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Wicked #2
Maldição
Holly Cathers and her twin cousins have just graduated from high school, and they're moving on toward their first semester of college. But no matter where they go, they will never be entirely free of their past. The three are descendants of a powerful coven of witches -- in constant danger from a rival clan.
Holly learns from a vision that Jer is still alive. As leader of the coven, she resolves to rescue him despite the fact that he is a member of the Deveraux clan and therefore her enemy. But her efforts are thwarted when her aunt reveals the nature of an ancient curse visited upon all Cathers witches. It becomes clear to Holly that the death of her parents was no accident, and a similar plague is sure to fall on anyone she grows close to. As her power strengthens, can Holly escape her destiny? And if her destiny includes Jer, does she want to?
ebook
First published January 1, 2002
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About the author
Nancy Holder
353 books2,407 followersNancy Holder, New York Times Bestselling author of the WICKED Series, has just published CRUSADE - the first book in a new vampire series cowritten with Debbie Viguie. The last book her her Possession series is set to release in March 2011.
Nancy was born in Los Altos, California, and her family settled for a time in Walnut Creek. Her father, who taught at Stanford, joined the navy and the family traveled throughout California and lived in Japan for three years. When she was sixteen, she dropped out of high school to become a ballet dancer in Cologne, Germany, and later relocated to Frankfurt Am Main.
Eventually she returned to California and graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at San Diego with a degree in Communications. Soon after, she began to write; her first sale was a young adult romance novel titled Teach Me to Love.
Nancy’s work has appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, LA Times, amazon.com, LOCUS, and other bestseller lists. A four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association, she has also received accolades from the American Library Association, the American Reading Association, the New York Public Library, and Romantic Times.
She and Debbie Viguié co-authored the New York Times bestselling series Wicked for Simon and Schuster. They have continued their collaboration with the Crusade series, also for Simon and Schuster, and the Wolf Springs Chronicles for Delacorte (2011.) She is also the author of the young adult horror series Possessions for Razorbill. She has sold many novels and book projects set in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Saving Grace, Hellboy, and Smallville universes.
She has sold approximately two hundred short stories and essays on writing and popular culture. Her anthology, Outsiders, co-edited with Nancy Kilpatrick, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award in 2005.
She teaches in the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing Program, offered through the University of Southern Maine. She has previously taught at UCSD and has served on the Clarion Board of Directors.
She lives in San Diego, California, with her daughter Belle, their two Corgis, Panda and Tater; and their cats, David and Kittnen Snow. She and Belle are active in Girl Scouts and dog obedience training.
Nancy was born in Los Altos, California, and her family settled for a time in Walnut Creek. Her father, who taught at Stanford, joined the navy and the family traveled throughout California and lived in Japan for three years. When she was sixteen, she dropped out of high school to become a ballet dancer in Cologne, Germany, and later relocated to Frankfurt Am Main.
Eventually she returned to California and graduated summa cum laude from the University of California at San Diego with a degree in Communications. Soon after, she began to write; her first sale was a young adult romance novel titled Teach Me to Love.
Nancy’s work has appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, LA Times, amazon.com, LOCUS, and other bestseller lists. A four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association, she has also received accolades from the American Library Association, the American Reading Association, the New York Public Library, and Romantic Times.
She and Debbie Viguié co-authored the New York Times bestselling series Wicked for Simon and Schuster. They have continued their collaboration with the Crusade series, also for Simon and Schuster, and the Wolf Springs Chronicles for Delacorte (2011.) She is also the author of the young adult horror series Possessions for Razorbill. She has sold many novels and book projects set in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Saving Grace, Hellboy, and Smallville universes.
She has sold approximately two hundred short stories and essays on writing and popular culture. Her anthology, Outsiders, co-edited with Nancy Kilpatrick, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award in 2005.
She teaches in the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing Program, offered through the University of Southern Maine. She has previously taught at UCSD and has served on the Clarion Board of Directors.
She lives in San Diego, California, with her daughter Belle, their two Corgis, Panda and Tater; and their cats, David and Kittnen Snow. She and Belle are active in Girl Scouts and dog obedience training.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
February 18, 2012
I have trouble understanding why this book has a decent rating on here. I don't usually review books but there were at least 20 points in this one where the writing was so horrible it made me cringe. I honestly wish someone would have warned me not to bother with this series.
"Ok, maybe the little bitch was playing him. Then again, maybe she wasn't. He wasn't a bad package; and oh, yeah, baby, speaking of packages..."
"Then, almost in the same breath, he turned to a very young and very ambitious warlock named Ian, whose real ambition was to become a producer-director in Hollywood"
Why do we need random back stories on minions?? And terrible innuendos from bad guys?
And lets not forget the second chapter of book 1, introducing Michael, the bad warlock who we're supposed to be afraid of:
"It can mean only one thing: It's time for the Deveraux to take over. After centuries of sucking it up and pretending we've accepted defeat, we're going to steal the ball and make that touchdown. We're going all the way. Because baby, we got game."
I think from that point onwards there was nothing he could have done to make me take him seriously.
Am I really the only person who notices these things? Or is this considered 'good' writing to the rest of the world?
"Ok, maybe the little bitch was playing him. Then again, maybe she wasn't. He wasn't a bad package; and oh, yeah, baby, speaking of packages..."
"Then, almost in the same breath, he turned to a very young and very ambitious warlock named Ian, whose real ambition was to become a producer-director in Hollywood"
Why do we need random back stories on minions?? And terrible innuendos from bad guys?
And lets not forget the second chapter of book 1, introducing Michael, the bad warlock who we're supposed to be afraid of:
"It can mean only one thing: It's time for the Deveraux to take over. After centuries of sucking it up and pretending we've accepted defeat, we're going to steal the ball and make that touchdown. We're going all the way. Because baby, we got game."
I think from that point onwards there was nothing he could have done to make me take him seriously.
Am I really the only person who notices these things? Or is this considered 'good' writing to the rest of the world?
September 3, 2017
This book takes place where Book 1 left off. High school is over but college has not begun for Holly's little coven. Her cousin Nicole, the wild child, has run away because though she was practicing magic, this fight with the Deveraux (one of whom she was dating), was too real for her. Her twin Amanda is following Holly but as Holly becomes ever more powerful she starts to change. Power corrupts and absolute power...Holly is the most powerful witch ever and the power is very seductive. Holly didn't grow on me in this book and I liked even less the allusions to the rape of Nicole while in Devereaux custody which, though off camera, was not mentioned again the next time we saw Nicole. There is a lot of violence, a lot of death, and no one seems to react to that. The book lacks emotion and the female characters are so stereotypically whiny that I wouldn't have minded if some of them died. One more book to go.
December 29, 2015
I didn’t expect to love this book as I’ve mentioned before I’m not a huge fan of the super dark/occult stuff which many witch books can fall into. I did want to listen to this book though, because of the ending of Wicked: Witch. I had to know if Jer was still alive and if he would be with Holly.
Thankfully we do find out that Jer is still alive, but in terrible pain from the black fire. Sadly though Jer’s part in this book is very, very small. I think this is one of the reasons this book didn’t hold my attention as much at the first in the series.
The full review can be found at http://katetilton.com/november-2015-k...
Thankfully we do find out that Jer is still alive, but in terrible pain from the black fire. Sadly though Jer’s part in this book is very, very small. I think this is one of the reasons this book didn’t hold my attention as much at the first in the series.
The full review can be found at http://katetilton.com/november-2015-k...
August 13, 2011
2 1/2
Meh -- I was surpsingly disappointed by this seconed installment. I think they had way too many 'point of views' that the story was being told from, and although it wasn't confusing or 'easy to get lost' in ... It definitely was annoying to me. I don't mind one or two narrators in a story, but almost every character in this book was sharing their thoughts/actions and it was just irksome to me.
Hopefully the rest are better.
Meh -- I was surpsingly disappointed by this seconed installment. I think they had way too many 'point of views' that the story was being told from, and although it wasn't confusing or 'easy to get lost' in ... It definitely was annoying to me. I don't mind one or two narrators in a story, but almost every character in this book was sharing their thoughts/actions and it was just irksome to me.
Hopefully the rest are better.
November 17, 2011
This book is hard to follow... Too many characters and hardly background to explain what they are doing.
December 6, 2009
Curse is the sequel to Witch in the Wicked series and the only reason I read it was because the two books were combined in one. Eh. They’re cheaper that way, actually. And to be honest, I didn’t have a choice. It was either two or none.
Really, Curse was just more of the same of Wicked. There was magic, struggles with magic, angst and running. Not much happened in this story except we find that Nicole’s run off to Europe because she freaked out (the more interesting plot line, in my opinion) and there was a final Hollywood battle a la The Craft towards the end. And Holly drowns a cat for the sake of her powers. I guess she’s getting back to her roots.
I’ll reiterate again, this type of book isn’t my cup of tea. I’m much more inclined to read about real witchcraft than the CGI version.
I actually ended up pretty bored with the plot, mainly because of the amount of angst around everyone. Keri’s pissy with Holly because she got Jeraud killed/undead/whatever he is now. Amanda’s pissed at Holly because she wants to find this guy and doesn’t want her leaving. Tommy will do whatever Amanda does. Tante Cecile and her daughter and pretty much filling in gaps in magic and really don’t serve any other purpose, as were Dan, Kialish and Eddie and Michael is hell-bent on world domination, from beginning to end. Strong on angst, short on action.
What I would like to know is with these witches and warlocks, are the only things they can conjure against each other fireballs? There had to be, like, three times as many fireballs in this book than in the last. Is that the defense du jour because it got redundant pretty quickly. Again, more of the same.
What really irked me, when Holly was commanding the dead army, she spoke in French and the third person proceeded to say she’d never spoken French in her life. Funny considering she explained away the odd, out of body French speaking in the first book by saying she took it in high school. Inconsistencies like this bother me. So did she or didn’t she ever speak French before?
Still, I found the historical subplot much more interesting than the current time plot line. There was change, deviation. Yes, more of the same but the methods were different. The scene changed. The characters changed. There was more promise. Not just stagnant characters that just stood around taking up space while the more prominent protagonists tried to figure out what the hell to do. Now it seems like the secondary characters are being picked off, in one form or another, as the story carries on. Am I right in guessing that Holly will have to face the final battle on her own because she’s the supreme witch that’s sharing a body with someone else?
I’ll never know because I’m not going to keep reading the series. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad. It’s written quite well but it just wasn’t something I could get into. Fireball magic doesn’t really hold my attention to begin with and when the story gets to a point where that’s all that there seems to be, I’m going to get bored quickly.
Really, Curse was just more of the same of Wicked. There was magic, struggles with magic, angst and running. Not much happened in this story except we find that Nicole’s run off to Europe because she freaked out (the more interesting plot line, in my opinion) and there was a final Hollywood battle a la The Craft towards the end. And Holly drowns a cat for the sake of her powers. I guess she’s getting back to her roots.
I’ll reiterate again, this type of book isn’t my cup of tea. I’m much more inclined to read about real witchcraft than the CGI version.
I actually ended up pretty bored with the plot, mainly because of the amount of angst around everyone. Keri’s pissy with Holly because she got Jeraud killed/undead/whatever he is now. Amanda’s pissed at Holly because she wants to find this guy and doesn’t want her leaving. Tommy will do whatever Amanda does. Tante Cecile and her daughter and pretty much filling in gaps in magic and really don’t serve any other purpose, as were Dan, Kialish and Eddie and Michael is hell-bent on world domination, from beginning to end. Strong on angst, short on action.
What I would like to know is with these witches and warlocks, are the only things they can conjure against each other fireballs? There had to be, like, three times as many fireballs in this book than in the last. Is that the defense du jour because it got redundant pretty quickly. Again, more of the same.
What really irked me, when Holly was commanding the dead army, she spoke in French and the third person proceeded to say she’d never spoken French in her life. Funny considering she explained away the odd, out of body French speaking in the first book by saying she took it in high school. Inconsistencies like this bother me. So did she or didn’t she ever speak French before?
Still, I found the historical subplot much more interesting than the current time plot line. There was change, deviation. Yes, more of the same but the methods were different. The scene changed. The characters changed. There was more promise. Not just stagnant characters that just stood around taking up space while the more prominent protagonists tried to figure out what the hell to do. Now it seems like the secondary characters are being picked off, in one form or another, as the story carries on. Am I right in guessing that Holly will have to face the final battle on her own because she’s the supreme witch that’s sharing a body with someone else?
I’ll never know because I’m not going to keep reading the series. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad. It’s written quite well but it just wasn’t something I could get into. Fireball magic doesn’t really hold my attention to begin with and when the story gets to a point where that’s all that there seems to be, I’m going to get bored quickly.
July 4, 2016
Although the story synopsis states that Holly and her cousins have just graduated high school, there is no real reference to that in the story. They do talk about college, but nothing about high school. That was aggravating, but not a showstopper.
I did find that the story carried on well from the previous book, with a quick dream sequence allowing the new reader a bit of the background and reminding the returning reader not only of what has happened, but giving both a warning of what is to come.
It was interesting in the way the group (the coven) traveled to Europe searching for a lost coven member, Nicole, who disappeared at the end of the previous book. During their travels, both the coven members and Nicole meet with some interesting characters, especially the fascinating child Pablo.
I was still irritated by the constant flashbacks, and the cheesy Hollywood style language, but the story was interesting. I did find all the characters rather vapid, with the lines seeming incomplete and the characters less than human, although Nicole seems to have grown up a lot in the year she has been traveling.
I do have to wonder about timelines, and here is a There was too much death of some really interesting characters, almost as though the author was sorry to have introduced them, didn't know what to do with them, so killed them.
Overall, if the entire storyline wasn't so interesting, I would not bother with the next books, but since it is interesting, and I already have them either checked out or on hold at the library, I will finish the story.
I did find that the story carried on well from the previous book, with a quick dream sequence allowing the new reader a bit of the background and reminding the returning reader not only of what has happened, but giving both a warning of what is to come.
It was interesting in the way the group (the coven) traveled to Europe searching for a lost coven member, Nicole, who disappeared at the end of the previous book. During their travels, both the coven members and Nicole meet with some interesting characters, especially the fascinating child Pablo.
I was still irritated by the constant flashbacks, and the cheesy Hollywood style language, but the story was interesting. I did find all the characters rather vapid, with the lines seeming incomplete and the characters less than human, although Nicole seems to have grown up a lot in the year she has been traveling.
I do have to wonder about timelines, and here is a There was too much death of some really interesting characters, almost as though the author was sorry to have introduced them, didn't know what to do with them, so killed them.
Overall, if the entire storyline wasn't so interesting, I would not bother with the next books, but since it is interesting, and I already have them either checked out or on hold at the library, I will finish the story.
September 16, 2017
There was so much eye rolling to be had in this book. I mean, this book isn't bad, it just feels like it's...unnecessary, I guess? It hits all the clichés that these books do, so it's nothing that stands out. It was meh.
On the positive side, this book did not wimp out on having the character go to the dark side. Props to that. They went all the way there, and didn't try to take it back. That is rare and the one way this book did stand out.
On the positive side, this book did not wimp out on having the character go to the dark side. Props to that. They went all the way there, and didn't try to take it back. That is rare and the one way this book did stand out.
January 13, 2015
I didn't really like this book anymore than the first one. It had a sea monster but it was only there briefly so it didn't really up the rating. I wouldn't know who the "hero" was if it didn't tell on the cover because she is almost as evil as the opposing side. I read the second one because it came with the first one but I won't buy anymore of them.
December 25, 2010
whoa ... cant believe that holly is being such a jerk here ....
poor jer .. poor eddie .. poor amanda .. poor tommy .. poor kialish .. poor hecate :(((
n hell yeah for michael deveraux !!!! he's getting evil haha !!!
cant wait 4 next XD
poor jer .. poor eddie .. poor amanda .. poor tommy .. poor kialish .. poor hecate :(((
n hell yeah for michael deveraux !!!! he's getting evil haha !!!
cant wait 4 next XD
November 16, 2025
Honestly I’m not sure whether this book is poorly written or I just got the most atrocious diagrammed formatted edition of the ebook. This has impacted my reading a lot, but let’s get into the story.
Bad decisions keep being made and, as usual for this series, they also keep being not logical at all. I understand that characters not always see right and they tried to save everyone they love, but actually end up condemning all. HOWEVER, I think that Holly, Nicole and Michael are just terrible, terrible developed characters, if one could say “developed” at all.
I’ll continue to read this series purely because I don’t stand not finishing a series, but I’m sure this decision will haunt me more than Isabeau’s ghost has haunted Holly.
Wishing luck to us all.
Bad decisions keep being made and, as usual for this series, they also keep being not logical at all. I understand that characters not always see right and they tried to save everyone they love, but actually end up condemning all. HOWEVER, I think that Holly, Nicole and Michael are just terrible, terrible developed characters, if one could say “developed” at all.
I’ll continue to read this series purely because I don’t stand not finishing a series, but I’m sure this decision will haunt me more than Isabeau’s ghost has haunted Holly.
Wishing luck to us all.
April 25, 2018
El último capítulo es el capítulo más chafa, genérico, apresurado y horrible que he leído en toooda mi existencia.
La visión del templo es preciosa, pero apresurada, las acciones no llevan a nada, la historia se queda incompleta. Necesito leer la versión original. La editorial hizo un horrible trabajo en general con (la ¿necesidad? de) compactar la historia. Me quedo sentida y enojada.
La historia es buena, pero esta mutilación en la adaptación me hace querer llorar mares.
La visión del templo es preciosa, pero apresurada, las acciones no llevan a nada, la historia se queda incompleta. Necesito leer la versión original. La editorial hizo un horrible trabajo en general con (la ¿necesidad? de) compactar la historia. Me quedo sentida y enojada.
La historia es buena, pero esta mutilación en la adaptación me hace querer llorar mares.
March 19, 2023
Ngl, I kind of expected more out of this book. Though two of the main group die, I feel like pretty much nothing happened. Plus, the only thing that came out of Holly literally sacrificing Hecate was the statues crying. I was really wishing the authors would lean further into that “darkness” that some of the other characters seemed to feel coming from her or maybe show how Hecate’s death could have spiritually effected Nicole due to Hecate being her familiar.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 19, 2023
Even more disappointing than the first book. Are we not meant to notice the house symbol changing from a raven to a falcon and back everytime the author feels like it? With no explanation? Or the random bursts or power some characters have, or the random unexplained deaths of others? And let's not forget, the main character drowns her cousins cat for fun and NOBODY CARES. AT ALL. Not one person. Not even the cousin who owns the cat. What a mess!
May 27, 2023
Did anyone else think it was a bit dark for a YA novel when Holly sacrificed her cousin's cat to get more power to defeat her enemies? I'm an adult, and I was pretty disturbed by that scene. And then when a "senior witch" was lecturing her about why it was wrong, she was basically rolling her eyes. I was "meh" about her in book 1 and now I just straight up don't like her and am finding it increasingly hard to root for her. Why should we? It's not really good vs. evil. Its the Cahors vs. the Deveraux family, and both are basically just out for themselves. The modern day Cahors may be less evil than the Deveraux family, but I wouldn't necessarily say they are good. I just think we deserve a better heroine. The main character doesn't always have to make moral choices for it to be a good story, but they need some kind of charisma or something to make them likable. I feel like we are "supposed" to be on Holly's side, but it's getting really hard to root for her.
May 7, 2020
I didn’t like witch but I got both together so felt I had to finish it. Not only did I already dislike the writing, but then she went and doubled down on fucking bury your gays so fuck this series with its terrible writing. Won’t be picking up any others
January 23, 2021
A little darker, A little scarier, and a little bad
April 23, 2021
DNF @ 93%
I remember loving these books when I was a teenager and I think the only reason I got so far was because of nostalgia.
I remember loving these books when I was a teenager and I think the only reason I got so far was because of nostalgia.
September 3, 2024
This was even worse than the first one, that’s all you need to know.
Also Eddie is gone, there’s no more reason for me to keep going/ give the third book a chance!
Also Eddie is gone, there’s no more reason for me to keep going/ give the third book a chance!
February 2, 2025
no one can make me hate you
August 20, 2011
Después de un año de la muerte de los padres de Holly, y después de todo lo sucedido en Wicked, La Bruja; el aquelarre Cathers-Anderson sobrevive con sus pocos integrantes: Holly, Amanda, Kari, Kialish, Eddie, Tommy, Cecile y Silvana. Cada día que pasa, la angustia por el regreso de Michael Deveraux, el temible enemigo de todos los tiempos de la familia Cahors.
Nicole sigue desaparecida, sin comunicarse con su hermana y su prima, intentando sobreponerse a la muerte de su madre y a los eventos que siguieron. Viaja por el mundo, escondiéndose, sabiendo que es sólo cuestión de tiempo para que la encuentren.
Holly ha soñado con Jer, sabe que tiene que buscarle, pero también es consciente de que no puede dejar a su aquelarre, que le necesitan porque es ella la bruja más fuerte. Pero cuando Michael hace aparición,
haciendo uso de nuevos trucos y viejas maldiciones, Holly tendrá que sacrificar algo que ama, para que la diosa le de sus bendiciones.
La historia sigue siendo confusa, pero supongo que es porque se trata de una serie y los datos se van dando de a pocos. La lucha entre Deveraux-Cathers sigue siendo el asunto principal, aunque ahora los aquelarres supremos empiezan a meter su cuchara.
A mí no me gustó el comportamiento de Amanda hacia Holly, totalmente egoísta. No me gustó que la juzgara por el "sacrificio" que se vio obligada a hacer, aunque siendo sincera yo no lo entendí. Sobre todo porque Cecile fue quien le dijo que tenía que hacerlo y luego todos juzgaron a Holly como si ella hubiera hecho todo a propósito.
La historia no se desarrolla lo suficiente, no se resuelve lo suficiente; de hecho, es más seguir haciendo nudos contra nudos y enredando la historia hasta el punto en que frustra no saber todo y enoja no tener el siguiente libro a la mano.Por lo menos los libros ya están todos en inglés, ojalá no tardemos en tenerlos todos en español.
No es la mejor saga, pero sin duda tiene su atractivo. El romance no es el centro de atención, aunque sigue la línea amor-odio del primero. Nicole, por lo visto, hará más presencia en el siguiente libro, complicando la historia mucho más. Y aún así, es una de esas series que han logrado hacerse un lugar en mi estantería.
Nicole sigue desaparecida, sin comunicarse con su hermana y su prima, intentando sobreponerse a la muerte de su madre y a los eventos que siguieron. Viaja por el mundo, escondiéndose, sabiendo que es sólo cuestión de tiempo para que la encuentren.
Holly ha soñado con Jer, sabe que tiene que buscarle, pero también es consciente de que no puede dejar a su aquelarre, que le necesitan porque es ella la bruja más fuerte. Pero cuando Michael hace aparición,
haciendo uso de nuevos trucos y viejas maldiciones, Holly tendrá que sacrificar algo que ama, para que la diosa le de sus bendiciones.
La historia sigue siendo confusa, pero supongo que es porque se trata de una serie y los datos se van dando de a pocos. La lucha entre Deveraux-Cathers sigue siendo el asunto principal, aunque ahora los aquelarres supremos empiezan a meter su cuchara.
A mí no me gustó el comportamiento de Amanda hacia Holly, totalmente egoísta. No me gustó que la juzgara por el "sacrificio" que se vio obligada a hacer, aunque siendo sincera yo no lo entendí. Sobre todo porque Cecile fue quien le dijo que tenía que hacerlo y luego todos juzgaron a Holly como si ella hubiera hecho todo a propósito.
La historia no se desarrolla lo suficiente, no se resuelve lo suficiente; de hecho, es más seguir haciendo nudos contra nudos y enredando la historia hasta el punto en que frustra no saber todo y enoja no tener el siguiente libro a la mano.Por lo menos los libros ya están todos en inglés, ojalá no tardemos en tenerlos todos en español.
No es la mejor saga, pero sin duda tiene su atractivo. El romance no es el centro de atención, aunque sigue la línea amor-odio del primero. Nicole, por lo visto, hará más presencia en el siguiente libro, complicando la historia mucho más. Y aún así, es una de esas series que han logrado hacerse un lugar en mi estantería.
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July 21, 2016In this second installment of the Wicked series, young Holly Cathers finds herself the head of a coven and spending her time learning spells and practicing magic. The battle between her family and the evil Devereaux family is not over. She also knows that Michael Devereaux’s youngest son Jer, who supposedly died in a fire, is alive. Convinced that they can stop Jer’s father from destroying them all if the two work together, Holly is compelled to find him. Her cousin Nicole fled to Europe to avoid the trouble, must also be found if the coven is to fight the powerful Devereauxs.
Even for a young adult novel, the plot is on the thin side. Yes, there is a mission and the Cathers family’s survival is at stake. Despite a couple of dramatic scenes and battles, Curse isn’t a strong novel. In other words, it would fall flat as a standalone. When one is writing a series, shouldn’t each book be as strong as the next? The added information about the family history and the introduction of a couple of new key characters didn’t give the sufficient layers and texture. Having said that, Holly is on a dangerous, life-changing quest, a truly heroic journey that still draws me in enough to see where this story leads.
Even for a young adult novel, the plot is on the thin side. Yes, there is a mission and the Cathers family’s survival is at stake. Despite a couple of dramatic scenes and battles, Curse isn’t a strong novel. In other words, it would fall flat as a standalone. When one is writing a series, shouldn’t each book be as strong as the next? The added information about the family history and the introduction of a couple of new key characters didn’t give the sufficient layers and texture. Having said that, Holly is on a dangerous, life-changing quest, a truly heroic journey that still draws me in enough to see where this story leads.
March 15, 2015
Leider breche ich nun doch den zweiten Teil der Witch-Serie ab. Ich hatte Hoffnung auf eine Steigerung im zweiten Band, kann aber keine Besserung zum ersten Band erkennen. Verwirrender Schreibstil, teilweise sehr flache Gefühlswelten usw. Von der auf dem Cover groß angekündigten Lovestory kann ich überhaupt nichts spüren.
Es geht hauptsächlich um diffuse Verhexungen von Michael, der Holly und ihre Cousinen töten will. Ab und zu gibt es dann unspektakuläre Rückblicke in die Vergangenheit zu den Vorfahren von den zwei Hexenfamilien.
Was mich am meisten gestört hat waren die unbefriedigenden Erklärungen für die Geschehnisse. So hat Holly aus dem Nichts (ein paar seltsame Träume) ihre Zauberkräfte entdeckt und kann dann auch schon einige Zauber und Rituale. Wie es dazu gekommen ist wird einfach ausgelassen. Ihre Entwicklung scheint unwichtig.
Ihr angebliche Liebe zu Jer ist unglaubwürdig, da sie gerade mal zusammenaddiert 10 Sätze mit ihm gesprochen hat. Gefüle zu ihm werden kaum beschrieben... usw.
Fazit: Ich liebe Hexengeschichten, aber von dieser bin ich wirklich enttäuscht. Wirklich schade, denn die Cover sind wunderschön gestaltet
Es geht hauptsächlich um diffuse Verhexungen von Michael, der Holly und ihre Cousinen töten will. Ab und zu gibt es dann unspektakuläre Rückblicke in die Vergangenheit zu den Vorfahren von den zwei Hexenfamilien.
Was mich am meisten gestört hat waren die unbefriedigenden Erklärungen für die Geschehnisse. So hat Holly aus dem Nichts (ein paar seltsame Träume) ihre Zauberkräfte entdeckt und kann dann auch schon einige Zauber und Rituale. Wie es dazu gekommen ist wird einfach ausgelassen. Ihre Entwicklung scheint unwichtig.
Ihr angebliche Liebe zu Jer ist unglaubwürdig, da sie gerade mal zusammenaddiert 10 Sätze mit ihm gesprochen hat. Gefüle zu ihm werden kaum beschrieben... usw.
Fazit: Ich liebe Hexengeschichten, aber von dieser bin ich wirklich enttäuscht. Wirklich schade, denn die Cover sind wunderschön gestaltet
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October 9, 2013It's exactly a year after the rafting accident that took her parents' lives. Holly knows it was no accident, and that she, a witch from a long line of witches, is in extreme danger from a family of warlocks that has had a blood feud with her family for over 600 years. Holly has learned and grown in her witchcraft, living with her Aunt in Seattle and her two cousins, who help practice. She hadn't learned enough, though to save the person she loved from the Black Fire, to save her cousin Nicole from the horror and fear. Now, Holly's coven is reduced to just a few people, Nicole is on the run and hasn't been heard from, and the Deveraux are starting to fight back - again. This time, Michael Devereaux has sworn to kill the Cahors witches once and for all - ending 600 years of hatred and revenge.
Will Holly be strong enough to stop him? She's only had a year to learn her craft, half of her coven is gone, and the people she's fighting? The Devereaux? They've stayed on top of their game, every generation, since birth. They call the dark magic, a strong and brutal magic, and have no problem with live sacrifices to enhance their powers. How can she win?
Will Holly be strong enough to stop him? She's only had a year to learn her craft, half of her coven is gone, and the people she's fighting? The Devereaux? They've stayed on top of their game, every generation, since birth. They call the dark magic, a strong and brutal magic, and have no problem with live sacrifices to enhance their powers. How can she win?
July 15, 2011
3,5 *
baca buku kedua membuat gw bingung untuk suka apa engga ma holly... what she did to hecate makes me wonder... it just doesnt seems right... katanya darah lebih kental dr air, tapi keputusan yang diambil holly di akhir cerita ini tidak mencerminkan itu.. pengorbanan demi pengorbanan, mantra demi mantra, ritual demi ritual, membuat holly berubah.. akan seperti apa jadinya di akhir cerita yah..
Dan Nicole, setelah melarikan diri dari keluarga karena tidak ingin berurusan dengan sihir, tetap membuat hidupnya tidak tentram, london, Prancis, Jerman dilalui sampai akhirnya menginjak Madrid dan dia sadar tak bisa lepas dari takdir, darah sihir yang mengaliri tubuhnya, kasih terhadap saudara kembar dan sepupunya, rasa bersalah yang menggerogotinya semenjak meninggalkan Seattle..
Kelompoknya Jose Lois cool.. pengen tau kisah Philippe and Pablo kek apa ntarnya :)
seruan buku kedua sih, n yang sadis2nya ga sebanyak buku satu *perasaan* :p
baca buku kedua membuat gw bingung untuk suka apa engga ma holly... what she did to hecate makes me wonder... it just doesnt seems right... katanya darah lebih kental dr air, tapi keputusan yang diambil holly di akhir cerita ini tidak mencerminkan itu.. pengorbanan demi pengorbanan, mantra demi mantra, ritual demi ritual, membuat holly berubah.. akan seperti apa jadinya di akhir cerita yah..
Dan Nicole, setelah melarikan diri dari keluarga karena tidak ingin berurusan dengan sihir, tetap membuat hidupnya tidak tentram, london, Prancis, Jerman dilalui sampai akhirnya menginjak Madrid dan dia sadar tak bisa lepas dari takdir, darah sihir yang mengaliri tubuhnya, kasih terhadap saudara kembar dan sepupunya, rasa bersalah yang menggerogotinya semenjak meninggalkan Seattle..
Kelompoknya Jose Lois cool.. pengen tau kisah Philippe and Pablo kek apa ntarnya :)
seruan buku kedua sih, n yang sadis2nya ga sebanyak buku satu *perasaan* :p
March 17, 2013
This was my second time reading Curse. I decided to reread it because I have the bind-up of Witch and Curse and by the time I had gotten to Curse, I had kinda lost interest. I almost didn't want to give it another try because I didn't really enjoy it the first time and it has some pretty low ratings on here.
But I did and I loved it. I'm not sure that I liked it better than Witch, but I thought it was still a good sequel. Still, there are some issues with it. I couldn't get into the jumping back and forth with time periods. I wasn't really sure what half of the parts in the 1600s or 1500s were for.
And there were some choices on Holly's part that I didn't argee with. Plus, the whole "Jer and I are in love" speech got really old. And I have to admit the ending left me scratching my head.
Overall, I did enjoy other parts of the book and I didn't think it was as bad as the reviews that I've read claimed it was.
But I did and I loved it. I'm not sure that I liked it better than Witch, but I thought it was still a good sequel. Still, there are some issues with it. I couldn't get into the jumping back and forth with time periods. I wasn't really sure what half of the parts in the 1600s or 1500s were for.
And there were some choices on Holly's part that I didn't argee with. Plus, the whole "Jer and I are in love" speech got really old. And I have to admit the ending left me scratching my head.
Overall, I did enjoy other parts of the book and I didn't think it was as bad as the reviews that I've read claimed it was.
March 4, 2012
Leaving the flash backs and forwards out. the story did not progress all that far. Holly is becoming more and more like her ancestors and Amanda is jealous of the love between Jer and Holly. I honestly think she does not know it but I think she unfortunately is. And Nicole is a weird balance between the two. But the story itself only went a tiny step to develop the relationships and personal personality of all the characters. Also, I don't really know who I am routing for in this book. Holly seems to be going down a wrong path and Amanda can do nothing really but follow. Nicole is trying only because she finally see the consequences to her actions but Jer is stuck where he can not help anyone. I just wonder how the authors are going to progress the story next.
December 18, 2012
Holly’s has just graduated high school after a living through the deaths of many people shes loved. Simply because of her families blood line and an ancient war that has gone on for hundreds of years. I like this book better the the first because it shows how power corrupts and can bring out the dark side of people. It also shows what can happen out of desperation. Holly has become a little bit more ruthless and desperate because of the recent events she has faced. After all the lose she has faced.
I really enjoyed this book a lot more than the first. It really does show what lose, desperation and grief can do to you. I really enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed this book a lot more than the first. It really does show what lose, desperation and grief can do to you. I really enjoyed it.
October 20, 2016
I don't know how to feel about this book, the entire time it felt like act two, like nothing got resolved in the book, nothing at all! it was all build up to a potential fight, that didn't happen. and the romance aspect to it is just weird, like i don't even feel like holly and jer even like each other or just being controlled by their past lives. I liked the Nichole story, she is really growing as a character, the flashbacks to the original Cothrs are pretty cool and interesting. I'm bummed I didn't like this more cause I love some of the author's other work
June 4, 2023
Curse continues the story of Holly Cathers and her witch cousins as they battle the Devereaux coven. Witch ended with Holly believing her boyfriend, Jer, had died. Curse continues the story with Holly, Amanda, and Nicole becoming stronger and adding people to their coven. Although I did like the story, there were portions that were disturbing, so I would caution younger readers or those easily triggered to tread carefully. Overall, this books helps lay the foundation for the ultimate showdown to come.
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