WitchcraftTag Archives

Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

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Reason for Reading:
  • This title caught my attention on NetGalley – very interesting cover and idea.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

It was a beautiful, warm summer day, the day Danny died.

Suddenly Wren was alone and shattered. In a heartbroken fury, armed with dark incantations and a secret power, Wren decides that what she wants—what she must do—is to bring Danny back.

But the Danny who returns is just a shell of the boy Wren fell in love with. His touch is icy; his skin, smooth and stiff as marble; his chest, cruelly silent when Wren rests her head against it.

Wren must keep Danny a secret, hiding him away, visiting him at night, while her life slowly unravels around her. Then Gabriel DeMarnes transfers to her school, and Wren realizes that somehow, inexplicably, he can sense the powers that lie within her—and that he knows what she has done. And now Gabriel wants to help make things right.

But Wren alone has to undo what she has wrought—even if it means breaking her heart all over again.

My Review:

Every time I sit down to write this review, I do so with the full intention of gushing with praise over it.  Then I remember – it basically deals with a ZOMBIE.  Granted, not the flesh-dripping, brain-eating type of zombie… but honestly, who among you out there would willingly kiss a guy who doesn’t have a heartbeat, is cold.. and is not Edward Cullen.

That said.. once you get past the whole kissing a dead guy thing, the story is actually pretty good.  Wren makes some very adult decisions, and deals with the adult consequences of the same. She has an interesting family dynamic happening, an established history (no three-minute falling in love here), and real issues with grief that she has to overcome in order to get on with her life.

As far as paranormal teenage stories go, this one is on the better end of the spectrum.  I was impressed not only with Wren, but also with Gabriel.  He wasn’t creepy, didn’t stalk on her, made good choices, was responsible, and most of all.. he wasn’t dead.  Hurray!

Check out these reviews!

Imaginary Reads

Five Alarm Book Reviews

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Lydia
3 December, 2011
reviews, Urban Paranormal, Young Adult
4 comments
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The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

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Reason for Reading:
  • Huge, huge fan of Chris Bohjalian’s books.

I also recommend:

  • The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian
  • Room by Emma Donoghue

Summary from GoodReads:

Chip and Emily Linton wanted to escape a nightmare. Months before, Chip had ditched the jet he piloted into Lake Champlain after both its engines failed. His decision led to disaster: More than three dozen passengers died and Linton himself had lapsed into a PSTD response that verges on insanity. Now, he, his wife, and twin 10-year-old daughters have escaped, or so they think, to a decrepit Victorian mansion in New Hampshire’s sleepy White Mountains. Before long, however, the house and neighborhood around it become scenes of threatening paranormal visitations and the family is thrust into a realm where uncertainty is the only norm.

My Review:

I’m not usually a ghost-story type of girl, but when Chris Bohjalian puts a book out, I read it.

The Night Strangers is the story of a man who is not Captain Sully, of the infamous Hudson River Plane Landing.  It’s the story of Chip, a man who attempted a water landing in a plane he was piloting and subsequently lost the bulk of the passengers and crew on board.

What is unique about this book is the tools Bohjalian uses to tell the story.  Each character in Chip’s family has a voice, but Chip’s voice is in the 2nd person.  Bohjalian makes you, the reader, his voice.  He puts you in Chips shoes.  The result?  Mindblowingly messed-up.

Witchcraft, alchemy, ghosts, mental disorders, strained family relationships, loss, grief, hope, survival – it all exists within the pages of The Night Strangers.  I was unable to put this one down and just gripped onto the sides of my Kindle, desperately reading to find out what happens next.

For fans of Bohjalian’s psychological thrillers, you won’t want to miss this one.  Put it on your list – like me, you won’t regret it.

 

Check out these reviews!

Tell Me a Story

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Lydia
30 September, 2011
Gothic, Horror, Mystery, reviews
3 comments
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The Betrayal of Maggie Blair by Elizabeth Laird

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Reason for Reading:
  • Not sure what draws me to stories about the persecution of witches, but I’m drawn to them all the same.  This was no exception.

I also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

In seventeenth-century Scotland, saying the wrong thing can lead to banishment—or worse. Accused of being a witch, sixteen-year-old Maggie Blair is sentenced to be hanged. She escapes, but instead of finding shelter with her principled, patriotic uncle, she brings disaster to his door.

Betrayed by one of her own accusers, Maggie must try to save her uncle and his family from the king’s men, even if she has to risk her own life in the process.

My Review:

It took all of 10 minutes for me to be caught up in Maggie Blair’s story in The Betrayal of Maggie Blair.  Right away, I knew this would be a tale I’d have difficulty setting down, and I devoured it in a single, long afternoon of reading (and what a joy that was).

I’m a big fan of girls with a spine, those able to take care of themselves and not needing to do the predictable (marry, sell themselves out in someway, etc).  Maggie Blair faces trials like crazy – from being tried along with her grandmother for being a witch, to escaping and living dangerously in a time where British soldiers roamed Scotland and the Scottish were rebelling against the King being named the head of the Church rather than God.

Elizabeth Laird does a fantastic job of bringing this story to life and providing her reader with enough action to keep the interest level high, a fantastic villain who anyone would love to hate, and a main character who I could not only identify with, but also felt good cheering on with every decision she made.

I’m adding this to my list of books graced with strong-willed, adventurous female protagonists and will definitely be on the lookout for more books by Elizabeth Laird.

Check out these reviews!

The Owl Bookmark Blog

Escape in a Book

Small Town Book Blog

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Lydia
5 July, 2011
Historical, reviews, Young Adult
1 comment
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Plain Kate by Erin Bow

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Reason(s) for Reading:
  • I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about this book in the blogging community.
I  also recommend:

Summary from GoodReads:

Plain Kate lives in a world of superstitions and curses, where a song can heal a wound and a shadow can work deep magic. As the wood-carver’s daughter, Kate held a carving knife before a spoon, and her wooden talismans are so fine that some even call her “witch-blade”: a dangerous nickname in a country where witches are hunted and burned in the square.

For Kate and her village have fallen on hard times. Kate’s father has died, leaving her alone in the world. And a mysterious fog now covers the countryside, ruining crops and spreading fear of hunger and sickness. The townspeople are looking for someone to blame, and their eyes have fallen on Kate.

Enter Linay, a stranger with a proposition: In exchange for her shadow, he’ll give Kate the means to escape the angry town, and what’s more, he’ll grant her heart’s wish. It’s a chance for her to start over, to find a home, a family, a place to belong. But Kate soon realizes she can’t live shadowless forever — and that Linay’s designs are darker than she ever dreamed.

My Review:

The amount of love for this book in the book blogging community is huge.  I keep seeing the name popping up and finally made the decision to cave and put it first and foremost in my pile of books – so I happily skipped off to the library and picked it up.

I shouldn’t have waited – seriously, this is a book to own.  I cannot wait for my niece to get a bit older because this will be one of those books I’ll be anxiously waiting to put into her hand.

Filled with interesting lore, magic and a heroine who proves you don’t have to be beautiful or fall in love to be interesting, Plain Kate had me spellbound from the first page.  There’s villains who still inspire sympathy, there are actions which cause conflicting emotions in the reader, and then there’s Kate.

Kate (who insists on being called Plain Kate) is a big of a ragamuffin who is a very talented carver. Little bits of Russian lore are woven into the story and provide the setting and history to make this a book rich with information for the young reader.  As I read it, I was reminded a bit of how Neil Gaiman’s Odd and the Frost Giants affected me – it filled me with wonder, made me feel young again and left me with a touch of regret as I closed the book, having finished it.

Plain Kate is a perfect addition to the middle grade world of books and one I’ll be recommending left and right.

Check out these review(s):

Bookalicious

YA Book Shelf

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Lydia
18 December, 2010
Fantasy, Middle Grade, reviews
0 comments
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