Hi ForeverBookers,
How are you all? I hope you’re good!
I’ve just finished reading Book of Shadows by Cate Tiernan and I really enjoyed it. It was a reread but I read it over 10 years ago for the first time so I’d forgotten a lot of the plot. All that I remembered was the main character Morgan discovers some secrets about herself. What are those secrets? You can read for yourself!
5 Stars!
Morgan is our female protagonist. It’s told from her perspective. She’s is a high school student who on her first day of her new year at school meets a new boy. She, of course, becomes obsessed with him. Cal is this new boy. He exudes mystery and intrigue for Morgan and her friends. When he reveals that he’s part of the religion of Wicca, things take a turn. For good or bad? I’ll again let you read for yourself but it’s a very compelling story, at least for me. They’re quite short books too. Even though there’s 15 or so in the series. I got through my reread of Book of Shadows in 3 days!
I read this for a couple of readathons. Those being:
Reading Rivalry - Sid’s Experiments (Toy Story) - I thought that Morgan discovering Wicca and facing the tests she has to in Book of Shadows was a little like Woody and the gang discovering Sid’s evil toys in Toy Story.
Read the Rainbow Challenge - Orange - my edition of Book of Shadows in more of a orangey, browny, yellowy colour, so I think this works. I’ll finish the omnibus to count this but I’ll finish it next month.
There’s talk of sex and drugs in Book of Shadows. They’re only mentioned though. We don’t see anything. We may see some sex in latter books in the series. I can’t remember.
Spoilers Below…
“I’m glad you all came tonight, Cal said, coming over to sit next to me. He spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. “My mom knew people here before we moved, so she has a bunch of friends already, but I thought I’d have to celebrate Mabon by myself.”
Bree smiled and leaned forward. “What’s Mabon?”
“Tonight is Mabon,” Cal said. It’s one of the Wiccan sabbats. Kind of an important day if you practice Wicca. It’s the autumnal equinox.”
This happens at the beginning of the story when everyone is interested in Cal and what he’s doing at school. He’s a new student who isn’t interested in fitting in. He just wants to do his own thing. I can remember small bits and pieces from when I read the series previously. I don’t want to spoil any twists of further books, but lets just say that Cal doesn’t remain harmless.
This story is very easy to follow, which was nice. It’s fantasy in that there are mentions of magick and witches and Satan (vaguely) but it’s set in our world. It is very atmospheric though, which is great if you want to curl up and do nothing but read. It took me 3 days to read, nothing like the Hobb books, which take me months at a time! The atmosphere is great in these books! It feels like a cold, wet day when you’re reading them, which is what I want when I read a paranormal book.
Morgan goes on a journey throughout Book of Shadows. She goes from being a nobody, to being a somebody in the context of this series. She loses her best friends when she lets the magick and Cal consume her.
“I don’t believe this,” I whispered. “Jesus, Bree. Are you choosing Cal over me? Over our friendship? Hot tears welled up in my eyes. Angrily I dashed them away, refusing to cry in front of her.
Bree seemed less upset than I was. “You would do the same thing if you loved Cal,” she informed me
“Bullshit!” I yelled as she started the car again. “That’s bullshit. I wouldn’t.”
Bree made a U-turn in the middle of Wheeler Road.
“You know you’re going to realize how stupid you’re being, I said bitterly. “When it comes to guys you have the attention span of a gnat. Cal is just another in a long line. When you get tired of him and dump him, you’ll miss me. And I won’t be there.”
Morgan and Bree, her best friend have a few arguments throughout Book of Shadows but this one is the worst. Bree is so say ‘in love’ with Cal. However Morgan feels inexplicably drawn to him herself! Why? You can read for yourself, but it’s good!
I also liked the way in which the author kept Book of Shadows feeling like an autumnal read. It’s September now, which is the start of the autumn season for me, at least so this worked well. There were mentions of trees growing brown and Halloween or Samhain, as the witches refer to it in this book. I’m really excited to reread the rest of the books in this series!
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