Conjure (Hoodoo Apprentice, #1)

by Lea Nolan

[paperbackjedi]

All Emma wanted to do was have a good summer hanging out with her twin brother, Jack and her best friend and longtime crush, Cooper. But no, she has to stumble into ancient curses and everything goes crazy. With a flesh eating curse creeping up her brother’s arm and her would be boyfriend’s sixteenth birthday approaching (upon which his soul will be stolen and he’ll turn into a grade A jerk like all the males in his family), Emma races against time to learn Hoodoo magic from an old practitioner and save the people she loves the most from their terrible fates.

Lea Nolan’s Conjure is a fun, light read. The main characters are all well fleshed out and you get a good feel for who they are and what their stories are as individuals as well as together. There were a few inconsistencies throughout the book with regard to their characterization which bugged me; mood swings and attitudes that seemed to come out of nowhere, especially when their character had been described in a way that lies opposite of their actions. Emma is a likable heroine and she’s not one of those heroines that are good at everything right away; she struggles with figuring things out. We have access to her inner monologue (since the story is told from her perspective) and although it can get a little annoying sometimes (with reference to her obliviousness and light pining/feeling sorry for herself), generally, she’s a good character.

The plot is interesting enough and has a lot of cool origins of “Hoodoo” magic. The descriptions and explanations were thought out and kind of cool to hear about. The pacing of the story was spot on, nothing happening too slowly or too quickly and it never really dipped into uninteresting territory. I do think the language was a bit simple and dumbed down which can happen in a lot of YA novels, but if you dig simple and direct storytelling, this could definitely be a good choice for you. The action portions and the story behind the curse were definitely the strongest aspects of the plot and while the romance was sweet and innocent, it fell a little flat for me.

All in all, this is a good book for people looking to have some fun and explore a magic that isn’t really touched upon a lot in the genre. The characters are likable for the most part and the story is interesting. I didn’t think there was anything truly special about it, but I enjoyed reading it.