Review: The Calling

The Calling by Cate Tiernan (Wicca/Sweep #7)
Published: October 29th 2001 (my edition: August 2002)
Publisher: Puffin (UK)


Goodreads description:


Morgan and Hunter travel to New York City, Morgan to seek out information about her birth parents and Hunter to continue his quest to end the deadly Woodbane conspiracy. But in their search for answers, they find themselves in terrible danger


My thoughts:


This is one of my favourite books of the 15 that make up the Wicca/Sweep series. I love the newer setting of New York City, and the group dynamics as a result of that. 


It's interesting to see what Morgan learns whilst in NYC, especially the massive revelation that comes near the end of the story, which I definitely didn't anticipate the first time I read it. Whilst it is one of my favourites, it definitely has the 'inbetween book' feel to it, as though it's more of a bridge between 6 and 8 than a book in its own right.


The introduction of several new characters is good, I liked meeting Killian and loved the role he will undoubtedly play in the later books. Ciaran too, you can see he will be a major player for a while. Aside from that I didn't feel there was much in the way of character development, except maybe for Bree. It's hinted at that she learnt something about herself, though it's said rather than shown. There doesn't seem to be much development as far as Sky and Raven's relationship goes either, which was a bit of a disappointment.


My one criticism of this series is how fast everything happens!! It's only been two and a half months, but Morgan has fallen in love twice, discovered a massive secret her family has been keeping from her, watched someone die, joined a new religion...the list goes on. I would've appreciated a bit of a longer time period for this series, to make it slightly more realistic.


These books aren't especially well written, though they are enjoyable and gripping reads. The theme of witchcraft is one I've always found interesting, and this has to be my favourite series incorporating that theme. This is a fairly old series (about a decade) but it's a timeless one in my opinion. It's definitely underrated in the YA world, and the resurgence of interest in the paranormal lately has definitely given these books a new lease of life (and a makeover, too). If you're a fan of wicca, or would like to know more about it in an interesting way, this is definitely the series for you.  4/5


**This review is for my Review Appreciation Day blog hop, come back on Thursday to link your reviews up and join the fun!**