This book definitely qualifies as a cover lust book. You may ask, Why, Amanda, are you lusting over something so random as a book cover? My answer is, because it looks like this:
Maybe this is a little hipster of me, and so be it, but can I have everything about this cover? I want a grassy, forest-y field to lay in, flowers in my hair (we don’t even get those kinds of flowers here in Arizona!), blue eyes, and that pretty ivory dress. Give it all to me!
I got this book at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con and I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to pull it off my shelf, honestly. I finally moved it to my currently-reading shelf last week and I’m so glad I did! Here is the synopsis from its Goodreads page:
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.
So the beginning was a little slow for me. I’ll say it straight: Cate seemed a little too whiny to me for the first 30 or so pages. I was waiting for the story to move on and since it’s written in first person it was up to Cate to get it going. Just as I was about to get annoyed with her it really picked up and from then and did. not. stop!
I loved the story of this book! It’s set in America, post Salem witch trials only America looks a little different. It’s run by a government-meets-religious body called the Brotherhood, made up of important men who are appointed, not elected, to power. Their sole purpose is to rid America of witches and promote obedience to the Lord, a god that sort of resembles the very strict Puritan version but skewed even more so by their power-hungry motives.
The author did a great job with not only the spoken dialogue in this book but also Cate’s inner- dialogue. The book feels almost like an Austen novel in how its written, the language is proper and old-fashioned in a unique way that really puts you in that time setting right away. I had trouble getting used to it at first and was reading slower than I usually do but when I think back, I haven’t recently read many novels in this time period. The one that comes to my mind quickly is The Friday Society but it was written a little more casually because the characters were a bit more care-free. Even though it had me paying closer attention to the language I think this was a huge positive for Spotswood’s writing.
The sisters, and all girls in America really, are in a pretty bad situation. They must adhere to every custom, courtesy, and regulation. No education past grade school other than etiquette, very little choice in whom they marry or when, and any divergence from these rules leads to suspicion of witchcraft which is an offense that’s punishable by death. You can see why these sisters are in hot water, and why Cate especially has important decisions to make.
I would love for every teenage girl to read this book. I couldn’t help but swell with girl-power-yeah feelings the entire time! The Brotherhood is a bunch of messed up dudes, to put it lightly, and all I want is to see them taken down. I don’t think this is too much a spoiler, but the book is a part of a trilogy (the second one, Star Cursed, was just released!) so I can tell you that I can’t wait to pick up the second one and hope to see their butts kicked!
Oh, and this doesn’t hurt at all, the romance in this book is great. Such a healthy YA relationship!
This is one of my favorite quotes. I had so many others but I’m trying to avoid spoilers! “No matter how safe and beautiful it is, a cage is still a cage.”
You can buy the book on Amazon here and on Barnes & Noble here. What’s your favorite book about witchcraft and the supernatural?
