Tag Archives: witches

Becoming Alpha (by Aileen Erin)

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Young Adult / Paranormal Fantasy

Tessa has a gift, though she would call it a curse. When she touches people or objects people have used, she is bombarded with visions. She goes through life avoiding touching anything that has been handled by others. Labelled as a freak, her family takes her from California to Texas in the hopes of fresh start, but the town they have moved to is also home to a pack of werewolves.

After escaping a disastrous party, she gets her first kiss from Dastien, and then Dastien’s wolf decides to claim her with a bite. Suddenly all her problems are multiplied ten fold with pack politics piling on top of schoolwork and being a new werewolf, and as an alpha strong enough to rival the other alphas in the pack she is definitely causing a stir.

Becoming Alpha is pretty damned good. As you expect of a debut novel the author has thrown everything into it and that occasionally doesn’t work, but it’s done with such enthusiasm…almost approaching glee that it’s hard to hold it against her. It’s a good fun story about werewolves and witches with interesting characters.  It’s a lot of fun.

(I should note that while this book very much reads as young adult there is a bit of bad language which might make it unsuitable for younger teenagers.)

Many thanks to Ink Monster LLC and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC.

A Witch’s Handbook of Kisses and Curses (by Molly Harper)

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After the death of her grandmother, Nola becomes the head of her coven of witches. Her first duty is to travel from Ireland to Half Moon Hollow, Kentucky and retrieve four magical items –– talismans that contain the power to bind their arch rivals, a coven of witches who would use their powers for evil.

On arrival she literally runs into Jed, her enigmatic neighbor who goes to ridiculous lengths to avoid being outside when the moon is out. He’s hiding something but exactly what it is she can’t quite figure out.

Molly Harper returns to Half Moon Hollow, Kentucky for what I think must be the sixth or seventh novel. I honestly have no idea how she does it. This series should be getting tired but once again she manages to deliver a book that enthralls from beginning to end with a very healthy dose of Molly Harper’s trademark snark. She’s a favorite author and this book is a good example of why.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and Pocket Books for providing me with this ARC

Binds (by Rebecca Espinoza)

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(Disclosure:  Rebecca Espinoza is a Goodreads friend of mine. Because I have that relationship with her I was a bit nervous about reading this, her debut novel and I read it quietly and without telling anyone.)

“Mages are split into two groups, Naturals and Ascendants. When a Natural is born, they already have all of the ability that they will ever have in their lives. They can’t acquire any new abilities and they can’t perform Binds on anyone. Ascendants, on the other hand, come into their powers around the age of five. They all have a certain level of power. Some children will show an immense amount from the get-go…”

Ophelia is a mage of unparalleled power. As a child her mother placed binds on her powers in the hope of hiding her from those who would use her. But after her mother disappeared she found herself in the hands of the very people her mother was trying to protect her from. After escaping with her chauffeur she enters into an underground she never knew existed, and discovers she is the main weapon of an army that aims to overthrow the tyranny of her husband and his father.

This book is kind of amazing. I read books that come out of major publishers that aren’t as polished as this independently released novel. OK, it’s a debut novel and as you would expect her influences come through in this book and occasionally they come through quite strongly…but this book completely blew me out of the water. In 10 years time I think I’m going to be the coolest person in the room when I say, ‘Oh Rebecca Espinoza?  I knew her way back when.”

The Cat’s Meow (by Stacey Kennedy)

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Libby is an enchantress. It’s her job to investigate crimes committed by witches and warlocks within her Charlston coven. When cats start showing up badly mutilated all the signs point to them being used in dark rituals. With the unwelcome help of Kale, a mysterious and powerful warlock she sets out to hunt down the miscreants.

There are some good things in this book, but all those things when added up don’t quite make a good book.  Within the 182 pages of this novel there is an exceptional 90 page novella.

Many thanks to Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC

The Water Witch (by Juliet Dark)

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“Ah, there you are! We got worried when you didn’t answer the door and went looking for your key. Only it doesn’t seem to be under your gnome.”
“It’s here,” I said, nudging a flowerpot full of geraniums with my toe.
Liz and Diana exchanged a puzzled look. “Why would you put it there? It belongs with your gnome,” Diana said, as if it were the most obvious fact in the world. “Everyone hides their key under their gnome.”
“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of hiding the key if everyone knows where it is?”

 

 

Half fairy and half witch, Callie has a lot of magic. As a doorkeeper it’s her job to protect the doors between Faerie and the human world. But with a vengeful water nymph on the loose and looking for a mate, two men trying to get her into bed, and The Grove an ultra conservative group of witches plotting to close the door to Faerie forever and banish all other worldly creatures she has a lot on her plate.

With some help from her friends, including a succubus, a fairy, a Norse demigod, and her former lover (an incubus) she needs to unlock her powers if she is to have any hope of saving the people she loves and keeping the door open.

There is a lot going on in this book. At times I wondered how it could possibly work but Juliet Dark manages to pull all the threads together in an engaging and suspenseful book about witches and fairies, gods and demons, magical creatures of the forest and the water. Occasionally The Water Witch reads a little like a young adult novel but this book is definitely for more mature readers.

Many thanks to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for providing me with this ARC.