xoxorcist's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
dragon_lion64's review against another edition
3.0
Darkangel
The Witches of Cleopatra Hill #1
From Paranormal 13
I WAS HORRIFIED how the character in this book destroyed the historical integrity of a Victorian mansion in Arizona by remodeling it. I have lived in Arizona…briefly, but I know that Victorians are not in abundance there so they should be treasured for what they are. She moved into it and decided she didn’t like the floral wallpaper and all of the antiques so she got rid of it all. She then decorates it in what sounds like a hippy version of the Southwestern style, as if every other house in Arizona isn’t decorated in some sort of Southwestern or Spanish style already. It’s blasphemous! The interior designer in me was cringing and wanting to wring the tasteless ninny’s neck. I was amazed she didn’t put chicken wire on the outside and stucco it. The funny thing is that she didn’t remodel the kitchen or the bathrooms which would be the only thing…in my mind and many Victorian lovers opinions…that would be okay to update.
I’m done ranting. Maybe.
I read this book because it was part of a 13 story paranormal romance set that I downloaded from Amazon for free because I’m broke and have no money to buy books.
At first, I thought it might be aimed towards a younger audience…like teenagers…than what I prefer to read but as I read on, I started really enjoying the story. Even though the main character was only 21, she seemed more mature most of the time—and let’s just put away her decorating taste and her taste in clothing.
Angela McAllister is the future prima or leader of her coven. All primas must find their consort or soulmate before their 22nd birthday to receive their full powers but Angela isn’t having any luck. Despite the parade of candidates that her aunt has marched in front of her, she still hasn’t found her consort. In order to find her consort, she must kiss each candidate. If the man is not her true consort, nothing will happen but if he is…well, she doesn’t know what will happen. She has just been told that she will know. Apparently, there will be some kind of fireworks between them. So far, no one has fit the bill and she only has a few months left to find him.
She’s dreamed of him since she was fifteen. His face remains a mystery but she knows what his profile looks like, he is tall, has dark hair and has green eyes.
There were a few things that bothered me in this book, besides the desecration of the Victorian. Yeah, I just can’t let that go. Angela and her family are supposed to be witches but none of them are very powerful. They can unlock doors and turn on lights using magic. Angela can see ghosts and they all can do protection spells. Once, Angela used enough force to bruise a guy’s ribs when he got a little too friendly with her but besides that, she and her family seem pretty weak.
Angela saw some sort of evil apparition and again in her dreams so she is guarded 24/7 yet nobody sleeps in her room to help her if the apparition tries to do something to her in her dreams. She could have been thrashing about and unable to scream but nobody guards her in her room. I guess that would be a little overkill though.
Each family or coven has their own territory yet the McAllister family or coven is afraid of another coven called the Wilcox family who are said to be evil and practice dark magic. Years ago, just before the current prima (Angela’s Great Aunt Ruby) met her consort, the Wilcox primus tried to kidnap her but failed. Since then, the coven has kept strong protection spells around their town of Jerome to keep out dark magic along with the Wilcox family. They also keep Angela basically homebound. She is allowed to go to the next town over and sometimes, along with other members of the coven, she can go to Phoenix or Prescott. She has never been anywhere else. I couldn’t figure out why the Wilcox family, out of all the other witch families in Arizona, picked Angela’s coven to mess with and why they would want to kidnap their prima in the first place. Thankfully, the author did give a better reason for the attempted kidnapping later in the book.
I’m not going to give away the ending but the ending ticked me off because it wasn’t an ending at all. It was a cliffhanger. Without reading the next book, the reader doesn’t get to find out what happens. It’s frustrating for me because the book was just getting interesting and then it ended, not to mention the fact that I am broke so I can’t afford the next book for a week or two. UGH!
www.paranormalromanceslut.com
The Witches of Cleopatra Hill #1
From Paranormal 13
I WAS HORRIFIED how the character in this book destroyed the historical integrity of a Victorian mansion in Arizona by remodeling it. I have lived in Arizona…briefly, but I know that Victorians are not in abundance there so they should be treasured for what they are. She moved into it and decided she didn’t like the floral wallpaper and all of the antiques so she got rid of it all. She then decorates it in what sounds like a hippy version of the Southwestern style, as if every other house in Arizona isn’t decorated in some sort of Southwestern or Spanish style already. It’s blasphemous! The interior designer in me was cringing and wanting to wring the tasteless ninny’s neck. I was amazed she didn’t put chicken wire on the outside and stucco it. The funny thing is that she didn’t remodel the kitchen or the bathrooms which would be the only thing…in my mind and many Victorian lovers opinions…that would be okay to update.
I’m done ranting. Maybe.
I read this book because it was part of a 13 story paranormal romance set that I downloaded from Amazon for free because I’m broke and have no money to buy books.
At first, I thought it might be aimed towards a younger audience…like teenagers…than what I prefer to read but as I read on, I started really enjoying the story. Even though the main character was only 21, she seemed more mature most of the time—and let’s just put away her decorating taste and her taste in clothing.
Angela McAllister is the future prima or leader of her coven. All primas must find their consort or soulmate before their 22nd birthday to receive their full powers but Angela isn’t having any luck. Despite the parade of candidates that her aunt has marched in front of her, she still hasn’t found her consort. In order to find her consort, she must kiss each candidate. If the man is not her true consort, nothing will happen but if he is…well, she doesn’t know what will happen. She has just been told that she will know. Apparently, there will be some kind of fireworks between them. So far, no one has fit the bill and she only has a few months left to find him.
She’s dreamed of him since she was fifteen. His face remains a mystery but she knows what his profile looks like, he is tall, has dark hair and has green eyes.
There were a few things that bothered me in this book, besides the desecration of the Victorian. Yeah, I just can’t let that go. Angela and her family are supposed to be witches but none of them are very powerful. They can unlock doors and turn on lights using magic. Angela can see ghosts and they all can do protection spells. Once, Angela used enough force to bruise a guy’s ribs when he got a little too friendly with her but besides that, she and her family seem pretty weak.
Angela saw some sort of evil apparition and again in her dreams so she is guarded 24/7 yet nobody sleeps in her room to help her if the apparition tries to do something to her in her dreams. She could have been thrashing about and unable to scream but nobody guards her in her room. I guess that would be a little overkill though.
Each family or coven has their own territory yet the McAllister family or coven is afraid of another coven called the Wilcox family who are said to be evil and practice dark magic. Years ago, just before the current prima (Angela’s Great Aunt Ruby) met her consort, the Wilcox primus tried to kidnap her but failed. Since then, the coven has kept strong protection spells around their town of Jerome to keep out dark magic along with the Wilcox family. They also keep Angela basically homebound. She is allowed to go to the next town over and sometimes, along with other members of the coven, she can go to Phoenix or Prescott. She has never been anywhere else. I couldn’t figure out why the Wilcox family, out of all the other witch families in Arizona, picked Angela’s coven to mess with and why they would want to kidnap their prima in the first place. Thankfully, the author did give a better reason for the attempted kidnapping later in the book.
I’m not going to give away the ending but the ending ticked me off because it wasn’t an ending at all. It was a cliffhanger. Without reading the next book, the reader doesn’t get to find out what happens. It’s frustrating for me because the book was just getting interesting and then it ended, not to mention the fact that I am broke so I can’t afford the next book for a week or two. UGH!
www.paranormalromanceslut.com
dragon_lion64's review against another edition
4.0
Angela McAllister has been kidnapped by Wilcox clan, a coven of witches who are known for using dark magic and want her because the primus or leader of their clan wants her to be his consort so that she can break a 140 year old curse. Their ancestor, Jeremiah Wilcox, was said to have stolen a Navajo woman who had powerful magic and forced her to be his consort. She gave him a son but for some reason, she died. Before she died, she cursed Jeremiah, saying that all of the primus’ wives will die young and never see their children grown and it has been that way ever since. Each time a primus takes a wife or consort, the woman dies shortly after giving birth to a son.
Angela was stolen from her own bedroom in Jerome, Arizona on her 22nd birthday and taken to Wilcox territory in Flagstaff. Angela is the prima or leader of the McAllister coven of witches. All primas are supposed to find their consort by their 22nd birthday or they don’t come into their full power and Angela has not found hers. She knows he is out there because she has dreamed of him since she was fifteen years old and she knows basically what he looks like even though his face is always a blur in her dreams. She knows he is tall, dark haired and has green eyes. The problem is that her time has run out or will at midnight…then she was kidnapped.
Once her captors had gotten her to Flagstaff, she was laid on a makeshift altar (a pool table) and forced to kiss the Wilcox primus, Damon Wilcox, but the kiss didn’t do anything. A prima or primus knows their consort by a kiss. Angela knows all about kissing men to find a consort. Her aunt had Angela kiss over 40 candidates in order to find her consort and she kissed each one but none of them turned out to be her consort because, apparently, something akin to fireworks happens between a prima and her consort when they kiss and that didn’t happen with any of the candidates…and it didn’t happen with Damon Wilcox either.
Damon looked at a woman in the room who must have been their seer because she told him that she saw Angela’s consort as a Wilcox but she said she didn’t say it was Damon so Damon called over someone named Connor to come kiss Angela. When Connor came over, Angela was shocked because she recognized him but she knew him as Chris Wilson who she met at a Halloween dance in Jerome and he had brown eyes back then not green like he had now. He kissed her and her body went up in fireworks and she knew he was her consort but she was not happy. She couldn’t believe he had lied to her.
Now she is locked in Connor’s apartment with no way out. She knows he is the one she has always dreamed of but how can she trust him?
Of course, they end up liking each other. Connor had to go along with his brother’s plan because his brother is so powerful and he also wants to help his brother break the curse.
After Angela and Connor fall in love, she has to try to convince her McAllister family that Connor is good and that they are in love but her clan is not having it. She decides to stay in Flagstaff and give them time to accept it.
Meanwhile, women near the campus where Damon works are being killed by what authorities are calling a wolf but Angela notices that all of the victims are about her age and resemble her a lot. She thinks Damon has something to do with it because he is angry that she was not his consort and thwarted his plans. She tries to convince Connor of this but he thinks she is being paranoid.
I can’t go into any more of this book without spoiling it but I will say that I cried at the end of this book. I, of course, had to see what happened so I downloaded and started reading the next book immediately.
www.paranormalromanceslut.com
dragon_lion64's review against another edition
3.0
At the end of the last book, I was heartbroken for Angela McAllister who had found her consort or soulmate, Connor Wilcox, but because she had to kill his insane brother, he could not handle being with her anymore. He said that every time that he looked at her, he saw her killing his brother. It was super sad.
Connor’s brother, Damon Wilcox, had been into dark magic and had called upon something so dark that he could not come back from it. He became a skinwalker and turned into a wolf but could not control it and could not turn back into a human. He started killing women who were similar in appearance to Angela because she has thwarted his attempts of becoming her consort but that really was not her fault. After he kidnapped her, she became Connor’s consort. It was fated so how could that be her fault? The elders of the Wilcox clan were sure Damon was lost for good and knew Angela was the only one strong enough to fight him because she is the prima of the McAllister clan. She did fight him and she killed him. It had to be done but Connor is having a hard time with it.
Angela returns to Jerome and tries to live her life without Connor but it is like half her soul is missing and her heart is shredded into pieces. To make matters worse, none of her clan is sympathetic because they have always been rivals of the Wilcox clan. The only one who cares is her friend, Sydney and her boyfriend who are civilians and not witches.
Time goes by pretty fast because she is keeping busy but then she discovers she is pregnant. And that is a BAD thing, not because she is broken up with Connor but because of the Wilcox curse. About 140 years ago, the primus of the Wilcox clan, Jeremiah, was said to have stolen a Navajo woman from her tribe because she had powerful magic. She gave him a son but then died somehow. On her death bed, she cursed Jeremiah. The curse said that all the wives of the primus men in Jeremiah’s line would never live to see their sons grow up and ever since the curse, the wives die within a few years of giving birth. All only give birth to a son, never a daughter. Except for Damon and Connor’s mom. She had Damon and almost ten years later, had Connor but then died when Connor was around three years old.
Angela has to find a way to break the curse or she will die too. The seer, Marie, in the Wilcox clan tells her that she has to go back to the beginning to break the curse…not only the beginning of the curse with Jeremiah Wilcox but to Angela’s beginning. Angela knows nothing about her birth father. Her mother was supposed to have been the prima for her clan but she did not want it so she took off to California. She came back with a baby, Angela. One night, her mother took off to go party on the back of a Harley and died in a wreck. Angela’s Aunt Rachel raised her. All her aunt has is a birth certificate that has a California address on it so Angela decides to go to California and try to find out information about her real father.
This book kept me interested so I kept reading and reading because I wanted to know what would happen. I like the main characters and the secondary characters in this series. This seemed like the last book in the series but I believe there are at least two more but their titles do not start with “Dark” like the first three books in the series do. I think that is because the first three books are written in first-person, by the point of view of Angela McAllister and are about Angela and Connor but the next books have different leading characters. I’m not sure if they are written in first-person or not as I have not yet read them. But I plan to soon.
Connor’s brother, Damon Wilcox, had been into dark magic and had called upon something so dark that he could not come back from it. He became a skinwalker and turned into a wolf but could not control it and could not turn back into a human. He started killing women who were similar in appearance to Angela because she has thwarted his attempts of becoming her consort but that really was not her fault. After he kidnapped her, she became Connor’s consort. It was fated so how could that be her fault? The elders of the Wilcox clan were sure Damon was lost for good and knew Angela was the only one strong enough to fight him because she is the prima of the McAllister clan. She did fight him and she killed him. It had to be done but Connor is having a hard time with it.
Angela returns to Jerome and tries to live her life without Connor but it is like half her soul is missing and her heart is shredded into pieces. To make matters worse, none of her clan is sympathetic because they have always been rivals of the Wilcox clan. The only one who cares is her friend, Sydney and her boyfriend who are civilians and not witches.
Time goes by pretty fast because she is keeping busy but then she discovers she is pregnant. And that is a BAD thing, not because she is broken up with Connor but because of the Wilcox curse. About 140 years ago, the primus of the Wilcox clan, Jeremiah, was said to have stolen a Navajo woman from her tribe because she had powerful magic. She gave him a son but then died somehow. On her death bed, she cursed Jeremiah. The curse said that all the wives of the primus men in Jeremiah’s line would never live to see their sons grow up and ever since the curse, the wives die within a few years of giving birth. All only give birth to a son, never a daughter. Except for Damon and Connor’s mom. She had Damon and almost ten years later, had Connor but then died when Connor was around three years old.
Angela has to find a way to break the curse or she will die too. The seer, Marie, in the Wilcox clan tells her that she has to go back to the beginning to break the curse…not only the beginning of the curse with Jeremiah Wilcox but to Angela’s beginning. Angela knows nothing about her birth father. Her mother was supposed to have been the prima for her clan but she did not want it so she took off to California. She came back with a baby, Angela. One night, her mother took off to go party on the back of a Harley and died in a wreck. Angela’s Aunt Rachel raised her. All her aunt has is a birth certificate that has a California address on it so Angela decides to go to California and try to find out information about her real father.
This book kept me interested so I kept reading and reading because I wanted to know what would happen. I like the main characters and the secondary characters in this series. This seemed like the last book in the series but I believe there are at least two more but their titles do not start with “Dark” like the first three books in the series do. I think that is because the first three books are written in first-person, by the point of view of Angela McAllister and are about Angela and Connor but the next books have different leading characters. I’m not sure if they are written in first-person or not as I have not yet read them. But I plan to soon.
thelauramay's review against another edition
1.0
A profoundly forgettable book. I read it a couple of weeks ago, leaving it on my Kindle as a reminder to review it, and had to re-read the last chapter before I had any idea what it was about. Blah characters, blah storyline, derivative and predictable. Uses sexual assault as a plot point. The copy-editing was pretty solid, though, so it had that going for it.
1.5*
1.5*
catpingu's review against another edition
5.0
While being an ensnaring novel of witchcraft and romance, it's also just a bit predictable. The constant repetition of the unlawfulness and evil of the Wilcox clan just lets you know something humongous is going to happen. The build-up is torturing, and I honestly died when I realized I'd have to find out what happens next in the next book. I just flat-out deflated. ughhhhhh.
Angela McAllister is having a horrible 21-year-old crisis. Yes, she can hold her liquor. Yes, she's in a good college (even if it wasn't her first choice). Her problem? Love. She's single, and she can't stand it. Why? She's the next prima of the McAllister clan. She'll be endowed with powerful magic and authority within her clan, as soon as she finds her consort, but she has until her 22nd birthday to find him before her powers start to fade.
Angela McAllister is having a horrible 21-year-old crisis. Yes, she can hold her liquor. Yes, she's in a good college (even if it wasn't her first choice). Her problem? Love. She's single, and she can't stand it. Why? She's the next prima of the McAllister clan. She'll be endowed with powerful magic and authority within her clan, as soon as she finds her consort, but she has until her 22nd birthday to find him before her powers start to fade.
librovert's review against another edition
3.0
This was a free read from Kindle. I'm glad I didn't pay for it, but don't necessarily feel like I wasted my time on it.
There were some glaring issues... For instance, some random guy attempts to rape our heroine in the first few chapters but has nothing to do with the rest of the story (unless there's going to be a reveal in the second book about who he really was).
Foreshadowing was very heavy handed. I had an inkling very early on where she would find her consort, and I was right. The book could have done with some more subtleties.
I was surprised when it ended, it was rather abrupt. I'm curious about the next book, but I've skimmed some reviews and don't know that I'm curious enough to keep going. It was a fun, fluffy read, but... so many books, so little time.
There were some glaring issues... For instance, some random guy attempts to rape our heroine in the first few chapters but has nothing to do with the rest of the story (unless there's going to be a reveal in the second book about who he really was).
Foreshadowing was very heavy handed. I had an inkling very early on where she would find her consort, and I was right. The book could have done with some more subtleties.
I was surprised when it ended, it was rather abrupt. I'm curious about the next book, but I've skimmed some reviews and don't know that I'm curious enough to keep going. It was a fun, fluffy read, but... so many books, so little time.