BORN WICKED (The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1)A gorgeous, witchy, romantic fantasy by a debut author! Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and the Beautiful Creatures series!
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.
Q&A with author JESSICA SPOTSWOOD!
Born Wicked or Star Cursed? Born Wicked. Because it was the first book of mine I got to see all book-shaped, with my name on it, on bookstore shelves, and sign for readers! But I really love Star Cursed too; I've never worked on anything harder, and I'm awfully proud of it.
Bad boys or good guys? Good guys!
Day or night? Night owl
Print or e-books? Print
Favourite author? Kristin Cashore
Favourite movie? Dirty Dancing
Favourite holiday? Christmas
Favourite food? Chewy sugar cookies
Favourite book? Chime by Franny Billingsley
MY REVIEW OF BORN WICKED!
Title: Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1)
Author: Jessica Spotswood
Release Date: February 7th 2013 (UK)
Publisher: Penguin UK
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal
Pages: 352
Source: For review
A gorgeous, witchy, romantic fantasy by a debut author! Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and the Beautiful Creatures series!
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.
Growing up with two younger brothers, I always wanted to find out what it was like if I had a sister. How amazing it would be to braid each other's hair, or borrow each other's clothes. Or how horrible it would be, if you're polar opposites, if you're the freak and she's the popular one and she's a pain in my ass. I haven't read a YA book yet that explores the relationships of three sisters, so Born Wicked wasn't just magical and fantastic, it also questions just how much are you willing to give up, your own happiness, to ensure the safety of those you love the most.
I really love how the sisters are presented in this book. Their relationship rings very true and realistic. The complexity of it impressed me. Cate, was the most compassionate and possibly the most patient YA heroine I've ever read about, Maura was the pretty, reckless one yet she feels very jealous of Cate, and Tess was just so sweet and cute. Cate was very admirable, kind, selfless, and you can see how much she loves and cares for her sisters. The weight that she has over her shoulders made me feel some empathy for her, I can't imagine having that sort of responsibility especially when the person that you love and trust the most (their mother) was gone. Dead. I felt that Cate handled the situations beautifully and with respect.
There was this one line that stuck with me. It's taken from a scene with Tess and Cate, Tess (being only 12 years old) saying "I am Father's favorite. And you were Mother's. Maura feels jealous, and she needs someone for herself." I don't know why I like that line very much, but in my opinion, that sums up the relationship of the three sisters spot on. I can't WAIT to find out more about the Cahill sisters!
There were some very unexpected twists and turns throughout Born Wicked, and some left my jaw on the floor. How come I didn't think of that? How come I didn't figure that out? It was like you thought you knew everything that's going to happen, but then BAM. Jessica presents some VERY surprising secrets and history was uncovered.I LOVE it! Also, the magic is exactly the kind of magic in books that I love, very traditional yet quite modern as well.
I enjoyed learning about the Brotherhood and the Sisterhood, and basically just the society of their town. How women are treated as opposed to men astounds and horrified me. Yet at the same time, you can't help flipping the pages over to find out more. Jessica's writing also felt very authentic, and very historical-y. Her imagery and description of the setting, their magic just made my experience of reading this book as if I was in that position, as if I was Cate herself.
One of the things that I was just a bit 'meh' with was the romance. Don't get me wrong, it was very sweet, and charming, but I felt like I needed more. Romance has to be very heavy in a book for me to enjoy and love it as much, and in Born Wicked, there's not quite a lot of sexual tension and kisses. I would also have preferred it if Finn is a more developed character. Basically, all we know is that he's clever, and a bookseller. He didn't feel alive to me. Nevertheless, I still think you should read this, probably not for the romance, but for the story of this three witch sisters.
If you love historical YA, witchcraft and an unlikely romance, then Born Wicked is surely a must-read!
I really love how the sisters are presented in this book. Their relationship rings very true and realistic. The complexity of it impressed me. Cate, was the most compassionate and possibly the most patient YA heroine I've ever read about, Maura was the pretty, reckless one yet she feels very jealous of Cate, and Tess was just so sweet and cute. Cate was very admirable, kind, selfless, and you can see how much she loves and cares for her sisters. The weight that she has over her shoulders made me feel some empathy for her, I can't imagine having that sort of responsibility especially when the person that you love and trust the most (their mother) was gone. Dead. I felt that Cate handled the situations beautifully and with respect.
There was this one line that stuck with me. It's taken from a scene with Tess and Cate, Tess (being only 12 years old) saying "I am Father's favorite. And you were Mother's. Maura feels jealous, and she needs someone for herself." I don't know why I like that line very much, but in my opinion, that sums up the relationship of the three sisters spot on. I can't WAIT to find out more about the Cahill sisters!
There were some very unexpected twists and turns throughout Born Wicked, and some left my jaw on the floor. How come I didn't think of that? How come I didn't figure that out? It was like you thought you knew everything that's going to happen, but then BAM. Jessica presents some VERY surprising secrets and history was uncovered.I LOVE it! Also, the magic is exactly the kind of magic in books that I love, very traditional yet quite modern as well.
I enjoyed learning about the Brotherhood and the Sisterhood, and basically just the society of their town. How women are treated as opposed to men astounds and horrified me. Yet at the same time, you can't help flipping the pages over to find out more. Jessica's writing also felt very authentic, and very historical-y. Her imagery and description of the setting, their magic just made my experience of reading this book as if I was in that position, as if I was Cate herself.
One of the things that I was just a bit 'meh' with was the romance. Don't get me wrong, it was very sweet, and charming, but I felt like I needed more. Romance has to be very heavy in a book for me to enjoy and love it as much, and in Born Wicked, there's not quite a lot of sexual tension and kisses. I would also have preferred it if Finn is a more developed character. Basically, all we know is that he's clever, and a bookseller. He didn't feel alive to me. Nevertheless, I still think you should read this, probably not for the romance, but for the story of this three witch sisters.
If you love historical YA, witchcraft and an unlikely romance, then Born Wicked is surely a must-read!
Wow! 5 stats? This book must be amazing!
ReplyDeleteThe UK cover is much prettier than the US one.
Sapir @ Diary of a Wimpy Teen Girl
Born Wicked is one of the strongest debuts I have read. Jessica Spotswood has a gift and I can't wait to see what she does with it next. The sequel to Born Wicked just moved to the top of my wish-list!
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