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Life's a Witch #2
Life's a Witch
Hadley Bishop is the descendant of the most powerful and famous witch of all time—and as the most popular girl at Astor High, it appears as if she's gotten all her best qualities. But when Hadley's mother is kidnapped and killed by the same evil coven that betrayed her great, great, great Grandmother during the Salem Witch Trials, Hadley swears to get rid of the witches once and for all. With the help of the other kids in her coven, the teens wage a war against Samuel Parris and his followers which results in a battle so epic—and dangerous—that the magical world will be changed forever.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published December 12, 2011
31 people are currently reading
1055 people want to read
About the author
Brittany Geragotelis
18 books164 followersBrittany Geragotelis is living the dream. After 10 years of rejection from the publishing industry, she began to post her original novel, Life's a Witch, on the online writing site, Wattpad, hoping that others would enjoy reading her book. A year after the first upload, the book had received 19 million reads, which caught the attention of Publisher's Weekly, The Huffington Post and The Wall Street Journal.
After building up some buzz in the industry, she hooked up with her agents who instantly received interest from publishers and movie/tv producers. Within weeks, Life's a Witch went into auction between four major publishing houses, and in the end Brittany landed a 3-book deal with publishing powerhouse, Simon & Schuster.
When she's not writing, Brittany is obsessing over celebrities, TV shows, movies, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, gluten-free food and, of course, books! Brittany lives in NYC with her boyfriend and her two cats, Murray and Cohen.
After building up some buzz in the industry, she hooked up with her agents who instantly received interest from publishers and movie/tv producers. Within weeks, Life's a Witch went into auction between four major publishing houses, and in the end Brittany landed a 3-book deal with publishing powerhouse, Simon & Schuster.
When she's not writing, Brittany is obsessing over celebrities, TV shows, movies, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, gluten-free food and, of course, books! Brittany lives in NYC with her boyfriend and her two cats, Murray and Cohen.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
April 9, 2012
“Slipping my clothes off, I took a minute to check myself out in the mirror. [...] Damn. I may not be Jessica Alba, but I could probably have been her body double.”
You got to love a heroine like Hadley Bishop, at least according to the author’s agent, who gushes that the main character of Life's a Witch “is impossible not to like”. Well, I seem to possess special abilities, for not liking Hadley turned out to be very, very easy. In fact, the heroine’s personality is one of things I disliked most in this debut, which has a lot of potential to get a spot among my personal five worst reads of 2012 and which should have been titled better “The Witch is a Bitch” in my opinion. But I will return to Hadley later.
I read Life's a Witch during the short time span it had been available as a cheap and self-published Kindle version on Amazon – that is after its supposed stellar success on the novel writing platform Wattpad.com, and before Simon and Schuster, the new licence holder, made the author take it off again (makes sense) – but after the success story of the acclaimed internet novel aimed at young adults was suddenly mentioned everywhere – including Publishers Weekly and Wall Street Journal. Since there are other – in my opinion much more talented – self-published authors making the leap to be represented by major publishing houses, too, I chalk the strangely broad media coverage down to the fat foot the author already had inside the publishing business’ door due to her former position as an editor at the magazine American Cheerleader before it was sold. I also glimpse with lots of skepsis towards the 15 Million readers the novel boasts to have attracted and satisfied as it was born and developed on the writing platform Wattpad.com. When I had a look, only 900 comments were attached to the entry – and a lot of them reactions of the author to every praise and question. I admit I am not familiar with how the community works, but I guess readers rather mean clicks, because A) I certainly have been tempted more than just once to stop reading and to delete the file from my Kindle with a flourishing gesture, and B) because I had never heard of Life's a Witch before and I believe the fame of a novel loved by 15 Million readers would have reached us here at Goodreads no matter what format.
Do you fear this review will be getting far too long? Do not worry. The plot is easy to summarize in a few sentences, because it does not include a lot of turns or characters or layers and unfortunately also not a lot of world building:
Hadley Bishop, the eighteen-years-old high school queen bee and member of the self-declared “good” witch coven “The Cleri” gets to know that the “bad” witch coven - nicknamed “The Parrishables”- has murdered all the parents of all students in her weekend spell-training group including her own mother. Because of her god-given ability to manipulate and lead, she quickly whisks away the complete group of twelve to her family’s magically hidden and enforced summer cabin and trains them to stop the bloodthirsty and powerhungy witches on their path to world dominion as if they were her cheerleading troupe from school (repeat, repeat, repeat). On her day off, when everbody else is trying to stock up the cabin with basic necessities (“Maybe my priorites were a bit ass-backwards, but I figured I could live with whatever food they came back with; finding the right shoes to match my future outfits while also being nature-appropriate was a tougher feat entirely.”), Hadley falls in love with a mysterious and beautiful boy who has either been stalking her, because of her irresistible girl qualities (Hadley’s guess) or because the bad witches sent someone attractive out to get a better angle on what is left of their enemy coven (my guess). Apart from some flashbacks, some group-dynamical outbursts, some ghostly Mom-action and certainly some fighting that’s it. Because of the final question, if dead means really dead when you are a witch, there is still room for a sequel or two.
I believe the author of Life's a Witch is an avid connoisseur of chicklit and – like most of us – a huge admirer of the Harry Potter series (the bad witches, who are returning and have to be fought by teenagers, the silly pseudo-latin spells like “Immobius totarium”). What she probably did not enjoy so much were the Twilight books. Therefore she has made the effort to create a heroine who is the exact opposite of Bella Swan: A truely beautiful and physically fit girl who is popular, because she wants to be popular. Someone who knows her own potential and flaunts it with all her might. Someone who is sure of her own superiority, her magical powers of persuasion and the infailability of her own opinion and judgement. Someone who is unfortunately very conceited, self-centered, domineering, power-hungry, patronizing and condescending, but thinks she is the universe’s answer to her generation’s prayers.
Here is a choice of quotes out of many to illustrate Hadley’s opinion of herself. Enjoy:
“As class president, I made decisions based on what would be best for my classmates. I told everyone what to vote for, what they should care about and set the standards of excellence among my peers. When people didn’t do what I wanted them to, I convinced them to see the errors of their ways.”
“If I had to leave the school in someone’s hands after I’d graduated, I’d want it to be someone like me. Fair, commanding, but friendly. Sofia was all this, which made her a perfect number two.”
“I personally couldn’t care less what anyone thought of me here at Astor as long as I was still the most influencial girl around.”
„I could tell they were all waiting for direction from me. It was clear on their faces. And I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised. I was the oldest. I tended to take control of every situation. I was popular, powerful and pretty, everything that usually afforded a person the attention of their peers.”
Hadley does not have friends at school; she has subjects and she behaves in front of them – and in front of her magical training group, too, like the dictator of a small country. She makes all decisions, as random as they often are, by herself and distributes information about the situation, the revealing dreams she has and the magical cabin only in a very filtered way and only to the older teens. She expects blind trust, but at the same time she cares only half-heartedly for the fate of the kids she had made her responsibility. My jaw dropped a mile, when she announced that she wouldn’t share her parents’ room in the cabin with anybody, and a few miles further when she explained the group's sleeping arrangements in retrospect:
“It was sort of first-come, first-serve around here, which meant that some unlucky individuals were always stuck with the floor in the living-room or on a row of uncomfortable chairs lined up.” Hadley is the only one who had time to pack a duffel bag before fleeing their town, but she does not consider sharing her toiletries or teaching the others the skin-cleaning spell she had invented. And I couldn’t believe how everybody put their lives into the hands of a girl, who – even after years of weekend group sessions – does not remember every member’s name: “Sonya, I think her name was. I’d never actually talked to her, but I’d seen her around for years. So, if I didn’t know her, it was pretty fair to say she didn’t know me either.”
After a small mutiny Hadley promises everybody a chance of involvement, but solves the tiny attack on her single-handed rule by soaking her prep talk with persuasion magic, which makes everbody enthusiastic, hopeful and finally willing to follow. Unbelievable, but true: The heroine’s personality does not evolve during the book.
A second thing that bothered me was Hadley’s perception of the younger coven members, like 13-years-old Penelope, who readers of the novel should identify themselves with: “And now, the younger girl had permanently attached herself to my lower half. [...]“Please don’t leave us again,” she whispered. Her voice was inaudible to anyone else but me.” How small and young and needy does the author think 13-years-olds are? How big is Hadley supposed to be? An Amazon of Hulk-like proportions?
The last aspect that was pretty unacceptable to me was the ostensibly easy distinction between “good witches” and “bad witches”: “Bad witches” use their god-given powers “for personal gain or wrong-doing”. The villain witch in this novel is confidently condemned without much ado: “His heart is black, so is his soul, and when it’s time to meet his maker – which I anticipate will happen soon – he will be punished for all he has done. The otherworld does not take kindly to those who defy its laws.” But I thought, how much does his behavior really differ from that of his “good” counterparts? Hadley’s Dad is a fundraiser. He spends his persuasion magic “for a good cause” – but what if somebody forks out money, because he or she can’t help it in spite of having had different plans for the cash? Hadley’s Mom sells magical perfumes and Hadley herself worked herself up the high school social ladder by manipulation, by putting designer-clothes-illusions on her everyday wear and by bespelling her skin to glow. The “Cleri’s” solution to keep everyone’s power-hunger in check is teaching less and less useful spells, but later Hadley finds out that all her peers had been busy inventing their own spells to facilitate their lives. When I was reading the verbal exchanges between Hadley and her adversary, it reminded me of countries at war, who both feel their case is right and just and who are both only different sides of the same coin.
There is not much to say with respect to the severe case of instant-love the reader gets served. Maybe it is easiest understood by a short quote: “I could no longer deny it: we were meant to be together. But I still didn’t fully trust him.”
Here I rest my case. As you can see, I do not recommend to read this book. But if you feel the urge to try, I won’t scowl at you. It always comes down to personal taste. I liked Bella Swan in spite of her shortcomings. Maybe you like Hadley Bishop because of hers.
You got to love a heroine like Hadley Bishop, at least according to the author’s agent, who gushes that the main character of Life's a Witch “is impossible not to like”. Well, I seem to possess special abilities, for not liking Hadley turned out to be very, very easy. In fact, the heroine’s personality is one of things I disliked most in this debut, which has a lot of potential to get a spot among my personal five worst reads of 2012 and which should have been titled better “The Witch is a Bitch” in my opinion. But I will return to Hadley later.
I read Life's a Witch during the short time span it had been available as a cheap and self-published Kindle version on Amazon – that is after its supposed stellar success on the novel writing platform Wattpad.com, and before Simon and Schuster, the new licence holder, made the author take it off again (makes sense) – but after the success story of the acclaimed internet novel aimed at young adults was suddenly mentioned everywhere – including Publishers Weekly and Wall Street Journal. Since there are other – in my opinion much more talented – self-published authors making the leap to be represented by major publishing houses, too, I chalk the strangely broad media coverage down to the fat foot the author already had inside the publishing business’ door due to her former position as an editor at the magazine American Cheerleader before it was sold. I also glimpse with lots of skepsis towards the 15 Million readers the novel boasts to have attracted and satisfied as it was born and developed on the writing platform Wattpad.com. When I had a look, only 900 comments were attached to the entry – and a lot of them reactions of the author to every praise and question. I admit I am not familiar with how the community works, but I guess readers rather mean clicks, because A) I certainly have been tempted more than just once to stop reading and to delete the file from my Kindle with a flourishing gesture, and B) because I had never heard of Life's a Witch before and I believe the fame of a novel loved by 15 Million readers would have reached us here at Goodreads no matter what format.
Do you fear this review will be getting far too long? Do not worry. The plot is easy to summarize in a few sentences, because it does not include a lot of turns or characters or layers and unfortunately also not a lot of world building:
Hadley Bishop, the eighteen-years-old high school queen bee and member of the self-declared “good” witch coven “The Cleri” gets to know that the “bad” witch coven - nicknamed “The Parrishables”- has murdered all the parents of all students in her weekend spell-training group including her own mother. Because of her god-given ability to manipulate and lead, she quickly whisks away the complete group of twelve to her family’s magically hidden and enforced summer cabin and trains them to stop the bloodthirsty and powerhungy witches on their path to world dominion as if they were her cheerleading troupe from school (repeat, repeat, repeat). On her day off, when everbody else is trying to stock up the cabin with basic necessities (“Maybe my priorites were a bit ass-backwards, but I figured I could live with whatever food they came back with; finding the right shoes to match my future outfits while also being nature-appropriate was a tougher feat entirely.”), Hadley falls in love with a mysterious and beautiful boy who has either been stalking her, because of her irresistible girl qualities (Hadley’s guess) or because the bad witches sent someone attractive out to get a better angle on what is left of their enemy coven (my guess). Apart from some flashbacks, some group-dynamical outbursts, some ghostly Mom-action and certainly some fighting that’s it. Because of the final question, if dead means really dead when you are a witch, there is still room for a sequel or two.
I believe the author of Life's a Witch is an avid connoisseur of chicklit and – like most of us – a huge admirer of the Harry Potter series (the bad witches, who are returning and have to be fought by teenagers, the silly pseudo-latin spells like “Immobius totarium”). What she probably did not enjoy so much were the Twilight books. Therefore she has made the effort to create a heroine who is the exact opposite of Bella Swan: A truely beautiful and physically fit girl who is popular, because she wants to be popular. Someone who knows her own potential and flaunts it with all her might. Someone who is sure of her own superiority, her magical powers of persuasion and the infailability of her own opinion and judgement. Someone who is unfortunately very conceited, self-centered, domineering, power-hungry, patronizing and condescending, but thinks she is the universe’s answer to her generation’s prayers.
Here is a choice of quotes out of many to illustrate Hadley’s opinion of herself. Enjoy:
“As class president, I made decisions based on what would be best for my classmates. I told everyone what to vote for, what they should care about and set the standards of excellence among my peers. When people didn’t do what I wanted them to, I convinced them to see the errors of their ways.”
“If I had to leave the school in someone’s hands after I’d graduated, I’d want it to be someone like me. Fair, commanding, but friendly. Sofia was all this, which made her a perfect number two.”
“I personally couldn’t care less what anyone thought of me here at Astor as long as I was still the most influencial girl around.”
„I could tell they were all waiting for direction from me. It was clear on their faces. And I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised. I was the oldest. I tended to take control of every situation. I was popular, powerful and pretty, everything that usually afforded a person the attention of their peers.”
Hadley does not have friends at school; she has subjects and she behaves in front of them – and in front of her magical training group, too, like the dictator of a small country. She makes all decisions, as random as they often are, by herself and distributes information about the situation, the revealing dreams she has and the magical cabin only in a very filtered way and only to the older teens. She expects blind trust, but at the same time she cares only half-heartedly for the fate of the kids she had made her responsibility. My jaw dropped a mile, when she announced that she wouldn’t share her parents’ room in the cabin with anybody, and a few miles further when she explained the group's sleeping arrangements in retrospect:
“It was sort of first-come, first-serve around here, which meant that some unlucky individuals were always stuck with the floor in the living-room or on a row of uncomfortable chairs lined up.” Hadley is the only one who had time to pack a duffel bag before fleeing their town, but she does not consider sharing her toiletries or teaching the others the skin-cleaning spell she had invented. And I couldn’t believe how everybody put their lives into the hands of a girl, who – even after years of weekend group sessions – does not remember every member’s name: “Sonya, I think her name was. I’d never actually talked to her, but I’d seen her around for years. So, if I didn’t know her, it was pretty fair to say she didn’t know me either.”
After a small mutiny Hadley promises everybody a chance of involvement, but solves the tiny attack on her single-handed rule by soaking her prep talk with persuasion magic, which makes everbody enthusiastic, hopeful and finally willing to follow. Unbelievable, but true: The heroine’s personality does not evolve during the book.
A second thing that bothered me was Hadley’s perception of the younger coven members, like 13-years-old Penelope, who readers of the novel should identify themselves with: “And now, the younger girl had permanently attached herself to my lower half. [...]“Please don’t leave us again,” she whispered. Her voice was inaudible to anyone else but me.” How small and young and needy does the author think 13-years-olds are? How big is Hadley supposed to be? An Amazon of Hulk-like proportions?
The last aspect that was pretty unacceptable to me was the ostensibly easy distinction between “good witches” and “bad witches”: “Bad witches” use their god-given powers “for personal gain or wrong-doing”. The villain witch in this novel is confidently condemned without much ado: “His heart is black, so is his soul, and when it’s time to meet his maker – which I anticipate will happen soon – he will be punished for all he has done. The otherworld does not take kindly to those who defy its laws.” But I thought, how much does his behavior really differ from that of his “good” counterparts? Hadley’s Dad is a fundraiser. He spends his persuasion magic “for a good cause” – but what if somebody forks out money, because he or she can’t help it in spite of having had different plans for the cash? Hadley’s Mom sells magical perfumes and Hadley herself worked herself up the high school social ladder by manipulation, by putting designer-clothes-illusions on her everyday wear and by bespelling her skin to glow. The “Cleri’s” solution to keep everyone’s power-hunger in check is teaching less and less useful spells, but later Hadley finds out that all her peers had been busy inventing their own spells to facilitate their lives. When I was reading the verbal exchanges between Hadley and her adversary, it reminded me of countries at war, who both feel their case is right and just and who are both only different sides of the same coin.
There is not much to say with respect to the severe case of instant-love the reader gets served. Maybe it is easiest understood by a short quote: “I could no longer deny it: we were meant to be together. But I still didn’t fully trust him.”
Here I rest my case. As you can see, I do not recommend to read this book. But if you feel the urge to try, I won’t scowl at you. It always comes down to personal taste. I liked Bella Swan in spite of her shortcomings. Maybe you like Hadley Bishop because of hers.
November 11, 2013
I did not know that this was not the first book of the series. I started it and ended it feeling like I was not missing a thing.
I went back and forth between giving it 5 stars vs 4 stars. I ended up with 4, primarily for reasons I can's list without giving away any spoilers. Let's just leave it at the fact I found Hadley to have done/believed some pretty stupid things for someone who was pulling a 4.0 gpa. I just thought she would have been smarter than that, or at the least questioned certain things a lot more than she did. I will list specifics below, but will make sure to have a spoiler line separating the two.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the book. It was nice reading a book about a teenage witch who actually knew what she was and how to fully utilize her skills. Most of the ones I have read in the past involved witches who didn't know they were witches, but discovered it after some tragic event. It gets kind of expected and even melodramatic at times.
If you have not read this book yet, stop reading here. There will be spoilers ahead.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* SPOILERS *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
1) She trusted a BOY (Asher) that she had not known prior to all of the parents dying, even though she knew that there was an evil coven after her. I understand teenage hormones and all, but she seemed like a very meticulous person who was able to compartmentalize her life very well. Anyone who can do that, would never have invited that guy into her life. Besides, with her having to REALLY use her "power" of persuasion, and then to have it barely work meant something was wrong. She says almost right from the start that other witches don't seem to be affected by her power.
2) She believed everything Emory was saying about her mother, yet said mother had already appeared to Hadley in a dream that said the exact opposite of what Emory kept saying her mother said. It would be one thing if she had known Emory more before their lives blew up around them, but Emory was a virtual stranger. I'd believe mom.
3) Emory was not being quiet about the fact that there was a "spy" in the group. I understand telling Hadley since she was the group leader. Once she starts telling other people, it can only be because a) She didn't feel Hadley was protecting them enough or b) she was trying to rip the group apart. Either way, intelligent Hadley would have caught on a lot sooner than she did and done something about it.
Those are the main reasons I had for giving the book 4 stars. Just a few too many things I felt were off.
I went back and forth between giving it 5 stars vs 4 stars. I ended up with 4, primarily for reasons I can's list without giving away any spoilers. Let's just leave it at the fact I found Hadley to have done/believed some pretty stupid things for someone who was pulling a 4.0 gpa. I just thought she would have been smarter than that, or at the least questioned certain things a lot more than she did. I will list specifics below, but will make sure to have a spoiler line separating the two.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the book. It was nice reading a book about a teenage witch who actually knew what she was and how to fully utilize her skills. Most of the ones I have read in the past involved witches who didn't know they were witches, but discovered it after some tragic event. It gets kind of expected and even melodramatic at times.
If you have not read this book yet, stop reading here. There will be spoilers ahead.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* SPOILERS *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
1) She trusted a BOY (Asher) that she had not known prior to all of the parents dying, even though she knew that there was an evil coven after her. I understand teenage hormones and all, but she seemed like a very meticulous person who was able to compartmentalize her life very well. Anyone who can do that, would never have invited that guy into her life. Besides, with her having to REALLY use her "power" of persuasion, and then to have it barely work meant something was wrong. She says almost right from the start that other witches don't seem to be affected by her power.
2) She believed everything Emory was saying about her mother, yet said mother had already appeared to Hadley in a dream that said the exact opposite of what Emory kept saying her mother said. It would be one thing if she had known Emory more before their lives blew up around them, but Emory was a virtual stranger. I'd believe mom.
3) Emory was not being quiet about the fact that there was a "spy" in the group. I understand telling Hadley since she was the group leader. Once she starts telling other people, it can only be because a) She didn't feel Hadley was protecting them enough or b) she was trying to rip the group apart. Either way, intelligent Hadley would have caught on a lot sooner than she did and done something about it.
Those are the main reasons I had for giving the book 4 stars. Just a few too many things I felt were off.
September 26, 2012
I first heard about Life's a Witch through an article in Publisher's Weekly. My first thought upon reading the article was "oh great, here we go again, another self-published author." I was, however, intrigued. After all, Brittany had achieved 19 Million reads of the book on Wattpad, a site I check into every few weeks, and she seemed like a very sweet lady in her interview. I decided to purchase the book and check it out. I placed it on my shelf for a rainy day and forgot about it. Little did I know the mistake I was making. Life's A Witch is an exciting read, with rich characters and a book series I will definitely be reading all of.
My favorite part of the book were the kick*ss fighting scenes. Brittany does an excellent job of leading the reader through these scenes, painting vivid portraits of the battles that take place. The pacing is excellent and kept me from putting the book down several nights in a row (much to the chagrin of my employer the next day!), be warned :)
I also adored the main character Hadley Bishop. In my mind Hadley was an excellent mix of Buffy Summers and Veronica Mars, with a splash of Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl. She's totally badass, with great fashion sense and a wit to boot! At times her dialogued reminded me of some of Joss Whedon's best character quotes (including Robert Downey Jr.'s lines in The Avengers!). If you like strong female characters, this book is most certainly your cup of tea.
In addition, I felt that I was immersed in a magical world with rich characters. Some of my favorite scenes, outside of the battles, included Hadley's mother's shop and the training sequences at the cabin. Brittany has a very visually intense style of writing, which really brought me into this fascinating world.
In conclusion, I highly recommend this book. It was an extremely fun read and I am excited to read the rest of the books in the series!
My favorite part of the book were the kick*ss fighting scenes. Brittany does an excellent job of leading the reader through these scenes, painting vivid portraits of the battles that take place. The pacing is excellent and kept me from putting the book down several nights in a row (much to the chagrin of my employer the next day!), be warned :)
I also adored the main character Hadley Bishop. In my mind Hadley was an excellent mix of Buffy Summers and Veronica Mars, with a splash of Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl. She's totally badass, with great fashion sense and a wit to boot! At times her dialogued reminded me of some of Joss Whedon's best character quotes (including Robert Downey Jr.'s lines in The Avengers!). If you like strong female characters, this book is most certainly your cup of tea.
In addition, I felt that I was immersed in a magical world with rich characters. Some of my favorite scenes, outside of the battles, included Hadley's mother's shop and the training sequences at the cabin. Brittany has a very visually intense style of writing, which really brought me into this fascinating world.
In conclusion, I highly recommend this book. It was an extremely fun read and I am excited to read the rest of the books in the series!
July 29, 2013
Just finished LAW and LOVED it! Hadley is an awesome main character because she has a lot of depth that isn't apparent right away. I loved that she was conflicted about what she should do/the heavy responsibility of leading the coven right after she suffers a significant loss, and her not fully understanding that she really is the strongest leader of all of the twitches. I'm drawn to character development, so that really stuck with me, and how she found her confidence in the witch world. It complemented her confidence as a sassy teen girl in the mortal world! Overall, just an awesome book with a captivating amount of action, believable and lovable characters, an intriguing world of magic and a fresh way to do a young romance! Can't wait for the other books. It will be exciting to watch Brittany Geragotelis' life long career in writing continue to unfold!
July 10, 2013
I could not contain my excitement when I saw this book and its cover on Goodreads! I absolutely adored the first book in this series, What the Spell?, and I could not wait to get my hands on a copy of this! Needless to say I was not disappointed when I opened this book. In this book we see charmed witch and popular high school student, Hadley Bishop. Yep, you guessed it! She is a direct descendant from the first witch that was murdered in the Salem Witch Trials, Bridget Bishop. Hadley leads a pretty charmed life and pretty much everything goes her way. She doesn’t take heed to any warnings, fear, or cares that other witches seem to harbor. Until one day when the parents, also witches, of a boy who she knows goes missing and then soon after her mom goes missing also. Hadley may be forced to face her worst fears. The people that sentenced Bridget to death may be ready to do the same to her.
Brittany Geragotelis has such a talent for writing supernatural stories. I loved the tie-in with the Salem Witch Trials and how they appeared in Hadley’s dreams. I have always loved to read about the witch trials and I believe that including some of these characters in the prologue of this book was a huge boost to me. It gave me a sense of where Hadley came from and what she was capable of. Hadley does not take her heritage seriously at first, but after awhile she realizes what an asset it really is. She embraces what she is and where she comes from, and certainly does not want to let her mother and the other witches down. Hadley may be conceited at times, but she stepped up to the plate in this book when it mattered most.
I loved the cabin where Hadley evacuates the young witches to in this book, and I really do not want to say anymore about it than that at this point. She knows that she must train and prepare to fight because something is incredibly fishy around their quaint, little town. Her mother gives her a fair warning, and Hadley begins training and preparing to protect herself as a witch. She may be conceited, as I mentioned earlier, but she is a born leader. I loved seeing the other witches feed off of her energy and watching her come out of some of her petty immaturity.
This book was a wonderful rollercoaster ride with tons of action and excitement…of the witchy kind!!
***A copy of this book was graciously provided to me by the publishers at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in exchange for my honest review***
Brittany Geragotelis has such a talent for writing supernatural stories. I loved the tie-in with the Salem Witch Trials and how they appeared in Hadley’s dreams. I have always loved to read about the witch trials and I believe that including some of these characters in the prologue of this book was a huge boost to me. It gave me a sense of where Hadley came from and what she was capable of. Hadley does not take her heritage seriously at first, but after awhile she realizes what an asset it really is. She embraces what she is and where she comes from, and certainly does not want to let her mother and the other witches down. Hadley may be conceited at times, but she stepped up to the plate in this book when it mattered most.
I loved the cabin where Hadley evacuates the young witches to in this book, and I really do not want to say anymore about it than that at this point. She knows that she must train and prepare to fight because something is incredibly fishy around their quaint, little town. Her mother gives her a fair warning, and Hadley begins training and preparing to protect herself as a witch. She may be conceited, as I mentioned earlier, but she is a born leader. I loved seeing the other witches feed off of her energy and watching her come out of some of her petty immaturity.
This book was a wonderful rollercoaster ride with tons of action and excitement…of the witchy kind!!
***A copy of this book was graciously provided to me by the publishers at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in exchange for my honest review***
December 1, 2013
Nanny Books
Cosas de brujas es el primer libro de la saga de Brittany Geragotelis. Con una narración sencilla y sin muchas pretensiones, descubriremos la historia de una bruja adolescente moderna, que le gusta ir de compras y hacer su voluntad.
Cuando descubrí la portada de esta novela en su lanzamiento en España quedé totalmente cautivada por la pinta tan moderna de la protagonista... Especialmente por esos tacones. Así empecé a imaginarme la historia con un parecido a La guerra de las brujas. Sin embargo, al empezar a leer la novela caí en la cuenta que se parece mucho más a la trilogía Rubí.
Hadley tiene una vida perfecta, todas sus amigas la idolatran, tiene siempre la ropa de moda y todos los chicos suspiran por ella. Pero, nuestra protagonista, a pesar de ser la chica más popular de la escuela, no se comporta como una diva. No quiere tener novio, así que ni mira a sus compañeros. Le gusta ser disciplinada y le exige siempre el máximo a sus compañeras de equipo (¡animadoras!, muy estadounidense). Es sensible y se comporta correctamente con sus amigos. Pero lo que la hace especial de verdad, es que ella es una bruja.
En la clásica lucha entre el bien y el mal, Hadley deberá liderar al resto de su aquelarre, dejando de lado todas las frivolidades a las que estaba acostumbrada. ¿Podrá lograrlo? Con enemigos dentro y fuera del grupo, las cosas se empiezan a poner realmente feas.
La narración es ligera, de rápida lectura y con guiños cómicos. Resulta muy moderno el tratamiento que le da Geragotelis a la magia. Mientras Harry Potter aprende a crear un Patronus, Hadley aprende un hechizo para maquillarse y ponerse muy bonita. No podemos culparla, hasta Hermione se embelleció una vez con magia. Por cierto, ¡yo quiero aprender esos hechizos!
Esta es una novela divertida, muy adolescente, que logra enganchar con su ritmo rápido y los chistes actuales. El amor se concentra en varias páginas, pero no llega a ser el tema más relevante. No, no, aquí el centro es si podrá sobrevivir el grupo de Hadley. Con escenas de gran acción y momentos de lo más light, se consigue un buen equilibrio que le da tiempo a los personajes de evolucionar.
Sin varita, los personajes de esta novela lograrán cautivarte. Con lágrimas, risas y suspiros de amor, la lectura de Cosas de brujas es todo un deleite. Y pensar que es solo el primer tomo de una saga (aún no se sabe cuantos libros serán), lo hace todo más emocionante.
Cosas de brujas es el primer libro de la saga de Brittany Geragotelis. Con una narración sencilla y sin muchas pretensiones, descubriremos la historia de una bruja adolescente moderna, que le gusta ir de compras y hacer su voluntad.
Cuando descubrí la portada de esta novela en su lanzamiento en España quedé totalmente cautivada por la pinta tan moderna de la protagonista... Especialmente por esos tacones. Así empecé a imaginarme la historia con un parecido a La guerra de las brujas. Sin embargo, al empezar a leer la novela caí en la cuenta que se parece mucho más a la trilogía Rubí.
Hadley tiene una vida perfecta, todas sus amigas la idolatran, tiene siempre la ropa de moda y todos los chicos suspiran por ella. Pero, nuestra protagonista, a pesar de ser la chica más popular de la escuela, no se comporta como una diva. No quiere tener novio, así que ni mira a sus compañeros. Le gusta ser disciplinada y le exige siempre el máximo a sus compañeras de equipo (¡animadoras!, muy estadounidense). Es sensible y se comporta correctamente con sus amigos. Pero lo que la hace especial de verdad, es que ella es una bruja.
En la clásica lucha entre el bien y el mal, Hadley deberá liderar al resto de su aquelarre, dejando de lado todas las frivolidades a las que estaba acostumbrada. ¿Podrá lograrlo? Con enemigos dentro y fuera del grupo, las cosas se empiezan a poner realmente feas.
La narración es ligera, de rápida lectura y con guiños cómicos. Resulta muy moderno el tratamiento que le da Geragotelis a la magia. Mientras Harry Potter aprende a crear un Patronus, Hadley aprende un hechizo para maquillarse y ponerse muy bonita. No podemos culparla, hasta Hermione se embelleció una vez con magia. Por cierto, ¡yo quiero aprender esos hechizos!
Esta es una novela divertida, muy adolescente, que logra enganchar con su ritmo rápido y los chistes actuales. El amor se concentra en varias páginas, pero no llega a ser el tema más relevante. No, no, aquí el centro es si podrá sobrevivir el grupo de Hadley. Con escenas de gran acción y momentos de lo más light, se consigue un buen equilibrio que le da tiempo a los personajes de evolucionar.
Sin varita, los personajes de esta novela lograrán cautivarte. Con lágrimas, risas y suspiros de amor, la lectura de Cosas de brujas es todo un deleite. Y pensar que es solo el primer tomo de una saga (aún no se sabe cuantos libros serán), lo hace todo más emocionante.
February 14, 2014
No reseñé este libro en mi blog porque no valía la pena, sin embargo, la protagonista inauguró una nueva sección: PERSONAJES QUE MERECEN UN FLECHAZO EN LA FRENTE, porque nadie se merecía ese privilegio más que ella.
Agarren Harry Potter y la Orden del Fénix, quítenle todo (TODO) lo bueno, yankeerizenlo, frivolizenlo, agreguen una protagonista la mar de estúpida, contradicciones, obviedades y ahí tienen Cosas de brujas.
El peor libro que leí en el año (en años, arriesguemos), yo que venía tan contenta con mis lecturas sin mácula :/
Agarren Harry Potter y la Orden del Fénix, quítenle todo (TODO) lo bueno, yankeerizenlo, frivolizenlo, agreguen una protagonista la mar de estúpida, contradicciones, obviedades y ahí tienen Cosas de brujas.
El peor libro que leí en el año (en años, arriesguemos), yo que venía tan contenta con mis lecturas sin mácula :/
December 19, 2011
Decent premise but Hadley is one of the most annoying and stuck up heroines I've come across...and I've read the Undead series so that's saying something.
January 25, 2013
Such a fun read! Really talented author!
August 6, 2016
I thought this book was pretty good but there was a certain part that spiraled my feelings towards the book.
This review is going to be hard to express without giving away spoilers..I enjoyed the beginning of the book and thought it was good..Hadley being the main character comes from a long line of witches that dates back into The Salem Witch Trials. I thought that was pretty cool.It had a turn towards the end of the book that had me scratching my head and wondering WTF.. I had many mixed feelings.
With this being the 2nd book it can be a stand alone and doesnt really involve the 1st book.. But i think that the next book is going to pull the 1st and 2nd book together and the questions that i have that came from pretty much the 1st and 2nd book will probably get answered in the 3rd-So im kind of looking forward to reading that book and seeing how that book is going to go!!!
I was debating on whether or not to give a 3 or 4 star..I liked pretty much the book til about 50 pages left-ish and the turmoil happened but it also had some other things in the that had happened that i had liked..
This review is going to be hard to express without giving away spoilers..I enjoyed the beginning of the book and thought it was good..Hadley being the main character comes from a long line of witches that dates back into The Salem Witch Trials. I thought that was pretty cool.It had a turn towards the end of the book that had me scratching my head and wondering WTF.. I had many mixed feelings.
With this being the 2nd book it can be a stand alone and doesnt really involve the 1st book.. But i think that the next book is going to pull the 1st and 2nd book together and the questions that i have that came from pretty much the 1st and 2nd book will probably get answered in the 3rd-So im kind of looking forward to reading that book and seeing how that book is going to go!!!
I was debating on whether or not to give a 3 or 4 star..I liked pretty much the book til about 50 pages left-ish and the turmoil happened but it also had some other things in the that had happened that i had liked..
December 26, 2011
Obviously written for the "Young Adult" reader. But it was an engaging story, and I was unable to put it down without finishing it. I'm going to recommend it to my 16 year old granddaughter.
October 13, 2013
Final rating: 1.5/5
I've tried my best not to make this a ranty review, but I'm so frustrated with this book that I couldn't help but write some of it down. I hope you won't mind.
The blurb for this one sounded great. Add that to 15 million readers on Wattpad and I was expecting to get a good story. Unfortunately, I was annoyed with the main character from the very first page. I have never, ever read about a main character as stuck up and full of herself as Hadley Bishop.
She is the most popular girl in school, as well as the prettiest and one of the smartest. Hadley reminds us of these facts every couple of pages, along with her obsession for 'fashion' at the most ridiculous moments. The only thing she worries about when she needs to get active in a fight for example, is how many inches her stiletto's should be and what kind of outfit should she wear? She only thinks of herself during the preparations for the upcoming war, not thinking of the dozens of teens she has to take care of. Everything is Me Myself and I and bothered the crap out of me.
But it didn't end with Hadley being so self centered that she thought the world revolved around her. There was a clear case of insta-love in this book. She loves him when she lays eyes on him, even though she knows there's a traitor around who is spying on her coven for the enemy (who, by the way, kidnapped the parents of ALL the kids currently under her 'supervision') and she doesn't even know this guy and it all made absolutely. no. sense. that she would run in to him at every place she goes and just be making a complete ass out of herself to impress him. Their 'relationship' develops very quickly and the big L-word is spoken pretty soon. They have nothing in common, don't know eachother and there is a big crisis going on with everyone's life threatened and all, and all she worries about is if he will think she is crazy.
The minor characters had potential, with a handful of them appearing to have their own small story, but nothing of that came across from the paper (or kindle, in my case). The characters fell flat and I couldn't seperate some of the girls because they all seemed the same because they had no personality. I felt no connection to them at all, which I was hoping for since I hated Hadley with a burning passion.
The story itself builds up to an 'epic battle' that was over in a couple of pages. All the exciting parts felt rushed and at all the points where it seemed to be getting interesting, there was an easy solution for the problem - Hadley would have a dream about the solution, she would find a book, she would just come up with the solution - which bothered me to no end.
I wouldn't recommend this book. I didn't enjoy reading it, and was annoyed from the moment Hadley was introduced (there's a prologue about her ancestors). I kept reading because I hoped it would get better, but it didn't. Reading on only resulted in me being very frustrated and wanting to throw my Kindle across the room, which I couldn't even do without potentionally destroying my ereader.
Find this review and others on Loving Books.
I've tried my best not to make this a ranty review, but I'm so frustrated with this book that I couldn't help but write some of it down. I hope you won't mind.
The blurb for this one sounded great. Add that to 15 million readers on Wattpad and I was expecting to get a good story. Unfortunately, I was annoyed with the main character from the very first page. I have never, ever read about a main character as stuck up and full of herself as Hadley Bishop.
She is the most popular girl in school, as well as the prettiest and one of the smartest. Hadley reminds us of these facts every couple of pages, along with her obsession for 'fashion' at the most ridiculous moments. The only thing she worries about when she needs to get active in a fight for example, is how many inches her stiletto's should be and what kind of outfit should she wear? She only thinks of herself during the preparations for the upcoming war, not thinking of the dozens of teens she has to take care of. Everything is Me Myself and I and bothered the crap out of me.
But it didn't end with Hadley being so self centered that she thought the world revolved around her. There was a clear case of insta-love in this book. She loves him when she lays eyes on him, even though she knows there's a traitor around who is spying on her coven for the enemy (who, by the way, kidnapped the parents of ALL the kids currently under her 'supervision') and she doesn't even know this guy and it all made absolutely. no. sense. that she would run in to him at every place she goes and just be making a complete ass out of herself to impress him. Their 'relationship' develops very quickly and the big L-word is spoken pretty soon. They have nothing in common, don't know eachother and there is a big crisis going on with everyone's life threatened and all, and all she worries about is if he will think she is crazy.
The minor characters had potential, with a handful of them appearing to have their own small story, but nothing of that came across from the paper (or kindle, in my case). The characters fell flat and I couldn't seperate some of the girls because they all seemed the same because they had no personality. I felt no connection to them at all, which I was hoping for since I hated Hadley with a burning passion.
The story itself builds up to an 'epic battle' that was over in a couple of pages. All the exciting parts felt rushed and at all the points where it seemed to be getting interesting, there was an easy solution for the problem - Hadley would have a dream about the solution, she would find a book, she would just come up with the solution - which bothered me to no end.
I wouldn't recommend this book. I didn't enjoy reading it, and was annoyed from the moment Hadley was introduced (there's a prologue about her ancestors). I kept reading because I hoped it would get better, but it didn't. Reading on only resulted in me being very frustrated and wanting to throw my Kindle across the room, which I couldn't even do without potentionally destroying my ereader.
Find this review and others on Loving Books.
December 12, 2013
Creo que este fue el peor libro que leí en el 2013. La trama no tiene una buena base, la protagonista es una adolescente egoísta, egocéntrica e insufrible con aires de diva, a la que todos idolatran (aunque no tanto como ella misma). Encima hay amor instantáneo, el romance tiene muy poco sentido, a la media hora de conocerse ella ya se lo lleva a vivir con su aquelarre que esta en peligro de muerte y sufriendo ataques constantes, osea le revela su paradero a un completo desconocido!
Algunas citas de la protagonista a lo largo del libro que la describen muy bien:
“Era popular, poderosa y bonita, todo lo que suele asegurarle a una persona la atención de sus semejantes."
“…si nos hubieran dado notas por lo bien que hechizábamos, yo hubiera sido la primera de la clase.”
“…quizás porque solía entrenar a las chicas del instituto que se morían por ser como yo.”
“Jo, tal vez no fuese Jessica Alba pero podría haber sido perfectamente su doble de cuerpo.”
“Estaba acostumbrada a que la gente me siguiera a ciegas e hiciese todo lo que le decía.”
Algunas citas de la protagonista a lo largo del libro que la describen muy bien:
“Era popular, poderosa y bonita, todo lo que suele asegurarle a una persona la atención de sus semejantes."
“…si nos hubieran dado notas por lo bien que hechizábamos, yo hubiera sido la primera de la clase.”
“…quizás porque solía entrenar a las chicas del instituto que se morían por ser como yo.”
“Jo, tal vez no fuese Jessica Alba pero podría haber sido perfectamente su doble de cuerpo.”
“Estaba acostumbrada a que la gente me siguiera a ciegas e hiciese todo lo que le decía.”
January 29, 2014
Recommended if you like YA magical stories with leading female characters and a bit of angst and magic. I was disappointed with volume 1 but surprised when this this follow up book lived up to its hype. Good job. The author removed enough of the stupid class envy that ruined Brooklyn and kept enough to make Hadley a good character. It was a bit confusing when Asher from the previous book was the love interest of this lead character again. But it was good to see he gets a better girl friend this time. The unpublished, at this time, third book could be a winner if it really puts both Hadley and Brooklyn in the same coven with Asher. Good job writing an interesting YA supernatural story Brittany.
January 5, 2014
I just can't. I was willing to give a second chance to Geragotelis because I thought my problems might be with the MC from the previous book, this book is just as bad. Don't freaking bother. To see full review click on one of the following links:
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November 1, 2013
Ni cien páginas y ya he tenido suficiente. Se presenta a la prota como la chica perfecta: guapa, inteligente, popular, se preocupa por el prójimo, comprende a sus padres aunque se hayan peleado... Y esos monólogos interiores de lo divina que va y el vestido que tiene que ponerse me sobran.
August 1, 2015
Non so da dove iniziare, questo romanzo mi ha delusa! D'impatto ho visto la copertina e la trama, il tutto mi sembrava molto interessante, pieno di avventura e misterioso invece si è rivelato una totale delusione.
Punto primo...perchè la Casa Editrice abbia deciso di pubblicare il secondo volume della serie è un mistero. Ho letto qualcosina in rete e ho scoperto che i due romanzi non sono legati affatto l'uno all'altro quindi si può leggere tranquillamente questo senza aver letto quello ma a mio avviso ...nonostante siano due romanzi diversi credo che pubblicare direttamente il secondo libro sia stata una mossa sbagliata. Il primo libro avrebbe introdotto il lettore a piccoli passi nella famiglia Bishop, una sorta di "intro" nella vita di questi maghi e streghe. Putroppo però abbiamo dovuto sorbirci il secondo volume di punto in bianco.
Tralsciando le scelte Editoriali, parliamo un pò della storia. Hadley Bishop (la protagonista) è la discendente della più potente strega di tutti i tempi nonché la ragazza più popolare del liceo Astor High. Le sue giornate scorrono serene e divertenti, fra gli impegni di cheerleader e le lezioni di magia (e alcuni piccoli segreti relativi a un guardaroba capace di rinnovarsi grazie a qualche semplice incantesimo). Ma quando sua madre viene rapita e uccisa dalla stessa congrega di streghe che assassinò la sua antenata durante i processi di Salem, Hadley decide di farla finita con la minaccia che tormenta la sua famiglia da secoli, e di farlo una volta per tutte. Con l'aiuto delle amiche e dei compagni, Hadley darà vita a una battaglia epica, combattuta senza esclusione di colpi, che sconvolgerà il mondo della magia per sempre.
La protagonista è la ragazza più insulsa che io abbia mai visto. Le sue reazioni, le sue decisioni, sono sempre troppo affettate e lei sembra una ragazzina di otto anni. La storia è completamente priva di senno, mediocre, frivola a tratti leggera e surreale. La scrittura è semplice quindi si legge facilmente ma è alterata da note infantili.
I componenti che si vengono a creare sono fragili e tutto il contesto è un insieme di banalità. I personaggi sono leggeri e molti non mi convincono del tutto. Lei che dovrebbe essere un leader non mi piace e non mi attira nemmeno lontamente, risulta una ragazzina viziata e superficiale. La lotta contro il male diventa quasi una barzelletta e i suoi pensieri sono stupidi e incoerenti.
Peccato, peccato davvero perchè c'erano ottime possibilità che questo romanzo risultasse bello e intrigante ma difatto non mi è piaciuto. Buona Lettura!
Punto primo...perchè la Casa Editrice abbia deciso di pubblicare il secondo volume della serie è un mistero. Ho letto qualcosina in rete e ho scoperto che i due romanzi non sono legati affatto l'uno all'altro quindi si può leggere tranquillamente questo senza aver letto quello ma a mio avviso ...nonostante siano due romanzi diversi credo che pubblicare direttamente il secondo libro sia stata una mossa sbagliata. Il primo libro avrebbe introdotto il lettore a piccoli passi nella famiglia Bishop, una sorta di "intro" nella vita di questi maghi e streghe. Putroppo però abbiamo dovuto sorbirci il secondo volume di punto in bianco.
Tralsciando le scelte Editoriali, parliamo un pò della storia. Hadley Bishop (la protagonista) è la discendente della più potente strega di tutti i tempi nonché la ragazza più popolare del liceo Astor High. Le sue giornate scorrono serene e divertenti, fra gli impegni di cheerleader e le lezioni di magia (e alcuni piccoli segreti relativi a un guardaroba capace di rinnovarsi grazie a qualche semplice incantesimo). Ma quando sua madre viene rapita e uccisa dalla stessa congrega di streghe che assassinò la sua antenata durante i processi di Salem, Hadley decide di farla finita con la minaccia che tormenta la sua famiglia da secoli, e di farlo una volta per tutte. Con l'aiuto delle amiche e dei compagni, Hadley darà vita a una battaglia epica, combattuta senza esclusione di colpi, che sconvolgerà il mondo della magia per sempre.
La protagonista è la ragazza più insulsa che io abbia mai visto. Le sue reazioni, le sue decisioni, sono sempre troppo affettate e lei sembra una ragazzina di otto anni. La storia è completamente priva di senno, mediocre, frivola a tratti leggera e surreale. La scrittura è semplice quindi si legge facilmente ma è alterata da note infantili.
I componenti che si vengono a creare sono fragili e tutto il contesto è un insieme di banalità. I personaggi sono leggeri e molti non mi convincono del tutto. Lei che dovrebbe essere un leader non mi piace e non mi attira nemmeno lontamente, risulta una ragazzina viziata e superficiale. La lotta contro il male diventa quasi una barzelletta e i suoi pensieri sono stupidi e incoerenti.
Peccato, peccato davvero perchè c'erano ottime possibilità che questo romanzo risultasse bello e intrigante ma difatto non mi è piaciuto. Buona Lettura!
July 18, 2013
Life’s a Witch is a bit better than What the Spell. I would suggest reading LAW before WTS as I found out that WTS is actually the prequel (not to be confused with the 1st book of the series) ruins Asher in LAW for me anyways. Asher seems like 2 completely different people in each of the novels and it confused me. LAW has more paranormal aspects in it over WTS which I liked. I did enjoy it more but it took about 150 pages for me to get really into it. The author really likes the popular girls I don’t really get it but Hadley in this case is the popular and always talks about being in control. I also didn't get the love story line throughout the story how does seeing each twice and making out make you boyfriend-girlfriend and how does making out twice within a few days mean you love that person?? This was extremely unrealistic. Overall, this series wasn't my favorite and I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless they enjoy the on goings of a popular girl teen drama. I personally don’t think I will be reading the final book is the series because it sounds like it will be the battle of “Who is the more popular girl that deserves the guy” and I am just too old to get enjoyment out of that sadly.
August 14, 2018
This is not a well-written book. The “heroine” is a ridiculous Mary Sue type who also manages to be incredibly selfish and a terrible friend. She’s insufferable to read. Plus the whole book has a Mean Girls type vibe to it that’s just “totes” unbelievable. Every time I come across these young adult books that deal so heavily in “high school movie” tropes I have to roll my eyes. Can we do something new?
I also feel that Hadley’s descriptions of herself and her internal voice sound like they aren’t written by a woman. They sound like a man trying to sound like a teenage girl.
I love witchy fiction but the magic in this book is incredibly clumsy and inconsistent. In one moment, Hadley is grumbling about how she’ll have to cake on her foundation to cover up the bags under her eyes - then in the next moment she’s doing a spell to make them go away. So which is it? Why would she spend the time thinking she needs foundation if she has this spell?
I’ve read some great YA - this is not one of them.
I also feel that Hadley’s descriptions of herself and her internal voice sound like they aren’t written by a woman. They sound like a man trying to sound like a teenage girl.
I love witchy fiction but the magic in this book is incredibly clumsy and inconsistent. In one moment, Hadley is grumbling about how she’ll have to cake on her foundation to cover up the bags under her eyes - then in the next moment she’s doing a spell to make them go away. So which is it? Why would she spend the time thinking she needs foundation if she has this spell?
I’ve read some great YA - this is not one of them.
April 21, 2015
La recensione sul blog http://www.leggereromanticamente.com/...
August 21, 2017
Da leggere per la sua bruttezza e per la peggiore protagonista ever. Altro che Bella, altro che Mary Sue
March 24, 2015
Reseñada creada para el blog
¡AL FIN TERMINÉ EL LIBRO! Para los que me siguen en goodreads (y los que no, vayan a seguirme YA MISMO (?)) saben que tardé muchisimo en leer este libro de solo 280 páginas. Suelo amar los libros de Roca, pero ya con La Selección, La Elite, y ahora este, me estoy decepcionando un poquitin.
Es el libro con puntuación más baja, y hasta le daría menos, pero creo que ya el trabajo de publicarlo o algo se merece una estrella. La trama es interesante, no voy a negarlo, dos clanes de brujos enfrentados, todos los padres de un clan mueren y los chicos tienen que enfrentarse al otro clan. Hasta ahí vamos bien. Ahora cuando tenemos a una protagonista que es: linda, inteligente, porrista, sabelotodo, bruja, a la moda, y que no puede salir de su casa sin hacerse la manicura, fijarse que tenga bien su maquillaje y que sobre todo no puede empezar una guerra sin usar el último conjunto que le encantó en una entrega de premiso ya derrapamos muuchiiiismo.
El libro derrapa demasiado con la protagonista, al punto que le baja 4 estrellas. Es la primer protagonista que me hace odiarla tanto al punto de querer tirar el libro por la ventana (pronosticaban lluvia de libros en San Bernardo). Además de todo esto, en un momento mientras lucha contra uno de sus enemigos, se enoja porque la estaban haciendo ver mal.... DIOOOS, ESTAS LUCHANDO POR TU VIDA, QUE IMPORTA TU ASPECTO? U.U
Pasemos a la parte de la intriga de los traidores dentro de su clan... es taaaan obvio esta parte, otra cosa que le resta estrellas. Y ni hablar del gran amor de Hadley (la protagonista): cuando le declara que es una bruja al chico que conoce hace apenas unas 4 horas, y que si sigue con ella probablemente muera, el chico acepta.... Es como que se te cruce por la calle una persona, te diga que es narcotraficante y que si vas con ella/él vas a morir y vos aceptes :D. Está bien que el chico tiene sus intenciones para con Had, pero me pareció un punto en el que la historia flaquea y demasiado.
Pasemos a la sinopsis, en un momento dice "o al alcance de su varita", o yo soy ciego o... ¡¡¡En ningun momento usan varitas!!! Cuál es el sentido de decir eso si no las van a usar. La parte de magia flaquea demasiado... pasan toda la mitad del libro diciendo hechizos de dos palabras y medio como que latin medio extraño, y luego encuentran unos más "antiguos" y son como 1 parrafo entero en español... Está bien, se modernizaron y son más cortos, pero ¿porque cambiaron de idioma? XD
Es el segundo libro de una saga, pero su primer libro es como otra historia (y aún no se ha publicado), y el tercero es la unión de ambas historias. La verdad dudo que siga con esta saga, así que si ven que hago algún sorteo de los próximos libros ya saben porque fue.
Agradecimientos:
Penguin Random House por el ejemplar
¡AL FIN TERMINÉ EL LIBRO! Para los que me siguen en goodreads (y los que no, vayan a seguirme YA MISMO (?)) saben que tardé muchisimo en leer este libro de solo 280 páginas. Suelo amar los libros de Roca, pero ya con La Selección, La Elite, y ahora este, me estoy decepcionando un poquitin.
Es el libro con puntuación más baja, y hasta le daría menos, pero creo que ya el trabajo de publicarlo o algo se merece una estrella. La trama es interesante, no voy a negarlo, dos clanes de brujos enfrentados, todos los padres de un clan mueren y los chicos tienen que enfrentarse al otro clan. Hasta ahí vamos bien. Ahora cuando tenemos a una protagonista que es: linda, inteligente, porrista, sabelotodo, bruja, a la moda, y que no puede salir de su casa sin hacerse la manicura, fijarse que tenga bien su maquillaje y que sobre todo no puede empezar una guerra sin usar el último conjunto que le encantó en una entrega de premiso ya derrapamos muuchiiiismo.
El libro derrapa demasiado con la protagonista, al punto que le baja 4 estrellas. Es la primer protagonista que me hace odiarla tanto al punto de querer tirar el libro por la ventana (pronosticaban lluvia de libros en San Bernardo). Además de todo esto, en un momento mientras lucha contra uno de sus enemigos, se enoja porque la estaban haciendo ver mal.... DIOOOS, ESTAS LUCHANDO POR TU VIDA, QUE IMPORTA TU ASPECTO? U.U
Pasemos a la parte de la intriga de los traidores dentro de su clan... es taaaan obvio esta parte, otra cosa que le resta estrellas. Y ni hablar del gran amor de Hadley (la protagonista): cuando le declara que es una bruja al chico que conoce hace apenas unas 4 horas, y que si sigue con ella probablemente muera, el chico acepta.... Es como que se te cruce por la calle una persona, te diga que es narcotraficante y que si vas con ella/él vas a morir y vos aceptes :D. Está bien que el chico tiene sus intenciones para con Had, pero me pareció un punto en el que la historia flaquea y demasiado.
Pasemos a la sinopsis, en un momento dice "o al alcance de su varita", o yo soy ciego o... ¡¡¡En ningun momento usan varitas!!! Cuál es el sentido de decir eso si no las van a usar. La parte de magia flaquea demasiado... pasan toda la mitad del libro diciendo hechizos de dos palabras y medio como que latin medio extraño, y luego encuentran unos más "antiguos" y son como 1 parrafo entero en español... Está bien, se modernizaron y son más cortos, pero ¿porque cambiaron de idioma? XD
Es el segundo libro de una saga, pero su primer libro es como otra historia (y aún no se ha publicado), y el tercero es la unión de ambas historias. La verdad dudo que siga con esta saga, así que si ven que hago algún sorteo de los próximos libros ya saben porque fue.
Agradecimientos:
Penguin Random House por el ejemplar
August 12, 2016
Life’s a Witch by Brittany Geragotelis was an awesome audio to listen to. It’s a witchy/paranormal story and I do have such a fondness for those so for me I really enjoyed this book. It’s narrated by Joy Osmanski and she is fast becoming a favorite narrator of mine. I have listened to one other book narrated by her and she makes an audio even more enjoyable with the emotions she puts into her reading of the story. For me she brings the story alive in my mind and she keeps perfect pace and tone throughout that holds a listener captive.
Hadley is a witch – well really a twitch because she’s a teen witch and she has it all. She is very popular in school and everyone wants to be her. Normally this would annoy me but it didn’t because she’s not snobby about it all – she’s actually very nice. She dresses in the highest fashion and her makeup is always perfect and she never leaves the house without her heels but just how does she achieve this perfect persona – by magic, of course. What I wouldn’t give to wake up in the morning and just say a spell and have my makeup done or wish an outfit was something more spectacular than it actually was. LOL.
Yet even as perfect as Hadley’s life is there is trouble brewing. You see Hadley is a descendant of the first woman that was executed in the Salem Witch Trials and this is something that has to be kept under wraps because there are other witches out there that could and would do harm to Hadley and her family if they knew about her powers. Only her family and those in her coven know of her extraordinary powers but when all of the twitch’s parents disappear the teens are all forced to defend themselves against the enemy. It is then that Hadley learns just how powerful and sought after she is.
Life’s a Witch is a young adult book but I think if you have a hankering to read books on witches or magic then, even as an adult, this book is very enjoyable. I know I really liked it and can’t wait to read more of Brittany Geragotelis’s books! As for the audio production it was fantastic so if you have a chance to listen to the audio definitely go that route!
Hadley is a witch – well really a twitch because she’s a teen witch and she has it all. She is very popular in school and everyone wants to be her. Normally this would annoy me but it didn’t because she’s not snobby about it all – she’s actually very nice. She dresses in the highest fashion and her makeup is always perfect and she never leaves the house without her heels but just how does she achieve this perfect persona – by magic, of course. What I wouldn’t give to wake up in the morning and just say a spell and have my makeup done or wish an outfit was something more spectacular than it actually was. LOL.
Yet even as perfect as Hadley’s life is there is trouble brewing. You see Hadley is a descendant of the first woman that was executed in the Salem Witch Trials and this is something that has to be kept under wraps because there are other witches out there that could and would do harm to Hadley and her family if they knew about her powers. Only her family and those in her coven know of her extraordinary powers but when all of the twitch’s parents disappear the teens are all forced to defend themselves against the enemy. It is then that Hadley learns just how powerful and sought after she is.
Life’s a Witch is a young adult book but I think if you have a hankering to read books on witches or magic then, even as an adult, this book is very enjoyable. I know I really liked it and can’t wait to read more of Brittany Geragotelis’s books! As for the audio production it was fantastic so if you have a chance to listen to the audio definitely go that route!
April 21, 2015
La recensione sul blog http://www.leggereromanticamente.com/...
Attirata dalla trama e dalle premesse, mi sono illusa di avere tra le mani un bel romanzo urban fantasy YA, ed invece non l'ho trovato nulla di particolare.
Avete presente quando alla fine di un libro, ripensando alla storia, sapete già che vi mancheranno i personaggi di cui avete appena letto? Ecco, assolutamente non è questo il caso, perchè non mi è rimasto proprio nulla dalla lettura di questo libero!
La protagonista è Hadley, una 17enne molto popolare e ambita, venerata da tutta la sua scuola, che ci racconta le vicende in prima persona.
Quello che le sue amicizie scolastiche non immaginano neppure è che Hadley ha dei poteri magici, oltre ad essere la discendente di una potente strega di Salem condannata a morte. L'affascinante e fashionissima streghetta non è però altrettanto popolare nella sua congrega di streghe.
Quando la tragedia si abbatte sui membri adulti della congrega, Hadley è però costretta a prendere in mano le redini della situazione aiutando e addestrando i membri più giovani, poiché un antico nemico è tornato per sterminarli tutti.
La trama potrebbe sembrare particolare, ma tutto l'insieme dei fatti mi è sembrato forzato e scontato, per non parlare della superficialità della protagonista, vista la situazione.
Sicuramente si nota sin dall'inizio l'inesperienza dell'autrice nel raccontare la storia e nel descrivere i personaggi in modo da farli entrare nel cuore del lettore. Anche Asher, il primo ragazzo per cui Hadley sembra provare qualcosa, non mi ha convinto per niente, così come l’evolversi della loro storia dopo il primo incontro: tutto surreale e forzatissimo! Inoltre, Asher è l'ennesimo personaggio che non mi ha colpito per nulla, cosa che solitamente non mi capita in quanto ho un vero e proprio debole per i book boyfriends! Anche il ritmo della lettura non è il massimo: certe parti le ho trovate piuttosto noiosette.
In conclusione, per quel che mi riguarda, questo romanzo poteva tranquillamente restare su Wattpad.
Attirata dalla trama e dalle premesse, mi sono illusa di avere tra le mani un bel romanzo urban fantasy YA, ed invece non l'ho trovato nulla di particolare.
Avete presente quando alla fine di un libro, ripensando alla storia, sapete già che vi mancheranno i personaggi di cui avete appena letto? Ecco, assolutamente non è questo il caso, perchè non mi è rimasto proprio nulla dalla lettura di questo libero!
La protagonista è Hadley, una 17enne molto popolare e ambita, venerata da tutta la sua scuola, che ci racconta le vicende in prima persona.
Quello che le sue amicizie scolastiche non immaginano neppure è che Hadley ha dei poteri magici, oltre ad essere la discendente di una potente strega di Salem condannata a morte. L'affascinante e fashionissima streghetta non è però altrettanto popolare nella sua congrega di streghe.
Quando la tragedia si abbatte sui membri adulti della congrega, Hadley è però costretta a prendere in mano le redini della situazione aiutando e addestrando i membri più giovani, poiché un antico nemico è tornato per sterminarli tutti.
La trama potrebbe sembrare particolare, ma tutto l'insieme dei fatti mi è sembrato forzato e scontato, per non parlare della superficialità della protagonista, vista la situazione.
Sicuramente si nota sin dall'inizio l'inesperienza dell'autrice nel raccontare la storia e nel descrivere i personaggi in modo da farli entrare nel cuore del lettore. Anche Asher, il primo ragazzo per cui Hadley sembra provare qualcosa, non mi ha convinto per niente, così come l’evolversi della loro storia dopo il primo incontro: tutto surreale e forzatissimo! Inoltre, Asher è l'ennesimo personaggio che non mi ha colpito per nulla, cosa che solitamente non mi capita in quanto ho un vero e proprio debole per i book boyfriends! Anche il ritmo della lettura non è il massimo: certe parti le ho trovate piuttosto noiosette.
In conclusione, per quel che mi riguarda, questo romanzo poteva tranquillamente restare su Wattpad.
April 26, 2015
Attratta dalla trama mi dispiace essermi inceppata in una delusione tale.
Non capivo la scelta editoriale di stampare prima il secondo volume della serie, per poi scoprire che il primo è considerato più un prequel/spin off. Okay, ma continuo a non capire.
Ad essere sincera perfino questo volume mi è parso molto introduttivo o con pezzi mancanti.
La protagonista è completamente diversa rispetto al solito, vanitosa e completamente sicura di sé, continuamente in preoccupazione riguardo il suo aspetto o i bei vestiti, elemento originale sì, ma che penso sia stato trattato in maniera tale da ritorcerlesi contro. Tanto da rendere la protagonista una persona per niente simpatica, ma alquanto superficiale.
Insta-love, uno dei più veloci e assurdi che abbia mai letto. Tra l'altro Asher è proprio ridicolo talmente tonto è stato caratterizzato.
La trama è risultata troppo troppo forzata. A fine lettura non mi è rimasto nulla. Le scene sembrano essere inserite con tanto di abbellimenti senza però risultare credibili agli occhi del lettore.
Forse complice anche il mix adolescenti lasciati soli senza aver completato la loro istruzione magica ad affrontare un nemico vecchio 400 anni. Sul serio?
Penso sia una storia adatta ai più piccoli, o a chi non ha affrontato molte letture del genere. Visto la prevedibilità che caratterizza gran parte della lettura.
In conclusione, io personalmente non penso leggerò gli altri della serie, sinceramente non sono interessata all'evolversi della situazione. Poi, il titolo scelto per la pubblicazione italiana "Le streghe di Astor High" penso non centri nulla con la storia.
Non capivo la scelta editoriale di stampare prima il secondo volume della serie, per poi scoprire che il primo è considerato più un prequel/spin off. Okay, ma continuo a non capire.
Ad essere sincera perfino questo volume mi è parso molto introduttivo o con pezzi mancanti.
La protagonista è completamente diversa rispetto al solito, vanitosa e completamente sicura di sé, continuamente in preoccupazione riguardo il suo aspetto o i bei vestiti, elemento originale sì, ma che penso sia stato trattato in maniera tale da ritorcerlesi contro. Tanto da rendere la protagonista una persona per niente simpatica, ma alquanto superficiale.
Insta-love, uno dei più veloci e assurdi che abbia mai letto. Tra l'altro Asher è proprio ridicolo talmente tonto è stato caratterizzato.
La trama è risultata troppo troppo forzata. A fine lettura non mi è rimasto nulla. Le scene sembrano essere inserite con tanto di abbellimenti senza però risultare credibili agli occhi del lettore.
Forse complice anche il mix adolescenti lasciati soli senza aver completato la loro istruzione magica ad affrontare un nemico vecchio 400 anni. Sul serio?
Penso sia una storia adatta ai più piccoli, o a chi non ha affrontato molte letture del genere. Visto la prevedibilità che caratterizza gran parte della lettura.
In conclusione, io personalmente non penso leggerò gli altri della serie, sinceramente non sono interessata all'evolversi della situazione. Poi, il titolo scelto per la pubblicazione italiana "Le streghe di Astor High" penso non centri nulla con la storia.
August 16, 2015
Recensione del blog Le passioni di Brully
Ho scoperto che in realtà questo non è il primo volume, ma il secondo della trilogia. Fortunatamente non è collegato, e non ci sono riferimenti di nessun tipo a qualsiasi cosa passata. Quindi non preoccupatevi.
La protagonista è Hadley, una giovane e bella studentessa delle superiori. Popolare e irraggiungibile, è soddisfatta della sua vita.
Ma c'è qualcos altro, che non tutti sanno: Hadley è una strega potentissima, discendente di una stirpe di streghe importanti. Se nella vita "normale" è la più popolare, durante gli incontri per studiare la magia, non gode di molta attenzione, dato che non gliene importa poi così tanto.
Almeno fino a quando un fatto disastroso non la obbligherà a prendere le redini della sua congrega.
Una serie di eventi particolari inizieranno a susseguirsi, fra cui l'arrivo di un ragazzo che farà finalmente destabilizzare Hadley, sempre così sicura di sé.
E quando Hadley scoprirà che stanno cercando proprio lei, e che tutto ciò che è successo è solo per colpa sua, le cose si metteranno male.
Una corsa contro il tempo, per eliminare un nemico che per troppo tempo ha giocato con la vita delle streghe.
Che dire di questo romanzo? A me è piaciuto davvero moltissimo. Sono partita a leggerlo tranquillamente, poi man mano che proseguivo con la storia ero sempre più avida di sapere cosa sarebbe successo e senza rendermene conto l'avevo già finito.
Mi è piaciuto molto il modo di concludere i capitoli, lasciando sempre qualcosa in sospeso che ti obbligava ad andare avanti.
Spero pubblichino anche gli altri due!
Ho scoperto che in realtà questo non è il primo volume, ma il secondo della trilogia. Fortunatamente non è collegato, e non ci sono riferimenti di nessun tipo a qualsiasi cosa passata. Quindi non preoccupatevi.
La protagonista è Hadley, una giovane e bella studentessa delle superiori. Popolare e irraggiungibile, è soddisfatta della sua vita.
Ma c'è qualcos altro, che non tutti sanno: Hadley è una strega potentissima, discendente di una stirpe di streghe importanti. Se nella vita "normale" è la più popolare, durante gli incontri per studiare la magia, non gode di molta attenzione, dato che non gliene importa poi così tanto.
Almeno fino a quando un fatto disastroso non la obbligherà a prendere le redini della sua congrega.
Una serie di eventi particolari inizieranno a susseguirsi, fra cui l'arrivo di un ragazzo che farà finalmente destabilizzare Hadley, sempre così sicura di sé.
E quando Hadley scoprirà che stanno cercando proprio lei, e che tutto ciò che è successo è solo per colpa sua, le cose si metteranno male.
Una corsa contro il tempo, per eliminare un nemico che per troppo tempo ha giocato con la vita delle streghe.
Che dire di questo romanzo? A me è piaciuto davvero moltissimo. Sono partita a leggerlo tranquillamente, poi man mano che proseguivo con la storia ero sempre più avida di sapere cosa sarebbe successo e senza rendermene conto l'avevo già finito.
Mi è piaciuto molto il modo di concludere i capitoli, lasciando sempre qualcosa in sospeso che ti obbligava ad andare avanti.
Spero pubblichino anche gli altri due!
December 1, 2013
Este es el claro ejemple de "No jusguez a un libro por la portada". Okey la portada es muy bonita y llama muchisimo la atención... Pero lo que esta adentro es un completo desastre.
La protagonista la peor protagonista que he leído: creida, egoista, egocentrica, ni una gota de humilda, yo yo y yo. Se cree el sol que gira en el universo, la mejor de todas, la más poderosa. ¿Esto se modifica en un final? NO. El mensaje que nos deja la autora es que mientras te vistas bien, seas la más querida del colegio y tengas un novio sexy tu vida es feliz. Hadley (o como se escriba) es un personaje aunque tenga lo más absurdos planes los demás le harán caso pero... ¡OJO! cuando le dicen que no la chica va a mirar la tele y se dice "yo soy mejor que todos, y nadie me supera"
Una protagonista que me enferma.
La protagonista la peor protagonista que he leído: creida, egoista, egocentrica, ni una gota de humilda, yo yo y yo. Se cree el sol que gira en el universo, la mejor de todas, la más poderosa. ¿Esto se modifica en un final? NO. El mensaje que nos deja la autora es que mientras te vistas bien, seas la más querida del colegio y tengas un novio sexy tu vida es feliz. Hadley (o como se escriba) es un personaje aunque tenga lo más absurdos planes los demás le harán caso pero... ¡OJO! cuando le dicen que no la chica va a mirar la tele y se dice "yo soy mejor que todos, y nadie me supera"
Una protagonista que me enferma.
April 16, 2016
Davvero deludente.
Una trama sconclusionata, piena di contraddizioni e in diversi punti si ha l'impressione che sia stata scritta in fretta e furia tanto per arrivare a un finale. Senza contare che il libro è infarcito di episodi inutili e neanche minimamente rappresentati e di personaggi di cui si fa fatica a capire la personalità. Come ciliegina sulla torta ci sono battaglie che si risolvono con lanci di non precisati incantesimi e una protagonista che è la più potente strega in circolazione solo perché sa trasformare i propri abiti in capi di alta moda copiandoli da quelli delle star dal mondo dello spettacolo.
SCONSIGLIATO!
Una trama sconclusionata, piena di contraddizioni e in diversi punti si ha l'impressione che sia stata scritta in fretta e furia tanto per arrivare a un finale. Senza contare che il libro è infarcito di episodi inutili e neanche minimamente rappresentati e di personaggi di cui si fa fatica a capire la personalità. Come ciliegina sulla torta ci sono battaglie che si risolvono con lanci di non precisati incantesimi e una protagonista che è la più potente strega in circolazione solo perché sa trasformare i propri abiti in capi di alta moda copiandoli da quelli delle star dal mondo dello spettacolo.
SCONSIGLIATO!
May 28, 2012
Teenage witches fighting evil!
June 26, 2016
Hay detalles que no... pero me ha gustado. (Empezado el 14 de Junio)
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