Born Wicked (Cahill Witch Chronicles, #1)

by Jessica Spotswood

A gorgeous, witchy, romantic fantasy by a debut author! Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and the Beautiful Creatures series!

Everybody thinks 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. Then Cate finds her mother's diary, and uncovers 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. But if what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe--not even from each other.

• ISBN10: 0142421871
• ISBN13: 9780142421871
• Publish Date: 3 January 2013 (first published 1 February 2012)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Penguin USA
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780142421871

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

The Cahill girls were all interesting. Cate doesn’t embrace her magic and is very over-protective of her sisters. She fears their discovery. She is dealing with uncertainty and doesn’t know who to trust. Clues left by her mother, and threats all have her confused. I admired her, wanted to hug her and found her to be level headed and intelligent. Tess is the youngest and the magic flows from her. She is sweet and eternally optimistic. Maura is the middle child and desperate to be noticed. She loves to read romances and wants to escape the small-town doldrums. She is constantly at war with Cate and sees her as overbearing. While I didn’t like her I certainly understood her. The relationship between Tess and Cate was more mother/daughter and sweet. We see typical sister dynamics and as the oldest of four children, the first three being girls all eighteen months apart I understood the bickering, and shenanigans. The father is absent for most of the story immersing himself in business after the loss of his beloved wife. He does share forbidden books with his girls and has educated them despite the unpopularity of it with the Brotherhood. We have a little love triangle, but the heroine doesn’t lose her head over it and instead loses her heart. While it’s a big part of the story it really reflects more on the many obstacles effecting Cate’s decisions. What occurred felt genuine and my heart broke a little. Ooo the villains of this tale the Brotherhood and Sisterhood added to the dark, ominous suspense and gave me the willies!

Spotswood’s world building was fabulous and I really got a sense of the dark period the girl’s lives in. Through Cate’s discoveries we learn about the dynamics of this world, its history and about a prophecy that has all parties involved. The author intertwines the daughters of Persephone into the tale and it was cleverly done and set the tone. We are slowly given details and ultimately they affect every decision Cate must make. The tale was well paced, with a mix of light and dark scenes that offset each other giving me as a reader a chance to breathe against the dark world and events. The last part of the book flew at a dizzying pace, had my heart racing and ended with a cliffhanger that made me oh so glad I waited till closer to the release of book two to read this.

[Amber]

I have yet to find a YA novel about witches that I can actually connect with. For the most part, all of the witch novels I have tried so far have been boring and have had little substance. Born Wicked in particular focusses on the romantic aspect, rather than on the sisters' actual powers, since the sisters are meant to be hiding them.

Full review here.

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

I know a decent amount of readers never finished this book, and from the beginning, I can completely see why. Frankly, Cate is a whiner. She dislikes the responsibility her mother left her with by dying, and complains about it loudly and often. She is angry at her mother for not leaving her enough instructions, and equally angry with her father for being so often absent—and then insisting she and her sisters begin to act like proper young ladies. It is difficult to say what Cate would like to do, if not be a witch or a normal young socialite.

The second sister, Maura, also has her faults. She is in a rebellious state against Cate, which makes her generally angry and leads her to ignore a lot of good advice out of selfishness. In some respects, she might be a teenager, but her insistence on doing whatever she wants no matter how dangerous the consequences does not make her a particularly likeable character.

Fortunately, the youngest sister is wonderful. She is intelligent, accomplished, polite, and perceptive. She will be many readers’ favorite. And, if you can keep reading long enough, Cate becomes a great character, too. She develops into a smart, strong young lady who will do absolutely anything, including making huge sacrifices, to protect the people she loves. By the end, she is someone readers can admire.

Of course, Cate has her own in-book admirers, including two suitors. There is not really a love triangle, as Cate makes her opinions about the one man quite plain from the start. So the magic is in watching Cate and the other young man fall in love, and the mystery in how they will finally make everything work out. The plan is actually quite clever, and only one of a few plot surprises sprinkled throughout the book. I even have my suspicions as to how the prophecy, an overused plot element, may turn things completely around in the following books.

And now that I have plowed through the beginning of Born Wicked, I really am looking forward to the rest of the series. I finally like Cate. I like her boyfriend. I want to see how everything turns out, since Spotswood left things on a rather exciting cliffhanger.

[liz089]

I fell completely in love with this story !! It is awesoooome :D

[bookishzelda]

I had heard a lot of rumblings about this book being fantastic and I can honestly say I loved it! Jessica Spotswood created a wonderful and mysterious world in Born Wicked. The plot was terrific and not just because I like stories with witches but it was well done. There were so many twist and turns that I didn't see coming. I'm almost afraid to talk about the book because I don't want to give anything way. It was well written and everything flowed together, the plot twist did not seem random at all. They actually made other things make sense.

The characters all had their own dynamic. I felt like the three sisters...Cate, Maura and Tess were the perfect combination of up and down. Cate is more the over bearing protector, Maura is the dreamer who wants more out of her life and Tess is the level headed and mature one even though she is the youngest. Their interactions with eachother can be loving and deadly.

Cate was definitely a strong main character. She was determined to protect her family but the end of the day she is still a young girl. Just trying to claw her way the weight of responsibility that her mother had left her.

The supporting characters never ceased to amaze me. You never knew who you should trust, hate or like. Maybe this one is okay, wait no they aren't okay. Wait I really hate her oh wait no I don't. The characters were always changing their intentions not always clear which is what made the book so good. I wasn't always sure what I should be expecting.

The love triangle between Cate, Paul and Finn was there and it was interesting but I felt like it wasn't the point of the book. Cate wasn't so swept up in it that she lost sight of her main goal. She still could do what needed to be done even if her heart was breaking or not. The love story added to the book but didn't take it over. I really liked that about it.

I can't wait for the second book.

[Angie]

My expectations were quite high going into Born Wicked due to the great book blurb, gorgeous cover and raving early reviews. Thankfully, it met and exceed those expectations! This is one debut you do not want to miss!

I was immediately drawn into Cate's narrative. She seemed very pessimistic and had a negative outlook on just about everything. That could have been irritating, but she gives us reasons for her pessimism. She's been in charge of her two younger sisters, since their mother died. All three of them are witches and must keep it hidden from their Father, the town, and especially the Brotherhood or face prosecution. Cate is suppose to announce a betrothal in a matter of months, even though she does fit into society's mold of a proper young woman. Plus she discovers a prophecy concerning three sisters. If I had to shoulder all of Cate's responsibilities and be under so many restrictions and expectations, I'd be a negative Nancy, too!

This books is full of magic, mystery, and romance. Women's oppression is also a major theme throughout, and I think the author did an amazing job linking it to the magical and religious aspects of the book. There's many twists and turns, and ups and downs. It kept me engaged from start to finish, and the events leading up to the finish left me in awe. I'm not sure what else to say without spoiling anything. If you're looking for a new twist on witches, and something a little different in the YA genre (like no love triangle!), I urge you to go out and get this one!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.