"Witchlanders" by Lena Coakley

“High in their mountain covens, red witches pray to the Goddess, protecting the Witchlands by throwing the bones and foretelling the future.  It’s all a fake. At least, that’s what Ryder thinks. He doubts the witches really deserve their tithes—one quarter of all the crops his village can produce. And even if they can predict the future, what danger is there to foretell, now that his people’s old enemy, the Baen, has been defeated?  But when a terrifying new magic threatens both his village and the coven, Ryder must confront the beautiful and silent witch who holds all the secrets. Everything he’s ever believed about witches, the Baen, magic and about himself will change, when he discovers that the prophecies he’s always scorned— 
Are about him.” -goodreads

Hello there, epic like complicated fantasy novel, a variety of book I almost always seem to fall for. “Witchlanders” is fantasy, people. The fantastical world within is amazing; reminiscent of the worlds “Eragon“, ‘Narnia‘, or “The Lord of the Rings“, and I totally loved those. No one is flying dragons, there’s no talking lion, and there aren’t any hobbits to be found, but it’s the feeling. A whole different world, with magic and its varied abilities,  a broad sense of imagination where you never know what’s going to happen next-- what character will discover their magical ability or what new creature will appear. It makes you want to know more, more about what their magic is, what the singing is, what’s up with the witches shrinking coven, what is going on with Ryder and Farien? Main character Ryder is excellent too. I was kind of confused about Ryder; he’s a great main character and I really liked him but the cover has a girl (I presume his sister, Skyla, but not sure), and I don’t know I just expected the protagonist to be a girl for some reason. I’m entirely okay with it being Ryder though, he was really interesting, and determined.

An interesting thing I noticed throughout the book, is that some things, especially the characters, aren’t physically described much. At the beginning that actually annoyed me, but then as I read on, I unintentionally formed my own picture in my head and it was crystal clear. I don’t know if this was intentional on Lena Coakley’s part or not but it was brilliant and I’m guessing it was. The pace was good overall also, it did seem a bit slow at times but I think that happens in all fantasy books…

I’m also not sure if there’s going to be a sequel to this one or not, but I hope there is! It didn’t really seem like a stand-alone with the ending, but more importantly; I want more of the world in Witchlanders and Ryder’s adventures!
Thank you Simon&Schuster for the opportunity to review this book.

"Paranormalcy" (#1) by Kiersten White

"Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.
But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.
So much for normal."-goodreads

I enjoyed Paranormalcy immensely. It was funny, the characters were great (especially Evie), and the writing was both fast-paced and easy to connect to. Almost immediately after starting it, I was hooked. It was a really quick read, probably because I didn’t want to put it down but also because it was fairly fast-paced (I don’t recall a single slow part), which I enjoyed, and it was just generally easy to read.

Evie was awesome. She kicked those Paranormal’s butts when she needed to and was a strong lead heroine. She was also relatable and funny. As I’ve mentioned before, connecting to the main character is important for me and that happened right away with Evie. The other characters were good too.. Lend was really awesome and sweet. Lish was really funny and a good friend. Lend’s family was very interesting.

The Paranormals were portrayed interestingly in general. They were never what they seemed in small details and big most of the time. I found that whole element really interesting because of the way Evie was with paranormals and the relationships of the paranormals in the book being almost jesting was amusing. The making fun of the stereotypes and such was great. It was interesting to see everyone (except the faeries!) to be cast a different and either loyal or amusing light on. Also, the vampires didn’t sparkle. Points there.

The ending was surprising and an all-around good cliffhanger, and I do look forward to Supernaturally, the sequel, when it comes out in July (hey, can that be moved to tomorrow? Please and thank you!). If you’re looking for a very different kind of paranormal book that’s funny and has a great lead character, then Paranormalcy would be great for you.

"Shadowed Summer" by Saundra Mitchell

"Iris is ready for another hot, routine summer in her small Louisiana town, hanging around the Red Stripe grocery with her best friend, Collette, and traipsing through the cemetery telling each other spooky stories and pretending to cast spells. Except this summer, Iris doesn’t have to make up a story. This summer, one falls right in her lap.
Years ago, before Iris was born, a local boy named Elijah Landry disappeared. All that remained of him were whispers and hushed gossip in the church pews. Until this summer. A ghost begins to haunt Iris, and she’s certain it’s the ghost of Elijah. What really happened to him? And why, of all people, has he chosen Iris to come back to?"-goodreads


First things first: This book was refreshing! Why? Because it was good, but it was a standalone. I felt satisfied with how it wrapped up, which I often don't with standalone books, without having to read a sequel to get the whole story! Don't get me wrong. I like series of books, however, I don't appreciate it when EVERY book is a series-- especially those times when you don't even know it is/will be one. 


Saundra Mitchell's writing. Ohmygosh. I read the Vespertine and really liked the story but my favorite part was Mrs. Mitchell's writing style. It's unique, rather poetic, and rather visual. Shadowed Summer is super creepy and gothic, emphasized by her writing. 


The whole thing was creepy, really Iris and Colette's pretending to be witches gone wrong, when something ACTUALLY happens and there's an actual ghost. Not a quiet ghost either, this ghost had a story to tell and a mystery to be solved. The whole thing wraps up in a way you wouldn't expect; as the story goes on, Colette and Iris think they know what happened, and the reader thinks they do too; but then it's not what you expect!


If you want a really creepy gothic type of book that's written well and is a relatively short STAND ALONE read, then check out Shadowed Summer.

"Beautiful Darkness" (Caster Chronicles, #2) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

"Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.
Sometimes life-ending.
Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems."-goodreads
Remember that time I wrote a review in which I was totally crazy about a Paranormal/Contemporary/Historical book called Beautiful Creatures? This is the sequel to that book and I loved it just as much!

The Paranormal/Historical/Contemporary elements are back and all there. The book is still written in a way that captivates you and makes you really see what is going on, at times rather poetic. The story is still fascinating. It continues to surprise with twists that you can't forsee no matter how hard you try. It's still a rather gothic novel. It was great!

There's always those times where I'm disappointed with the sequel as compared to the first book, but this wasn't a let down. Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness both start out rather slow-- even though it's good, it's slow-- but it's good that way. It doesn't take away for me. It just builds on and prepares you for the very complicated but very good things to come. It's a long book just like the first at about 500 pages, however, it's 500 pages of greatness. The way the world of Casters and the mortal world in Gaitlin combine in these books is seamless. The book was more emotional than the last, because of some very traumatic experiences going on and the ones that went on in Beautiful Creatures (which I can't talk about without ruining the whole thing).

I can't wait for the third in the series of the Caster Chronicles to come out, Beautiful Chaos in (fittingly) October! I'm sure there are more great things to coming yet in this series.

"White Cat" (Curseworkers, #1) by Holly Black

"Cassel comes from a family of curse workers — people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail — he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago. Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen."-goodreads

I know that Holly Black has come out with a bunch of YA stuff other than the Curseworkers series, but White Cat is the first I've read. I didn't even realize she was coming out with any YA stuff for quite a while. I'm very glad I did find out. I love Holly Black's writing, and I've loved it ever since I was 7 or 8 and picked up her "The Spiderwick Chronicles" series, which I adored. Ate it up. I read all of them, over and over, in VERY short periods of time. I figured, after loving those so much, I'd have to adore her newer stuff. I did!

The crime family of 'workers' situation, a little bit like that of Heist Society by Ally Carter was very cool. The theme of complicated family situations throughout the book was great. The universe where everyone's a worker, or they're not, and that it's wrong, but it's not against the law-- that whole concept was really great. It was so out of the ordinary, yet Mrs. Black managed to make it feel like real life. The whole book felt really real, so real that it's probably an account of something actually happening. That's how real her writing is.


White Cat took a lot of complicated, surprising, sometimes very confusing twists and turns. I really enjoyed all of them as they were almost all VERY surprising, but they confused me at times. Big changes happened in very little time with little explanation sometimes. At first, I didn't like this at all but THEN I really liked it, because it felt very real, and felt very much like I was seeing everything the way Cassel was. He was confused. He didn't expect these things. He wasn't a worker. He didn't know what his family was doing... all of it just illustrated how he didn't know what he was doing, it just all lead back to a gritty real-ness of the whole book. 

Going along with the theme of real-ness, the characters were really complex and believable as well. I really liked Cassel and Lila and pretty much everyone. Barron was a tragic and interesting case. The cat was an interesting character, but I kind of already said that... didn't I? If you read the book you know what I'm talking about. If not, you'll find out.


I loved that it was complicated crime families. I loved that it was modern magic-- no faeries, no wands, no bunnies flying out of hats. A very believable fantasy, where magic is cursing and it effects people-- whether the person doing it knows it- or not. I really enjoyed White Cat and if you enjoyed Black's earlier books or Heist Society and anything else along those lines you'll like it too.

"Hex Hall" by Rachel Hawkins

"On her 12th birthday, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. Three bumpy years later, after a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, she's exiled to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.
By the end of her first day, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Then when a mysterious predator begins attacking students, and Sophie's only friend is the number-one suspect, a horrifying plot begins to surface. Soon, Sophie is preparing for the biggest threat of all: an ancient society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her."-goodreads

Hex Hall was a funny, cute book that was a relatively quick read. I enjoyed it, and I liked Sophie, who was a pretty good narrator. I thought it was interesting, with Sophie not really knowing what was going on with her being a witch or anything about her dad. The whole concept of Hecate Hall, where all the misbehaving creatures went was great.


I liked this book, but I admittedly had a problem with some character flaws. Sophie falls for Archer, the gorgeous warlock, which is fine and everything, predictable, but cute. The problem I had is that Archer was pretty mean to her, and regardless of how that suddenly changes, I don't really like it when books go all, girl likes boy, boy is mean, girl still likes boy, and acts like he has no flaws. Also, Sophie swore a lot, which is perfectly fine, I don't care, it was just that she seemed pretty logical and intelligent and everything and then she seemed to say things that didn't go along with that at all. So, those two things got on my nerves, although they didn't ruin the book for me or anything, I still enjoyed it.


My favorite elements of the book were probably the way the story ended up; who the 'ghost' was, how Sophie didn't know about what she was or what her family was, and the whole thing didn't end up the way I thought it would. I thought it was interesting how the school had all these creatures, the fairies, vampires, witches, warlocks, werewolves, and all of them were there because they'd done something or other they shouldn't have.


Anyway, if you're looking for a cute read, or if you need something light to get you out of a reading rut, this would probably be good. As well as if you want a written version of something kind of reminiscent of the Halloweentown movies for older audiences. I'll definitely be reading Demonglass soon. Also, I like the cover, even more so after reading the book-- but I do think it's a bit preppy/young girly looking for the book.

"Clockwork Angel" by Cassandra Clare (Infernal Devices, #1)

Tessa Gray's parents are dead. She lives with her Aunt in New York. Her brother, Nathaniel, went away a while ago to London for work. Her aunt has died and she's going to travel across the seas to her brother so they can live in London. Little does she know, her brother doesn't wait for her in London, but terrible forces do. There's evil and lots of knowledge waiting for Tessa in London; along with her brother. She'll also meet up with a lot of shadowhunters, including an attractive; seemingly emotionless one. That's how Clockwork Angel starts.

Clockwork Angel is the first book in a planned trilogy that is going to be a prequel sort of series to The Mortal Instruments. The other two books in the Infernal Devices series are going to be called "Clockwork Prince" and "Clockwork Princess".

I have a confession: I haven't read the Mortal Instruments yet. I plan to, especially after reading this book, but I haven't yet. My friend told me there weren't any spoilers and I could start with Clockwork Angel if I liked. I decided to.

It was really good. I haven't read a whole lot of books regarding demons, so that was a plus. There were vampires, but not cheesy sparkly ones. There was talk of warlocks, which is cool. The thing I like about that is the multiple types of paranormal, not just one.

Tessa, Jem, and Will were fascinating characters, as were pretty much everyone else. I enjoyed their back stories, all unique. Tessa's unknowingly not being totally human. Jem's disease due to poison and torture. Will's mysterious background.

There was a lot of fighting and action, along with mysteries and good stories and descriptions, so that was good. A lot of enjoyable elements. It's another book set in the 1800s, which was kind of cool after having just read The Vespertine. It was very creepy and gothic.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I think I will appreciate it even more after I read The Mortal Instruments! (Which I plan to do. Soon!) I'm also very much looking forward to Clockwork Prince!

"Beautiful Creatures" by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

"Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything."-goodreads

I have to admit, I almost didn't read this book. There were several reasons involved in this: when it came out, it was during the time where every single book was about VAMPIRES. Read the description. The 'secret' could easily be vampires, right? Second; it's LONG. I LOVE long books, because as long as a book is good it can go on forever and I'll be happy about that. But, despite people saying good things about it I thought it was about vampires and I'd read enough of those.

Fast-Forward to 2 weeks ago at the library. I saw this book sitting on the shelf and read the description again. I recalled thinking it was about vampires, but realized it never said that, and a couple of my friends are really into this book and had recommended it to me. I decided I'd read it and if it was bad or about vampires or it was Twilight with a different cover, I wouldn't finish it.

I finally got around to picking it up and oh. my. god. It was so good! I loved how it was paranormal and a paranormal romance but it wasn't vampires. It wasn't poorly written- in fact, it was SUPER-written. It was 566 pages of AWESOME. It was a long book- but even after reading 566 pages of it I found myself not wanting it to end. Why? Read on.

First: Setting. This novel is paranormal and it's in the modern world, but it's set in the South in an area with constant Civil War reenactments and a lot of history. I think this is the first book that I've ever read that was a Contemporary/Paranormal/Historical/Romance all at the same time, without a lot of over-empowerment from any of those.

Characters. I loved Ethan. He seemed really cool. I haven't actually read that many books that I've enjoyed that are narrated by guys, and I definitely liked this one the best. I also just liked him as a character. Lena was really cool, obviously, and she was just unique all around.

Casters. The whole witch-type-of-thing-but-not-quite was pretty unique and I really liked it.

I'm not going to go on much more because I'll get overly gush-ish and I'll probably spoil everything for you, but all I can say is that if you're not afraid of large books (with equally large sequels, Beautiful Darkness is just as long), with cool writing, interesting characters, a great setting, and overall a book that I'm calling Contemporary/Paranormal/Historical/Romance, then I recommend picking up Beautiful Creatures.

"Beastly" by Alex Flinn

"I am a beast.
A beast!
Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright. I am a monster.
You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll, stay this way forever ruined unless I can break the spell.
Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly...beastly." -goodreads 

I picked up Beastly because I really liked A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn, and because I'd heard really good things about it. There's a movie now as well, which I'd like to see. I really enjoyed it. I thought it was really unrealistic, I realize that it should be, it's a modern Beauty and the Beast (A fairy-tale!) but at the same time I thought it'd be a bit more realistic anyway. The capture that wasn't a kidnapping, despite the good intentions of keeping HER (no spoilers) from her father, I didn't think that was real at all. No matter how it seemed the Beast wasn't going to hurt me or something, I wouldn't have lived like that! I would've jumped out a window! Or maybe stolen the phone, it probably wouldn't have been that hard!


I digress though, despite the unrealness of the book, it was very good. The transformation of Kyle was amazing. Lindy was really cool. I really liked Will for some reason, he just seemed cool. The way it turned out who Magda was in the end was really epic, I didn't expect that. A lot of the book was predictable, partially because it's loosely based off the fairy-tale so you vaguely know how it will end of course, but there were still some twists and turns I didn't forsee.


Beastly is written in first person and is a male narrative by Kyle/The Beast/Adrian (the main character) and I don't think this book would have worked any other way.  A lot of the book is Kyle's inner battles with himself and his personality. Who he thought he was, who he was, what he wanted to be, his cold realizations about the way he was or still was at the time acting; they were all a big deal. I liked that because that created a good emotional connection and understanding with the lead character for me. I also adored the ongoing theme with the roses, Kyle's attachment to them, Lindy liking them, and how they were there for most of the story. 'twas great.


There's also the best theme of the book, the one that underlies through the whole thing, that beauty is only skin deep (or the movie tagline: LOVE IS NEVER UGLY, but that's different!). It's a lesson everyone learns/should learn, so that's always good.


All in all, a good take on Beauty and the Beast set in modern day New York City! 

(By the way; if you can't get enough re-tellings of Beauty and the Beast, Angela reviewed "Beast" by Donna Jo Napoli, and I haven't read it but it looks good! It seems the opposite other then focusing on the Beast, so check out her review here. )

"The House of Dead Maids" by Claire B. Dunkle

"The House of Dead Maids" is a short 'prelude' to the classic literary novel "Wuthering Heights" by Emily Bronte. If you want a reason to get into "Wuthering Heights" or have already read it and enjoyed it, this is a good book for you. However, if you have no interest in the old English type of writing style and the gothic elements with that type of story, you might not like it. I already read "Wuthering Heights" for my literature class last year, so I knew what they were talking about and enjoyed it fairly well!

Tabby has no parents and no family that she knows of. She has always been an orphan so long as she can remember. She has worked at various places, helping to be housekeeper and such, and is now finally at a knitting school where she's learned to knit well, when someone named Miss Winter comes to collect her. Tabby has been bought by this Miss Winter woman, from being at the school. She ends up at "Seldom House" where she finds that she's going to be the maid of a young boy; by various names. When she's taking care of the little boy -and when she's not- she finds herself haunted by a girl spirit that seems to be an old maid of the house. Soon, her and 'himself, heathen git' in their explorations of the house discover the dark house's very dark secret.

This book was alright. It was pretty sure which (a rare case) I found myself kind of glad about. It's written in an old english style like "Wuthering Heights" and is filled with Gothic era elements and the like. It's a complicated to story, and some might think it's a sophisticated type of book. I give it 3 stars ***. And also: the cover is creepy.

"The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis

Another tale, from the Land of Narnia, originally the first. This time: Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter are living with an old Professor, in somewhere else due to the air raids in England due to WWII. They explore the large house, and during this time, Lucy enters a mysterious wardrobe, and finds another world. Narnia? Their adventures and Narnia, coincidentally involving the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe itself, are to follow... and you'll find out when you read, the book. :P

I really liked this one as well, as anyone could. It's a very descriptive, but likeable series. I also give this one 4 stars, maybe 4 1/2. Yay for Narnia? I also really liked the movie- haha. All the Narnia books I have read so far (not completed it quite yet), are very descriptive and full of adventure and surprises. Although the depth of description is kind of annoying to some, that doesn't matter to me, I like it. I also like the whimsicalness and the slight sarcasm and repition, always reappearing.

(Of course you know, as any sensible person does know, you do not not shut oneself' in a wardrobe.)

hehe. Later bookworms! :)

"The Magician's Nephew" by C.S. Lewis

P.S. The reason I am doing both this and the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, while I normally don't review sequels, is because, this is more of a prequel, practically a different story. Almost. No spoilers.
When a boy goes to live with his crazy Aunt&Uncle, and befriends a girl named Polly, and goes to explore, simply the houses they live in, a sort of secret attic part, what will happen when they accidentally end up somewhere, where they will get caught, just maybe. At which point, they could accidentally end up in a different world. This is a story, about how the land of Narnia, spoke of in this and the rest of the Chronicles of Narnia, came to be, and the story of the evil Queen's presence in Narnia.

To find out more, read the book, and the rest of the Chronicles of Narnia. :):) I used to not be able to get into these books, but now, I can. I really liked it, and appreciated it more then when I first was read it when I was younger. I rate it 4 stars. This is especially good since I normally don't appreciate prequels so much, not all though, I really like some. Read this famed, classic, awesome fantasy, that will be read and read for years to come!

Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse by Kaleb Nation

"Bran Hambric" by Kaleb Nation is a relatively new fantasy book to come to the scene. It is about a boy, named Bran, living in a town called Dunce that has 3 rules: No Mages, No gnomes, and absolutely no Etceteras. Does that sound odd to you? Yes. But if you get past that, haha, it's a very good book! Bran is a boy who is living with the Wilomas's, a family who he only belongs to by accident, and is reffered to as 'the accident'. How? Apparently, in their town, there is a law of finders keepers, even when it comes to children. So, when Sewey Wilomas stumbled across a small boy with nothing but a note that bared his name, "Bran Hambric" he was then to be taken care of by the Wilomas's.
The rules of the town is that there is no magic or gnomes, or anything that could be considered an etcetera after listing those. Is that insignificant? Maybe it seems so, but later on, not.
Anyway, back to Bran. Bran doesn't know who his parents were, or what they were like. He knows that his mother left him for someone else to find. She could be dead. He has no idea. He doesn't know what any of his family was like, and apparently Sewey searched far and wide and found no relations. Read this story of what Bran finds out about that, and the mysteries of the town, the gnomes, the mages, and what the heck the Farfield Curse is.

I thought this book was very good. I think anyone who read and enjoyed Harry Potter will like this book, and it kind of reminded me of it. I think anyone 9&up can read and enjoy it as well! It is a good fantasy, with a nice sense of humor. It is kind of a new twist on books involving magic and stuff as it revolves around the modern world, just with some different rules.
I rate it 4 stars! So... Read it! :)
Bye bookworms! -Cat.

Enter Three Witches by Caroline B. Cooney

"Lady Macduff?" she whispered.
"Dead" he said, smiling.
"And the children?"
He smirked.
"You killed the children?" she cried
"I'll kill anything," said the man she had to marry.

This is a re-write of William Shakespeare's Macbeth.
Mary, who is in the charge of Lord and Lady Macbeth has no home. When her father is found to be a traitor to the king and hanged, Mary knows her life might be forfeit. but when she goes deeper into this mystery, she understands that something more horrible might be at stake here.


Pony with a crooked star
Runs a ride that goes to far.
The owl wins against the wren,
the hollow tree a pen for men.


I really did like this book. the beginning was a little tough for me to understand, but as it gets going it was fabulous. It had just the right about of romance, and It wasn't at all scary. Also, I was surprised, but it was rather funny as well. I would say that it would be good for ages 10 and up, and I would give it five stars.

He was just in time to see Lady Mary send some other boy off on her pony. She was yelling about eggs.
Fleance was mystified.

Witch Child by Celia Rees

I am Mary. I am a witch. Or so some would call me.

When Mary's Grandmother is taken and accused of being a witch, Mary's life is changed. They kill her grandmother, and Mary knows it's only a matter of time until they go after herself. So she crosses the ocean with some puritans, heading toward the new world, where she hopes she shall not have to worry about her witchcraft being discovered. But instead of refuge, she finds only worse superstitions. In the small town near Salem, she must either give up the witchcraft, or pay the price.

I have the power; none may doubt it. Whatever I may of hoped, I cannot escape my destiny. What happened today has served to prove that to me.

I liked this book... a little. I really didn't like the beginning, and the middle wasn't so good either. Mary was unlikable, not because of her attitude, but just because the author made her so different. she has to stand out in everyway. I would give this book 2 stars. I would still recommend reading it, but just be warned that it doesn't have a good beginning or middle.

I've seen his past. I have seen his future. I know how death will come to him, and I feel the knowledge like a burden.

Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz

I read this book, because I heard about it after I read the Alex Rider series, and the Horrowitz Horror books. It is a great adventurous book, and I give it 4 stars. I recommend it to anyone who liked Alex Rider. :)

Description/Summary: Mathew Freeman 'matt' is a juvenile delinquent. But it didn't start that way. He was just another 8 year old when his parents died, and he went to live with his Aunt. He didn't like it at all, but who would? The only person that seemed to be nice to him was his new friend Kelvin, and they got involved in some crime. Little did they know that their next crime would start such weird things. After breaking into a warehouse and they get caught, Matt will have to go to another home far away as part of the LEAF project. His new guardian seems pretty crazy, but what he thinks is only the half of it...
...and you're going to have to read it to find out more. I need to go get the sequel, like, now. (Evil Star)

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling

Ok, so I read this immediately after I got it months ago but re-read it to review, just for you!

If you are a Harry Potter fan, you obviously looked forward to this coming out! The stories that go along with the Deathly Hallows, explanations, or just an extra sensation of there being another HP book, even though it really isn't. I knew it was going to be short, so I wasn't dissapointed, and these stories are great! I give it 4 and 1/2 stars. If you aren't already an HP fan and you haven't read the series, I don't recommend it, sorry. Did anyone get the Collectors edition? It's amaziinggggg. Anyway, back to the point, Summary time!

This is a collection of stories/fairy tales that are told to magical children, all facing values and issues, and bunches of other stuff. Read the book, thats all I can really say. I recommend it for any Harry Potter fan, and that's really all. :)

I say 11&up actually, because one of the stories, "A Warlocks' Hairy Heart", is extremely violent actually. :P

Doctor illuminatus

Hey bookworms, Cat here to review an awesome book called Doctor Illuminatus by Martin Booth.
I picked this book up, curiously. It was on my bookshelf, and I think I bought it a long time ago, but I must've misplaced it and never had the chance to read it. I read it, starting yesterday, and being a fastreader/bookworm, I finished this morning. It's really great. I've never really heard much about it, and I guess there is a sequel, which I must find because I really liked this one. I give it 4 stars! It has action and fantasy and lots of different elements.
Summary:
Tim&Pip move to a really old house with their parents. It's big, and the property is amazing. They find it adventurous, and the real adventures that would come with the house, they never could have expected. They hear knocking in the walls and suddenly, a boy, come out of the wall. Mystery about how it happened it explained and all and with the boy they embark on a journey with Alchemy to defeat the evil. It sounds lame with that description, sorry, but it's really REALLY good. So go and read it. Like, now. :)
I will say probably 11or12 and up, as there's some intense action and the odd subjects of how the evil is trying to get to them and stuff...

Witch Catcher by Mary Downing Hahn

Yet just a few feet away stood an odd, raggedy girl. Nothing about her was ordinary. Not the tattered clothes she wore, not the odd words she used. With a shock, I realized she looksed like the girl in Uncle Thaddeus's painting - half wild, not quite human.

When Jen's father inherits a large, castle like house from Jen's great uncle Thaddeus, Jen knows that there will be adventure, but she has no idea how much adventure. In the stranged old tower in the backyard, Jen finds a small glass ball which has an opening with a stopper in it. She takes it to her room, thinking it is just a pretty ornament. When the sinister Moura, her father's new girlfriend, visits Jen's new house, she seems to be looking for a mysterious "Witch Catcher" an ornament which looks just like Jen's glass ball. When the ball breaks, and the fairy trapped inside is realised, Jen finds herself trapped between two great powers, and eventually she will have to choose her side.

"Oh Jen,"she whispered, "we was in a strange place, not our world, but yers. All dark and sad, with no magic - and no mam."

I liked this book. It does have a rather sad ending though. I would give this book about four stars.

The Witch Trade by Michael Molloy

"I thought witches were only in fairy tales."
said Abby doubtfully.

"Oh no." The captain shook his head.
"There's always been witches - good ones and bad ones. And, whats more, they've been battling each other forever."

Abby lives in a small town named Speller with her Aunt and Uncle (her parents mysteriously disappeared many years ago), and a strange boy named Spike, whom her Uncle found laying on the beach a year ago wearing nothing but a swim suit made out of a strange material, and holding a Marlin Spike. When Abby and Spike meet the mysterious owner of the light house that Abby's parents used to own, they are thrown into a world of witches, and magic. with the help of the light house owner, the head of the light witches, and several other friends, Abby and Spike must find a way to defeat the dark witches, and find Abby's parents.

"Its wonderful - just like..." She was suddenly lost for words.
"Magic?" he answered with a wry smile.

I didn't really like this book. It is not because it isn't well written, I think that in that respect it is a very good book. The characters are likable, and it has interesting settings. What I didn't like was that I got the feeling that Abby was supposed to be the main character, but Everything centered around Spike. Even though this was the case with my opinion, you should probably read this so that you can create your own opinion. I would probably give this 3 stars. (out of five.)
"I'm afraid our pleasure in giving this performance - and your gratifying response - must be spoiled by something I have to reveal to you all...." He paused dramatically , then said, "There is a traitor in our midst."