Future Release Review: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Title: Born Wicked

Author: Jessica Spotswood site

Format: ARC, 326 pages

Release Date: 2/07/2012

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Source: Received from the publisher

** I personally think that parts of this synopsis give too much away. Reader beware**

“A Great and Terrible Beauty meets Cassandra Clare in this spellbinding fantasy 

Everybody knows 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. 

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering 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. 

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.”

-Goodreads

How it starts:

Set in an altered past, run by a dystopian society where men are in charge and women are oppressed at every opportunity, Cate Cahill has six months before she is forced to declare her intentions to the Brotherhood, the male organization that overthrew the witches 20 years ago. Women are only given two options, join the Sisters or get married. The decision tortures her, how can she keep her promise to her late mother, to look after her sisters. She must protect their secret, lest Cate and her sisters be discovered as witches. The situation is made worse when their nosey neighbor, Mrs. Corbett, convinces their too absent father to get them a governess. When she arrives, Cate can’t shake the feeling that Lena (the governess) is up to something besides teaching French. What are her real motives?

Characters:

I loved pretty much all of the characters in Born Wicked. There was a very well balanced cast. My only hesitation was for Finn, who may have a little PCD* though I haven’t seen enough of him to really tell.

Plot and Story:

“A Great and Terrible Beauty meets Cassandra Clare” really does perfectly describe this book. I love the concept of witchery set in the nineteenth century, and the altered past gave the story an extra twist that made Born Wicked irresistible. It was a really hard book to put down. You’re always left wondering who can really be trusted, what are the characters true motives. All of the twists and turns were timed perfectly. And there are always unanswered questions that will leave you on the edge of your seat in anticipation.  My only complaint is that the timing of Cate and Finn expressing feelings for each other didn’t really make sense to me. It seemed a little forced by the author.

Overall:

Born Wicked is one of the few books that is deserving of it’s hype. All the different aspects from the characters to the plot just meshed together so well. I could see myself recommending Born Wicked to fans of lots of different genres. (i.e. fans of historical fiction, fantasy, dystopians, ect.) I ate it up, and can’t wait for the sequel. I foresee this series is destined for greatness. May it rise up the Bestseller’s list! I give it 4.5 of 5 stars! I can’t wait to see more from this debut author.

Emma-isms:

*PCD stands for Perfect Character Disorder. I usually use this term when a character is portrayed as unrealistically perfect. (i.e. always understanding, handsome/beautiful, without fault, ect.)

Future Release Review: Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Before I go any further, this book's title put a song in my head throughout my reading it. Just listen as far as the chorus to see what I mean. (1:10 minutes in) 

Title: Every Other Day

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes site

Format: Ebook

Release Date: 12/27/2011

Publisher: Egmont

Source: Netgalley

“Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.

And then every day in between . . . She’s something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive . . . and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.”

-Goodreads

Every Other Day is set in a world very similar to ours. The big difference is that instead of Darwin discovering evolution when he set out on the Beagle, he discovered preternatural creatures (hellhounds, zombies, basilisks, ect.). And so the hunting Kali is compelled to do is very illegal, what with hellhounds being an endangered species and all. Through the whole book, Kali is wondering who she is; not her personality, but what species. As far as she knows she’s one of a kind.

Characters:

There weren’t any characters in this book I had problems with. I didn’t find anything about Kali I disliked; I just had a hard time relating to her for whatever reason. She has the whole “kick ass heroine” thing going on, and she’s easy to root for. She was just a little 2D personality wise.

Again, nothing liked or disliked with Zev. Although he’s the romantic interest, he doesn’t play a major role in this book. Perhaps we’ll see more of him in the sequel.

The real money is in the supporting characters. All the banter between Skylar and Bethany was so funny I almost peed my pants. (I always seem to like the funny characters the best. Never noticed this before.)

Plot:

This book has a great plot. Every Other Day is action packed, with a few tear-jerking moments and plenty of twists and turns. Some that even I didn’t see coming. (This, unfortunately, doesn’t happen very often.) And a cliff hanger ending completes the package that, hopefully, promises a sequel.

Overall:

I really enjoyed this book and found the concept (especially what species she turns out to be) very unique. It was well paced and I was never bored. I really hope there will be a sequel. Every Other Day gets 3.5/5 stars from me. I can see this book being a big hit!