Spooktober Recommends: Witches

Hey guys, happy Thursday! 

Last Spooktober Recommends I hit you guys with Vampires...this time I thought I'd go with Witches because like Vampires...what's Halloween without witches! 

I've got a fair few other recommends posts coming up for other themes, which are giving me a headache because some belong in multiple categories but I'm sure it'll work out fine! I've also got a couple of genre ones coming up too! 

Sooooo...let's get Witchy! 

1. Witch's Kiss

Sixteeen-year-old Meredith is fed-up with her feuding family and feeling invisible at school – not to mention the witch magic that shoots out of her fingernails when she’s stressed. Then sweet, sensitive Jack comes into her life and she falls for him hard. The only problem is that he is periodically possessed by a destructive centuries-old curse. Meredith has lost her heart, but will she also lose her life? Or in true fairytale tradition, can true love’s kiss save the day? 

The atmosphere to this book really fits with Halloween, the historical aspects to this book are very well done and a lot of fun, and there's magic...obviously! It's got some serious Sleeping Beauty vibes to it and it's a nice, fun read! 

2. Witch Hunter

Sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Grey doesn't look dangerous. A tiny, blonde, wisp of a girl shouldn't know how to poison a wizard and make it look like an accident. Or take out ten necromancers with a single sword and a bag of salt. Or kill a man using only her thumb. But things are not always as they appear. Elizabeth is one of the best witch hunters in Anglia and a member of the king's elite guard, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and bringing those who practice it to justice. And in Anglia, the price of justice is high: death by burning.

When Elizabeth is accused of being a witch herself, she's arrested and thrown in prison. The king declares her a traitor and her life is all but forfeit. With just hours before she's to die at the stake, Elizabeth gets a visitor - Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful wizard in Anglia. He offers her a deal: he will free her from prison and save her from execution if she will track down the wizard who laid a deadly curse on him.

As Elizabeth uncovers the horrifying facts about Nicholas's curse and the unwitting role she played in its creation, she is forced to redefine the differences between right and wrong, friends and enemies, love and hate... and life and death.

This is such a good read for Halloween, there's the witch hunt element and there's a scene with it at the beginning which is really vivid and gives you chills! There's plenty of magic, and there's a little darkness to it! Not to mention some romance, because I know not all of you want to be terrified for Halloween, it's okay, neither do I! 

3. A Breath of Frost

In 1814, three cousins—Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope—discover their family lineage of witchcraft when a binding spell is broken, allowing their individual magical powers to manifest. Now, beyond the manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, an alluring underworld available only to those with power is revealed to the cousins. By claiming their power, the three cousins have accidentally opened the gates to the underworld.

Now ghouls, hellhounds—and most terrifying of all, the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters—are hunting and killing young debutante witches for their powers. And, somehow, Emma is connected to the murders…because she keeps finding the bodies.

Can the cousins seal the gates before another witch is killed…or even worse, before their new gifts are stripped away? 

You guys know I love Alyxandra's books and I think this trilogy might just be my favourite! Although I am kinda disappointed the third book is a novella and isn't very long :( ANYWAY, I completely love this book. Historical setting, witches, magic, a nice dose of creepiness and romance that's totally cute! It has such Halloween vibes, it's a great read and it's one that I re-read regularly along with the sequel, but Emma holds a special place in my heart so this first book is my favourite! 

4. Trial by Fire

This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying experiences that others in her hometown of Salem take for granted, which is why she is determined to enjoy her first high school party with her best friend and longtime crush, Tristan. But after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class, Lily wishes she could just disappear.

Suddenly, Lily is in a different Salem—one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruelest of them all is Lillian . . . Lily's other self in this alternate universe.

What makes Lily weak at home is what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. In this confusing world, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can't hope to shoulder alone and a love she never expected. 

Okay, so it's been a while since I read this, long story short, the covers changed and then I fell in love with the US ones, ANYWAY. I loved the angle this book took with everything, I was already a fan of the authors, and I got completely engrossed in this book! I loved the twists it had and it kept me reading until the end! Also, Salem! 

5. Hexed

If high school is all about social status, Indigo Blackwood has it made. Sure, her quirky mom owns an occult shop, and a nerd just won’t stop trying to be her friend, but Indie is a popular cheerleader with a football-star boyfriend and a social circle powerful enough to ruin everyone at school. Who wouldn’t want to be her?

Then a guy dies right before her eyes. And the dusty old family Bible her mom is freakishly possessive of is stolen. But it’s when a frustratingly sexy stranger named Bishop enters Indie’s world that she learns her destiny involves a lot more than pom-poms and parties. If she doesn’t get the Bible back, every witch on the planet will die. And that’s seriously bad news for Indie, because according to Bishop, she’s a witch too.

Suddenly forced into a centuries-old war between witches and sorcerers, Indie’s about to uncover the many dark truths about her life—and a future unlike any she ever imagined on top of the cheer pyramid.

I read this and it's sequel last year, because I got to review the sequel, and these are such fun reads! It had actually been a while since I'd read a witch at school kind of book, Trial by Fire doesn't really count! I think the last time was when I was in school myself because it had like a pink cover and a broom on it, but I can't remember what it was called! This book has a brilliant atmosphere to it, and it's another interesting take on witches! 

6. Grave Witch

As a private investigator and consultant for the police, Alex Craft has seen a lot of dark magic. But even though she’s on good terms with Death himself—who happens to look fantastic in a pair of jeans—nothing has prepared her for her latest case. Alex is investigating a high profile murder when she’s attacked by the ‘shade’ she’s raising, which should be impossible. To top off her day, someone makes a serious attempt on her life, but Death saves her. Guess he likes having her around...

To solve this case Alex will have to team up with tough homicide detective Falin Andrews. Falin seems to be hiding something—though it’s certainly not his dislike of Alex—but Alex knows she needs his help to navigate the tangled webs of mortal and paranormal politics, and to track down a killer wielding a magic so malevolent, it may cost Alex her life...and her soul.

So not a YA, this is my adult/NA contribution to my recommends! It's actually the only one I could think of, or at least the only one I've read! If there are others feel free to let me know in the comments! I stumbled across this at the library the other year and read all three, I've been waiting for the fourth book for what feels like years! I loved the take on witches in this, Alex being a grave witch, meaning she can talk to the dead! I found it kind of hard to pick a category for this, because it's got murder and other stuff too, but Witch is in the title so here we go! This book is a lot of fun, and it's got its creepy parts! It's also got humour and originality to it! 

Hope you guys enjoyed the recs, and if there are any Witchy books that I haven't included let me know below! I've only included ones I've read you see! 

Charmed

Charmed
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher!

Indie has spent the last few weeks frantically searching for Paige. She's tried every spell imaginable, but witchcraft has gotten her nowhere, and she's going crazy with guilt. Despite what her warlock boyfriend, Bishop, tells her, Indie knows it's her fault her best friend was kidnapped by the Priory. And with the Priory destroyed, finding Paige feels more hopeless than ever-especially when Indie discovers that Paige isn't even on Earth. She's trapped in Los Demonios, an alternate dimension of Los Angeles filled with evil paranormals. No one who has gone there has ever come out.

Fueled by terror and loyalty, Indie is desperate to find a way into the underworld prison. She'll worry about getting out later. But facing the dark world's most dangerous witches and warlocks on her own means keeping her plan hush-hush-and forging alliances with some sketchy people, including a seriously sexy sorcerer.

So, like the synopsis says it's been a few weeks, specifically 16 days, since the end of the last book. For those of you who didn't re-read Hexed before you read this, there's a little concise recap so you're straight back in the story. There's still things from the end of the last book to be resolved and you know...obviously Paige is missing. I'd also like to point out that there's NO love triangle. Or I didn't really see it as a love triangle, one of the two! 

Once you're caught up with the characters and what's been going on since the last book, it's not long before the action starts and Indie is on her way to finding Paige and her tangled web of deceit begins! 

I have to say, straight up, I was a tad disappointed with how things went down with Jezebel. I mean we didn't really see much of her and in a chapter near the beginning it seemed like she was going to have a bigger part to play, and she's kind of an awesome badass, so I was hoping for more from her in this book than we got! I also want to point out that I got confused at one point because in Hexed it's mentioned that sorcerers can't fly. Now Indie thought some Warlocks/Witches where sorcerers at one point and I put it down to her being a bit of a silly sausage, but then near the end she states sorcerers flying, so I got confused! I probably only picked up on this because I'd read the first book straight before for the second time, and I'm genuinely the type of annoying person who notices stuff like that. Did it take away from my enjoyment of the book? Nah. I'm just stating it before someone jumps on any of it. 

I actually really enjoyed this book in fact, as much as I enjoyed the first one. I loved the first book, the cheerleading witch and so on, but I loved this book because it had a more mature vibe to it which was largely down to Indie and her character development, but more on that later. This is one of those books that's just enjoyable, no matter your mood. You can get lost in the world and the characters and get caught up in the plot trying to work out what's going to happen next. 

The book isn't entirely unpredictable to me, but it's just one of those times that you enjoy the book so much that it doesn't matter if you can guess at something that's going to happen. Besides, there where plenty of twists and turns that I didn't guess at, particularly in the final few chapters. I mean....woah. Really did not see a certain scene coming. All the sads! To give an example, Bianca and Devon, I so knew what was coming because you got a real feel for Bianca and it's standard psychology of a mean girl. I wasn't expecting Devon to be such a douche however. To  be honest with you, some of the bits that you can guess at or predict more accurately...actually give you more enjoyment because they give you a nice sense of anticipation. 

We all love drama, not in our own lives, but in TV and books and so on, you're lying if you say you don't. Everyone loves to sit there going "ooooohhhhh" at a really juicy scene. Back to my example of Bianca and Devon, in the first book as well as this one. I so knew what was coming. I could see it coming a mile off. Did it ruin my enjoyment? No. Why? Because I knew some intensely dramatic and juicy scenes where coming up and I couldn't freaking wait to get to it. I was excited to watch it play out. There was a scene with Bishop I suspected coming and was pretty obvious because he HAD to find out, and I was excited to see how it would play out. I had my suspicions about the Chief and his identity, it's one of the bigger reveals and I was right, but I kind of was thinking I was half wrong so I was kind of surprised, but also frothing at the mouth to get to the reveal scene. Not to mention the how the hell it happened scene. I do love knowing a juicy scene has got to be coming up and getting so excited for it I'll keep reading until way past my bedtime. Yes I'm 22 and I have a bedtime. Shhh. 

The writing and the characters draw you in so it doesn't matter if some parts are slightly predictable, and to be honest, sometimes we don't all want some giant Game of Thrones unpredictability that just hurts your feels too much. You're so drawn in that you don't care and it doesn't affect your enjoyment. I have explained this really terribly but I wanted to get across that it's not always a bad thing and in this book it's not even a bad element, it's a good one because it added more anticipation for me and then the unpredictable turns really blew me away.

But it's not just the anticipation for certain scenes that kept me reading way too late at night. It's incredibly hard to put the book down and if I could I would have read it in one go. There's always something going on, some new tidbit, some new drama, some new clue to keep your intrigue going and keep you riveted to the book and completely lost in the world. A lot of the chapters end leaving you on a mini cliffhanger and you're like "I should really be asleep, but if I put the book down now it'll take me ages to get to sleep because I'll be thinking about what just happened and it can't just end there" so you carry on reading. I seriously lost track of time at one point, finally reached a point where I tore myself away, and realised it was like 2am and was like......oh. 

We see more magic in this book, more awesome spells and we see more of the Sorcerers. We also learn a lot about this new area of the world of the book and it was interesting to see how the events of the last book and consequences that made themselves apparent in this book. The world building was fantastic, I want to go to LA even more now. I mean, hello, actor, how can I not want to go there!? Anyway, you really get a feel for LA and you can picture the areas of it described. Then there's the world of Los Demonios which is incredibly vivid as well and unlike the laid-back LA vibe, has an incredibly post apocalyptic vibe, and an intense atmosphere. 

I continue to completely love the relationship between Indie and Bishop, it's way too cute and gives you some intense warm and fuzzies. He's kind of the perfect boyfriend when compared with Douchey Devon. He reacted the exact opposite of how most YA boyfriends act as well it has to be said. Which was very refreshing. He's so supportive as well. I will not gush! I just really enjoy their relationship. 

I loved the characters in the first book and we see even more of them in this book. Duh. Although I actually really dislike Bianca and keep hoping she'll get what's coming to her. I'd just really love to smack her one to be honest. 

Indie is by far my favourite character, and she has developed so much over the course of the two books and you can really see how far she's come in this book. She's so determined to save Paige, her best friend, and learn as much magic as she can and take whatever risks she has to, to do so. Considering she was Paige's reluctant friend in the first book, you can see how she's shed her shallow cheerleader self and finally accepted Paige's friendship in the first book, and then in this one is going to do whatever it takes to save her to kind of pay her back for being an awesome friend and because she's her friend. I just think she's awesome, and her witty comebacks make me chuckle! I was sad we didn't actually see much Paige though! 

We did get to know Jessie more, which was intriguing and I want to know more about her! I love how she fit in the story and how she handled everything! Cruz was an interesting addition to this book and I wanted to know more about him and his life and I felt like we didn't see nearly enough of him! Which is why I'm saying there's no love triangle. The synopsis kind of makes you think there is but she meets him like twice I think, and she has some attraction to him and everything but it's not a proper love triangle and it's all handled in a great way. So don't worry...no angsty love triangle of pain!

I also really love Aunt Penny and we didn't really see much of her in the first book, but she's come so far as well from who she was in the first book, she's really coming in to being responsible and being a parent. But she's also still get quite fun and entertaining like in the first book. Penny has a reaaaaallllyyyyyy interesting backstory/history as well and I can't help but want to know way more about it! It added a nice element. While we learn about Penny's past we also learn a bit about her mother's as well and Indie's by default, so there's so many revelations going on it's jaw dropping! 

The book isn't just a rescue Paige book, there's more going on. There's another thread complicating things and adding intrigue as you try to work out what the Sorcerers are up to. Not to mention the high school drama going on and Indie trying to find out what her Aunt's deal is. We're not in Los Demonios for the entire book, we flick back between there and LA and it was interestingly done, and the whole secret keeping, there's seriously so much more going on than just rescuing Paige, even if that is the main backbone of the plot! 

I still love the idea of Witches and Warlocks being different to Sorcerers and this war between them. I really want to know more about the war between the two and how it started and so on even though no-one can remember. Usually in books they all get lumped together as the same thing, like different titles for the same thing. I find it an original take, and love reading about the two and all the different spells and potions and so on. Is it eye roll worthy of me to say it's.....magical *winkwink*

Now, I'm not sure if this was just a two book series or if it's actually a trilogy, some people seem to think this was the last book in the series but I'm conflicted. I would really like another book and here's why. The book ends with things fairly neatly wrapped up, you get the feeling that it's the end of the story and everythings resolved and that's it. Which is great, because the books been wrapped up perfectly. However. Through a scene with Devon and the end of the book (which was perfect by the way) I kind of got a hint/strong feeling of what might happen in a third book. Not like the magical element, but a relationship element. I feel like there's more to be told for their relationship especially if Bishop goes for what he wants at the end. 

There's a few other things as well, I'd like to know why Bianca turned on her, we nearly get it answered and while Indie was okay with not knowing I'm like "WHY ARE YOU SUCH A COW?!", there was a bit of....weirdness with Devon I thought that could contribute to some drama in a third book. I really badly want to know more about Jessie now that we got to know her in this book! Not to mention Paige and how she's left at the end of the book and the surprising admirer she has! So I'm kind of torn! 

In some ways it felt like the end of a series but in others I kind of felt like there was room for more. Either way it was an incredibly good sequel, perhaps even better than the first book, and whether or not it's the end it was very well done either way because people are probably a lot more better at me than being like "oh okay....I think this is what happened to so and so" and letting their imaginations fill in the blanks! 

The Line

The Line
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: ARC Courtesy of NetGalley

Mercy Taylor is the youngest member of Savanna's biggest Witch family's...they're the most powerful family in Savannah and they're kinda in charge. Mercy however was born without magic. Because of this, she is hated by Aunt Ginny the family's matriarch, and she's labelled as The Disappointment by her Uncle. Mercy's used to being second best to her minutes older twin Maisie in everything, including the looks department. Maisie is the apple of the whole family's eye. Despite that, Mercy loves her sister, but she's also in love with Mercy's boyfriend Jackson, and goes to a Hoodoo root doctor for a spell to make her love her BFF Peter who's in love with her.

Aunt Ginny, who's also the family's anchor/defence to the bewitched Line which separates humankind from the demon's who once ruled our realm, the wouldn't approve, there's history between Ginny and the root doctor but that's all irrelevant when Mercy walks in on her aunt's brutally murdered body. Now the Line has been compromised a Demon invasion looms, but someone stands to gain from that.

Mercy must fight for her sisters trust while being entangled in a love spell that brings about a happy/bad consequence depending on how you look at it, and even though magicless she must tap in to the strength from being born as an outcast to protect a line she doesn't feel part of. As she becomes closer to the root doctor, the only person she trusts, some shocking family secrets are revealed. Who is Mercy and Maisie's father? Why did Ginny hate her? What sinister plot was Ginny up to? And who murdered her?

I have no idea what I was expecting but it wasn't this. It was amazing! I was intrigued from the first page, and happily settled down to immerse myself in the world that has been created, I do love the beginning and all of the stories told!

Right from the start The Line hooks you straight in, and the prose is so atmospheric you feel like you're there, you can picture exactly what everything looks like and what's going on. The world building was fantastic, the world created was so unique with the powers and the law of the Witche's powers as it where. I loved how the Hoodoo magic was included as well, and that our protagonist was an outcast.

Speaking of Mercy, the characters in the book where very well written, they had a lot of depth and a lot of hidden sides that where hidden so cleverly you never see half of the stuff coming. I loved Mercy so much, I connected with her straight away. I loved that she was an outcast, and she felt in the shadow of her sister, and didn't feel good enough sometimes. It was so real to how a lot of girls feel, she was so relate-able. Quite honestly I wanted to strangle certain family members for giving her such a miserable life, but Mercy doesn't let that make her a bitter person, she's so strong and truly a fantastic role model. Even the supporting characters where all full of depth and you learn more about them as you go along.

The introductions to each of the family members weren't mad a big deal of, and there wasn't pages of information about them, it was done in a laid back and casual way, with concise information that was added to as the book went on and seamlessly thrown in. Each family member was very different from the other, and each had different powers, there was no dump of information, you learn about them through interactions between the members. There was no overuse of Southern phrases and terms and the opportunity to go on and on about landmarks in the area was rejected, it could have been a travel brochure for it, especially at the beginning....but it wasn't. There was no useless information, no pages of descriptions about things unrelated to the story.

The story was a lot of different threads, and events all woven together to create a really complex, rich web of a plot. As I was reading I kept going "oh my God no way...NO" and being totally shocked. There's plenty of twists and turns in the plot, and as each twist/shocking secret is revealed about the past I never saw it coming. It was such an unpredictable book, I never knew what was going to happen or come out next. I loved how the puzzle pieces from the past where eked out slowly and not all given at once, it added a great quality to the book. I kind of suspected the thing with Mercy's  magic but no way to that extent, the ending was just explosive, and I feel I need the next book like right now, because seriously, I can't cope with the wait for the next one!

The Line is fast paced, full of twists and turns, magic, romance and betrayal. You'll never see any of it coming. You'll feel strangely protective of Mercy because you can relate to her entirely. And you will be sucked right in to a world so atmospherically described you can feel the heat and the sun on your face. Full of intrigue and shocking family secrets, and a little bit of Hoodoo, it's a wondrous addition to the genre!