BOOK REVIEW - BORN WICKED by JESSICA SPOTSWOOD - THE CAHILL CHRONICLES # 1

By: Jessica Spotswood
Published By : Razor Bill, Penguin
Released : 24th January 2012
Details: Paperback, 330 Pages

RATING: 4.25 FINN STARS!

Book Blurb : Taken From Goodreads

A Great and Terrible Beauty meets Cassandra Clare in this spellbinding fantasy .

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.

BOOK REVIEW:



 I loved this book. I’m going to be honest and say that it was a little slow the storyline for the first 100 pages or maybe a little more.....but now....I can’t wait for book 2.

This is a great read once we get right into the story, past the getting to know characters and I know it will only get better as more books enter the reading world.

Tess, Maura and Cate , are 3 sisters who are all witches. Tess uses magic like any 12yr old would do when told not to do something. She is a little mischievous. Maura is 15 and feisty and a little out spoken. Cate is nearing 17yrs and is sensible, worried for all their safety. She knows truly what is at stake if Brother Ishida comes knocking.

There is a prophecy, the Brotherhood ( grrrrrrr...) and the Sisterhood. You don’t want Brother Ishida at your door with his goon squad as he has proclaimed you to be a witch, mostly because he says so and off you go to the mad house or to the prison ship.

This story is set in 1896. The Cahill Sister’s mother is dead and their father away working, almost constantly. A Governess has been brought in to transform these girls into the upstanding , well bred ladies that they are and to get them married off when they come of age.

Enter Paul McLeod, Cate’s best friend who she grew up climbing trees with and mucking about. He has returned from New London and both parties have grown older and more handsome. Paul has the best intentions. I like Paul but he isn’t for Cate. Hopefully he shows us a deeper character, one that will fight for Cate.

Then enter Finn Belastra...* sigh * , the resident intellectual gardener who wants to tend a bit more than the roses. He is swoon worthy and smart. He is a gardener by circumstance, brains he has, but he also has a sense of loyalty to his mother and sister.

This is when the story gets real interesting. There is the most wonderful snogging, letters get revealed, girls get taken, secret rooms, banned books, hidden weaponry , more snogging. Secrets are revealed, there are sacrifices to be made and there is Finn. I can’t wait to see Finn in action.

What I am looking forward to in the sequels is, some action scenes, I’m talking Harry Potter verbal magic sparring without the wands, two guys fighting for Cate and her sisters, more of the totally corrupt Brother Ishida. This guy has two sets of rules and currently needs a rather hard ‘stinky dead fish slap’ from me. Dear old dad to wake up to his daughters strife and to find out what the deal truly is with the Sisterhood.

There are a couple great twists in this book, which I really enjoyed.

Jessica visually writes her scenes beautifully. I loved the bookshop and the garden.

Can the Sisterhood truly be trusted to look out for those within their walls or are they just as bad to a certain extent as the Brotherhood?

This book got very exciting and I wish we had more excitement to read before I turned the last page .

Jessica Spotswood has started something that I want to follow through until the end. I am waving the Team Finn T-shirt and can’t wait to read more about Cate and her sisters.

Oh, and how gorgeous is this book cover?

FAVE QUOTES:


Father gestures toward the corner of the room, where Mrs. Corbett sits like a fat spider on the plush red sofa, spinning her helpful little schemes.



Our noses bump in the dark, but Finn tilts his head sideways until his lips touch mine. They brush back and forth , testing. Tasting. He waits, but I only press closer, and he reads that for the invitation it is. His kisses grow bolder. My toes curl in my slippers; my fingers clench the fabric of his shirt; fireworks explode in my belly.

His mouth explores the sharp line of my jaw, then moves to the hollow of my throat.

“Finn,” I sigh. Never in my life has my voice sounded like that.





" No ,” I say slowly, raising my eyes to his. “I don’t feel compromised at all.”
 

“If you stay here, I’ll have to kiss you senseless and someone will see us eventually.”

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Michelle