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Three new witches. Two dangerous secrets. One demon on the prowl.
Haunted by her past, Eden sees college as her chance at a fresh start. With a new school, new friends, and the recent discovery she's a witch, life should be getting easier, right?
Except she's tormented by nightmares and lighting fires in her sleep.
When things turn deadly, it looks like the monster stalking Eden's dreams might just be real after all. Will she face the truth in time, or will her sisters pay with their lives?
Haunted by her past, Eden sees college as her chance at a fresh start. With a new school, new friends, and the recent discovery she's a witch, life should be getting easier, right?
Except she's tormented by nightmares and lighting fires in her sleep.
When things turn deadly, it looks like the monster stalking Eden's dreams might just be real after all. Will she face the truth in time, or will her sisters pay with their lives?
257 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 12, 2017
332 people are currently reading
412 people want to read
About the author
Christina Garner
22 books139 followersChristina Garner writes page-turning YA urban fantasy, witchy romance, and paranormal women’s fiction with women owning their power.
When she’s not dreaming up new characters and the worlds they inhabit, you’ll find her traveling, enjoying good food with great friends, and hiking the Hollywood Hills.
When she’s not dreaming up new characters and the worlds they inhabit, you’ll find her traveling, enjoying good food with great friends, and hiking the Hollywood Hills.
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November 29, 2019🎁 FREE on Amazon today (11/29/2019)! 🎁
December 18, 2024
this was a book i got for free on stuff your kindle day!! it’s the first witch book i’ve read and it’s a nice intro into the genre.
overall it was a super easy and fun read!! it was a little confusing at first with all of the characters but it ironed out after a few chapters. the pacing was really good and it hooks you in fast, i will be going to get this next book asap!!
overall it was a super easy and fun read!! it was a little confusing at first with all of the characters but it ironed out after a few chapters. the pacing was really good and it hooks you in fast, i will be going to get this next book asap!!
January 13, 2017
My Thoughts - 4 out of 5 unicorns - I really liked it!!
***I choose what I read and review based on what intrigues me!!
The cover is pretty cool and what attracted me to the book as well as the author.
I have bought this book. It is the first in the series, and it is about witches. I know that this book is classified as YA, but it probably leans more towards new adult because it is about students starting at college.
I definitely think this is a fantastic start to a series. It is a fun, new world to explore. There are many subjects brought up about religion, sexuality, abuse of power, murder, and definitely some mystery because I definitely didn’t see where things were going which is always a nice surprise.
Eden is a great lead, and I really like her. I can’t wait to see what happens next and what she will learn along with her friends. I’m also curious about a few other things and how it will turn out.
Christina is a wonderful author. I was pulled into her story and didn’t want to put it down. This story has a bit of everything to make it very intriguing. I don’t want to give anything away, so I suggest reading it. I can’t wait for book 2!!
I recommend this book to anyone loves when magic happens as well as mysteries and moral dilemmas.
***I choose what I read and review based on what intrigues me!!
The cover is pretty cool and what attracted me to the book as well as the author.
I have bought this book. It is the first in the series, and it is about witches. I know that this book is classified as YA, but it probably leans more towards new adult because it is about students starting at college.
I definitely think this is a fantastic start to a series. It is a fun, new world to explore. There are many subjects brought up about religion, sexuality, abuse of power, murder, and definitely some mystery because I definitely didn’t see where things were going which is always a nice surprise.
Eden is a great lead, and I really like her. I can’t wait to see what happens next and what she will learn along with her friends. I’m also curious about a few other things and how it will turn out.
Christina is a wonderful author. I was pulled into her story and didn’t want to put it down. This story has a bit of everything to make it very intriguing. I don’t want to give anything away, so I suggest reading it. I can’t wait for book 2!!
I recommend this book to anyone loves when magic happens as well as mysteries and moral dilemmas.
December 28, 2016
I read this book in one sitting. It's one of those books you cannot put down once you start. I think this book will attract many young readers who are into shows such as pretty little liars and shows similar to it. The entire book introduces you to the lives of a few different young women and tell their own story of how they got to the "sorority." The author was very good at providing so many details that you actually felt like you were watching a TV show. What I love is that although the stories would switch from character to character, the entire time the story flowed well together. I think that's very difficult to accomplish. I loved this story. It was like American Horror Story : The Coven but the college version of that. It's a must read, for sure!
February 7, 2017
Awaking from her dream that is now surmounting the realm of normal dreams, in order to become more like the nightmares she'd been trying to learn to live with for much of her remembered life, eighteen year old Eden quickly records the 'borderline' evaluation in her trusty journal. The nightmares started after a harrowing experiences in the sixth year of her life. Her child mind had created what it needed in order to have her be able to live with the memory of those events. Whilst her mother had once been there when it woke her, holding her hand whilst the screaming and tossing-and-turning finally resolved, there to offer typical platitudes insisting the nightmarish visions were nothing more than the urban mythology of the boogeyman filling a child's subconscious. They could accept the concludions drawn by the police and other services called the night it started, so why couldn't she.
Twelve years later Eden now knew to trust her diary more than the umpteenth therapists and well wishers, of which her parents were included. Changes in the ways she defined herself together with any number of combinations in medications ,both herbal and chemical, usually held at bay the extent to which the dreams more closely reflected the events. Having the normal sorts of anxious dreams were a relief. Escalation always happened unless she could redefine herself drastically enough to reshape the anxious content of her dreams. Moving away from reflections of that night to the sorts that plague young people, especially those unpopular amongst their peers, was alright with her as they didn't lead to risks in the safety of the people around her.
Restocking and altering the medications needed to tranquilise her mind enough to have dreamless sleep was her contingency plan. Eden doesn't care if she didn't dream at all. In the absence of both of her self-taught control mechanisms she became a risk to herself, to friends and family, and to neighbours close enough for the fire to reach. Visions of a dark confined space where she was locked during the abduction attempt on her life led to the burning of a horrific man as viewed by the mind of a six year girl old scared beyond her wits. Her nightmarish memories hadn't changed even a little bit since that time. Six years later though, at the age of twelve, the escalation from borderline to at risk again, resulted in the burning of her home. Therein lies the risk she poses to people's safety.
Smoldering bits and pieces turned out to be more common in the end, slumber parties wuickly became a thing of the past. Too dangerous for the social reject now defined by her medical files as a sleepwalking pyromaniac. As if redefining herself beyond the point that most friends were able to adjust to, leaving an ever decreasing number of close friends wasn't enough, then the looks of weirdness or sympathy capped it off. School corridors and neighbourhood footpaths, together with shopping mall runways become places she was an expert at watching the foot of the other pedestrians. Hoping to avoid a connection with others' eyes, the sympathetic looks were the hardest to deal with. In those looks she became forever defined by what happened instead of who she is; the same looks that were the most resistant to changes made to who she is.
So it is that Eden was once again hoping that the upcoming changes led by a move halfway across the country to a new place, new home, new school, new friends and people, would be the ticket to a window of time that allows the risks to decrease. Upheaval of her life held the hope that'd keep her dreams away from evil men and dark confined places, the components of her dreams that led to the random combustion of things in the vicinity of where she sleeps. The 'full-ride-new-start' scholarship she'd won without actually applying for it now had her near future set on a path to Coventry House. At Whitland College she hoped she would get through the sorority placement system to obtain a permanent residency, a stipulation of her scholarship. Being a pledge was never foreseen in her future. With her scale of weirdness, the unpopular volunteering in animal shelters and soup kitchens as perceived by her peers, on top of the tuition fees and costs of living away from home, had kept that prospective contemplation from ever entering the equation.
After getting through the sad goodbyes and a flight, Eden makes her first friend before leaving the airport to board the shuttle bus to campus and then on to Coventry House Mansion. The initial success began framing her new four word mantra - full ride new start - as a potentially positive change hitherto seen in the past twelve years. Sarah, the new acquaintance shaping up to be best friend material, also has things in her past that made her different. Not that she or any others are ready yet to share this with their fellow pledging peers, if ever at all. Unlike Eden the ramifications at this early stage were mostly restricted to just the relationship she shared with her mother. Choices of public life being mandated by a zealot of catholic faith, and the sins Sarah would burn for unless she acquiesced to the attitudes and wishes of her mother. The whole scenario smarted her at every opportunity and had led to enough shame to last a lifetime, and yet they were where none should be. Thus she'd suffered the conclusions of weirdness much like Eden, those that had prevented her from enjoying her childhood and adolescent years as they should. Only in her case it wasn't what her peers projected on to her, it was the feelings that began with herself.
Unbeknownst the number of girls attempting the regime of pledging this year at Coventry doesn't limit the similarities to just the two aforementioned candidates. Hannah, Jules, Paige and Rebecca, to name some but not all, further exemplified some of the factors that the college recruiter for Coventry, Caroline, specifically sought for places at her house. A four story Mansion on the farthest edge of the land pertaining to Whitland campus. The opening days of events, that fortunately replaced the typical hazing used by sorority and frat houses to weed out the ones deemed unsuitable, shapes up instead to be inexplicable tests that only the legacy candidate (Rebecca) among them had an inkling of why they were being carried out. But even Rebecca's mother, sworn to secrecies extracted from her during her past time at Coventry, couldn't prepare them. Rebecca liked being a bitch and thus shared very little to nothing with the other candidates, but when pushed she adds only that 'everything is a test'..
For the pledges able to push past the uncomfortable weirdness scale of their mounting tests, they would progress to something dazzling and wonderful, whilst being provocative and potentially dangerous. Many pledges at Coventry are given windows into what might make them weird to others, but concurrently makes them special but no longer unique when compared to their potential new housemates. They'd receive handbooks of increasing difficulty and practicality, more theory to begin with. Some would struggle with the theory, or the practical, or both further still. The need for balance would present both sides of forces unseen by nearly all their peers and hopefully they'd learn where the middle road led in the jungle of possibilities.
As is often the case when magic becomes involved channelers can chose to turn to it to answer the current conundrum and thereby force outcomes that should never have been attempted when using magic. The whole point of the lengthy theory is not so much about the how and what to use, for this pertains to the practical guide, it is instead more about the why and when to use it. Ignoring any one to the exclusion of the other is a recipe for disaster when dealing with irreparable mistakes in the worst case scenario, or reasons for privileges to be revoked in the best case scenario. For the former has the potential to damage and hurt others whilst the latter has the same for just oneself. Neither are acceptable and pledges would sometimes be given enough rope to hang themselves.
As in life, there are those that choose the dichotomous endpoints of black and white. Either unable or unwilling to see the varying shades of grey in between the rope tying those two endpoints together. As they each progress they begin facing situations that deal in the secrets and shame of their pasts. Facing continual contexts of where learning to trust is the hardest thing to do causes the girls to sink or swim. As yet unknown, the pivotal choices that fate and destiny adamently require they face continues to present themselves. Only in dealing with certain issues will they likely cause the cessation of tests that reflect the same sorts of problems on replay. For Eden particularly, the missing honesty over the things labelled as being embarrassing and worthy of shame, continue to spiral in ways that make getting past her issues harder and harder; soon resulting in choices she knows to be wrong and damaging. Until she can learn to take a chance by trusting others with the knowledge, then Eden is more particularly open to unseen ramifications in the choices she makes. But she is not alone in that, her closest friends and acquaintances in the house all face similar situations.
Eden certainly shapes the central storyline but there's no shortage of other view points and perceptions to reshape the model had it been seen only through her eyes. Most of the characters are at a junction in the road that paves their lives and will lead them in any number of directions from here on out. Most were chosen to pledge for Coventry House based on the apt naming of the house once the excess pieces are chipped away, those revealed by the selection processes. They each have question marks and mysteries that vary from the most benign to the most malignant. The influences that lay in either the shadow or the light, and of course somewhere in between, have intricately and inherently altered past experiences and therefore possible futures. What's always been considered the figment of a traumatised girl's imagination is closing in around her. Whether her friends and fellow sisters will be caught in cross fire or as collateral damage might depend mostly on how well the girls internalise and adapt to their new lives and the rules by which it operates. At the end of the day it could very well be the thing that posed the perceived greatest shame that is the thing that has the potential to save them.
Some of the girls come to know themselves better than they ever could've had they not found the courage to make certain choices. Seeing the characters' lives unfold in ways that present clues to the reader as much as, and perhaps even more so, when in comparison to the characters, is an intriguing aspect that will come down in some ways to the sleuthing abilities of readers. Mystery thus forms a large component of the characteristics of Christina's new novel. Suspense and action, drama and humour also form central themes of the varying plots for each of the several main characters. Magic of nature and of life is present in every chapter making this urban fantasy the enjoyable experience I'm coming to expect from Christina's work.
Pledge is more than successful enough to warrant further purchases of the budding new series. There isn't a single story of Christina's that haven't entertained to the point of being followed, and I've read them all. Obviously I'm recommending this little treasure and giving it the five stars its due. This new series together with her existing Gateway Trilogy shows an innate ability to use the struggles of strong female roles that reflect the often hardest psychological trauma to get past. This makes the stories that much more intuitive to read. Reading the experiences of Christina's girls in both series teaches you about the misconceptions of life and leave each reading in a place where they have further insights they missed in life before reading her books.
The title of the book might lead readers to any number of presumptions regarding content but its important to know that its about many things more than just the indoctrination of pledges into a house devoted to something much larger than the usual sorts of things that coincide with it. Thankfully it has mostly ignored the status symbol rankings of sister or brother as they each respectively relate to sororities and fraternities. Those dynamics are present of course, you couldn't tell such a story without including similar themes. But, its more about several very different people who each struggle greatly with what makes them different. Through magic they come to decide whether its ethically right or wrong to use what they yet do not fully understand to achieve their goals.
Its easy to sit back and think that someone made their mistakes with the best intentions at heart, or didn't mean for something to take place, or even that they were justified in wanting whichever thing that led to such outcomes. But through this all there's one fundamental reality that isn't being grasped fully or properly when making such conclusions. So there are inevitably the several instances of differing ways this concept is failed to be grasped and which inevitably weeds out those who aren't prepared to follow the rules; irrespective of any incidentals of those separate cases. In very real ways the fundamental mistakes poetically keep themselves separate from the intent, allowing readers to see for themselves where each went wrong.
The indoctrination is also pleasingly about more than just Magical Studies 101. Its about the fundamental underlying factors of being provided with the chance to do something very special with your life. In an overarching way the ethics and reasons for rules are allowed to play out in separste ways that go toward highlighting how faulty thinking can lead to sometimes drastic consequences, regardless of how ever benign the intentions were to begin with. We've all read more than just the one book on the fundamental concepts of witchcraft and being witches but I have to conclude that I don't recall reading any other that can be said to be similar in the exact same ways. There are difficult to define differences that make Pledge unique. I can only stress in the absence of details to list that this is my impression, for it must also be said that detailing any or all dips into the dangerous path of writing reviews that go farther than commentary, enter into the domain of spoilers: which regardless of intentions needs to be avoided at all costs. A dazzling read where fantasy becomes the platform for real life!
Twelve years later Eden now knew to trust her diary more than the umpteenth therapists and well wishers, of which her parents were included. Changes in the ways she defined herself together with any number of combinations in medications ,both herbal and chemical, usually held at bay the extent to which the dreams more closely reflected the events. Having the normal sorts of anxious dreams were a relief. Escalation always happened unless she could redefine herself drastically enough to reshape the anxious content of her dreams. Moving away from reflections of that night to the sorts that plague young people, especially those unpopular amongst their peers, was alright with her as they didn't lead to risks in the safety of the people around her.
Restocking and altering the medications needed to tranquilise her mind enough to have dreamless sleep was her contingency plan. Eden doesn't care if she didn't dream at all. In the absence of both of her self-taught control mechanisms she became a risk to herself, to friends and family, and to neighbours close enough for the fire to reach. Visions of a dark confined space where she was locked during the abduction attempt on her life led to the burning of a horrific man as viewed by the mind of a six year girl old scared beyond her wits. Her nightmarish memories hadn't changed even a little bit since that time. Six years later though, at the age of twelve, the escalation from borderline to at risk again, resulted in the burning of her home. Therein lies the risk she poses to people's safety.
Smoldering bits and pieces turned out to be more common in the end, slumber parties wuickly became a thing of the past. Too dangerous for the social reject now defined by her medical files as a sleepwalking pyromaniac. As if redefining herself beyond the point that most friends were able to adjust to, leaving an ever decreasing number of close friends wasn't enough, then the looks of weirdness or sympathy capped it off. School corridors and neighbourhood footpaths, together with shopping mall runways become places she was an expert at watching the foot of the other pedestrians. Hoping to avoid a connection with others' eyes, the sympathetic looks were the hardest to deal with. In those looks she became forever defined by what happened instead of who she is; the same looks that were the most resistant to changes made to who she is.
So it is that Eden was once again hoping that the upcoming changes led by a move halfway across the country to a new place, new home, new school, new friends and people, would be the ticket to a window of time that allows the risks to decrease. Upheaval of her life held the hope that'd keep her dreams away from evil men and dark confined places, the components of her dreams that led to the random combustion of things in the vicinity of where she sleeps. The 'full-ride-new-start' scholarship she'd won without actually applying for it now had her near future set on a path to Coventry House. At Whitland College she hoped she would get through the sorority placement system to obtain a permanent residency, a stipulation of her scholarship. Being a pledge was never foreseen in her future. With her scale of weirdness, the unpopular volunteering in animal shelters and soup kitchens as perceived by her peers, on top of the tuition fees and costs of living away from home, had kept that prospective contemplation from ever entering the equation.
After getting through the sad goodbyes and a flight, Eden makes her first friend before leaving the airport to board the shuttle bus to campus and then on to Coventry House Mansion. The initial success began framing her new four word mantra - full ride new start - as a potentially positive change hitherto seen in the past twelve years. Sarah, the new acquaintance shaping up to be best friend material, also has things in her past that made her different. Not that she or any others are ready yet to share this with their fellow pledging peers, if ever at all. Unlike Eden the ramifications at this early stage were mostly restricted to just the relationship she shared with her mother. Choices of public life being mandated by a zealot of catholic faith, and the sins Sarah would burn for unless she acquiesced to the attitudes and wishes of her mother. The whole scenario smarted her at every opportunity and had led to enough shame to last a lifetime, and yet they were where none should be. Thus she'd suffered the conclusions of weirdness much like Eden, those that had prevented her from enjoying her childhood and adolescent years as they should. Only in her case it wasn't what her peers projected on to her, it was the feelings that began with herself.
Unbeknownst the number of girls attempting the regime of pledging this year at Coventry doesn't limit the similarities to just the two aforementioned candidates. Hannah, Jules, Paige and Rebecca, to name some but not all, further exemplified some of the factors that the college recruiter for Coventry, Caroline, specifically sought for places at her house. A four story Mansion on the farthest edge of the land pertaining to Whitland campus. The opening days of events, that fortunately replaced the typical hazing used by sorority and frat houses to weed out the ones deemed unsuitable, shapes up instead to be inexplicable tests that only the legacy candidate (Rebecca) among them had an inkling of why they were being carried out. But even Rebecca's mother, sworn to secrecies extracted from her during her past time at Coventry, couldn't prepare them. Rebecca liked being a bitch and thus shared very little to nothing with the other candidates, but when pushed she adds only that 'everything is a test'..
For the pledges able to push past the uncomfortable weirdness scale of their mounting tests, they would progress to something dazzling and wonderful, whilst being provocative and potentially dangerous. Many pledges at Coventry are given windows into what might make them weird to others, but concurrently makes them special but no longer unique when compared to their potential new housemates. They'd receive handbooks of increasing difficulty and practicality, more theory to begin with. Some would struggle with the theory, or the practical, or both further still. The need for balance would present both sides of forces unseen by nearly all their peers and hopefully they'd learn where the middle road led in the jungle of possibilities.
As is often the case when magic becomes involved channelers can chose to turn to it to answer the current conundrum and thereby force outcomes that should never have been attempted when using magic. The whole point of the lengthy theory is not so much about the how and what to use, for this pertains to the practical guide, it is instead more about the why and when to use it. Ignoring any one to the exclusion of the other is a recipe for disaster when dealing with irreparable mistakes in the worst case scenario, or reasons for privileges to be revoked in the best case scenario. For the former has the potential to damage and hurt others whilst the latter has the same for just oneself. Neither are acceptable and pledges would sometimes be given enough rope to hang themselves.
As in life, there are those that choose the dichotomous endpoints of black and white. Either unable or unwilling to see the varying shades of grey in between the rope tying those two endpoints together. As they each progress they begin facing situations that deal in the secrets and shame of their pasts. Facing continual contexts of where learning to trust is the hardest thing to do causes the girls to sink or swim. As yet unknown, the pivotal choices that fate and destiny adamently require they face continues to present themselves. Only in dealing with certain issues will they likely cause the cessation of tests that reflect the same sorts of problems on replay. For Eden particularly, the missing honesty over the things labelled as being embarrassing and worthy of shame, continue to spiral in ways that make getting past her issues harder and harder; soon resulting in choices she knows to be wrong and damaging. Until she can learn to take a chance by trusting others with the knowledge, then Eden is more particularly open to unseen ramifications in the choices she makes. But she is not alone in that, her closest friends and acquaintances in the house all face similar situations.
Eden certainly shapes the central storyline but there's no shortage of other view points and perceptions to reshape the model had it been seen only through her eyes. Most of the characters are at a junction in the road that paves their lives and will lead them in any number of directions from here on out. Most were chosen to pledge for Coventry House based on the apt naming of the house once the excess pieces are chipped away, those revealed by the selection processes. They each have question marks and mysteries that vary from the most benign to the most malignant. The influences that lay in either the shadow or the light, and of course somewhere in between, have intricately and inherently altered past experiences and therefore possible futures. What's always been considered the figment of a traumatised girl's imagination is closing in around her. Whether her friends and fellow sisters will be caught in cross fire or as collateral damage might depend mostly on how well the girls internalise and adapt to their new lives and the rules by which it operates. At the end of the day it could very well be the thing that posed the perceived greatest shame that is the thing that has the potential to save them.
Some of the girls come to know themselves better than they ever could've had they not found the courage to make certain choices. Seeing the characters' lives unfold in ways that present clues to the reader as much as, and perhaps even more so, when in comparison to the characters, is an intriguing aspect that will come down in some ways to the sleuthing abilities of readers. Mystery thus forms a large component of the characteristics of Christina's new novel. Suspense and action, drama and humour also form central themes of the varying plots for each of the several main characters. Magic of nature and of life is present in every chapter making this urban fantasy the enjoyable experience I'm coming to expect from Christina's work.
Pledge is more than successful enough to warrant further purchases of the budding new series. There isn't a single story of Christina's that haven't entertained to the point of being followed, and I've read them all. Obviously I'm recommending this little treasure and giving it the five stars its due. This new series together with her existing Gateway Trilogy shows an innate ability to use the struggles of strong female roles that reflect the often hardest psychological trauma to get past. This makes the stories that much more intuitive to read. Reading the experiences of Christina's girls in both series teaches you about the misconceptions of life and leave each reading in a place where they have further insights they missed in life before reading her books.
The title of the book might lead readers to any number of presumptions regarding content but its important to know that its about many things more than just the indoctrination of pledges into a house devoted to something much larger than the usual sorts of things that coincide with it. Thankfully it has mostly ignored the status symbol rankings of sister or brother as they each respectively relate to sororities and fraternities. Those dynamics are present of course, you couldn't tell such a story without including similar themes. But, its more about several very different people who each struggle greatly with what makes them different. Through magic they come to decide whether its ethically right or wrong to use what they yet do not fully understand to achieve their goals.
Its easy to sit back and think that someone made their mistakes with the best intentions at heart, or didn't mean for something to take place, or even that they were justified in wanting whichever thing that led to such outcomes. But through this all there's one fundamental reality that isn't being grasped fully or properly when making such conclusions. So there are inevitably the several instances of differing ways this concept is failed to be grasped and which inevitably weeds out those who aren't prepared to follow the rules; irrespective of any incidentals of those separate cases. In very real ways the fundamental mistakes poetically keep themselves separate from the intent, allowing readers to see for themselves where each went wrong.
The indoctrination is also pleasingly about more than just Magical Studies 101. Its about the fundamental underlying factors of being provided with the chance to do something very special with your life. In an overarching way the ethics and reasons for rules are allowed to play out in separste ways that go toward highlighting how faulty thinking can lead to sometimes drastic consequences, regardless of how ever benign the intentions were to begin with. We've all read more than just the one book on the fundamental concepts of witchcraft and being witches but I have to conclude that I don't recall reading any other that can be said to be similar in the exact same ways. There are difficult to define differences that make Pledge unique. I can only stress in the absence of details to list that this is my impression, for it must also be said that detailing any or all dips into the dangerous path of writing reviews that go farther than commentary, enter into the domain of spoilers: which regardless of intentions needs to be avoided at all costs. A dazzling read where fantasy becomes the platform for real life!
February 28, 2020
I cannot say enough!
Rant:
Holy *&^*. To some extent I'm speechless while at the same time I want to rant incessantly to anyone who will listen.
Christina Garner is amazing!
Pledge follows a group of girls as the go through the process of pledging a sorority. I swear my emotions were on a hellish merrygoround the entire time. From loving the girls, to wanting to somehow reach into their world to slap some of them, this book makes it easy to fall in love with fictional characters 😊
Eden is a west coast girl looking for a change of life. She has secrets and wounds from the past that not even she is willing to give too much thought to, and arriving at Coventey House is her attempt to start over.
Hannah is lost, trying to earn love from a father barely in her life since her parents divorce and his subsequent remarriage. Her arrival at Coventry House allows her to stretch, but she's a classic case of a girl looking for love in all the wrong places.
Sarah is a southern belle - with no accent thank you very much - who was raised in a strictly Baptist household where her mother ruled with an iron fist. Sarah's arrival at Coventry House marks the beginning of her journey to self discovery, even as everything she thought she knew crumbles away.
Jules is a shy, quiet girl in thread bare clothes who rarely makes eye contact. While the others have their various reasons for pledging Coventry House, Jules is just looking for somewhere to call home; everything else is icing.
Rebecca and Paige are your classic mean girl and side kick duo. Rebecca is a legacy for Coventry house, but beyond that we aren't given much about either girl in this first book of what I hope will continue to be an amazing trilogy. I'm hoping to find out a bit more about these girls in the sequel.
If you're a fan of stories involving sisterhood, bonding, growing, and all out witchiness, give Pledge a try.
Rant:
Holy *&^*. To some extent I'm speechless while at the same time I want to rant incessantly to anyone who will listen.
Christina Garner is amazing!
Pledge follows a group of girls as the go through the process of pledging a sorority. I swear my emotions were on a hellish merrygoround the entire time. From loving the girls, to wanting to somehow reach into their world to slap some of them, this book makes it easy to fall in love with fictional characters 😊
Eden is a west coast girl looking for a change of life. She has secrets and wounds from the past that not even she is willing to give too much thought to, and arriving at Coventey House is her attempt to start over.
Hannah is lost, trying to earn love from a father barely in her life since her parents divorce and his subsequent remarriage. Her arrival at Coventry House allows her to stretch, but she's a classic case of a girl looking for love in all the wrong places.
Sarah is a southern belle - with no accent thank you very much - who was raised in a strictly Baptist household where her mother ruled with an iron fist. Sarah's arrival at Coventry House marks the beginning of her journey to self discovery, even as everything she thought she knew crumbles away.
Jules is a shy, quiet girl in thread bare clothes who rarely makes eye contact. While the others have their various reasons for pledging Coventry House, Jules is just looking for somewhere to call home; everything else is icing.
Rebecca and Paige are your classic mean girl and side kick duo. Rebecca is a legacy for Coventry house, but beyond that we aren't given much about either girl in this first book of what I hope will continue to be an amazing trilogy. I'm hoping to find out a bit more about these girls in the sequel.
If you're a fan of stories involving sisterhood, bonding, growing, and all out witchiness, give Pledge a try.
December 9, 2019
I am wowed!
What a great concept for a story about witches! This book is really well-done with few, if any, grammatical errors. The world building is fantastically detailed and altogether new.
This is one of the rare books where it feels like every word was perfectly placed to lead the reader along the storyline like a choreographed dance. It has the perfect flow and even if some aspects of the story were predictable, they didn’t resolve in a predictable way.
The only weak point in the book (for me) is the multiple viewpoints. The character’s voice switches abruptly, several times throughout the chapters. There really is no rhyme or reason to it and it gets quite distracting. It’s not really a storyline that lends itself to having multiple heroes, it’s pretty clear who the action surrounds so I’m not sure why it’s important for the side characters to have their own voice. As side characters go they are very interesting and all are nicely developed but still... side characters.
If you’re looking for a romance, you won’t really find much here. There are a couple of sideline romances but they are secondary to the story and more in the realm of character development than strictly romantic. G-rating for sure.
What a great concept for a story about witches! This book is really well-done with few, if any, grammatical errors. The world building is fantastically detailed and altogether new.
This is one of the rare books where it feels like every word was perfectly placed to lead the reader along the storyline like a choreographed dance. It has the perfect flow and even if some aspects of the story were predictable, they didn’t resolve in a predictable way.
The only weak point in the book (for me) is the multiple viewpoints. The character’s voice switches abruptly, several times throughout the chapters. There really is no rhyme or reason to it and it gets quite distracting. It’s not really a storyline that lends itself to having multiple heroes, it’s pretty clear who the action surrounds so I’m not sure why it’s important for the side characters to have their own voice. As side characters go they are very interesting and all are nicely developed but still... side characters.
If you’re looking for a romance, you won’t really find much here. There are a couple of sideline romances but they are secondary to the story and more in the realm of character development than strictly romantic. G-rating for sure.
April 11, 2020
Eden, and a bunch of other chicks, head to college and join a sorority house, all for different reasons, all with pasts that don't always mesh, and all with a special gift. But can a dream burn too brightly?
I'm waffling on what to rate this. I like it, but I didn't.
Here's what I didn't like: I think the author took a misstep with making Hannah a viewpoint character. I didn't feel her story, I didn't care about what happened, and when she was... you know... Jules POV wasn't anything to be invested in. I think all of this would have been beter served from Jules POV from the beginning.
There were too many scene cuts only to pick right back up from the previous scene in the same POV. choppy read, choppy flow.
It was boring, mostly. Like we focused on coffee dates with friends, volunteering at animal shelters, and a plane ride across the country. When the story was in the house, in the rituals, and in the magic. I could see the plot, I could see the idea, but it was all from the corner of my eye.
I didn't like the other POVs, actually, only Eden and Sarah were interesting, and even then they were kinda boring.
Rebecca fizzled real fast.
Here's what I liked: I liked Eden was caught. I liked the build up, the little clues to things with Sarah and Eden. I liked that Eden grew a pair and stood up to Rebecca, but by then, she was no one, she didn't even create conflict.
Overall, interesting idea, but after 65% where, I thought things got really interesting, everything fell apart, and I skimmed until the finish line.
I'm waffling on what to rate this. I like it, but I didn't.
Here's what I didn't like: I think the author took a misstep with making Hannah a viewpoint character. I didn't feel her story, I didn't care about what happened, and when she was... you know... Jules POV wasn't anything to be invested in. I think all of this would have been beter served from Jules POV from the beginning.
There were too many scene cuts only to pick right back up from the previous scene in the same POV. choppy read, choppy flow.
It was boring, mostly. Like we focused on coffee dates with friends, volunteering at animal shelters, and a plane ride across the country. When the story was in the house, in the rituals, and in the magic. I could see the plot, I could see the idea, but it was all from the corner of my eye.
I didn't like the other POVs, actually, only Eden and Sarah were interesting, and even then they were kinda boring.
Rebecca fizzled real fast.
Here's what I liked: I liked Eden was caught. I liked the build up, the little clues to things with Sarah and Eden. I liked that Eden grew a pair and stood up to Rebecca, but by then, she was no one, she didn't even create conflict.
Overall, interesting idea, but after 65% where, I thought things got really interesting, everything fell apart, and I skimmed until the finish line.
August 20, 2025
Pledge (Witches of Coventry House Book 1)
Pledge (Witches of Coventry House Book 1) ~~ This book hooked me from the very beginning! Eden is just trying to start over, but the second she arrives at Coventry House, it’s clear her life is about to change in ways she never imagined. She learns that magic isn’t just a myth—it’s in her blood—and suddenly she’s part of a world full of secrets, danger, and hidden power.
I loved Eden’s vulnerability and strength as she tried to figure out who to trust, what she was capable of, and what this new life meant for her. The setting was dark, magical, and mysterious in all the best ways. There’s a slow unraveling of secrets, and by the end, I was completely invested in Eden’s journey.
Such a powerful start—I couldn’t wait to jump into the next book. Eden’s story pulled me in and didn’t let go!
Pledge (Witches of Coventry House Book 1) ~~ This book hooked me from the very beginning! Eden is just trying to start over, but the second she arrives at Coventry House, it’s clear her life is about to change in ways she never imagined. She learns that magic isn’t just a myth—it’s in her blood—and suddenly she’s part of a world full of secrets, danger, and hidden power.
I loved Eden’s vulnerability and strength as she tried to figure out who to trust, what she was capable of, and what this new life meant for her. The setting was dark, magical, and mysterious in all the best ways. There’s a slow unraveling of secrets, and by the end, I was completely invested in Eden’s journey.
Such a powerful start—I couldn’t wait to jump into the next book. Eden’s story pulled me in and didn’t let go!
December 26, 2025
Lots of character to keep track of, with their own hang-ups and problems stemming from their families/past experiences/etc. We are given bits of insight into the characters, especially the MC, Eden, over a period of times which allows us to know them more without it being crammed down our throat. There was constant flipping from one character view to another, which wasn't too bad (other books I've read had the name of the POV character as the title to the chapter which made it easy to follow whose story it was. This book didn't have chapter titles and several POV could be done within one chapter, but there was a clear separation and we were quickly informed of whose POV we were in.) There was a good amount of action/tension interspersed with the back stories so it kept my interest. I enjoyed the way the story progressed and hope the next one is as interesting.
December 30, 2016
I was sent a free advanced e copy from the author in exchange for an honest review
Pledge was somewhere between a 3 and 3.5 star read for me. It was a fun, easy read that kept me interested. At times, I felt like it was trying to do too many things at once, and it felt more like a YA read than new adult with some cliche paranormal fantasy elements that I could take or leave. But overall, it was a fun story and I will probably be checking out book 2 when it is released to see where this series goes from here.
Pledge was somewhere between a 3 and 3.5 star read for me. It was a fun, easy read that kept me interested. At times, I felt like it was trying to do too many things at once, and it felt more like a YA read than new adult with some cliche paranormal fantasy elements that I could take or leave. But overall, it was a fun story and I will probably be checking out book 2 when it is released to see where this series goes from here.
November 30, 2019
Intriguing
Unlike many of the paranormal university stories, this one really focuses on young women learning the truth about the supernatural world and their place in it. It is more of an intimate story of them accepting their pasts.
It focuses on several very different women who joined this unique sorority. Their stories go in unusual directions and there are some real surprises.
There are romantic interests but it is not the focus of the story.
Unlike many of the paranormal university stories, this one really focuses on young women learning the truth about the supernatural world and their place in it. It is more of an intimate story of them accepting their pasts.
It focuses on several very different women who joined this unique sorority. Their stories go in unusual directions and there are some real surprises.
There are romantic interests but it is not the focus of the story.
May 22, 2020
Good book. The book starts off slow and is a little confusing as there are several main characters that you meet. Of course they’re all discovering their powers, so you don’t really get to know them individually. I wish The author would focus more on one Main girl. I didn’t like the fact that the author Tried to make it “equal” by throwing a lesbian into this book. It’s OK for a standalone, but I have no interest in reading the series.
Read
June 19, 2024This book is so fun! It reminded me of being a teen again, like I was reading pretty little liars (close follow of different girls in the friend group, the inclusion of queer stories, difficult pasts, and a teacher/student trope but where the teacher is actually proven to be creepy!) mixed with one of the many fantasy books I loved growing up (the magic, the creatures, the fantasy). I’m excited to keep reading as the series continues (:
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 24, 2017
Great read, my first from author Christina Garner! As good as it was the book could have easily been twice as long, 257 pages just wasn’t enough to do justice to the story line. For example the “pledge” process of weeding out the untalented could have been spread out over chapters instead of being so brief to fit it into the story line. I look forward to the second book.
November 8, 2017
Loved it!
I loved this book. It had great characters, a good plot. It had a different than the normal witch books. It was quite refreshing. I will be starting the next book immediately.
I loved this book. It had great characters, a good plot. It had a different than the normal witch books. It was quite refreshing. I will be starting the next book immediately.
April 17, 2018
Good Book
I enjoyed the book for the most part. I do think some of plot was rushed and that kind of rushed the development of the charters. Over all though I thought it a good read
I enjoyed the book for the most part. I do think some of plot was rushed and that kind of rushed the development of the charters. Over all though I thought it a good read
March 3, 2020
Where to start
This book is written about a few difference girls and their experiences growing up and then all going to the same college. This book has witchcraft, demons, murder, slight romance and mystery.
This book is written about a few difference girls and their experiences growing up and then all going to the same college. This book has witchcraft, demons, murder, slight romance and mystery.
April 11, 2020
Witchy Witches
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was an original spin with plenty of intrigue. Well written, free of errors and typos. A satisfying ending that has me looking forward to the sequel, but not annoyed.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was an original spin with plenty of intrigue. Well written, free of errors and typos. A satisfying ending that has me looking forward to the sequel, but not annoyed.
April 11, 2018
I wasn't sure I would like this when I started reading it…but WOW! It was a fantastic book! I immediately went and bought the next one and am now going to enjoy that. I seriously recommend this book!
December 2, 2019
This book was definitely wonderful.
December 2, 2019
The first book is so fantastic.
December 31, 2019
A little bit politically correct
But a cute book. I did like the fact that the MC actually didn’t have a guy show up to “save” her, I find that Obnoxious.
But a cute book. I did like the fact that the MC actually didn’t have a guy show up to “save” her, I find that Obnoxious.
October 13, 2023
Thank you so much to the author for sending me the book for free!!!!! I loved it! The beginning was a little slow but once I was hooked, I was hooked. I’m so excited to read the next one!
February 14, 2025
Spell binding
Like magic? You'll love these witches-to-be. And it isn't all cauldrons and henbane. Something is huntihen and. Truth will light the way.
Like magic? You'll love these witches-to-be. And it isn't all cauldrons and henbane. Something is huntihen and. Truth will light the way.
January 12, 2017
Pledge book one of the Witches of Coventry House by Christina Garner
"I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review.”
Eden's life had been filled with nightmares since she was a little girl. There are fires started when the nightmares come and the fear of the nightmares and the fires have stolen most of her childhood. When she gets the chance to start over at a college on the East coast with a full scholarship she has a new hope. Will she be able to face the nightmare and find the new life she is desiring I loved the way this story touches on each of her new friends and you begin to see how their lives inter twine. What is the secret of Coventry House and how will each pledge face their final trial? Will Eden's truth behind the nightmares come out as she she has to finally face the nightmare of her childhood. Reading this fast moving story you will discover all these answers and even more.
Bella Doerres
"I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review.”
Eden's life had been filled with nightmares since she was a little girl. There are fires started when the nightmares come and the fear of the nightmares and the fires have stolen most of her childhood. When she gets the chance to start over at a college on the East coast with a full scholarship she has a new hope. Will she be able to face the nightmare and find the new life she is desiring I loved the way this story touches on each of her new friends and you begin to see how their lives inter twine. What is the secret of Coventry House and how will each pledge face their final trial? Will Eden's truth behind the nightmares come out as she she has to finally face the nightmare of her childhood. Reading this fast moving story you will discover all these answers and even more.
Bella Doerres
January 12, 2017
This is an amazingly well written story. It has all the things I look for in my book. Witches, demons , set in modern age etc. This story is about a few girls who are witches and don't know that yet, getting an admission into a sorority of a prestigious college. There is bitching among teenage girls, guy problems as well as parent problems among a few. The main concept is about accepting who we are with our past and shape g the future. Eden is a great character with real bad nightmares about her being kidnapped as a child who tries to escape it by forgetting it never happened and does something she shouldn't do
Sarah was a oppressed child with a super religious mother who finally accepts who she is and what she wants. Jules is a sweet girl who tries to fit in due to her being a foster child.
All in all an amazing story with supernatural elements and a lesson for young girls on the choices of life. Looking forward to read the next part.
Sarah was a oppressed child with a super religious mother who finally accepts who she is and what she wants. Jules is a sweet girl who tries to fit in due to her being a foster child.
All in all an amazing story with supernatural elements and a lesson for young girls on the choices of life. Looking forward to read the next part.
February 5, 2017
I really enjoyed this first book in this series and although I tend not to read much YA paranormal/urban fantasy, this was more NA as the main character is heading off to the big wide world of college!
Eden wants to start afresh after something had happened in her past that still haunts her. She suffers with nightmares about the incident, so hopes that a new start, new place to live and new friends are just what she needs. She signs up to be a pledge at Coventry House and her whole scholarship depends on her being accepted to this sorority. However, it soon becomes apparent that Coventry House is not the usual run of mill sorority - there is more to the girls and to the house itself than the girls first thought.
After various tests that the girls have to go through in order to become a pledge, the group dwindles down to a mere 13. I loved all the different tests that the girls went through; some seemed silly, whilst others were a bit scary and creepy! Loved the final test for each of them and how they were all different depending on who or what they were.
Eden, however, is determined to forget everything that has happened to her before and casts an unapproved spell. This leads to some drastic consequences, but luckily for her one of those consequences didn't fully take force and when her nightmare returns to wreak havoc at Coventry House, only Eden can save the other girls!
This first book in the series was more about the setting of the scene and the gathering of the girls at Coventry House more than the big bad, who only appeared really towards the end, although the BB did make a brief appearance earlier on. Now that the scene is set, I am hoping the next books in the series will have more action going on and not so much about how the girls joined the sorority.
I really liked the writer's style and felt it flowed really well. The plot was definitely engaging enough to keep my attention and I really liked all of the characters. Looking forward to reading the next book in this series when it comes out!
Eden wants to start afresh after something had happened in her past that still haunts her. She suffers with nightmares about the incident, so hopes that a new start, new place to live and new friends are just what she needs. She signs up to be a pledge at Coventry House and her whole scholarship depends on her being accepted to this sorority. However, it soon becomes apparent that Coventry House is not the usual run of mill sorority - there is more to the girls and to the house itself than the girls first thought.
After various tests that the girls have to go through in order to become a pledge, the group dwindles down to a mere 13. I loved all the different tests that the girls went through; some seemed silly, whilst others were a bit scary and creepy! Loved the final test for each of them and how they were all different depending on who or what they were.
Eden, however, is determined to forget everything that has happened to her before and casts an unapproved spell. This leads to some drastic consequences, but luckily for her one of those consequences didn't fully take force and when her nightmare returns to wreak havoc at Coventry House, only Eden can save the other girls!
This first book in the series was more about the setting of the scene and the gathering of the girls at Coventry House more than the big bad, who only appeared really towards the end, although the BB did make a brief appearance earlier on. Now that the scene is set, I am hoping the next books in the series will have more action going on and not so much about how the girls joined the sorority.
I really liked the writer's style and felt it flowed really well. The plot was definitely engaging enough to keep my attention and I really liked all of the characters. Looking forward to reading the next book in this series when it comes out!
January 12, 2017
Pledge by Christina Garner is book 1 in her Witches of Coventry House series. In this book we are quickly introduced to a myriad of characters who are all going off to college and meet at Coventry House to become pledges but first they have to pass several tests. The tests start not long after they enter the house and those who don't meet the requirements are quickly weeded out until only those who have what they are looking for are left. Then the real training begins to decide whether they will become full-fledged sisters of the House or not. Each girl has her own history, issues and things that make her unique and will determine where things go for them.
This is my first book to read by Christina Garner and overall I enjoyed the story. It is a unique story with a twist on witches. These girls don't really know what they are or that they have these gifts. Some have an idea that they have something special but have been told all their lives to quash it so that they don't stand out. Eden is one such girl. She has lit things on fire in her sleep and it frightens her but it only comes when the nightmares come though she is on various medications to keep her from doing anything of the sort. But the nightmares mean something and she needs to figure it out.
The thing that I don't really enjoy about this book is how quickly the story shifts from one character to the next. It's a bit confusing for me and throws me off. One minute you're reading about one and then in the next paragraph it's shifted to another so if you're not fully paying attention then it can really throw you because then you'll need to back track and reread the page again to figure out what's going on. I'd have preferred some transition points to point out the shifting from one character to another.
This is a really good book and I honestly can't wait to read what happens next in this series. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. Definitely a good addition to paranormal/supernatural stories for sure. Enjoyable and an author to look forward to seeing more from.
This is my first book to read by Christina Garner and overall I enjoyed the story. It is a unique story with a twist on witches. These girls don't really know what they are or that they have these gifts. Some have an idea that they have something special but have been told all their lives to quash it so that they don't stand out. Eden is one such girl. She has lit things on fire in her sleep and it frightens her but it only comes when the nightmares come though she is on various medications to keep her from doing anything of the sort. But the nightmares mean something and she needs to figure it out.
The thing that I don't really enjoy about this book is how quickly the story shifts from one character to the next. It's a bit confusing for me and throws me off. One minute you're reading about one and then in the next paragraph it's shifted to another so if you're not fully paying attention then it can really throw you because then you'll need to back track and reread the page again to figure out what's going on. I'd have preferred some transition points to point out the shifting from one character to another.
This is a really good book and I honestly can't wait to read what happens next in this series. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. Definitely a good addition to paranormal/supernatural stories for sure. Enjoyable and an author to look forward to seeing more from.
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