Review: Born Wicked - Jessica Spotswood

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
Series: The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1
Genre: YA, historical fantasy, romance
Published on February 7, 2012
Published by Putnam
Pages: 330
Read From: 3.26.12 - 4.6.12










SYNOPSIS

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 gave. 

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with six months 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.

Review

I admit that this is not the sort of story that I usually read, but I read 100 pages in while hanging out at a bookstore, and while I detest present-tense, there was something in the style that I really liked. And the storyline was relatively entertaining and interesting, and it remains so. The Author even has some unexpected twists, and her characters are, for the most part, good. The interaction between the three Cahill sisters feels real, but Cate is not my favorite heroine; she causes a lot of her own problems by not being honest with her sisters. Tess would have, in my opinion, been better, while Maura's temper and fickleness just gets downright aggravating. Half of the time, I like Paul, while the other half of the time I don't, but I love Finn. He's your typical quiet, kind, and thoughtful hero.

Content-wise, the Author pushed the envelope. There is nothing explicit, and I hope that that continues in the sequels. But the Author loves kissing scenes way too much, and especially loves describing them way too much (I never ever want to be kissed; it's gross!). I got tired of the girls talking about their lustful thoughts, and I also especially got tired of the Author talking so much about lesbians. It felt like a preach; a bleed-through of the Author's personal opinions; like she was trying to make a point. And the revelation of one of the main characters being a lesbian was unexpected, disturbing, and absolutely did nothing to further the plot. If it had done something to enhance the story, I could accept it, but it once again just felt like the Author trying to make some point.

The storyline is interesting, and the Author ended Book One on an excellent cliffhanger, where anything could happen in the sequel. I only hope that she doesn't start pumping her books full of inappropriate content.

Others in The Cahill Witch Chronicles:
1)Born Wicked
2)Star Cursed