Samara Cavanaugh has grown up in a world filled with magic users. She’s used to bizarre and peculiar. But when a stranger checks in at The Bella Luna, the bed and breakfast her family owns, the strange occurrences in Granite Falls escalate.
Many people are leery of Levi, their new guest. He claims to be in town doing research but Samara’s friends aren’t so sure that his claim is as innocuous as it appears to be. When two of her classmates disappear, her friends seem convinced Levi had a hand in it.
Those closest to her have been keeping secrets from her. Those secrets put everyone close to her in danger.
Suddenly, her unrequited crush on her best friend, Tristan becomes the least of her troubles.
Things I liked about the book: -Samara, the protagonist, was more or less average. She wasn't super hot or talented, and she had magic like many others, but hers wasn't very powerful. So she wasn't a super special snowflake that many authors make their protagonists out to be. - The mysterious hot guy that appeared in the beginning of the book WASN'T a main love interest!!!!!! Extremely refreshing because usually if there's a random hot guy in a book, you know he's gonna become the MC's love interest. There might be more things I liked, but those really stood out to me.
Things I didn't like -It was predictable. How am I predicting things within the first twenty minutes of reading the book and the characters are still clueless? -The romance. There was too much yet there wasn't a lot. In fantasy books, I prefer plot over romance. If I wanted a straight up romance, I'd read one. When I read fantasy, I expect just that. I don't mind SOME romance, but it shouldn't overshadow the plot. And it did at times. Especially in the beginning because everything was about Tristian, or Alex, or one of Daphne's crushes. -The bad guy was so predictable it's not even funny. -Samara isn't the smartest girl around. She decides to give people the benefit of the doubt only when others doubt them, but when people think good of someone, she looks down on them or assumes they're bad people. -No character depth or growth and we barely know who anyone really is. I think the author could've further developed the characters to make them seem less forgettable.
I received this book from YA Reads as part of their blog tour in return for a fair and honest review.
This book is full of brilliant characters that immediately draw you into their personal stories and give you a vested interest in what happens to them - even the ones that don't make that big an appearance.
A brief history to give you an idea is that the world is split between humans and... not humans. The witches are split into two - the Lumia who practice white magic and the Striga who practice black. The black were more powerful but the white were more numerous. So a balance is sort of there.
This story starts with Sam (Samara) crushing on her best friend Tristan who is unaware of her feelings in that way. Her two friends, Fin and Daphne, are aware of it though and frequently give her pep talks and advice. A gentleman called Levi turns up at the B&B where Sam lives and starts asking questions around town which make a lot of people uneasy.
The story unfolds at a steady pace, drawing you into the story, wanting to uncover the mysteries surrounding Levi, Alex and Tristan to name just a few.
I really enjoyed this story as it took me away into Sam's world. I love Tristan and - without hopefully ruining it for anyone - was on the edge of my seat at the end. This is a trilogy so you are left with a cliffhanger at the end but it was very well done and came to the natural conclusion.
I was a little surprised with how much I liked the book. When it started I was only mildly interested. But when it got going it really went. This was a witch book with a twist instead of being human with powers they are not human. Light magic practitioners are lamina and black magic are striga. Glad the books are all out because I am off to read book 2.
Great start to a new paranormal series by Amity Hope! I couldn't put this book down and read it in one sitting. I loved the friendship between Samaria and Tristan, along with Daphne, and Finola. I can't wait to read the next book.
Nice twist on the witch concept, but what really got me was the way the story was told. I felt the worry and I related to the characters as they grew. The twist wasn't much of one, as I could predict it, but I still really liked it. A lot!
I was really impressed. It kind of dragged a bit but that's what happens sometimes in a trilogy. It was really good though and I'm onto the second, which is avenge.