| Title | : | Blackheath (The Blackheath Witches, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 9781522836 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781522836254 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 284 |
| Publication | : | First published December 20, 2015 |
Desperate to shake the hex, Maggie has no choice but to seek out the help of Joel Tomlins, a rebellious classmate who’s descended from Blackheath’s most powerful line of witches. After breaking all of his coven’s conventions to help her, Joel discovers that the curse isn’t as bad as Maggie fears. In fact, it’s much, much worse.
Blackheath (The Blackheath Witches, #1) Reviews
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Reread this book yesterday on the beach!
It truly is one of my favourite paranormal reads ever!
I love the The Secret Circle and Sweep series vibes!
Gabriella Lepores writing is truly unique, well paced and exciting!
I am SO EXCITED TO PUBLISH THE SEQUEL!
I really recommend you all check this out! -
SEPTEMBER 2017 edit: how is it that I don't remember reading this book, and even less reviewing it?! O_O I might need to reread it because I seriously DON'T REMEMBER A SINGLE THING *ugly sobbing in the background
I rest my case.
Ifa better writtenTwilight, a Halloween Disney Channel Original Movie, The Raven Cycle under methadone, and a bag of marshmallows had a lovechild, it'd look like this book.
Not gonna lie, you must be in a fluffy mood to really appreciate this one; take it as if you were reading a book that, by no means, is going to harm or trigger you in any way, and you'll be game. I feel like Blackheath, in fact, just aims to entertain and make you giggle for a few hours.
Well, that's what I did, at least.
Sure, I dove into this thinking it was something and found out that it was actually another, but I didn't hate it. Quite the opposite, actually.
The blurb basically tells you all you need to know about it without spoiling it for you too much, so I won't waste time speaking about the plot, but I'd use this review only to share some of my impressions.
One out of those 3 stars belongs to the writing itself. It was colloquial and pleasant, nothing too pretentious, to be clear; it actually flowed so well I was surprised when I noticed that I was almost at the end. Both the style and the character characterisation reminded me a little of Stephenie Meyer's way (without getting on my nerves with long, embarrassingly cheesy remarks, though, and most of all, with teenagers actually acting like teenagersIM TALKING TO YOU AND YOUR KNEE LONG KHAKI SKIRT ???IN 2005???, BELLA SWAN).
Gabriella Lepore can create a scene and drawn you to it, that's for sure.
To be honest, this could work SOOO FINE as a movie script (if the cast didn't comprehend 30-somethings playing teenager roles, that is).
Even if she's a MC, I didn't actually care about Maggie a huge lot, but that's probably my fault for not being able to connect to her properly, because after all she wasn't even too flat nor did she annoy me to death (*movie teen fuckboy voice* I'm sorry Maggie, but it's not you, it's me) whenever she opened her mouth or did anything of any sort.
I really liked what the author did with the Tomlins family dynamics, though, especially the one concerning the brothers. I AM SUCH A SUCKER FOR BROTHERLY LOVE.
Again, the similarities with Twilight sometimes made my eyes roll so hard that I could see my brain, but as soon as I took those episodes and turned them into occasions to revive some nostalgic moments of when I was youngerand convinced broody and prude vampires who sparkle were the next best thing after the invention of cheese fries, I found out that I was quite enjoying myself.
Of course, this novel has its flaws, as well, and I'm certainly not recommending it if you're expecting something deep and filled with complicated and twisted subplots, but if you're looking for a cute, fast reading that comes with no warning signs and not even one complication, this book is your guy.
I personally liked it to pieces and it left a huge grimace on my face, so, now it's up to you guys.
Oh, I almost forgot, allow me to point out just one more little complaint, before I go and rate this book 3 well-deserved stars:
That cover tells lies.
(but it's, oh, so utterly pretty) -
Besides Harry Potter, I'm not one to usually read witchy books. But when Gabriella Lepore reached out to me about reviewing her new book, I thought why not? The synopsis sounded great and the cover is stunning! So thank you Gabriella!
Following a bout of bad luck, seventeen-year-old Maggie Ellmes learns she has a curse upon her and seeks out the help of Joel Tomlins, who is a known descendent of a powerful line of witches. Together they set out to destroy Maggie's curse, which they find out is more powerful than they could ever have imagined.
The story didn't pull me in until about 1/4 of the way in and sitting at only 271 pages, i finished it in one sitting. I found both main characters to be immature and whiny to my 29 year old self. There were some really awkward moments in terms of dialogue where I wasn't sure if I should cringe or laugh and ended up laughing whether that was right or wrong.
But in spite of the rocky start, by the end of the book I found that I had warmed up to Joel. I really liked the eery backdrop and the emphasis on Joel's family. Especially sweet little Pippin. I just want to cuddle him. I would have like some more meat to the story - details about the witches and the covens. Maybe just some more magic in general. But all in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable story that kept me interested and the story ends in a way that had me wanting more, I'd read the sequel.
This is definitely directed more towards the younger teens so I try to look at things from when I was that age and I can definitely find the appeal. So if you land in the preteen category and want a fun, quick read give this a shot! -
This was a book that captured my heart. I laughed, cried, and nursed my book hangover when it was all over! It's love <3 Witches, carnivals and Tomlinses oh my!
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Blackheath is a magical teen romance of epic proportions.
Nothing seems to ever go right for Maggie Ellmes. When all else fails, she must seek out the help of the argumentative Joel Tomlins, the heir to the Blackheath’s mansion and the most powerful in his family’s line of witches.
There is a nasty curse, a very sweet romance, some sibling rivalry and lots of magic.
Sure to be a hit with the younger tween readers, I found this story to be a quick, easy, entertaining teen geared novel.
I received this copy of Blackheath from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for a honest review.
My Rating: 4 Teen Stars
Written by: Gabriella Lepore
Series: The Witches of Blackheath
Sequence in Series: 1
Paperback: 284 pages
ISBN-10: 1522914994
ISBN-13: 978-1522914990
Genre: Teen Fantasy
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Blackheath-Witc...
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I adored this book! Maggie and Joel's relationship was sweet and funny, and the Tomlins brothers relationship was great too. Whitchcraft, drama and humor all in one well-crafted story. 5 stars.
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My favourite of 2016 so far!
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I really enjoyed Blackheath. The story unfolded at the perfect pace with enough intrigue to keep me turning the pages. I finished this book in a few hours. I loved watching the relationship unfold between Joel and Maggie, and the exchange between the brothers was wonderfully written. I hope there will be more books about these characters.
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I wish to thank the publisher for sending me a review copy of this book.
This is my second novel of Gabriella and there is a growth as an author. It shows more maturity in character development and, very important, dialogue. It was a huge difference for the better. I liked the writing style a bit more on Blackheath.
Blackheath is a private academy where a family of students is known for being witches. Maggie believes she has been cursed and asks Joel, the witch from her class, for help. The plot develops from there.
For the positive points, Joel. I wish he was the only POV in this novel, he was so interesting and well crafted. It was a shame he was cut down to serve the plot and a romantic entaglement to Maggie, that made no sense. It was not a believable couple.
The strongest element is the family of witches and the connection they have. I wish it was explored further. As well as the magic! At least in this novel the witches were more like witches and not a strange mix between vampires and dark wizards. The school setting, the carnival and the magic combined so well, it was a shame it was again so pulled in the back.
For the negative, one word Maggie. Why? She is unlikable, obnoxious most of the time, and added nothing to this novel. The book would be better with Joel as the only POV. Also, the build up for the climax was confusing, the plot twist was simply there and the resolution was just to easy. This book needed to be longer for the story it was trying to tell. Not only that, it didn't create any sense of closure, only more questions for the sequel I must read to understand it fully. A big no in my reading experience.
So I ended up giving it 3 stars. It had it's ups and downs but I still enjoyed it. If you are a fan of the authors other novels you will probably like this one. -
Source: I downloaded this book via Kindle Unlimited.
Cost: Free
Title: Blackheath
Author: Gabriella Lepore
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Overall Rating: 5 stars
Full Review:
http://sunstormsandthunderclouds.blog...
I really loved this book!
I’m a massive fan of Gabriella Lepore, I’ve read just around half of her books and I’m yet to be disappointed. Blackheath was no exception to that! Not only was the plot fast paced enough to be able to read in one sitting, it was very eloquently written and it flowed incredibly well.
My favourite thing about Lepore’s writing is her ability to create characters that you care about. When I started reading this book, I was drawn to Joel immediately. His surly attitude and his thoughts made me really want to mother him. I love characters that have really strong emotions, and Joel definitely had some strong emotions.
I even liked Maggie, although at first I was a bit weary of her, but she had a lot of depth and I loved how she and Joel’s relationship flourished throughout this book. I love relationship development, I liked the humour and how it was based off a dislike at the beginning and how it developed into something so powerful and poignant.
Although I loved the things I’ve mentioned above, my favourite thing about this book was the emphasis on family. I feel that sometimes it takes a witch book to truly show the power of family as it’s something that can be overseen in YA. I loved Evan and Joel’s relationship, and I loved the little flashback of Joel finding Pippin, I really would read a whole book just about the brothers. -
Another amazing book by Gabriella Lepore! The storyline was great and I've never felt bored- I always wanted to know what comes next.
My favorite thing besides the witchcraft was the development of the relationship between Joel and Maggie because it was funny, cute and most importantly : it seemed so real!
All in all, I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves books with witches ! -
So Blackheath is about Joel Tomlins and his brothers, a family of witches. It tpreimarily takes place in three setting: the rundown old Tomlins mansion, the school and the blackheath carnival, all of which i love! There is some romance, lighthearted humour, magic, mytery and tension. Of course I love this book! It has my heart!
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I loved reading this book as it was funny and cute and there are so many words to describe it. Is it just me who imagined Evan as Evan Peters from the first series of American horror story? The story was interesting and easy to read and fall in love with and I just couldn't put it down.
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Reviewed on
Lili Lost in a Book
I love witchy, magical books, so this was right up my alley. And Blackheath--words cannot describe how much I loved this book!
It's Halloween, which means the carnival is in town! One day, while Maggie is at the carnival with her BFF Isla, Isla decides she wants to get her fortune told, so she drags Maggie along with her. Much the Maggie's surprise, the fortune teller reveals to Maggie that she is cursed! What?! Naturally, Maggie turns to the only witch in town she knows: Joel Tomlins. Well, not the only witch. You see, Joel and his family are notoriously known in town to be witches, not that they've ever displayed their powers in public, but it's pretty much a known fact among the townspeople. So, Maggie turns to her classmate for help, and after much (hilarious) harassment from Maggie, Joel gives in and decides to help her. However, it is more than he bargained for--both the curse and his sort-of-relationship with Maggie.
Sure was...
So, I obviously loved the witchy magical aspect of it. Witches are my favorite supernatural creature, but more than that, I loved the mythos in this book. How they used their magic and, you know, the rules. Another thing I loved was the fact that the male main character was actually the one who was the witch! I don't know about you guys, but most of the witchy/magical books I read, the female main character is typically always the one who is the witch with a non-witch love interest. So I very much enjoyed the reversal here and found it very refreshing.
One important aspect of the book was all the complex relationships between the characters, which I quite loved (anyone keeping score of how many times I've used the word 'love' so far? ;) hehehe). For example, the complicated relationship between Joel and his brother Evan and his dad. Or the endearing relationship between Joel and his younger brothers, particularly Pip! And of course, the sort-of friends-but-not-really/childhood-friends-but-only-during-summer-break relationship Joel and Maggie had going on. Yeah, it was a bit complicated, but I loved watching their relationships develop and bloom into something more.
The one thing I do have to say, though, is that the bad guy seemed kind of obvious from the start (to me), so when he was revealed I wasn't all that surprised. There was also one more twist that did not surprise me, since I had guessed its outcome much earlier in the book. Surprisingly enough, this didn't even bother me as it usually would. I don't know why, I guess I just enjoyed this book that much! ;) Now, at the very, very end, there were a couple of twists I did not see coming AT ALL! How can you leave us with that ending?! I need the next book, like, yesterday!
Anyway, crazy plot twists aside, Blackheath was beyond enjoyable, very well written with a sweet romance and suspense that gave me a bit of anxiety (that climax!) It had a very fun and sassy female main character, and a rebellious but sweet (and magical!) male love interest! It was just perfect! I've read many witchy/magical books, and I can honestly say that Blackheath is definitely in my top 5 (at least!) Where has this book been all my life?! There's going to be more, right? RIGHT? I can't wait! :D -
2.5 Stars.
Blackheath was an interesting book, but the expectations I had and the book it turned out to be were so different it was hard to get past it. After looking at the cover and reading the synopsis, I was expecting a darkly gothic tale of sorcery and angst, with a girl long cursed seeking redemption. What I got was a high school drama with a female MC, Maggie, who was really mean (for no reason), likes to stomp her foot every time she is angry (for no reason) and then an entourage of secondary characters which didn't really make much of an impression on me. Further, I thought this was mainly from the cursed girl's POV, instead from the very first chapter, it was told from alternating POV's starting with the POV of Joel Tomlins, I was left confused, trying to catch up the whole time. The romance was rushed (even though they were supposed to have secretly loved each other for years - I didn't translate to me as a reader) and you can't go from having the two characters hating each other to suddenly kissing.
The best part of the book is definitely Joel Tomlins himself - he made me laugh so many times and he put up with a lot (Why is Maggie such a jerk to him? Especially in that detention scene???).
I do feel that Blackheath finished strongly, but it just wasn't enough to make up for the 80% before that hadn't really moved me.
I think that it was really my expectations that spoiled this book for me, not the actual book itself. Sadly, I won't be reading on, but I am interested in reading another book by the author How I Found You (I think that's the title). Have a go of this book if you enjoy high school mystery dramas with a little touch of sorcery. -
Such a quick but great read! Another wonderful story by the lovely Gabriella Lepore!
I spent the entire novel wanting to push Maggie and Joel at each other! They were so cute! Their relationship evolved in just the right way and there is still so much room to elaborate!
Can I just say how much I adore Pippin?! Imagining him in the pot just made me melt, awwww!!
All of the characters were highlighted and given their moments which was great. I look forward to seeing them again in book 2. Ainsley is one I'll be sure to keep an eye on.
The story just hooked me, (much like all of Gabriella's novels so far) and I just had to keep reading to learn more. I cannot wait to see where this story goes. SO GREAT!
** Would have written more but it would have ended up in spoiler territory, such a great way to begin the week! ;) ** -
“I am not one to choose the easy path. After all, my dear Joel, aren’t life’s challenges what make us who we are?”
i really enjoyed this! while i did feel at times there wasn’t a whole lot happening with the plot, the characters and the nostalgic feelings i got while reading this really made up for it. this book is perfect for the fall/halloween time. i think that’s why i have such a strong nostalgic attachment to this story.
i absolutely loved joel and maggie. they’re precious and i want to protect and love them forever and ever. their romance is just, ugh, so cute. and kaden??? boi, i have questions about him. he’s hella intriguing. SO IS THE MOTHER, I MEAN THAT ENDING HAS ME SHOOK?? who is she????? BITCH. ANSWERS, PLEASE.
all-in-all, if you’re looking for a good witchy kind of story, i HIGHLY recommend this one! very excited to read the next book! -
LOVED THE CHARACTERS. Maggie and Joel made me laugh straight away with their attitudes. They are the people I would be friends with in school. I would be the third wheel being like, "Guys, you love each other so just be together already!" I love when people start off hating each other but then their relationship develops and they are faced to deal with their real feelings. As well Gabby is the queen of writing prologue's! They always have you dying to know what happens and this one was no different. It was short and to the point but it had me guessing ideas of what was gonna happen in the story from the start. I had a very vivid image of the world of Blackheath. The ending!!! Omg I need book 2!!
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A brilliant book full of magic, witchcraft and great characters! I loved the development of Joel and Maggie's relationship, it was sweet, funny and was lovely to see it unfold. The perfect book for anyone's who's a fan of books with witches and wants a quick, easy and gripping read.
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It was really good, but not perfect, I'll talk about how much I liked it and the one little thing that bothered me in a review on Lisa Loves Literature soon!
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Ugh- this was supposed to cure my book hangover, not cause another one! Impatiently waiting for October 11th- it can't come soon enough!
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A gothic family drama focussing on the second oldest of four witch brothers and Maggie, his friend since childhood who has a curse placed on her. Loved the family dynamics and the twists and turns!
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I received a copy of this book in return for a honest review from Oftomes publishing, and I would like to thank them again for the opportunity to read it.
Blackheath is about a family of brothers that are struggling to cope with the abandonment of their mother, return of their father, high school,raising a family and to top it off they are witches.
The story was very clearly written and the characters were approachable and very quickly you got your favourites in line. It was a quick and easy read and I feel the ending leads into a very clean transitional place for the next book.
The story doesn’t ask the hard questions and it’s not a “heavy”read. If you are looking for something un-complex then this is a perfect read for you. If you do however want a more meaningful read then maybe give it a skip. As I said though, great book to read on a rainy day off work! -
2.5 stars.
Maggie finds out one night at a carnival that she is cursed. She turns to the only person she can think of to help her. Joel Tomlins. The one guy she hates.
This wasn't a bad read. The relationship between Maggie and Joel could use some more work. It would have been nice to see a little more depth and growth between the two. I will read the next book. -
**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs:
http://bookbriefs.net**
Blackheath is a young adult fantasy & magic novel by Gabriella Lepore. It is the first book in a new series. I found Blackheath to be an interesting and quick read. I think it will appeal to a younger, young adult audience as the writing and characters were a bit more superficial. Don't however; take that to be a bad thing. I enjoyed Blackheath and I think many readers will as well.
I find stories about witches to be really engaging reads, and if you throw a big kind of creepy old house in the mix, that automatically makes things even better, so I was excited. What excited me more was the fact that all of the witches in the Tomlins family were men. I think there are a very severe shortage of young adult witch stories feature male witches.
Maggie and Joel both started out a little whinny for my tastes, but both of them grew on me. There is certainly not insta love in this story, because Maggie and Joel seem to hate each other. but once they started talking the gap from bickering to crush was jumped rather quickly. It is one of the reasons that I think this story will appeal more to a younger crowd rather than an older one. The story is a quick read that moves at a very brisk pace. It kept me engaged to the very end, and I cannot wait to see what the author is going to do next with it. I want to know more about the golden light around Maggie, so I hope that comes up again.
In the next book, I want to see more of the back story of Maggie and Joel. It was briefly mentioned that they used to hang out during the summers, but we didn't really get to dive into why that stopped. I would like to see that explored a bit more. And there are lots more magic to come as well. I am very interested to see the interaction between the two covens, and I think Joel has some more secrets up his sleeve.
Bottom line: I thought this was a cute, quick read that kept me interested. I think it will appeal more to a younger audience looking for a magical witch read. The romance was cute and you can finish this one in just a couple of hours. I will be continuing this story for sure when I am looking for my next quick fix.
This review was originally posted on Book Briefs -
(Thank you to Gabriella Lepore for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!)
The Rating: 4.25/5
The Overall, Non-Spoiler Review:
Let me just off by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It had a really fun, fast-paced feel to it and made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion (which is always a great thing!). I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a fast, light read that has the pacing and romance of a contemporary novel but the intriguing elements of a paranormal read!
The Plot:
The plot revolves around our main character Maggie as she joins forces with our other main character Joel to try to remove a curse placed upon her. When I started this novel, it seemed pretty predictable but don't let this fool you! This novel had too many twists and turns to keep count of and OMG that ending (I am lowkey dying for a sequel)!
The thing about this novel is that although it is a paranormal, it doesn't focus just on those aspects so it was really nice to see our characters doing normal, everyday teenage things as well. It made the novel read a lot faster and also made it more entertaining!
The Characters:
Maggie was an awesome non-annoying female lead (and I say non-annoying because they are becoming a rarity these days) and Joel was the perfect mix of surly, sarcastic and sweet. They had a cute dynamic and their romance was very low drama which, one again, was a nice relief.
All in all, definitely give it a read! -
Rating: 3/5
Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal
Recommended Age:
I received a free copy of this book courtesy of OfTomes Publishing. All opinions are my own.
Seventeen-year-old Maggie Ellmes is dogged by a case of chronic bad luck. She figures that’s just her lot in life—that is, until the psychic at Blackheath’s annual carnival reveals that Maggie’s problems are caused by more than just ordinary misfortune; she’s actually been cursed.
Desperate to shake the hex, Maggie has no choice but to seek out the help of Joel Tomlins, a rebellious classmate who’s descended from Blackheath’s most powerful line of witches. After breaking all of his coven’s conventions to help her, Joel discovers that the curse isn’t as bad as Maggie fears. In fact, it’s much, much worse. - Amazon.com
The one thing I can say about Gabriella Lapore's writing is that it is truly beautiful. Not beautiful like Laini Taylor's, because honestly heres sometimes goes over-flowery, but beautiful as in it's simple, pleasent, and easy on the eyes and senses. I also felt that the character development for some of the characters was great and it really made me like Joel in particular. However, I did have a lot of dislikes about this book.
I really disliked how this book reminded me of Twilight. I have read the entire series and I don't really enjoy the series. I know a lot of people do, but personally I didn't like it. I also didn't like Maggie. She was very rude and mean for no reason. I've read books from the POV of a rude and mean person before and usually there's a very decent backstory to explain it and you end up feeling for the character, which I hope happens in the next book because I'm not liking Maggie at all. The book is told through multiple POVs and I thought the book could have done better to just be told through one. The book also failed to grab my attention until I was 1/3 of the way through. It just felt kind of dry until then and there wasn't anything intriguing for me.
Verdict: In short, if you like Twilight or if you like Gabriella Lapore, then you might like this book! It's a decent book and a ton of paranormal romancers would love this type of book. Personally though this book didn't fit my reading style. -
I really struggled with this book. My main complaint about this book is that it felt like a very basic paint by numbers YA book. It reminded me of the many mediocre vampire books that came out after Twilight. The only difference between those books and 'Blackheath' is that the author swapped out vampires for witches.
This book just needed more. The entire story felt like it was just sliding across the surface of what could have been a really fun and exciting book. This needed more world building, characterization and character development. There also needed to be more time and effort into developing the conflict and the villain of the story. I never felt any attachments to any of the characters and I felt zero fear for them during the tenser spots of the plot line.
This author has some writing quirks that may not annoy other readings but they really bothered me throughout the story and strongly hindered my enjoyment. Most of the minor side characters of this book were constantly written with an adjective attached to their name. So for example there was, Blonde Lauren, Alleged Aunt Topaz, Cheerleader Lexi and Really Old Aunt Pearl. If this happened once or even just a few times when the characters were first introduced that would have been fine. But the author insists on calling the characters this EVERY SINGLE TIME they are on the page. It was infuriating. Every time I had to read one of those names it completely pulled me from the story and left a bad taste in my mouth.
TLDR: This book had potential but overall this felt like an early draft of a novel instead of a final and published work. -
The first book I read written by Gabriella Lepore is The Witches of the Glass Castle. I enjoyed reading that and was looking forward to reading its second book. I didn't have any expectations from her back then. This time, I was apprehensive about reading another one of her books because I enjoyed TWotGC, I hoped this one won't fail me.
Maybe Lepore has a fascination with witches since this series is about them too. I don't know where she categorizes this story but I'd say it's an urban fantasy as well. The characters are in the same age group as the characters in TWotGC. However, this is more at the young adult level than middle grade. There are more sub-characters present in this story and most of them are adults, unlike with TWotGC where the prominent characters were teenagers and the adults were only seen at the start and end of the book.
Joel. I rarely encounter a character named Joel. I can't even remember a book where there is a Joel. I appreciate reading about a character with an uncommon name in a fiction book.
The magic system in the story is not clearly explained but I kind of imagine it works the similar way as the magic system in the TV series Charmed. There is a gloomy feel in the setting of the story. I loved that the romance was built from childhood history and friendship, it somehow justifies the kind of trust and care the main characters have for each other. Family dynamics are also part of their story which is another plus. There may be many sub-stories happening in the book but each one is layered to the next in a way that is not confusing.
For me, this book is can be catered to a wider audience compared to TWofGC. -
Original Post:
http://booknauthors.blogspot.com/2017...
When a fortune-teller tells Maggie that she has been cursed, she starts understanding why her life has been facing ups and downs lately. No one believes the fortune-teller until Maggie's friend, Isabelle goes into a strange comma. Joel Tomlins, a wizard offers help to Maggie. Being good friends in the past and then becoming strangers to eachother, Maggie accepts Joel's help.
At first, the novel was just okay but then it started to pick up pace. The novel felt more MG to me than YA. I loved the writing style of the author, it was so easy to understand and not complex. The characters were so beautifully written and were so courageous and bold.
We get to read the cute relationship between Joel & his older brother. Plus this story has a really sweet romance. The ending pages felt very cinematic me to and I really enjoyed them.
Overall, this story is a great blend of love, courage, brotherhood & sacrifice. Would highly recommend it!
