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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 ;)
Easy by Tammara Webber
Published: 3rd January 2013 (UK edition)
Publisher: Peguin (UK)
Source: Bought for kindle
Reason for reading: Everyone and their dog has read it and loved it.
Rating: 4/5
Goodreads description:
Jacqueline seems to
have a knack for making the wrong choices. She followed her boyfriend to
his choice of university, disregarding her preference. Then he dumped
her. She chose a minor she thought she could combine with her music
studies, but she's falling behind. And then, leaving a party alone one
night, she is attacked. If it wasn't for the timely intervention of a
stranger, she would have been raped. Now she must make a choice - give
up and give in, or toughen up and fight on. Only the support of the man
who is tutoring her and the allure of the guy who saved her from the
attack convince her that it's worth fighting on. Will Jacqueline now
have to make a choice between them too? And can she make the right
decision? It's not easy . . .
My thoughts:
You know those books that you read, and you don't really expect anything from them and then BAM they're amazing? That was Easy for me. I read it in December after hearing about how amazing it was for 6 months, after having it on my kindle for six months, and I read it on a whim because I was in need of a change from all the fantasy I'd been reading. It was exactly what I wanted to read and I enjoyed it immensely.
Jacqueline was a fantastic character. Her break up had really knocked her for six but I thought she dealt with it so well, I think skipping ONE class for two weeks is a pretty together-reaction to be honest. I have the utmost admiration for how she dealt with her situation, all the way through the book she was so strong and level-headed, despite everything that happened. It's kinda cool in a way to see books about people who are recovering from their first long-term serious relationship, cause at my age that's something I think I can associate with a little better than a lot of YA where it's younger teens just getting into that same relationship. I definitely think Jacqueline dealt with it better than I did anyway!
Lucas was such an appealing love interest, he managed retained certain 'bad boy' elements such as how inscrutable he was, his artistic streak, his good looks, emotional drawbacks, whilst thankfully lacking some of the more negative elements that often come with these characters now; the descructive behaviour and habits, the instability, the often abusive treatment. It was great to see a character who was both appealing and stable, the sort of person you'd actually want as a boyfriend. I loved how he continued to look out for Jacqueline and how their relationship progressed.
The relationship itself was so cute and normal, but so intense at the same time, on a really good level. It wasn't all about love at first sight but you could feel the attraction between them and it actually gave me like, butterflies in my stomach sometimes, reading the interactions between the two of them as they danced around the tension, and then eventually gave into it. It felt so organic, it was a perfect recreation of a new relationship I thought.
The book did deal with some pretty heavy issues, with the attempted rape of Jacqueline early on, and the continued harassment she experienced as well as the eventual climaxes of that particular plot point. This was handled so well by the author, it wasn't played down but it also wasn't so dramatic, by which I mean the character's reactions to everything weren't too over the top, and the whole story wasn't filled with so much angst you could practically swim in it. I did feel at some points that character's reactions were fairly textbook responses, because the author was clearly making a point about rape, about how a lot of people get raped by those they know and even trust, about how victim-bashing is unacceptable, and whilst I do feel those points needed to be made, especially in a YA book, I did feel the author's voice and influence coming through at certain points.
The plot in terms of Jacqueline's journey to move on from her relationship, her interactions with her tutor and attempts to get her life back on track were really great to read. Her email exchanges with Landon in particular made me squeal a little when reading they were just so cute and flirty. Jacqueline is a fantastic role model, something I don't feel happens enough in YA nowadays. She was strong without being hard and detached like the heroines of dystopian novels I love so much, and she wasn't a pushover, willing to do anything for the first guy who shows her attention. She was a normal girl, living her life and how she got everything back on track and reclaimed the power made me feel kinda proud and satisfied.
TL;DR: Easy is a perfect specimen of college-age, more mature YA. It has that realistic feel you get from a book that has less constrictions placed on it because of the market it is aimed at, but it also didn't go too overboard with the drama like others I've read. If you're looking for one of these mature YA reads, this is the one to go for. It's an easy choice to make. (sorry)
