House of Ivy & Sorrow by Natalie Whipple

House of Ivy & Sorrow

by Natalie Whipple

Transparent author Natalie Whipple is back with another refreshing blend of realistic romance and light-hearted humor with a one-of-a-kind paranormal touch. Fans of Charmed, Kiersten White's Paranormalcy trilogy, and Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys won't want to miss this spellbinding contemporary tale of magic, first love, and high-stakes danger.

Jo Hemlock is not your typical witch. Outside the walls of her grandmother's ivy-covered house, she's kept her magical life completely separate from her life in high school. But when the Curse that killed her mother resurfaces, it threatens to destroy not only her life but her grandmother's too—and keeping her secret may no longer be an option.

Reviewed by celinenyx on

4 of 5 stars

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I love witches, and House of Ivy & Sorrow did a great job of satisfying my magic cravings. Jo comes from a long family of witches. Some witches get killed by some mysterious Curse - a spell that kills witches slowly and gruesomely. Jo's mom was killed in this way as well. And now the person that Cursed her mom is coming after Jo and her Grandmother too...

Age-wise House of Ivy & Sorrow does feel like a young YA book, especially at the beginning. The main characters are around seventeen, and at first I felt like they behaved rather like fourteen year olds. Throughout the story this impression faded, and there was plenty of darkness to keep me interested. Quite a few people have complained about the lack of depth and gloom. I really enjoyed the way a light, almost chick-lit like romance was incorporated into the story. House of Ivy & Sorrow is kind of like Sweet Valley High set in a small town with magic. The magic system relies on sacrifice in exchange for spells, sometimes a hair, eye sight - or bigger sacrific like finger-nails or limbs. It completely gross to read about someone voluntarily ripping their finger-nail out to create a spell, but some part of me also completely loved that.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 3 November, 2014: Finished reading
  • 3 November, 2014: Reviewed