Review: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

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

Release Date: February 7th, 2012
Pages: 330
Series? Yes.
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Other books by this author:


LONG STORY SHORT:

Ahh..what a novel. Such a beautiful work of art :) I really enjoyed Born Wicked. I mean, the premise itself was promising enough. Three sisters - completely different in character (so there is one for every girl to identify with) ? Forbidden, but powerful magic? Secret organizations? An era of pretty dresses and tea parties and super - formal engagements? Oh, yes please! From beginning to end I felt like I had to let this book dissolve on my tongue (or....melt in front of my eyes???)...

REVIEW:

I mean, I knew I would like this book. It has that historical touch ( a la the Gemma Doyle Trilogy) and those three vibrant sisters who are completely different in personality but all so likable. I wished they were my best friends! The other characters were awesome, too. It's one of the first times that I was ever torn between two fictional guys( usually, I don't even care for the romance at all!). What was also very interesting was how every character kind of had a little secret of their own that was revealed throughout the book.

Apart from the characters, the novel scored with the historical time set, the overall setting (that beautiful house with the garden and the roses? I could picture it all in my head!) and just...the lifestyle. I loved how the girls were going to tea parties, how their father thought they needed a governess, how their neighbours put so much emphasis on etiquette and - as I mentioned - how the guys had to ask for a girl's hand.

The actual plot was - I have to admit it - rather slow at times. There were a few scenes with some action ( but mostly drama, really) in them, but I will forgive that :) Said drama especially took place between the sisters - as you can probably imagine with three of them under one roof - and even that was never dreadful or boring. It was funny, sometimes heartbreaking and certainly entertaining to see them all growing into their own selves and trying to get along with each other.

The only thing - or rather, person - that drove me nuts was their new governess. Oh, how I hated her. But even that only shows how much I started to care for the three sisters - and especially Cate - in the first installment of the series already. That's also why I absolutely hated the ending! I even went looking for another page/paragraph that would tell me that the book did not end the way it did!

So, as you have probably have guessed by now I loved Born Wicked and cannot wait to read the next book in the series :D