REVIEW: Sisters' Fate (The Cahill Witch Chronicles #3) by Jessica Spotswood

Sisters' Fate (The Cahill Witch Chronicles #3) by Jessica Spotswood

Publication Date: August 14, 2014

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile 
Source: Book Purchased by Reviewer

Buy it at: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

A fever ravages New London, but with the Brotherhood sending suspected witches straight to the gallows, the Sisters are powerless against the disease. They can’t help without their powers—as Cate learns when a potent display of magic turns her into the most wanted witch in all of New England.

To make matters worse, Cate has been erased from the memory of her beloved Finn. While she’s torn between protecting him from further attacks and encouraging him to fall for her all over again, she’s certain she can never forgive Maura’s betrayal. And now that Tess’s visions have taken a deadly turn, the prophecy that one Cahill sister will murder another looms ever closer to its fulfillment. 

**Minor Spoilers Ahead**

I’m having a hard time accepting the ending to this book. I’m having an even harder time with the fact that every review I’ve read shows that people actually loved the ending to the book. I mean really? Loved? I think that’s just too strong of a word to use for this. I guess this is me right now, alone in my feelings.

  

I think the main reason that I did not like the ending is that it felt unresolved to me. Even though it really wasn’t. The author did a great job at tying all the loose ends, they just weren’t the knots I was hoping for. They weren’t the resolutions I wanted. Especially for Finn and Cate. After everything they have been through and with Cate so broken-hearted at the fact that Finn didn’t love her because he didn’t know her anymore. I just felt like Finn should have been able to tell Cate that he loved her. He said he can't say that he loves her yet but he realizes that he’s falling in love with her. Well WTF!?!? That’s not okay. I needed Finn to tell her that he loved her again. I NEEDED it!! But he just didn’t say it, and so I’m sitting here feeling incomplete.

And THEN…The prophecy! That damn prophecy!!!! Seriously!?! I had really high hopes that the girls would be able to change the prophecy. My hopes were so high in fact that they apparently soared way above reality because guess what…THEY DIDN’T CHANGE THE PROPHECY!! I really think that the author did a number on us with that one. I know I said there are spoilers in this review but I don’t want to give that information away. I won’t tell you who dies, just know that someone DOES die!  And I am truly and utterly heartbroken about it. Which is funny because I actually kind of expected it but there was so much redemption and love going around that I thought it was kind of cruel to let it actually happen. But hey, I’m not a writer so what do I know. Oh that’s right, I’m the reader and I know what I like. I like happy endings and THIS was NOT a happy ending, at least to me.

I did, however, still love the series as a whole and highly recommend it to everyone that I will ever encounter. And I did still love the book as whole, I just wish the ending would have happened a little differently. So go forth and read this series, Swooners! Then come back and let me know what you thought. 

FEATURE: Interview with Author Jessica Spotswood

Hi Swooners!

I'm happy to welcome Jessica Spotswood to Lexi Swoons! I read her novels Born Wicked and Star Cursed, both part of the Cahill Witch Chronicles, and I absolutely LOVED them!!! I'm so happy that she was able to answer a few questions for me and give us all a chance to get to know her better. Hope you all enjoy!!

1. Do you have a favorite character to write and if so, who?

I love writing Rory Elliott. She and Sachi were originally very minor characters, but they really took hold in my imagination. I love that they teach Cate that girls can love fashion and gossip and be very feminine, and also be incredibly canny and clever and loyal, because Cate is really judgmental about that. Rory is a much-needed dose of humor despite her sad story; I love that she says what she thinks. I also love writing Rilla Stephenson, Cate's roommate in STAR CURSED. She's this bouncy little chatterbox who wants to take care of everyone and loves romance novels and hot chocolate. She's probably the character most like me. In SISTERS' FATE she gets a sort of love interest and they banter a lot, and it was so fun to write.

2. Are any of your characters based on real people?

Maura and Tess aren't based on my sisters, but they are definitely influenced by my relationships with them. My middle sister and I are three years apart and grew up fighting over everything. We defined ourselves in opposition to each other: she was the messy one and I was the neat one; she was temperamental and I was revoltingly cheerful; she liked blue and I liked pink, etc. My little sister is eight years younger than I am and we didn't have any of that sense of competition; I just always felt very protective of her. Cate's relationships with Maura and Tess are definitely informed by that.

3. Do you have any writing rituals or quirks?

I like to have tea - iced herbal tea in the summer and Earl Grey in the winter, usually - and I need it to be pretty quiet. I cant write with music or the TV, and if i'm in a noisy coffee shop, I have to wear headphones with a white noise app. I also write best very late at night - from midnight until about 4AM. When i'm on a tight deadline, I become entirely nocturnal.

4. Without spoiling SISTERS' FATE, what was your favorite part of the novel to write?

The Cahills celebrate Christmas in SF, and that was super fun to write. That chapter was one of the first scenes I wrote, actually, even though it takes place halfway through the book. It's a nice, happy interlude amidst a lot of dreadful things!

5. Describe SISTERS' FATE in 3 words:

Death & Fire & Christmas!

6. After "The Cahill Witch Chronicles," what's next? Are you working on any new projects that you can share?

I am working on something new - a sort of Southern Gothic ghost story. I love it and am putting together a proposal for my agent, but we'll see if it ends up being my next official book. I have a few other projects marinating as well.

7. What are you reading right now?

I just finished Andrea Cremer's THE INVENTOR'S SECRET, which comes out next April and is a wonderful YA steampunk adventure. It's got incredible, imaginative worldbuilding and a fantastic plucky heroine and I loved it.

8. What gave you the idea for Born Wicked?

I had a dream in which my sisters and I were fighting over a magical locket from our mom. The idea of writing about that mix of love and rivalry between sisters with a complicated magical inheritance stuck.

9. If you could coauthor a book with any author of your choice, who would it be?

Eep. Honestly i'm not sure I would be very good at coauthoring. I'm a little bit of a control freak! My favorite author right now is Kristen Cashore; I'm in awe of her worldbuilding and the way she creates such amazing, independent, clever, flawed heroines. I would be far too intimidated to work with her, though.

10. Who is your favorite swoony boy? (Can be real or fictional)

Ooh, I love this question! Po from GRACELING is probably my very favorite, but I also love Brigan from FIRE, Eldric from CHIME, Joe Fontaine from THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE, Cricket Bell from LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR...I have a whole stable of book boyfriends!

 

Well, that's it swooners! I hope you enjoyed reading this review as much as I enjoyed giving it!

Check out my reviews for BORN WICKED and STAR CURSED, and the synopsis for SISTERS' FATE, which is expected to release on August 14, 2014. 

REVIEW: Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood

Star Cursed (Cahill Witch Chronicles #2)  by Jessica Spotswood
Publication Date: June 18, 2013
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Source: Book Purchased by Reviewer
Buy it at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

With the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate’s friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers- if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves.

Cate doesn’t want to be a weapon, and she doesn’t want to involve her friends and Finn in the Sisterhood’s schemes. But when Maura and Tess join the Sisterhood, Maura makes it clear that she’ll do whatever it takes to lead the witches to victory. Even if it means sacrifices. Even if it means overthrowing Cate. Even if it means all-out war.

In the highly anticipated sequel to Born Wicked, the Cahill Witch Chronicles continue Cate, Maura and Tess’s quest to find love, protect family, and explore their magic against all odds in an alternative history of New England.

That ending though…THAT ENDING!!!! My emotions are too much right now...READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!

The feelings I have right now are too tremendous to properly describe for you…but I’ll try my best to give you a good review without my emotional baggage tagging along...

Let me start by saying that I LOVE everything about this book. Which only makes this review even harder to write because I have absolutely nothing bad to say about it...the only "bad" thing that I can say is that the ending of this book left me DEVASTATED!!!! But it was so heartbreaking that it was GOOD!!! So you see where my issue is!

Anywho, lets start with the progress of our characters. Particularly our favorite witches, the Cahill sisters.

Cate, the eldest sister, we left off in Born Wicked thinking she was the prophesied witch that everyone was looking for. She has matured so much in this book it amazes me. She went from babying her sisters to actually letting them be themselves and it was such a beautiful thing! She has also learned so many things, magical and otherwise, that it makes me feel a sort of "pride" for her. Especially when she realizes that her magic isn't all bad, something happy for her in a world of sorrow and secrecy. 

Maura, on the other hand, was such a disappointment for me (I guess I DO having something negative to say lol) her character seems like she really hasn't learned anything from her experiences. The only real change I see in her is that she is better at being conniving, spiteful and all around sinister! Such horrible (and WICKED) features!!! There are moments in the book when you can see how truly vulnerable she is, and though those moments are far and few in-between, my heart actually breaks for her in those moments. That is until her fits of jealousy emerge and you see how horrible she can be. The things she says and DOES to her sisters is just heartbreaking...HEARTBREAKING!!!

Tess, Ah we learn so much about Tess in this book. She was already a great character in Born Wicked, but we see her in a much more mature role in Star Cursed. She is such a powerful witch and loving sister that it hurts me to see all the drama that unfolds with these three girls.

And lastly, Finn!!! The life of my heart, I CANNOT even speak about him right now. My heart still hurts too much to form anything other than gut wrenching squeals and tears. I know this statement creeps into semi-spoilery waters, but there are no other words right now.

So finally, I hope that after what's been said you can still find as much joy in this book as I did because it really is a great sequel to the Cahill sisters journey and I am just as frightened at what's to come for Cate, Tess and Maura AND Finn as Cate is, but I know that Mrs. Spotswood will give them the ending that they deserve.

REVIEW: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles: Book #1)  by Jessica Spotswood
Publication Date: February 7, 2012
Publisher: Putnam Juvenille
Source: Book Purchased by Reviewer
Buy it at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, IndieBound

My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But 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.

I have to admit that I was a little skeptical about the turn out of this book because it started off a little slow, but after a few chapters it pulled me right in and I couldn't put it down...Definitely a happy surprise!!

Now to the nitty gritty...Born Wicked takes place in the 1800's and follows a trio of sisters who, you guessed it...are WITCHES!!! Naturally, they are very cautious regarding their magic because being caught using magic almost certainly means DEATH (or the asylum...who knew right?!)

Now, Cate is the oldest sister and our main character. We see the whole story unfolding through her eyes...and what eyes they are! For a girl from the 1800's, she sure knows how to GET DOWN!!
Love affairs, mind magic, and boys galore! I mean honestly, I cant even begin to imagine what it would be like to be her. She has all this power and can do so much with it, who wouldn't want that right?! Well apparently Cate doesn't want it, and understandably so. I wouldn't want the baggage that comes with being Cate either! This poor girl has to juggle being a witch, taking care of her sisters and keeping their magic in lines, keeping her own magic in line (which apparently can be quite difficult when you're kissing a boy xD) and figure out whether or not she will join the Sisterhood or get married...that's a tough life for a 16 year old if you ask me!

Now lets talk about the BOYS!!! When we first meet Cate we learn that she needs to find a husband...and SOON! If she doesn't, the Brotherhood will chose one for her and nobody wants that! So we meet suitor #1, Paul McLeod, who appears to be the only interested in Cate. They have been friends since childhood and Paul is now interested in marrying Cate. At first im a little skiddish about Paul. he seems nice enough, but I couldn't tell right away how genuine he was. But after seeing him with Cate during their "alone" time I have to admit that he's kind of dreamy! Something about him is so tempting to me. He's funny, charming, sweet and tough, but not too tough...just the right amount.

But he totally gets blwon out of the picture when we (meaning Cate and myself) realize that Finn Belastra, the Gardener, is actually pretty cute and totally sweet and pretty much perfect! Yea, sorry Paul, you've been DUMPED! Finn takes sweet and charming to a whole new level when he and Cate fall in love...that's right! I said it folks...they fall in LOVE...Oh and he proposes to her with his mothers ruby ring while daring to defy the Brotherhood...SWOOOOOON!!!!!!!!!!

So this is what I leave you with swooners...Go READ THIS BOOK...I need more people who share my feels about it (hehe)