Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
For those of you that have been here before, you know my relationship with ebooks...I'd rather leave them than take them...but you also know that I can be persuaded to read them from time to time if it's A) the only format I can get and it's a read-or-die situation, or B) it's the only format the title has been released in. Both situations fit today's selection, especially that second one because when I was finished reading, I looked! There's some books that despite having read it in one format for review, I still have to go buy the paper edition. It's just a requirement for me if I enjoyed a title THAT much and boy did I enjoy this one. Before I begin to ramble too much (because we all know it'll happen anyway), let's celebrate WEDNESDAY the 13th (*muwhahahahahaHA*) with today's ebook of choice...
by
Heather Eagar
9781621354864
About the book...
Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Winters may be a witch, but she doesn’t know the first thing about magic.
Her father, a wizard himself, has forbidden the use of her powers for her own protection. But when accusations of witchcraft start flying through Salem Village, Elizabeth wishes she was more prepared.
Despite her lack of magical knowledge, Elizabeth appoints herself to save innocent women from the untimely demise the village has in store for them. Elizabeth finds, however, that she is not the hero Salem needs her to be. When Elizabeth is betrayed by someone she trusts, she loses control of her emotions and unintentionally curses the village with the ten plagues of Egypt. Now, Elizabeth must figure out how to break the curse before the morning of the tenth plague—the plague of death. If she fails, Salem will cease to exist.
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First things first...look at that cover!
I love the "plain" image but couldn't resist using the animated gif because frankly, it just conveys the story waiting inside the ecover THAT much better. The image is a perfect fit for the characters, time, and place, we're about to explore, and the title works wonders for capturing your attention and teasing the imagination. Now, let's talk about that story...
This is a magical, witchy YA debut that takes us back to days gone by. It's familiar enough to place it among those titles you may have read before (considering how many books have been written about and around the Salem Witch Trials, it's no wonder), but twisted just so as to not be carbon copied. Elizabeth is a fine leading lady, even if she is young in years. Unfortunately for her, she's about to grow up FAST thanks to events she's only partially responsible for. Hey, if what happened to her happened to you and you didn't have proper training, I bet you'd have had a similar display of unbridled power unleashed...I know I would. *wink wink* After a whispered conversation in the woods and a lot of bad acting, the situation in town goes from pointing fingers and penance to judgment and death. It seems the children are best to tell the souls worthy or not, one of which happens to be the sister of Elizabeth...an actual witch and daughter of a warlock...and the Reverend's kin. Yes, things are about to get complicated and if they're not careful, the finger may be pointed right back at them, some of which deserve it but for reasons unclear until the time if right.
The cast of characters continues from Elizabeth and her family. Some are worth noting, others we'll note only to say you should dismiss them because they are BEYOND foolish, BEYOND understanding, BEYOND forgiveness (mostly) and deserve everything they're about to get. Worthy of noting would be Sebastian, Elizabeth's crush and ultimately the reason for the curse. Why? Oh, you'll see...and there's plenty of other times he's proved his bone-headed-ness. Is he merely a boy in love? A boy confused by what he sees versus believes? A boy seeking unnatural means to cure something unavoidable? Yeah...pretty much all of the above, but he broke my heart...I mean, Elizabeth's...more often than not (especially page 123) so I have no pity for him. Distinctly unworthy of note and yet we're noting them would be the Reverend himself. I know, I know, it sounds like a sacrilege or something to say that, even if it IS a fiction tale, but I'm telling you, if someone of the cloth (or anyone for that matter) told you not to give to the poor, the less fortunate, those in need, but to give a weekly/daily tribute to him because those you saw were not "the deserving poor"...well, I'd have a hard time biting my tongue. That's all I'm saying. *glares at the Reverend*
In the end, the story is wildly entertaining, and well told. Our leading lady's voice rings loud and clear making it easy to fall right in step by her side as the good, bad, and the ugly unfold. I applaud the author's skill in staying true to her characters throughout the work, utilizing history to pin us to a time period but not overly so as to get too historical, and just plan having fun with it. It never felt forced, it all simply flowed like the magic Elizabeth held within. It's a coming-of-age story from another time with a paranormal twist, yet still easy to relate to as she struggles through love, loss, and finding herself. Recommended read for Young Adult fans of all ages. There's truly so much more I want to say about this one, but I'll leave the rest for you to uncover on your own.
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About the author...
Heather Eagar started reviewing books in the hope that she can provide people with the information they need to make informed decisions when deciding what books to read. With this in mind, you will find that her reviews not only have a summary of the book and her opinion, but also tells you what to expect in terms of language, violence, and sexual content.
Heather is the author of the YA novel, Devil’s Playground (Release date Jan 12, 2016). She currently lives in Logan, Utah (though that usually changes year by year) with her husband and 2 children.
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Special thanks to author Heather Eagar for the ecopy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now via Clean Reads, so click on over to Amazon to snag your copy today.
Until next time...happy reading!
1 comment:
Thank you so much for the awesome review!
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