A review by aheartenflamed
Born Wicked, by Jessica Spotswood

4.0

Where to begin... I enjoyed this book much, much more than I was originally expecting to when I first started it. It took me a couple of days (in between work and starting a fresh semester at university) to actually get deep enough into the story that all I wanted to do was sit and read it because when I wasn't reading it, all I could do was think about it. Although this story follows it's typical YA predecessors (girl thinks she'll never fall in love, girl meets not one but two boys and both proceed to vie for her attention, with one undoubtably winning over the readers heart right along with that of his heroine) I couldn't help but enjoy the character of Cate Cahill. She's strong minded, stubborn, witty and wants nothing more than to protect the secret that she and her sisters Maura and Tess hold - they're witches.

This isn't your typical YA paranormal romance, I'd go so far as to argue it almost not paranormal at all simply by the setting of which it takes place. When we meet Cate and her two sisters it's the early 1800's just outside New London. Witches are not burned at the stake but they are hunted and those believed of witchery are locked away in mental institutions and jails under the watchful eye of The Brothers, men who rule the town and it's surrounding area under the word of the Lord. Cate and her sisters were born from that of a witch, but their Mother died of sickness a few years prior to the start of this story leaving Cate and her absentee father (although a professor and considered prominent within the town, he's not home much to tend to the needs of his growing daughters) to raise the two younger Cahill girls. Cate has taken on the roll of Mother to her younger siblings and wants to make sure none of them are ever accused of witch craft as they watch girls from their town wrongly accused of the act and dragged off screaming and crying, often never to be heard from again.

It isn't until Cate finds her mothers diary that she learns of the prophecy she must come to terms with. In the meantime, her best friend Paul returns from his adventures in New London with a clear desire to ask for Cate's hand in marriage, which would be all well and fine if it weren't for the bookseller's son Finn...

This book left me wanting more, it drives me crazy that I have to wait until next year to find out what happens to Cate, her sisters and both the men in her life (particularly Finn). The twist at the end was not something I saw coming and left me feeling a little "oh no she ~didn't" when I finished on the train ride into school today.

If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it! Jessica Spotswood gives us a fantastic debut novel that will leave you feeling, just a little bit, wicked.