Sasha Laurens

When their feelings for the same boy, Johnny, cause a rift in their friendship, Liss and Daniela, who practice witchcraft on California's northern coast, must work together to rescue him when a misguided spell makes him a prisoner of an ancient demon.

A Wicked Magic

Jessica Williamson

4.25

I'm so happy I picked this up on a whim. It's perfectly magical and spooky and has all of the feels of a found family witchy book. 

I felt that of our three girls, one of them was extremely unlikable and I kinda wanted to punch her in the face but I also know that were I a 17-year-old girl in her shoes, I'd probably be the same. 

I liked the villain and the magic and I definitely cried at the end. 

cover 4; characters 4; plot 4; pace 5; writing 4; enjoyment 4; cry *

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: A Wicked Magic

Author: Sasha Laurens

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: fantasy, ya, magic

Publication Date: July 28, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (slight romance, violence, death, slight gore)

Publisher: Razorbill

Pages: 368

Synopsis: Dan and Liss are witches. The Black Book granted them that power. Harnessing that power feels good, especially when everything in their lives makes them feel powerless.

During a spell gone wrong, Liss's boyfriend is snatched away by an evil entity and presumed dead. Dan and Liss's friendship dies that night, too. How can they practice magic after the darkness that they conjured?

Months later, Liss discovers that her boyfriend is alive, trapped underground in the grips of an ancient force. She must save him, and she needs Dan and the power of The Black Book to do so. Dan is quickly sucked back into Liss's orbit and pushes away her best friend, Alexa. But Alexa has some big secrets she's hiding and her own unique magical disaster to deal with.

When another teenager disappears, the girls know it's no coincidence. What greedy magic have they awakened? And what does it want with these teens it has stolen?

Set in the atmospheric wilds of California's northern coast, Sasha Laurens's thrilling debut novel is about the complications of friendship, how to take back power, and how to embrace the darkness that lives within us all.

Review: Overall, this is a good book. The book had a lot of good character development and the world building was well done. The book was also wrote with a good atmosphere. The book had this creepy vibe throughout it and I think it fit well for the story. The book also had a decent plot.

However, I didn’t like the switching POVs and I think the book would have been better with just one. I think the ending battle was weirdly wrote and it bored me a bit. The pacing of this book is super slow. Also, I got super mad at this book because there is a character who is, in my mind, queer but the author doesn’t write them that way. The book felt weird and I didn’t connect with it at all.

Verdict: It was good, just not for me.

Samantha Bass

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was magical and fun with some very interesting characters. The beginning pulled me in quickly, but I found that the middle was pretty slow. I felt like the beginning and end were well thought and executed, but the middle was lagging in terms of action. It began to feel repetitive as the same issues rose up for Dan and Liss that they had to work through.

Alexa's story on the other hand got my attention. I wanted to read more about her and what was going on with Lorelai's investigation. The whole first half of the book was focused on Dan and Liss' situation with occasional sections on Alexa - but in the second half we get to see her a lot more and that's when things get interesting.

Focusing on the plot, this book was so good. The actual events that go on and what these girls have to face was insane and super creepy. I wish I had read this book for Halloween with the amount of creepy, eerie things that happen. I also was a bit upset about who Alexa ended up with, because I was kind of rooting for someone else. On the other hand, she ends up with a really sweet girl and seems really happy.

For the characters, we see a lot of growth between the three, especially for Liss in my opinion. Honestly, I didn't like Liss' character at all in the beginning, but after finding out more about her home situation and her motivation for things, I just feel sorry for her. The changes she goes through made her into a much healthier person and I loved seeing her growth. Dan also goes through a much needed change and comes out a healthier, hopefully happier, person.

One thing that I think the author was trying to make cannon was Dan's sexuality. We know Liss is straight (or at least very interested in her boyfriend Johnny) and Alexa is gay, but we never learn about Dan. Not that it's important, but I can't help but wonder where the author was going for her. See, in the book, Dan comes across as ace (asexual) or somewhere along the ace spectrum. But it's never confirmed, denied, or really discussed. Part of me wants an answer, but it doesn't really affect the story much whether or not she is. I'm just curious, I guess.

Overall, this book was written beautifully and it dives into things like self harm, depression, abusive home life, and other important conversations like that. These issues are discussed and handled carefully and I appreciate the work the author put in to represent these topics well. Though the middle was really slow for my taste, I think this book was still awesome. I loved learning about how magic worked in this world and pairing it with real teenage problems.

I think a lot of people will not only enjoy this book, but learn that things aren't always what they seem.

A Wicked Magic

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