Me on Born Wicked

Title: Born Wicked
Author: Jessica Spotswood
Release Date: February 7, 2012
Publisher: Putnam Juvenille (Penguin imprint)

Everyone knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. They're too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But they're witches, and the truth coming out could mean an asylum, a prison ship, or an early grave. Cate promised her mother she'd protect her sisters, but with six months to go until choosing between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word. Especially after discovering her mother's diary and a dangerous secret that could destroy her family. The search for answers put her in danger of being discovered, and throws her into a secret romance with the unsuitable Finn Belastra. If what her mother wrote is true, Cate and her sisters aren't safe. Even from themselves.

Dangerous, dark and magical, lush and mysterious, Born Wicked wrapped me up in its magic and misty secrets. I couldn't help but keep reading to discover the secrets, to discover the ending, to learn what lengths Cate will go to to keep her sisters safe and hidden.

Cate wasn't necessarily a new and different kind of heroine, but I can't remember one that was as frustrated and stubborn as she was. She's a witch, yes, but hates it. It complicates her life when she craves being normal and not having any kind of ability. Well, she craves a normal life that won't include the Brothers and their hatred of witches and the God-fearing that drips from their lips as they speak during service.

The relationship Cate had with her sisters Maura and Tess is what stood out the most, apart from the magic. Everything was so real, the struggle Cate had to keep the both of them in check, to be a second mother to them when all they wanted was a sister. Cate needed to learn to let go, to let them learn and hide on their own. She wouldn't always be there to watch them.

The Brotherhood and its religious leaning, the Cahill sisters and their hiding their powers in plain sight, this book was rather reminiscent of the witch trials that occurred in colonial times. I imagine that was the point, to highlight this time period, to tweak it and present an alternative history.

This book had so many complications, so many secrets and hidden stories and realizations that changed hopes and dreams. I'm craving the next book desperately, I need to know what happens next. Anything could happen next, but that both scares and delights me.

Born Wicked is a book that left me frustrated, but only because it ended. I had such a visceral reaction when I wanted more and only had a blank page at the end of the book. The next book cannot come fast enough.

(I borrowed an advance copy from a friend.)