Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
"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."- summary from Jessica's website

When I first heard about this book, I knew I had to have it; even though it was historical which I'm not a fan of, it contained witches, which I am a huge fan of. I was not disappointed at all. Spotswood does a wonderful job setting up the world and how it works as well as all the characters and how they fit in the hierarchy. There's a lot of characters going around and she gives them such a unique voice and features that the reader is able to remember everyone easily.

I loved Cate as a narrator- she is a definitely flawed character but she's trying to do the best she can with what she's been given, both in regards to information and responsibility. She's an easy character to relate to and sympathize with. Her sisters were great too and had such fun personalities.

The romance is handled well too, feelings burgeoning from a vague acquaintanceship to friendship to full-on relationship. It's just great. Both guys are written really well, and are both just good guys, which was a relief since there usually tends to be a good boy and a bad boy to choose between. This romance was interesting and I had no idea who Cate would pick for a while.

I also want to say that I absolutely hate The Sisterhood and wanted to punch them in the face. Repeatedly. That's my go-to reaction when someone is doing something I don't like and is just WRONG. I don't get that kind of reaction often, from real life or from books, so when it does happen, it's a big thing.

Overall, an amazing debut and I am absolutely looking forward to the next books because this one ends on such a cliffhanger!! Definitely go buy a copy!

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.