Saturday 16 February 2013

Born Wicked (#1 Cahill Witch Chronicles) - Jessica Spotswood; Review.


Book Details:
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Puffin (7 Feb 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0141342110
ISBN-13: 978-0141342115

Summary: 
Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

Links To Buy:





Rating:


Review:
Born Wicked was a bundle of surprises, in more than one way. I’m not a fan of witch stories. Or historical fiction. Or the idea of brotherhood. So I should have disliked this book right? Wrong.

Going in to this wary but certainly not cynical, I was surprised by how it won me over. Let me tell you why. AND YOU MUST LISTEN AND APPROVE OF IT WITH ME OKAY?

So many things caught me off guard in this book. Starting with Cate – a character who I loved identifying with, she has everything going for her as far as likeability of characters goes. She’s strong, fierce, loving, and willing to sacrifice for her two sisters – a trait I value and want to see more of in upcoming young adult novels. Adding sisters and making them a core part of the story was a really nice touch. It reminds me of the TV programme Charmed that I was obsessed with as a child; which similarly revolved around 3 witch sisters. Anything that can dredge up memories of that show, obviously, is pretty awesome.

Throw in the era of heightened fear and uncertainty regarding witches and anything remotely out of place and you land yourself in a time bomb time period akin to the Salem Witch Trials. I grew in to the setting, thanks to the way Spotswood eased you with her writing that let you soak everything up like a sponge. The detail really does draw you in and makes you feel like you’re being transported back in to the world Spotswood has created.

As for the characters, I won’t lie, Finn stole my heart. His quiet demeanour but protective flare when it came to Cate, really was heart-warming. You can’t help but love him and I give thumbs up to Spotswood for bringing him our way *swoon*.

Bringing in all these characters, great setting and by casting a spell on the readers *pun intended* Spotswood has created a great story full of magic, family, love and unity – something I definitely would like to see more of and so of course I’ll be awaiting the next book in this series :D


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