Review: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1) by Jessica Spotswood
Released: 8 January 2013 (UK)
Publisher: Penguin
Source: Received for review
Reason for reading: Everyone raved about it when it released in the US last year
Rating: 4/5

Goodreads description:

Everybody thinks 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. Then Cate finds her mother's diary, and uncovers 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. But if what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe--not even from each other.

My thoughts:

Born Wicked was a book everyone read and loved when it was released in America last year. I decided to wait for the paperback release but then Penguin fortunately decided to publish it over here. It was a book I always had a feeling I'd enjoy and, fortunately, I did. At first, I wasn't too sure about our version of the cover, but I've warmed to it. 

Born Wicked is set during the Victorian era in America, but the alternative history setting makes it more interesting than any historical fiction book I've read. I loved the subtle changes, some positive, most alarming, that made me feel like I was learning about a whole new world instead of my own several hundred years ago. I liked how Jessica Spotswood sort of twisted the idea of Puritans settling in the States to build to her world, it was a clever move. 

Cate Cahill is the narrator of our story, but interestingly enough, didn't always feel like the star of it. I have such conflicted feelings about Cate. On one hand, I loved her dedication to her sisters; her level of self-sacrifice and her willingness to do whatever it took to keep them safe. On the other hand, I found her so infuriating at times! It's interesting, because she actually isn't the smartest or the brightest of her sisters. She says and does things that made me groan with frustration because they just weren't smart. She's clearly not one for strategy or forward-thinking. Normally, when you have a story about prophecy, it tends to be sorta obvious who it's about and at first I thought "well, obviously it's Cate" but the more I read, the more I wondered. Because of her tight leash on her sisters, you're never really sure what they can do, who is the strongest, who knows the most magic...and the prophecy is quite open-ended which leaves a lot of room for speculation. 

I liked how the 3 sisters were all really different. Maura and Cate stole the show a little bit from young Tess, but I think she may be my favourite. Maura was so volatile, so passionate but unpredictable that I felt a bit uncomfortable about her.  Weirdly enough, my favourite character was actually Sachi. There's a girl who knows how to be shrewd. She was cunning and clever and entirely not what I, or Cate, expected.

The love story element of this book is really interesting and for me, unusual. When Paul is first introduced into the story it seems quite a cut-and-dry plot line; but the introduction of Finn definitely shakes things up. A great portrayal of a long, simmering relationship verses an intense attraction and at first I was surprised the result, but not unpleasantly so. Both boys were fairly normal in the sense they weren't devastatingly attractive, strong, fearless and supernatural and this was very appealing. They fitted in well with the ideas of the story and the world it was set in.

About three quarters of the way through the tension, the stakes and the pacing really picked up for me. I could see how everything was going to unfold, how it should have unfolded, and the difference between that and what actually happened was so painful to experience. The false hope delivered, the way it seemed like everything was going to go just fine, only for it to be torn to shreds so easily and stupidly was almost unbearable to read. My heart was breaking for nearly every character by the time I turned the final page.

TL;DR: Born Wicked is a gem of a novel. A careful and accomplished story set in an alternative history that is both subtly chilling and highly realistic. 


Unrelated side note: where have I been? The screen on my laptop broke and the shop took a ridiculous 2 weeks to fix it. But I'm back, I hope ;)

Review: Hollow Pike by James Dawson

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Hollow Pike by James Dawson

Released: 2nd February 2012

Publisher: Indigo

Rating: 4/5

Goodreads description:

Something wicked this way comes... She thought she'd be safe in the country, but you can't escape your own nightmares, and Lis London dreams repeatedly that someone is trying to kill her. Lis thinks she's being paranoid - after all who would want to murder her? She doesn't believe in the local legends of witchcraft. She doesn't believe that anything bad will really happen to her. You never do, do you? Not until you're alone in the woods, after dark - and a twig snaps... Hollow Pike - where witchcraft never sleeps

My thoughts: 

It's clear that James used to be a teacher. The teenage voices are the authentic creations of someone who has clearly spent a lot of time around them and I really appreciated that about Hollow Pike. It added a level of realism that can sometimes be lacking. The characters all had fully-formed personalities and unique voices in their own rights--though I especially liked Delilah and Jack.  I loved how NORMAL the love interest was. He was just a guy. A cute, intelligent guy, but still. A guy. There was no overly detailed, riddled with adjectives passages about how he was the most mysterious, most attractive most amazing boy in the world and how could she ever live without him. It was a perfectly normal teenage romance and I loved it. 

It was wonderful to read a book set in England (and in the North, wahay!)  and written by an English (and Norther, wahay!) author. It feels somehow more down-to-earth for me than all the American books I read. The setting of Hollow Pike in rural Yorkshire was suitably creepy, and whilst I've never visited Yorkshire (apart from York) I could definitely imagine myself there.

The plot was SO clever. I loved all the witchcraft references, how Lis didn't believe them, and what was actually going on in the atmospheric little town I love how Lis' dreams fitted in to the eventual explanation and once everything was revealed I couldn't help but wonder how I'd never figured it out, it was wonderfully misleading. I think I suspected EVERYONE at one point or another.  The book was fast-paced and tight, I never found my mind wandering or wanting to flick through the pages to get to the action. 

One thing that did bug me was Lis herself. Having suffered bullying at her old school, before her move to her sister's, she was naturally going to be a little fragile. And yet, whilst she stood upto Laura, a bully who represented everything that had forced her to leave her home in the first place, she wanted to run away from what was happening in Hollow Pike. I just didn't understand that. How she could be so strong in the face of one thing that scared her, and yet so weak in another. Plus she was actually going to ABANDON her friends in favour of saving her own life. That just really didn't wash with me. I definitely found Lis to be a bit of a sap, and much preferred the secondary characters. 

This is a fantastic debut, well written and teeming with clever references, witty lines and colourful characters that I fully appreciated. Bang on trend with its witchcraft-y elements and sporting a stunning, eye-catching cover, it's perfect for anyone who loves paranormal YA, but is looking for something just a little bit different. 

Review Exclusive: A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton

 As it's Halloween, I thought I'd post something nicely relevant, and also something a bit special. I was saving this review for closer to the release date, but I love the book so much I really want to share it!

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A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton
Released: 5th January 2012
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Rating: 5/5

Goodreads description:

Anna Winterson doesn't know she's a witch and would probably mock you for believing in magic, but after moving to the small town of Winter with her father, she learns more than she ever wanted to about power. When Anna meets Seth, she is smitten, but when she enchants him to love her, she unwittingly amplifies a deadly conflict between two witch clans and splits her own heart in two. She wants to love Seth, to let him love her – but if it is her magic that's controlling his passion, then she is as monstrous as the witch clan who are trying to use her amazing powers for their own gain.

Although a perfect fit for the paranormal romance genre, A WITCH IN WINTER avoids fangs, excessive body hair and submissive female leads, and tells the heart-wrenching story of a couple meant to be together, but being forced apart. Seth is utterly irresistible and Anna is an empowered, proactive young woman with unimaginable magic inside her. This is fast-paced, sensuous writing with believable incantations inspired by Warburton's research into witchcraft legend and old English.

My thoughts:

A Witch in Winter tells the story of Anna, a girl who moves away from her beloved London to a town on the South coast, and into a creeptastic old house. I absolutely adored the setting for this book, I love YA books set in the UK (especially ones written by UK authors), and the small town location really added to the atmosphere of the story. I love how relevant the sea became to the plot, and just how scary it could be, how such a beautiful and natural element could be utilised in such a way. 

Anna was a great character, she was a real teenage girl. Her reactions to the events were pretty much how I imagine I'd react, which made it easy to love and relate to her. I adored how the whole witchcraft thing came about, her and her friends trying out a spell for the fun of it (and because they were slightly inebriated, what doesn't seem like a good idea when you're in that state?). I was obsessed with magic when I was younger and I can see it being something I would've done, albeit not with the same results. I loved how Ruth didn't shy away from teenage drinking, or things that young people genuinely do, which again added a much more realistic element to her characters. None of the secondary characters fell flat for me, not even the ones introduced at the late stages. They all had their parts to play, and their roles were clearly defined within the plot.

The love story was so fantastically different, I loved the idea of it and it was so well executed. I loved the ambiguity of not knowing exactly what was going on. Despite that, I wasn't a massive fan of Seth, but then he wasn't the sort of love interest I take to, seeing as he was a decent guy, but I can see many other readers adoring him. 

The ultimate battle was amazing, the enemy was one that I actually found quite scary, and the solution was neither easy nor lazy. The actions of the characters did have consequences, for everyone involved and for the people caught in the crossfire.I liked being able to see these consequences, rather than the story glossing over them which happens so often. The  witchcraft was very clever and well rooted in genuine old English. It's clear a lot of research went  into creating this aspect of the plot which is something I always appreciate.

The writing was fantastic, pacy and full of humour and suspense, it wasn't superior to the plot and complemented the tone of the book perfectly. This is an excellent example of paranormal YA. It has everything you'd expect from this type of novel, but it avoids the cliches and predictability that so often mar such a story for me. I think the cover is absolutely spectacular and I cannot wait to see the finished article!

This book is part of a trilogy, and it's a series, and an author, to watch.