Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

Read: September 9-11, 2012
read in 3 days
pages: 292


Book blurb:
Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in Manhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search—and the stranger—will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all. This is a spellbinding display of storytelling that will exhilarate, enthrall, and thoroughly enchant.



I stumbled across this book buried in the young adult section in the library. The copy I read has the cover pictured above and looked a little older like the picture looked a little faded. It was published in 2009, so its about 4 years old now. When I started looking for the image above though I saw there is a gorgeous new cover that is being printed with the newer release. 

 

Viola! Now that cover would have caught my attention a bit more than just the title intriguing me. I think this new cover would have helped make it a display book more than just stuck in the shelf with only its spine available to see. Either way after skimming the jacket cover the story did catch my attention and I decided to check it out. Which I'm glad I did because I enjoyed the book.

At first the book is a little slow and it took a bit to catch my attention, but once it did I did not want to put it down. Tamsin is a likable enough character. She has spent her whole life believing she has no Talent while her family is full of Talent. She wants nothing more than to disappear into the crowd of ordinary people and leave her family life behind. We meet the young professor at the book store with Tamsin and while initially he seems harmless enough as her grandmother warns her "things are not always what they seem." Her family is known to find missing things and offer other "magical" solutions to the small town she affectionately refers to as "Hellcrater". Rather than admit she is not Talented and won't be able to help the professor the reader can understand that she wants to show her family she can be useful in spite of their treating her as though she were an outcast and failure. 

Once Tamsin agrees to search for the missing family heirloom I was pulled into the story and didn't want to put the book down for anything.  The book has a good mystery to it surrounding the family and their magic as well as a sweet love story twined in nicely as well. The focus of the book was more on the magic of the witches and I liked that each witch had their own Talent no two were alike. While the focus was the magic and finding the heirloom I found myself wanting to learn more about this love story the is also trying to develop. Maybe with the next book things will be examined further and I'm looking forward to picking it up to see where things lead. This book ends with some closure to the heirloom events while also opening things up for the story to continue.

I don't really have a lot to say about the novel which seems weird. But I feel it was really short and if I were to talk about too much that happens I'd be giving the story away and I don't want to do that. I'd recommend the book for someone looking for a urban fantasy with a touch of mystery, time traveling and a sweet love story entwined into a quick little read.

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