learn more of the why behind her grandmother's fears after seeing changes in Sandrine is perfect. Even as readers begin to understand there may be some basis for the worry others have for Sandrine, they also see how that change is benefiting her.

The setting of 1890s Paris, the history (and mystery) of the past, how it all affects Sandrine, the romance and Sandrine's character all combine for an unforgettable tale.  This may be a series and I hope so. I would love to learn more about Sandrine or the time period or even any of the Daughters of La Lune.








digital copy received for review from publisher, via NetGalley

Whisper the Dead ~ Alyxandra Harvey (earc) review [@bloomsburykids @alyxandrah]

Whisper the Dead (Lovegrove Legacy #2)
Bloomsbury USA Children's
October 7, 2014
408 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depo/or Amazon

See my review of A Breath of Frost (Lovegrove Legacy #1) here to find out how the story starts meet the cousins as they discover their magic

Cousins Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope are all dealing with what it means to be a Lovegrove. For Gretchen, it means she often feels like her head is going to explode. As a Whisperer, Gretchen constantly hears the whispers of other witches' spells. And while this does help her to know when one of her own spells is going wrong, the incessant buzzing and pain the whispers cause makes it difficult to use her gift.

But when something evil begins to menace Mayfair, Gretchen must find a way to master her power. Along with her cousins, a madcap named Moira, and the icy yet irresistible Tobias Lawless, Gretchen faces deadly threats and unimaginable loss in the hopes of preventing the terrible Greymalkin Sisters from rising again.

The second book in The Lovegrove Legacy trilogy, Whisper the Dead will leave readers spellbound.

In the same way that A Breath of Frost focused more on Emma and her life, Whisper the Dead is more Gretchen-centric. While focusing more on one particular, different character for each of a series' books isn't something new, how Alyxandra Harvey does it feels different. This was Gretchen's story, but not at the expense of the other characters. Their lives are so intertwined, their bond so strong and each of them so much a part of the others' lives, that readers won't feel their characters are neglected.

The increased attention on Gretchen, her personal life and relationships is done so subtly, so seamlessly that it's only if you're really paying attention or looking back after finishing the novel that you realize more happened with her character. It may be my favorite example of 'Book 1 is Character A's book, Book 2 is Character B's book, etc.'

With all of the main characters so involved throughout the story, you also don't forget who they are, what you love about them or how they're apart of the characters' lives and world. At the end of Whisper the Dead, you'll only love all of the characters - new ones included - more than you already did. Or, you know, despise them if that was the plan.

Set in Regency London, the characters, events and word choice of the Lovegrove Legacy books will pull readers right into the time period. Even while the cousins spend most of the book flouting nearly all of the social norms of the time. Their defiance of the customs somehow makes them feel more apart of the period rather than less.

In Whisper the Dead, with Gretchen being more at the forefront, we see more of some characters who were part of A Breath of Frost but not as centrally. We have a better understanding of who they are and the part they play. We also get to see different sides of some of the characters we met in the first book. It's particularly enjoyable how they all come together, in their own ways, to play a part in the story. No one sticks out or doesn't fit.

Especially once the action really kicks in towards the end of the novel, this is one book you will not want to put down. It is great fun seeing the girls learn more about their magic and how to use it - and, perhaps, not use it. This magical London that the author has created is very inventive, unique and fun to read about. Some of the more usual magical ideas are present but most is new and so creative and fun.

The characters and the magic combine for an ending that is oh so good, but also has me ready to count down the days until the third book's release. Though I do wish there were going to be more than the three books.





review copy received from the publisher, through NetGalley, for review

Trial by Fire ~ Josephine Angelini (earc) review [@josieangelini @FeiwelFriends]

Trial by Fire (The Worldwalker Trilogy #1)
Feiwel & Friends
September 2, 2014
384 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depo/or Amazon

This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying experiences that others in her hometown of Salem take for granted, which is why she is determined to enjoy her first high school party with her best friend and longtime crush, Tristan. But after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class, Lily wishes she could just disappear.

Suddenly, Lily is in a different Salem—one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruelest of them all is Lillian . . . Lily's other self in this alternate universe.

What makes Lily weak at home is what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. In this confusing world, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can't hope to shoulder alone and a love she never expected.

I started Trial by Fire a while after getting it on NetGalley, so I had mostly forgotten what it was about, except that it was a paranormal tale. I'm glad I didn't refresh my memory prior to starting it.

While the beginning did not draw me in and worried me that it was going to be some kind of cheesy story, it's a necessary part of the book. Once we move past that introduction, Trial by Fire becomes a more enjoyable read. (The beginning also helps us understand Lily and the differences in the worlds in a way that wouldn't have been possible without it.)

Once Lily is in her new surroundings and we're introduced to some of the new characters, Trial by Fire is much more readable and entertaining. It is a world, that in some ways, mirrors our own, but is vastly, vastly different. I really enjoyed the 'why's behind some of the differences. Some was due to it being a world with magic, but some changes were brought on by that magic's influence. I enjoyed that we see some of both the good and bad effects of the magic as well as how the society functions.

Though I did like Lily more after the 'our world' beginning, she was probably my least favorite character. Her 'allergies' and how the affect her, was something that set her apart. How she reacted at times, however, was just annoying. More so when they were less of a problem, actually.

Lily's character is vegan, which  fine. Whatever. But her reasoning behind it didn't seem to make much sense when it became a hindrance to the story, characters and their safety. It may have been another necessary thing, like the beginning of the book.

Despite not really liking Lily - she could be quite immature and uppity - I liked her relationships with the other characters. Some was the strength of the other characters, some that when she wasn't alone, thinking about things or trying to prove herself, I rather liked Lily.

Rowan is easily my favorite character here. He has an interesting background which not only serves to create a compelling character and story, but where it puts him with Lily is also enjoyable. I like his skepticism, the troubles his past presents, and that he doesn't have it all figured out.

There are also some secondary characters that I worry may not be a part of Book 2. I really enjoyed their contribution this time around and hope we haven't seen the last of them.

After an opening that didn't quite work, Trial by Fire becomes a fun, exciting and easy to read story. The main character, Lily, can be off-putting but as a whole there's great chemistry between the characters (Lily included) is great.The roles the characters play along with their history - and that of their world - come together for a great read and I'm anxious to see what happens next.









thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my egalley for review

Hexed ~ Michelle Krys (earc) review [@MichelleKrys @randomhousekids]

Hexed (The Witch Hunters #1)
Delacorte Press
June 10, 2014
384 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depo/or Amazon

If high school is all about social status, Indigo Blackwood has it made. Sure, her quirky mom owns an occult shop, and a nerd just won’t stop trying to be her friend, but Indie is a popular cheerleader with a football-star boyfriend and a social circle powerful enough to ruin everyone at school. Who wouldn’t want to be her?

Then a guy dies right before her eyes. And the dusty old family Bible her mom is freakishly possessive of is stolen. But it’s when a frustratingly sexy stranger named Bishop enters Indie’s world that she learns her destiny involves a lot more than pom-poms and parties. If she doesn’t get the Bible back, every witch on the planet will die. And that’s seriously bad news for Indie, because according to Bishop, she’s a witch too.

Suddenly forced into a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerers, Indie’s about to uncover the many dark truths about her life—and a future unlike any she ever imagined on top of the cheer pyramid.

Hexed - main character, Indigo, especially - and I had an interesting time. The novel was billed as 'The Craft meets Bring It On' which drew me to it immediately. I wasn't sure how those two, quite disparate stories, could 'meet;' I definitely wanted to find out. At first, I didn't see it and was, honestly, kind of annoyed by Indigo. She was supposed to be a smart girl but she was letting someone else decide her life.

Once the supernatural element was introduced into the story, however, things got better.

The mix of the Los Angeles setting, the cheer squad, and the magic is quite different but also really fun. There's the definite mean girl, cheerleader aspect while there's also possible - if not likely - mortal danger.

In fact, it made me think of Buffy more than The Craft or Bring It On. As Indie learned of who - what? - she truly was, she had to avert disaster while on school grounds, trying to maintain her 'normal' identity. Add in Bishop who could be the Luke Perry character from the Buffy just updated and in a different role . . . There was not quite the same level of snark and wit as Buffy, but Indie was a cheerleader dealing with supernatural things that put her in danger and that needed to remain secret.

The nearer the story got to the end, the more you could feel both the tension and the suspense. Even when something seemed to be resolved and/or danger averted, you could never be too sure. There was almost always something waiting just around the corner (or page turn).

After a rough start, Hexed was really a very fun read. Some of the characters changed in ways that could have been explained/drawn out/developed more but as those changes were for the better of the story, I didn't mind.  I am looking forward to seeing where Michelle Krys takes Indie, Bishop and the rest of the characters and the story in Book 2.  Hexed is a fast-paced, tension filled ride with just the right amount of emotion and magic thrown in.


Rating: 7/10

Other books you might also enjoy: Earthbound by Aprilynne Pike and Hex Hall series by Rachel Hawkins






thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my copy to review

A Breath of Frost ~ Alyxandra Harvey (earc) review [@AlyxandraH @BWKids]

A Breath of Frost (The Lovegrove Legacy #1)
Walker Children's
January 7, 2014
496 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depo/or Amazon

In 1814, three cousins—Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope—discover their family lineage of witchcraft when a binding spell is broken, allowing their individual magical powers to manifest. Now, beyond the manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, an alluring underworld available only to those with power is revealed to the cousins. By claiming their power, the three cousins have accidentally opened the gates to the underworld. [. . .]

By unknowingly unlocking their magical abilities, the girls have not only opened an entire, previously unknown, world, full of magic, spells and creatures, but put themselves in danger as well.

Now they have so much more to worry about than simply  navigating parties and society as debutantes. Hiding in the library (Gretchen), looking for the most suitable dance partner (Penelope) and staying out of sight (Emma) isn't going to be the easiest way to get by any more. Not with the bodies of dead girls appearing, ones that Emma keeps finding. And dangerous warlock sisters , thought to be gone, now back and wreaking havoc.

If they can keep themselves safe, if Emma can figure out the forever hot and cold actions of Cormac, then maybe they can figure out their new-found magic . . . and the murders.


The Drake Chronicles series, Stolen Away and Haunting Violet have made it pretty clear that I love Alyxandra Harvey's storytelling but A Breath of Frost was really something else. That same spark, humor and wit that I love from her characters was definitely present once again. While it was Regency London and the plot seemed to hold true (while involving witchcraft), the characters - the female characters, especially - had that little extra something separating them from the status quo.

The girls aren't so different that they seem modern day or out of place, but they also have a bit more audacity, maybe more mettle than one might expect. It makes them and the story superb.

Emma, Penelope and Gretchen are not Lucy and Solange from Harvey's Drake Chronicles series but that strong friendship, that almost sisterly bond that was done so well in that series is present with the cousins here. It's different as they are different characters in a different setting, situation but the love, the fierceness of their will to protect each other is there. It's a bond I hope to see grow over the series.

Much of the novel focuses on Emma and her story - with her mother, with Cormac and with her magic. We learn a lot about her in this first book, some things that are easier to see coming than others. It will definitely be interesting to see how each of the things that happened, that she uncovered affects her, the other characters and the story down the road.

The glimpses we got into the other girls lives very much left me wanting to know more about them - and wondering if we'll find out even a third as many secrets as we did with Emma. (Penelope's character and what we saw with her has me especially intrigued.)

Cormac and his sisters are kind of a fantastic addition to the story. His sisters were not a big part of the story but I loved the little bits that they were in it and hope that was not all we will see of them.

As for the plot, it's kind of really great. With witches, warlocks, society, societies, madcaps, gargoyles, enchantments, and familiars all with family drama, school, possible mean girls and confusing boys, A Breath of Frost has it all. Alyxandra Harvey weaves a brilliant tale, told at a great pace that connects readers with all of the characters and the (slightly modified?) Regency London world they're living in.  You'll love not only where things end up but how it got there -- all while eagerly waiting to see where they things go next.

My review is really long already but it needs to end with this: Alyxandra Harvey's books? <3


Ratiing: 10/10


You may also enjoy: Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey and Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton


digital galley received for review, via NetGalley, thanks to publisher


I think my WOW post for this has it listed as Moonlight and Madness and/or Witching Season: Stormcaster so I'm listing those just for search purposes :)

The Blood Keeper ~ Tessa Gratton (earc) review

The Blood Keeper (The Blood Journals #2)
Random House Books for Young Readers
August 28, 2012
432 pages
add to Goodreads/add to Book Depo/or Amazon

Mab Prowd's grown up on a secluded farm in Kansas. For her, having no friends (outside the family) and not attending school is no sacrifice as living there also means learning the blood magic they've practiced for generations. With only her crows as companions, Mab loves being able to practice her magic freely, without constraint or condemnation.

One day, though, a spell, quite literally, gets away from her.

And to Will.

Will who's trying to get rid of some of his own kind of demons: nightmares. Thrust into an experience - with Mab and her magic - he's nowhere near ready to comprehend or believe, Will's happy to forget about it.

But the encounter - and things kept from Mab - may bring them together again.


I have to admit that if The Blood Keeper wasn't being offered by Random House as a digital galley, I might not have read - or reviewed - it as soon. I would have been missing out. And so will any of you who wait on this one.

While I did very much enjoy Blood Magic (see my review), it wasn't so much so that it automatically put the sequel at the top of my to-read list. Then I saw an the synopsis (I have a thing for books - especially paranormal ones - set on Midwestern farms) and an excerpt and had to request it.

Everything that I loved about Blood Magic (The Blood Journals #1) was back here, in this second book. It may have just been my association, but the barn and the land around the farm all but compensated for the lake of a cemetery setting this go-round. We still have the darkness, the magic that is not only real but more than just poof'ing yourself into a pretty dress. The Blood Magic is back.

As the blood magic is back, so is the blood. This is, again, not exactly a book for anyone with issues with blood or cutting (your arm/wrist/hand open).

While The Blood Keeper kept everything about Blood Magic that made it a book I very much liked, it also improved on the things that kept me from loving it.

I liked the characters of Nick and Silla, loved how they were parallels of each in many ways but also so similar, too. I just didn''t feel there was quite enough development. The Blood Keeper focuses on two different characters: Will and Mab. Gratton again tells the novel from their two perspectives (interspersed with chapters from an old diary, as in Blood Magic)  but gives them more time on their won, more time for readers to learn who they are. They still interact, there's still a story between the two characters, but the whole story isn't between the two characters.

Where I would say Blood Magic was more of a plot book, The Blood Keeper is much more a character book - without losing any of its great plot.


Rating: 8/10


Other books you might also enjoy: The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff and The Hollow (series) by Jessica Verday

Blood Magic ~ Tessa Gratton review

Blood Magic (The Blood Journals #1)
hardcover:*
Random House Books for Young Readers
May 24, 2011
405 pages
paperback:
Bluefire
May 24, 2012
432 pages
add to Goodreads/buy from Book Depo/or Amazon

hardcover cover

When Silla Kennicott is still grasping for the truth of her parents' death and unwilling to believe what the whole town - her brother included - does about her father, the book shows up.

Full of Latin and spells, written in her father's handwriting, the book was sent to Silla by someone named Deacon. Someone she's never met before and someone she's never heard of, either. Anxious for any connection to her parents and bolstered by the simple seeming nature of the spells, Silla decides to give one a try.

It's in the cemetery, at her parents' graves where she first tries the Blood Magic. A simple incantation, some salt, a few drops of blood . . . but someone may have seen her.

Nick's the new guy in town and soon in Silla's life. When she approaches him about seeing her do the spell, it's clear that it may not have been his first experience with Blood Magic. But is he as ready as Silla to fall back under its spell?


Nick and Silla are great main characters. Both because they are individually interesting characters who bring a lot to the book and because of the way their characters - their personalities, their pasts, their relationships with the magic, etc - mirror and yet parallel each other.

If Nick is dealing with one thing or one person, Silla seems to be dealing with something - or someone - that is somehow almost the same and yet completely different. It's true in their knowledge of and approach to the magic. It's also true of the events that brought them both to the cemetery that night.

paperback cover

It's easy to see how they're so drawn to each other. They have just enough in common to get past each other's defenses but not so much that their relationship ever seems contrived by the author. Despite the, perhaps, unbelievable aspect of the magic that first draws them together, Nick and Silla do seem very believable and real. I do hope that if they show up in the second book that they're a bit stronger, though.

The plot of Blood Magic was probably stronger than the characters. I didn't quite make that connection with them that left me fretting over what would happen to them when danger was present. I wanted to find out what would happen on the other side of things, but I wasn't anxious over what would happen to them.

 Blood Magic does get a lot of points, though, for not shying away from the blood and danger. Also for not making that all it was about, either. Nick and Silla still have their lives at school, their lives at home - both of which have changed quite a bit recently - and they're doing their best to balance those with not only their new possible relationship but also with their magic explorations, also burgeoning.

The magic, the Blood Magic, in Blood Magic isn't 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' magic - or even, really, 'Charmed' magic. It isn't neat and clean. There's definitely some fun and excitement, and Tessa Gratton shows  some pretty fun stuff, but it's also dangerous. The readers are able to see more of that, I think than the characters. Definitely don't check this one out if you mind any blood or, as previously mentioned, danger. Blood Magic isn't afraid to get dark.

I will say that, as this is part of a series - with different characters, I think (a la Stephanie Perkins series) - I was very happy that it had a definitive conclusion and didn't leave things open ended as a lot of series books do.

I'm excited to have started The Blood Keeper (The Blood Journals #2) - thank you Random House and NetGalley - and will have a review of that soon!


Rating: 8/10


*review based off hardcover/done before paperback was released, so I'm including info for both

Burn Mark ~ Laura Powell (eARC) review

Burn Mark
BloomsburyUSA
June 19, 2012
419 pages
add to Goodreads/add to Book Depository/or Amazon

In a world where witches face harsher punishment for the same crimes as their non-witch counterparts and must report to the government for a type of binding, two teens whose lives have been couldn't more different will find themselves linked together. Whether they want to be or not.

Glory is from a family of witches. Witches that live outside the law and practice their magic freely - and she cannot wait for the day she comes into her powers.

Lucas, the son of the son of the Chief Prosecutor for the Inquisition, has no witches in his family. Dating back generations and generations on both his mother's and his father's side - it's a source of pride in their family.

Then, they both become witches on the same day.


As with all books that just did not work for me, I need to start this review by saying that, to give you fair warning in case you wish to go no further. I was terribly interested in Burn Mark because I really do love books about witches and this one added in the element of a governing body seemingly regulating and punishing the witches.

It just couldn't keep my interest, however. Something about it didn't click with me. I had a horrible time keeping my mind from wandering when I was reading it.

It may have been the pacing that was at issue: At the beginning we're given a whole lot of information about the world Lucas, specifically, and Glory live in. While incredibly interesting it all came so quickly that it was hard to retain all of it - and put it all together into a proper idea of what their world was like.

Maybe I need to do what Georgina Kincaid (of Richelle Mead's Succubus Blues) does with her favorite novel - albeit for different reasons - and read only five pages a night. Where in her case it was because she wanted to delay the inevitable finishing, I wonder if a real, true slow reading of this novel would allow me to focus. on. each. word. and. get. all. of. the. information. given.

Maybe. Maybe not.

I do wish that Lucas and Glory had met sooner into the book. The parts of the story that I found strongest - and that worked for me - were the scenes of them together. Yet, they don't meet until about halfway through the novel. If I hadn't been reading this for review, I'm not sure I would have stuck with it for the 200 pages it took to get to that point.

Overall, this book just was not for me, but the idea of the plot really does show promise (it's a bit like Harry Potter in slight way), and the two characters' interactions with each other was good . . . it was just too hard to focus on or get into, though.


Rating: 5/10



Here are some other reviews: Debra's Book Cafe, BookHoundsYA, & Paper Cuts YA




Thank you to Bloomsbury & NetGalley for my e-galley of this title; part of Bloomsbury blog tours

Spellbound ~ Cara Lynn Shultz (eARC) review

Apologies for the fewer posts last week while I wasn't feeling well, but here's a new review:

Spellbound (Spellbound #1)
Harlequin Teen
June 21, 2011
352 pages
Goodreads/Amazon



What's a girl to do when meeting The One means she's cursed to die a horrible death?

Emma Conner has to move to New York City and start over at a new school after some particularly troubling events happen in her life. Worse yet, she's doing it alone. Moving in with her aunt, Emma is starting over at the fancy Prep school her cousin Ashley, two years younger and a freshman, attends.

Desperate for a true fresh start, Emma decides not to tell everyone the true story behind her move to New York (involving her father's leaving when she was young, her mother and brother's deaths, and her unfortunate step-father). But things don't quite go all that easily for Emma anyway.

The head mean girl in the school immediately has Emma on her radar. And there's more than a bit of trouble possible from Anthony, the guy who says he's dated (or done otherwise) with nearly every girl and now wants Emma . . .

But there's also Jenn, the girl who's sometimes nice to her, Angelique the witch (literally) in her class, Cisco who might be a good friend, and Brendan . . . yes, Brendan. The boy who draws her attention every time he walks in to a room.

If only Emma could focus on figuring out Brendan instead of why the popular crowd has it in for her or why streetlights seem to love exploding over her head or why she hears her dead brother's voice warning her in her dreams.



Spellbound is a supernatural book where you can't reveal a ton of what it's about without being too spoiler-y, it is a lot different from other paranormal books I have read (YA and adult both). A lot of the story does hinge on the romance, though - it's a big part of the story, after all. For what ever reason, I never felt any connection(/spark/anything extra special) between Emma and Brendan. That seemed to prevent me from really getting into and enjoying Spellbound. I liked the premise of the book, but since the romance was carrying said premise, it didn't really work that well for me.

I did really like the relationship between Emma and her cousin, Ashley. Emma had a lot going on - either being the new girl and negotiating that or different things later or - but she always seemed to really care about and love her cousin and watch out for her. It was nice to see a female lead in a novel (especially a YA one) not forget about her friends (even if this one was family) once a guy came along.

The secondary characters were all unique and individual. Each of them added something to the story and I liked that while they did help the main characters' story along, they also were interesting in their own right.

Overall, this one didn't really work for me, but that's because I didn't feel the connection between the two main (romantic) lead characters - the other parts of the story I did like.

6/10


thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this

Witches of East End ~ Melissa de la Cruz (arc) review

Witches of East End (Beauchamp Family #1)

Hyperion

June 21, 2011

288 pages
Goodreads/Amazon

Witches of East End is author Melissa de la Cruz's first novel for adults, following her best-selling young adult Blue Bloods series. Joanna Beauchamp and her two daughters Freya and Ingrid and witches living in North Hampton on Long Island . . . witches that have gone centuries without being allowed to practice their magic.

Joanna can't bring people back from the dead or heal them, Ingrid is banned from predicting the future and weaving her knots, and Freya is unable to make her charms and potions.

After centuries, though, these women, who the town doesn't know are witches, each find themselves in a situation where they decide to try using their magic again. Soon they're each practicing again and all is well until a woman goes missing.

The Beauchamp women know it's time to uncover who and what is working against them.

During the first part of the book I wasn't sure if I was already supposed to know these characters, if they had been introduced somewhere else (be it a Blue Bloods book or somewhere else). I felt like the reader just wasn't quite getting the whole story. It felt like we started in the middle of something (and I don't mean the prologue) and went forward without the past explained at all until nearly the end. I think that may have been the plan, though, as this is a series, to slowly reveal the family's history and story and it was just a little too slowly to really engage me (or something).

Witches can be either be an older YA book (with, it should be noted, more than a fair amount of graphic sex) or an adult book. I'm not sure how much the story or the characters overlap with the Blue Bloods series - it was what appealed to me at first, I like the Blue Bloods series, but I"m behind in it - but a few of the characters do appear.

Blue Bloods readers should note however that Witches is more grown up and aimed at a more adult audience than the YA series.

Non Blue Bloods readers or fans don't have to despair, though, the character appearance was small, it was explained who they were and I didn't remember much at all of the Blue Bloods story and did just fine.


The relationship between Ingrid and Freya was nice in this first book, though, given how long they've been sisters/around, I do hope some more of it is developed in the next novels.

This is the first in the series and we now know what everyone can do, the basic gist of how they got to North Hampton, what they're doing now, and the side characters. We still don't know some of the back story and probably the bigger events in their lives (or the finer points of those events) so I hope some of that shows up in future books along with more exploration of interpersonal relationships.

7/10

(won from LibraryThing's Early Reviewers)

The Betrayal of Maggie Blair ~ Elizabeth Laird eARC review

The Betrayal of Maggie Blair
Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

April 18, 2011

435 pages

Amazon/Goodreads/Book Depository

It's 17th-century Scotland and sixteen-year-old Maggie Blair is living with her more than cantankerous grandmother in a cottage. Her grandmother--Maggie's only family--is a midwife who earns the town's ire by believing in superstitions, not attending church, and not being very nice.

When Grammy Elspeth finally pushes the townspeople--and Mr Macbean in particular--too far, she finds herself and Maggie accused on witchcraft.

Maggie is able to escape the death sentence she's given and makes her way to her father's brother, an uncle she's never met and who previously had no knowledge of her existence.

Her new home with Uncle and Aunt Blair should be a refuge for Maggie, but it is not to be. Uncle Blair, his family and the region are embroiled in a religious battle. One that is turning violent.

Will Maggie ever find the life where she's safe and, dare she say it, a little happy?

The Betrayal of Maggie Blair is as much about a young woman's finding herself as it is about witchcraft or relgion--more so, actually. It's similar to Avi's Crispin series, but... girl-er (not girlier, though, really).

If you read any of the Crispin books (or all of them) and found yourself wondering about Aude (the old woman in Cross of Lead) and wanting to know more about her or just wishing there was another book in the same vein as that series, Maggie Blair is your answer.

Grammy Elspeth reminds me in some ways of Aude and since I found Aude interesting it was really nice to read this book that gave Elspeth a little bit of a story/backstory.

The book is really about Maggie, though. It seems like every time she thinks she's got things set and maybe has herself settled, something throws everything into upheaval and she's forced to reexamine things or even start over. It was a lot of fun to read a book that was a coming of age story, historical fiction about a time I really should know more about, and one with suspense and quite a journey.

I do believe I'll be looking for more from author Elizabeth Laird.

8/10

(apologies for not posting this yesterday--apparently just taking my dog to the vet while I'm sick makes me forget things!)

Thank you to NetGalley and HMH for allowing me to read this :)

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane ~ Katherine Howe

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

June 9, 2009

Voice

384 Pages

Hardcover

Amazon

The Physick Book of Delieverance Dane begins with main character Connie Goodwin stessing over the oral exam that will determine whether she will be allowed to continue on as a student for her doctorate. Connie is a historian and the book is about witchcraft and witches (and Connie) so it's not much of a surpirse that this is the first time the subject is broached. But it is done well and doesn't stick out, either, it blends in with the questioning.

With chapters alternating between the late seventeenth/early eighteenth centuries and the summer of 1991, The Physick Book, tells both Deliverance Dane and Connie's story--that of the Salem witches and a modern day historian trying to uncover one of their untold tales.

It's obvious-or at least apparent-that the author herself is a PhD candidate (in American and New England studies), though. Most of the time that is good: the descriptions of the people and times of the 'ancient' chapters were great and all the little details and knowledge of academia and what Connie would encounter in her research did a pot to make the book more enjoyable and realistic. There were a few times, however, that it seemed like there was a little too much...school thrown in? I'm not really sure how to explain it.

The story is kept from being dull by, well, the story. As Connie is on her quest, she's also cleaning up her grandmother's abandoned house for her hippie-ish mother and interacting with some fun secondary characters; it's not just 'research. 1692. research. 1692. repeat'. The tale moves along as well as, or better, than most other books that are not at all informational or historical in the slightest.

The two things I would say detracted from me really, really loving the novel were the author's need to write out accents/dialects (When people had Bostonian accents, they were spelled out- heah instead of here-for entire sentences. The same was true for some of the 16/1700s characters.) While I do think that would be fun for the audio book-which is also available today-most of the time it was just distracting in the print book. Kate Chopin wrote the same way in a few of her stories and it might be that I just have a problem reading things spelled phonetically, but for ways different that I pronounce them. (Some of the writing done from the 16/1700s was spelled...differently and that I was okay with, mostly.)

The only other reason I'm taking any 'points' down is because I wasn't terribly connected to the characters. I know a lot of it was a plot book, but there were still a lot of characters that if part of the story had been they'd jumped off a bridge, I wouldn't have been terribly sad (except for the lack of it making sense). That's not to say there were any of them I didn't like, I just didn't particularly care about them either.

Still, 8/10 because it really is a very enjoyable book and you learn a lot about the Salem witch trials in a very entertaining way :)

Recommended to: fans of Charmed or if you liked Season of the Witch by Natasha Mostert (the subject is actually very different-despite the title-but the writing or something seems complimentary.)

Thank you to Pamela at Voice for this book.

(and this is maybe the coolest looking arc I've received or seen--there's a flap continued over from the back of the book that folds to the front and covers the pages so that the side of the book looks like the pages of an old, worn book-ie matches the cover. It's tricky for me to explain but fun.)