What do you think?
Rate this book
A Wicked Magic
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina meets The Craft when modern witches must save teens stolen by an ancient demon in this YA fantasy-thriller debut.
Dan and Liss are witches. The Black Book granted them that power. Harnessing that power feels good, especially when everything in their lives makes them feel powerless.
During a spell gone wrong, Liss's boyfriend is snatched away by an evil entity and presumed dead. Dan and Liss's friendship dies that night, too. How can they practice magic after the darkness that they conjured?
Months later, Liss discovers that her boyfriend is alive, trapped underground in the grips of an ancient force. She must save him, and she needs Dan and the power of The Black Book to do so. Dan is quickly sucked back into Liss's orbit and pushes away her best friend, Alexa. But Alexa has some big secrets she's hiding and her own unique magical disaster to deal with.
When another teenager disappears, the girls know it's no coincidence. What greedy magic have they awakened? And what does it want with these teens it has stolen?
Set in the atmospheric wilds of California's northern coast, Sasha Laurens's thrilling debut novel is about the complications of friendship, how to take back power, and how to embrace the darkness that lives within us all.
Dan and Liss are witches. The Black Book granted them that power. Harnessing that power feels good, especially when everything in their lives makes them feel powerless.
During a spell gone wrong, Liss's boyfriend is snatched away by an evil entity and presumed dead. Dan and Liss's friendship dies that night, too. How can they practice magic after the darkness that they conjured?
Months later, Liss discovers that her boyfriend is alive, trapped underground in the grips of an ancient force. She must save him, and she needs Dan and the power of The Black Book to do so. Dan is quickly sucked back into Liss's orbit and pushes away her best friend, Alexa. But Alexa has some big secrets she's hiding and her own unique magical disaster to deal with.
When another teenager disappears, the girls know it's no coincidence. What greedy magic have they awakened? And what does it want with these teens it has stolen?
Set in the atmospheric wilds of California's northern coast, Sasha Laurens's thrilling debut novel is about the complications of friendship, how to take back power, and how to embrace the darkness that lives within us all.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published July 28, 2020
75 people are currently reading
6994 people want to read
About the author
Sasha Laurens
4 books237 followersSasha Laurens is the author of the adult romance When I Picture You and the young adult novels A Wicked Magic and Youngblood. She spends her time doing research on authoritarianism, training for powerlifting competitions, and hanging out with her mini dachshund, Kiki.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews
July 23, 2020
Thank you Penguin Teen for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was really looking forward to this book because of the synopsis. Liss and Dan are best friends and discover this mysterious black book that turns them into witches. Everything is great until they cast a spell that makes Liss’s boyfriend, Johnny, disappear. Having to deal with what they have done, they can’t be friends anymore and move on with their lives. A couple months later Liss figures out Johnny is just stuck in a magical place, she needs Dan and her new friend Alexa’s help to free him.
I mean that sounds super exciting and I love magic in books, I didn’t get any of that. This book literally went nowhere the entire time. I thought this book was going to focus mainly on the magic, but that didn’t happen. We follow Liss and Dan trying to mend their broken friendship, and we follow Alexa and Dan’s friendship and also their home lives. It was very dreary in parts and this book should have some trigger warnings for self-harm, suicidal thoughts, mental, and physical abuse. Another part that made me super cringey was the writing style, it felt very repetitive and childlike. The author uses the same words over and over again, it was to the point that I was skimming a lot of chapters. I just am drained from reading this book. I really wanted more magic and I wanted to know a lot more about this place that Johnny was being held. Even the ending was a letdown, there was no big reveal or twist. It was just kind of typical.
Please note that this is 100% my opinion and while I may not have liked this book, I know others will love it.
Also note, there is a talking cat named Domino and I did really like him.
I was really looking forward to this book because of the synopsis. Liss and Dan are best friends and discover this mysterious black book that turns them into witches. Everything is great until they cast a spell that makes Liss’s boyfriend, Johnny, disappear. Having to deal with what they have done, they can’t be friends anymore and move on with their lives. A couple months later Liss figures out Johnny is just stuck in a magical place, she needs Dan and her new friend Alexa’s help to free him.
I mean that sounds super exciting and I love magic in books, I didn’t get any of that. This book literally went nowhere the entire time. I thought this book was going to focus mainly on the magic, but that didn’t happen. We follow Liss and Dan trying to mend their broken friendship, and we follow Alexa and Dan’s friendship and also their home lives. It was very dreary in parts and this book should have some trigger warnings for self-harm, suicidal thoughts, mental, and physical abuse. Another part that made me super cringey was the writing style, it felt very repetitive and childlike. The author uses the same words over and over again, it was to the point that I was skimming a lot of chapters. I just am drained from reading this book. I really wanted more magic and I wanted to know a lot more about this place that Johnny was being held. Even the ending was a letdown, there was no big reveal or twist. It was just kind of typical.
Please note that this is 100% my opinion and while I may not have liked this book, I know others will love it.
Also note, there is a talking cat named Domino and I did really like him.
August 30, 2021
Thank you so much for your interest in my book about sad chaos witch-girls!
This book deals with some heavy content and it might not be for everyone. Content warnings are posted at https://www.sashalaurens.com/content-...
This book deals with some heavy content and it might not be for everyone. Content warnings are posted at https://www.sashalaurens.com/content-...
July 27, 2020
Ever just read a book and go 🤔 ‘that wasn’t what I was expecting’ ... If you have then you and I have been on the same boat. Most recently I finished Sasha Lauren’s YA debut fantasy A WICKED MAGIC. The opening had a great hook to it and the author used detailed writing to build scenes in the beginning. I felt that as the novel went on, however, her orientation and organization of the story and some of the characters fell apart. There were good ideas started but not finished and an overall plot summary that would leave most readers feeling like the author left them hanging (when it came to the magic.)
August 9, 2020
3.5 Stars
*I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
TW: https://www.sashalaurens.com/content-...
This book deals with some incredibly heavy subject matter as shown by the content warnings, so it's hard to say that this was enjoyable per/se, but I found the story engaging. The characters are each dealing with their own trauma/mental health struggles and I appreciated how it was done.
The characters are definitely flawed and some people may have an issue with that because the characters don't have the healthiest of friendships. I found that this worked for me though because it meant I didn't choose sides or really like either one better than the other. Also I wanted to point out that Dan is Mexican-American and Alexa is a girl who likes girls.
The issue I had with the characters is that there are 3 main characters, and we get alternating perspectives from all 3, but it felt like there were really 2.25 main characters. Alexa's storyline felt so removed from Dan and Liss' for the majority of the book that it didn't feel cohesive and it felt like she was mostly there for plot convenience.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere and witchy "vibes" of the story. I thought the magic was interesting although not super well explained, but that was fine because this is more paranormal than fantasy in my opinion. The actual mystery/plot was interesting and engaging but the ending of that was pretty lackluster in my opinion. This is definitely a story that focuses on the characters. The actually writing also felt odd to me at times. There were just some passages that felt awkward to read.
Overall I enjoyed this story. If you want a detailed plot driven fantasy this isn't for you. But if you're okay with a very loose magic system and an exploration of trauma and messy friendships set against a witchy backdrop I'd say give it a shot.
*I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
TW: https://www.sashalaurens.com/content-...
This book deals with some incredibly heavy subject matter as shown by the content warnings, so it's hard to say that this was enjoyable per/se, but I found the story engaging. The characters are each dealing with their own trauma/mental health struggles and I appreciated how it was done.
The characters are definitely flawed and some people may have an issue with that because the characters don't have the healthiest of friendships. I found that this worked for me though because it meant I didn't choose sides or really like either one better than the other. Also I wanted to point out that Dan is Mexican-American and Alexa is a girl who likes girls.
The issue I had with the characters is that there are 3 main characters, and we get alternating perspectives from all 3, but it felt like there were really 2.25 main characters. Alexa's storyline felt so removed from Dan and Liss' for the majority of the book that it didn't feel cohesive and it felt like she was mostly there for plot convenience.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere and witchy "vibes" of the story. I thought the magic was interesting although not super well explained, but that was fine because this is more paranormal than fantasy in my opinion. The actual mystery/plot was interesting and engaging but the ending of that was pretty lackluster in my opinion. This is definitely a story that focuses on the characters. The actually writing also felt odd to me at times. There were just some passages that felt awkward to read.
Overall I enjoyed this story. If you want a detailed plot driven fantasy this isn't for you. But if you're okay with a very loose magic system and an exploration of trauma and messy friendships set against a witchy backdrop I'd say give it a shot.
March 23, 2021
Such a strange story.
Книга очень странная местами. На первых ее страницах и в середине я откровенно засыпала, даже отложила на некоторое время, чтобы переварить прочитанное и с новыми силами дочитать ее. Тема уже не нова, но интересна, но особого раскрытия злодея, мироустройства и магии я не увидела, к сожалению. Удивительно, но к концу книги автора решила добавить русского героя, да даже и без клюквы и с правильным написанием его инициалов, прям не верится. Ну и куда же без современных трендов на ЛГБТ, я конечно намеки на это подозревала, но совсем у другой пары. И мне лично показалось, что автор создала эту пару, чтобы никто не загнобил, в угоду моде. В аннотации говорились, что книга похожа на сериал «Сабрина – маленькая ведьма» и ее ремейк от Netflix, а также на фильм «Колдовство». С Сабриной сходство, да даже копирование есть в книге – говорящий кот, тоже черный!, а вот фильм я пыталась несколько лет назад посмотреть, но не зашел, поэтому не сравню вообще никак. Автор, конечно, еще затронула тему семьи и дружбы, но последнюю даже больше и лучше раскрыла. Ну а про мужских персонажей вообще мало что могу сказать, их по пальцам одной руки посчитать можно, тоже в угоду феминизму, но это, возможно, чисто мое мнение, но мальчиков в сюжет можно было бы и побольше добавить. В целом, история на один раз, и вряд ли найдет любви и популярности у читателей. Мне «Легкий как перышко» было в разы легче и интереснее читать, чем эту книгу. И я бы посоветовала автору или его редакторам немного еще над текстом поработать, а то, думаю, не я одна усну над книгой, как она выйдет в свет.
Книга очень странная местами. На первых ее страницах и в середине я откровенно засыпала, даже отложила на некоторое время, чтобы переварить прочитанное и с новыми силами дочитать ее. Тема уже не нова, но интересна, но особого раскрытия злодея, мироустройства и магии я не увидела, к сожалению. Удивительно, но к концу книги автора решила добавить русского героя, да даже и без клюквы и с правильным написанием его инициалов, прям не верится. Ну и куда же без современных трендов на ЛГБТ, я конечно намеки на это подозревала, но совсем у другой пары. И мне лично показалось, что автор создала эту пару, чтобы никто не загнобил, в угоду моде. В аннотации говорились, что книга похожа на сериал «Сабрина – маленькая ведьма» и ее ремейк от Netflix, а также на фильм «Колдовство». С Сабриной сходство, да даже копирование есть в книге – говорящий кот, тоже черный!, а вот фильм я пыталась несколько лет назад посмотреть, но не зашел, поэтому не сравню вообще никак. Автор, конечно, еще затронула тему семьи и дружбы, но последнюю даже больше и лучше раскрыла. Ну а про мужских персонажей вообще мало что могу сказать, их по пальцам одной руки посчитать можно, тоже в угоду феминизму, но это, возможно, чисто мое мнение, но мальчиков в сюжет можно было бы и побольше добавить. В целом, история на один раз, и вряд ли найдет любви и популярности у читателей. Мне «Легкий как перышко» было в разы легче и интереснее читать, чем эту книгу. И я бы посоветовала автору или его редакторам немного еще над текстом поработать, а то, думаю, не я одна усну над книгой, как она выйдет в свет.
September 26, 2021
All I can say atm is- ALELUJAH!!
Review coming soon.
edit 08/02/2021
⭐⭐⭐(3.8 stars)
Okay, so... Have you ever just read a book and go "umm that wasn't what I was expecting"? The opening was great, I actually felt goosebumps as we are introduced to the main characters: Liss and Dan. But then, after a few pages (like a 100 or more so), you're just waiting for something BIG to happen and are thinking of dnf-ing but then you read the synopsis again and it gets you hooked again and you pump up yourself and try to make excuses like "it will come", "this is just a slow pace of events, but it will be exciting", "maybe I'm supposed to be bored" and then THE BIG SCENE COMES and you're like wooow this is it, this is HUGE!! 🔥🔥
Aaaaand then it's done and you have a cute but meh end scene and TA DAAA- you read the book. 😶🙃
Sooooo yeah. I actually almost gaved it 4 stars just because I'm so happy I finally finished this book 🏁 but it actually deserves 3 stars.
I would still recommend it but don't expect anything like The Craft or CAOS like it says on the back of the book.
Review coming soon.
edit 08/02/2021
⭐⭐⭐(3.8 stars)
Okay, so... Have you ever just read a book and go "umm that wasn't what I was expecting"? The opening was great, I actually felt goosebumps as we are introduced to the main characters: Liss and Dan. But then, after a few pages (like a 100 or more so), you're just waiting for something BIG to happen and are thinking of dnf-ing but then you read the synopsis again and it gets you hooked again and you pump up yourself and try to make excuses like "it will come", "this is just a slow pace of events, but it will be exciting", "maybe I'm supposed to be bored" and then THE BIG SCENE COMES and you're like wooow this is it, this is HUGE!! 🔥🔥
Aaaaand then it's done and you have a cute but meh end scene and TA DAAA- you read the book. 😶🙃
Sooooo yeah. I actually almost gaved it 4 stars just because I'm so happy I finally finished this book 🏁 but it actually deserves 3 stars.
I would still recommend it but don't expect anything like The Craft or CAOS like it says on the back of the book.
October 6, 2020
Oh where to start. First of all, if you are going to read A Wicked Magic by Sasha Laurens, I would highly recommend going with the actual physical copy and not the audio. Although I loved the audiobook as far as the narrator went (Amy Dannenmueller), for some reason I found myself incredibly confused about who everyone was. I had an eGalley as well, but unfortunately I don't think it helped me as much as looking at a copy of the book would have. Maybe if I would have made a list of the characters in a notepad it wouldn't have been so confusing for me. That being said, if you wanted to try the audio I thought Dannenmueller did a great job and she was perfect for voicing this young adult novel. She was both easy to listen to, and very talented with her inflection.
A Wicked Magic had somewhat of a slow start, but once I started getting closer to the 50% mark it picked up and I was hooked all the way to the end. I loved the witchy aspects and the creepiness, and I would have loved to see more of both. I don't think this one lived up to the potential it could have had, but I would still call it a great October/fall read. I would also recommend this to the younger crowd as they might enjoy it a bit more having probably not read as many books as older readers have. I just really recommend having a physical copy and think that could be the thing that tips it over the edge from a like into a love.
Overall this was a very intriguing debut, and I really did love the subject matter. I have watched Sabrina but not The Craft so I can't speak to that, but I thought it was unique, a little gross, and very fun. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for future books from Laurens!
Thank you to the publisher for my advance review copy via NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
A Wicked Magic had somewhat of a slow start, but once I started getting closer to the 50% mark it picked up and I was hooked all the way to the end. I loved the witchy aspects and the creepiness, and I would have loved to see more of both. I don't think this one lived up to the potential it could have had, but I would still call it a great October/fall read. I would also recommend this to the younger crowd as they might enjoy it a bit more having probably not read as many books as older readers have. I just really recommend having a physical copy and think that could be the thing that tips it over the edge from a like into a love.
Overall this was a very intriguing debut, and I really did love the subject matter. I have watched Sabrina but not The Craft so I can't speak to that, but I thought it was unique, a little gross, and very fun. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for future books from Laurens!
Thank you to the publisher for my advance review copy via NetGalley. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
November 30, 2020
I was pretty underwhelmed with this book. It was fine, and the teenage friendships that were good were great. I felt like this book attempted to say something about difficult subjects, and while I did appreciate some of the way those subjects were wrapped up in the end, I didn't love how they were portrayed throughout the story. I also felt like the friendship between Liss and Dan wasn't worth saving so the entire interpersonal part of this story was just meh.
The magic was cool, although I also wish we had more of it and less of everything else. I would've liked to get to know the wardens better.
TRIGGER WARNINGS:
explicit self harm
suicidal ideation
depression
child abuse - emotional and physical
grief
death of a loved one
implicit child neglect
after-effects of trauma
The magic was cool, although I also wish we had more of it and less of everything else. I would've liked to get to know the wardens better.
TRIGGER WARNINGS:
explicit self harm
suicidal ideation
depression
child abuse - emotional and physical
grief
death of a loved one
implicit child neglect
after-effects of trauma
July 15, 2020
Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*
2.5/5 Stars
Dan and Liss discover a magical black book that makes them witches. They try to cast a spell to change their lives, but it goes wrong, causing Johnny, Liss's boyfriend to go missing. The girls friendship falls apart until they realize they need to work together, with the help of Dan's new friend Alexa, in order to bring Johnny back.
I was initially drawn to this book because of the cover and the promise of witches, but ultimately, I was disappointed with this one. This book definitely needs trigger warnings for A LOT of things such as: cutting, suicide ideation, depression, underage relationships between multiple younger girls and an older male and physical and mental abuse. I enjoyed the story in the beginning, but after awhile it became very repetitive and it felt like the story was just going in circles without actually moving forward in anyway. I also was a bit disappointed in the ending, it was extremely anticlimactic for the amount of build up there was for it. It seemed like the characters just kind of stumbled upon how to defeat the "bad guy" rather than actually having a definitive plan. I also was not a fan of the friendship between Dan and Liss, it was extremely toxic and I just wanted to keep them away from one another through out the entire story. The only character I actually liked was Alexa, she grew a lot as the story progressed and I wish there had been more of a focus on her and her story, rather than the other two.
Overall, it was alright, but nothing special in anyway.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*
2.5/5 Stars
Dan and Liss discover a magical black book that makes them witches. They try to cast a spell to change their lives, but it goes wrong, causing Johnny, Liss's boyfriend to go missing. The girls friendship falls apart until they realize they need to work together, with the help of Dan's new friend Alexa, in order to bring Johnny back.
I was initially drawn to this book because of the cover and the promise of witches, but ultimately, I was disappointed with this one. This book definitely needs trigger warnings for A LOT of things such as: cutting, suicide ideation, depression, underage relationships between multiple younger girls and an older male and physical and mental abuse. I enjoyed the story in the beginning, but after awhile it became very repetitive and it felt like the story was just going in circles without actually moving forward in anyway. I also was a bit disappointed in the ending, it was extremely anticlimactic for the amount of build up there was for it. It seemed like the characters just kind of stumbled upon how to defeat the "bad guy" rather than actually having a definitive plan. I also was not a fan of the friendship between Dan and Liss, it was extremely toxic and I just wanted to keep them away from one another through out the entire story. The only character I actually liked was Alexa, she grew a lot as the story progressed and I wish there had been more of a focus on her and her story, rather than the other two.
Overall, it was alright, but nothing special in anyway.
July 29, 2020
The cover, the title and the Blurb was great than the story. I was so intrigued by seeing the synopsis about witches and magic. But nothing more happened than what is in the synopsis. Not much impressed with the writing style.
The story mainly focuses on teen drama and it revolves around three friends. Liss and Dan were best friends. Liss was more obsessed with the magical book and couldn't even bother to know what was happening in Dan's life. She was such a self-obsessed, toxic character I have ever come across. I don't like any characters except Alexa who was more caring towards Dan. I felt like Dan didn't give much importance to Alexa who was there for her when she has no one else.
The plot was really good and different but it wasn't execute well. There was this "ancient creature" the girls were talking about throughout the book. Finally, when it arrived, it was not as frightening as it would have to be. I don't know where the girls summoned the power to resist his manipulation because they were not portrayed as strong characters save for Liss.
The story was moving so slow at the beginning and it got interesting after crossing 3/4 of it. It was starting to make sense but the climax fight ruined it all. The only reason that kept me to continue the book was Alexa. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
The story mainly focuses on teen drama and it revolves around three friends. Liss and Dan were best friends. Liss was more obsessed with the magical book and couldn't even bother to know what was happening in Dan's life. She was such a self-obsessed, toxic character I have ever come across. I don't like any characters except Alexa who was more caring towards Dan. I felt like Dan didn't give much importance to Alexa who was there for her when she has no one else.
The plot was really good and different but it wasn't execute well. There was this "ancient creature" the girls were talking about throughout the book. Finally, when it arrived, it was not as frightening as it would have to be. I don't know where the girls summoned the power to resist his manipulation because they were not portrayed as strong characters save for Liss.
The story was moving so slow at the beginning and it got interesting after crossing 3/4 of it. It was starting to make sense but the climax fight ruined it all. The only reason that kept me to continue the book was Alexa. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
Want to read
July 22, 2020Hello everyone, just sharing that you can get to know the characters more of A Wicked Magic HEREin my Author Takeover with Sasha and we're giving away a copy too! Open INTERNATIONALLY!
dnf
June 28, 2020i'm going to dnf this one at around 30%, because I honestly don't think me and this book are quite hitting it off :(
a huge thank you to the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
a huge thank you to the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
October 16, 2025
Beautiful cover but the story was a bit underwhelming. Lissa is a HORRIBLE character! She's so toxic and mean to Dan and Alexa. Her pov made me want to scream. Dan wasnt any better in the character department. She wasn't a push over but she wasnt a great friend either. The only character thats amazing and I actually liked was Alexa. I love her voice and she was the only normal decent one out of the bunch. She has great backstory and a voice that should have been the only one. I was debating on my rating, but for Alexa and the cover, 3 stars is where I settled. It isn't a great book with great plotting but there were some good moments.
June 21, 2020
First of all: Trigger Warnings include self harm, depression, and anxiety. There's also a cult, parental abandonment, suicidal thoughts, death of a loved one, and kidnapping. This book also has some pretty heavy stuff going on like a high school girl dating a homeless guy twice her age. So avoid this book if those will bug you.
2.5/5 stars
Thank you to the publisher for the early copy via netgalley.
I read to escape reality as I am a Veterinary Technician and deal with a ton of heavy stuff in my daily life. I was incredibly intrigued by the magic and the fantastical parts to this book. BUT this was a book that's more about the journey so we read a ton about Dan's depression, Liss' compulsive behaviors, Alexa's self doubt, and etc. I had a hard time getting completely into this story and actually dreaded some if these moments. They were very important to the character growth and the ending though, I just wish they were farther apart and not as long. And I wish we got a bit more magic and maybe more tales about Kasyan.
I feel like we had a ton of build up for our "Big Bads" in this book and I was expecting like 20% of the book to be battling them and trying to outsmart them. In the end it felt more like 5% was an anti-climactic battle where our protagonists just accidentally stumbled on the answer. Despite the heavy themes to this book if that final battle were a bit harder and a bit more epic I'd probably have given this book 4 stars. But we learned far more about Dan's obsession with the IronWeaks and the singer of it and her selling pottery the day the final battle went down than we did about the Antagonist.
2.5/5 stars
Thank you to the publisher for the early copy via netgalley.
I read to escape reality as I am a Veterinary Technician and deal with a ton of heavy stuff in my daily life. I was incredibly intrigued by the magic and the fantastical parts to this book. BUT this was a book that's more about the journey so we read a ton about Dan's depression, Liss' compulsive behaviors, Alexa's self doubt, and etc. I had a hard time getting completely into this story and actually dreaded some if these moments. They were very important to the character growth and the ending though, I just wish they were farther apart and not as long. And I wish we got a bit more magic and maybe more tales about Kasyan.
I feel like we had a ton of build up for our "Big Bads" in this book and I was expecting like 20% of the book to be battling them and trying to outsmart them. In the end it felt more like 5% was an anti-climactic battle where our protagonists just accidentally stumbled on the answer. Despite the heavy themes to this book if that final battle were a bit harder and a bit more epic I'd probably have given this book 4 stars. But we learned far more about Dan's obsession with the IronWeaks and the singer of it and her selling pottery the day the final battle went down than we did about the Antagonist.
July 25, 2020
I’m so freaking hyped about this title! It’ll better be good :O
September 11, 2020
I'm having a bad run of books this month. This one didn't hit the places I expected to. It felt like a watered-down version of Sawkill Girls without the tension. I felt like I was reading a dragon book without seeing the dragong for 300 pages and then having him make a brief appearance at the very end. Sigh.
June 29, 2020
3 1/2 stars
RTC
RTC
October 26, 2020
Not as great as I hoped most of the story was WAY to slow and most of the magic after the first spell was just dumb luck.
July 2, 2021
Trigger Warnings Self Harm, Cults, Body decay
This was a very fun read. I love books about witches and this one delivered everything I love about them. We have close friendships, loads of magic, familiars and a supernatural villain, sign me up!
It was initially a cover buy and I was pleased to find that it had singular characters and a well planned story. From the beginning there seemed to be two main plotlines that eventually aligned in a very satisfactory ending. Nothing felt rushed and all the loose ends were tied and coherent.
This was a very fun read. I love books about witches and this one delivered everything I love about them. We have close friendships, loads of magic, familiars and a supernatural villain, sign me up!
It was initially a cover buy and I was pleased to find that it had singular characters and a well planned story. From the beginning there seemed to be two main plotlines that eventually aligned in a very satisfactory ending. Nothing felt rushed and all the loose ends were tied and coherent.
July 13, 2020
Rating: 1/5 🌟
Author: Sasha Laurens
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: 7/28/2020
_________________________________
I want to start by saying thank you to Razorbill/Penguin for a review copy of A Wicked Magic.
________________________________
*This review will contain spoilers*
________________________________
This book has so many issues. I tried to be open minded since it is her debut novel. While I was able to trudge through the subpar writing , and cringe worthy scenes, I was not able to over look other issues. While I know that the subject of trigger warnings are debatable, I feel they are very important and AWM could have benefited from them. TWs include: Suicidal ideation, suicide, self harm, abuse physical/mental, inappropriate relationship teenage female/ 30ish old male, parental figure death, and parental abandonment . In addition to the above TWings there is also possible sexual harassment. While it did not show Dan (teenage female) be harassed it is implied. The scene happens when they are at the beach around a campfire with older men. Liss (also teenage female) entices one of the men. He begins to touch her bare thigh and kiss her. Dan ask to leave and is standing away from the fire looking uncomfortable. The other men are saying things like “I thought you wanted to have a good time? What’s the problem” “ (redacted) is getting action”. A older female (who is part of the group) comes up and breaks things up. I don’t wanna know what would of happened if she didn’t. Speaking of Liss she is such a toxic person/friend. She treats Dan horribly throughout the book. She and doesn’t understand why her friend is upset with her , or is having issues. Liss thinks she did no wrong and doesn’t need to apologize. I seriously wanted to put her in her place. Dan isn’t the best of friends either. When Liss shows back up in her life she practically abandons Alexa, her new best friend. Alexa is the only thing that made this book worth sticking to the end. She was probably the only well rounded character in the entire book. That being said she did keep a “living” corpse (her aunt/guardian) in the house because she was in denial that she was dead. When her aunt was dying she was begging her not to die/ leave her. The enemy who grants wishes and twisted them, stopped her from fully dying. (How he did this while being imprisoned was never fully explained). On top of all of this the writing was cringe worthy. For example she would use the characters names multiple times in the same paragraph for example “Dan ran down the road at top speed. Dan turned the corner and ran into Johnny. She was startled , Dan collided with Johnny” (this is not from the book this is just an example) it was like the author didn’t know it was okay to say : “ Dan ran down the road at top speed. She turned the corner and ran into Johnny. She was startled , and collided with Johnny”. It was almost like she didn’t want us to forget the focus on the chapter was on Dan. I have DNFed books for the above reason. I stuck with this one because I was invested in Alexa’s story and wanted to know how it ended. However that was almost not enough. There were multiple times I almost DNFed. One being when Liss threw her self again at (redacted) but this time they were by themselves and he did engage but he stopped his advances this time. However it is implied the only reason he stopped was because Liss was crying (due to earlier events where her mother slapped her across the face multiple times after being verbally abusive) he said something along the lines of “crying kinda kills the boner”. Which implies he would have had sex with her if she wasn’t crying. He was already in a relationship with a teenager from Liss’ school but she has gone missing, so clearly he doesn’t care about the massive age difference. I think the premise of the book was awesome , however it was poorly executed.
All in all I do not recommend this book. I will not be buying a finished copy for myself or my friends. I wish the author all the best and that she has a successful career.
Author: Sasha Laurens
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: 7/28/2020
_________________________________
I want to start by saying thank you to Razorbill/Penguin for a review copy of A Wicked Magic.
________________________________
*This review will contain spoilers*
________________________________
This book has so many issues. I tried to be open minded since it is her debut novel. While I was able to trudge through the subpar writing , and cringe worthy scenes, I was not able to over look other issues. While I know that the subject of trigger warnings are debatable, I feel they are very important and AWM could have benefited from them. TWs include: Suicidal ideation, suicide, self harm, abuse physical/mental, inappropriate relationship teenage female/ 30ish old male, parental figure death, and parental abandonment . In addition to the above TWings there is also possible sexual harassment. While it did not show Dan (teenage female) be harassed it is implied. The scene happens when they are at the beach around a campfire with older men. Liss (also teenage female) entices one of the men. He begins to touch her bare thigh and kiss her. Dan ask to leave and is standing away from the fire looking uncomfortable. The other men are saying things like “I thought you wanted to have a good time? What’s the problem” “ (redacted) is getting action”. A older female (who is part of the group) comes up and breaks things up. I don’t wanna know what would of happened if she didn’t. Speaking of Liss she is such a toxic person/friend. She treats Dan horribly throughout the book. She and doesn’t understand why her friend is upset with her , or is having issues. Liss thinks she did no wrong and doesn’t need to apologize. I seriously wanted to put her in her place. Dan isn’t the best of friends either. When Liss shows back up in her life she practically abandons Alexa, her new best friend. Alexa is the only thing that made this book worth sticking to the end. She was probably the only well rounded character in the entire book. That being said she did keep a “living” corpse (her aunt/guardian) in the house because she was in denial that she was dead. When her aunt was dying she was begging her not to die/ leave her. The enemy who grants wishes and twisted them, stopped her from fully dying. (How he did this while being imprisoned was never fully explained). On top of all of this the writing was cringe worthy. For example she would use the characters names multiple times in the same paragraph for example “Dan ran down the road at top speed. Dan turned the corner and ran into Johnny. She was startled , Dan collided with Johnny” (this is not from the book this is just an example) it was like the author didn’t know it was okay to say : “ Dan ran down the road at top speed. She turned the corner and ran into Johnny. She was startled , and collided with Johnny”. It was almost like she didn’t want us to forget the focus on the chapter was on Dan. I have DNFed books for the above reason. I stuck with this one because I was invested in Alexa’s story and wanted to know how it ended. However that was almost not enough. There were multiple times I almost DNFed. One being when Liss threw her self again at (redacted) but this time they were by themselves and he did engage but he stopped his advances this time. However it is implied the only reason he stopped was because Liss was crying (due to earlier events where her mother slapped her across the face multiple times after being verbally abusive) he said something along the lines of “crying kinda kills the boner”. Which implies he would have had sex with her if she wasn’t crying. He was already in a relationship with a teenager from Liss’ school but she has gone missing, so clearly he doesn’t care about the massive age difference. I think the premise of the book was awesome , however it was poorly executed.
All in all I do not recommend this book. I will not be buying a finished copy for myself or my friends. I wish the author all the best and that she has a successful career.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2022
A fantasy horror novel with a happy ending that should remind us all of the dangers of magic, or in general of doing things that you don't really understand.
Told from the perspective of three young witches, two self-made using a Black Book and one who's just inherited her powers, this novel explores themes of friendship, moral responsibility for mistakes, jealousy, mental health issues, forgiveness, and different kinds of love.
Oh, and also what happens if you accidentally perform a spell with three people at a crossroads on leap day and I've of you gets kidnapped by a demon.
And plus there's a familiar who's a black cat: bonus!
A fun read though perhaps not the deepest reflection on witchcraft in the universe.
FYI representation of OCD.
TW mention of suicide, description of self-harm, domestic violence.
LGBTQ2A+ main character.
Told from the perspective of three young witches, two self-made using a Black Book and one who's just inherited her powers, this novel explores themes of friendship, moral responsibility for mistakes, jealousy, mental health issues, forgiveness, and different kinds of love.
Oh, and also what happens if you accidentally perform a spell with three people at a crossroads on leap day and I've of you gets kidnapped by a demon.
And plus there's a familiar who's a black cat: bonus!
A fun read though perhaps not the deepest reflection on witchcraft in the universe.
FYI representation of OCD.
TW mention of suicide, description of self-harm, domestic violence.
LGBTQ2A+ main character.
December 29, 2019
Bruh.
I finished this book but even after, I'm still not sure if I really liked it. Things I appreciated tied together with things that annoyed me. A breakdown:
Dan and Liss are two high school best friends who find a magic book that has a spell for turning them into witches (of course, they cast that spell and it is successful). Eventually, something (several somethings) goes horribly wrong and their friendship breaks apart. The book then picks it up senior year of high school, with the two characters dealing with their magic and the fallout from their friendship in their own way. Eventually, of course, they are brought back together to try and fix their mistakes and hopefully, their friendship. Of course, some other magical nonsense might get in the way.
Some things I liked: the cover! big fan. The author was great at creating this atmosphere, which had creepy, Northwest, weird hokey small town vibes. I also thought the three main characters (Dan, Liss, and Dan's friend Alexa) had their own distinct journeys to go on throughout the story and each felt fully fleshed out and complex in a way that can sometimes be missing from YA (though this book gets off to a rough start because the characters can come off as a bit annoying; once you dive in more it starts to make sense). The three characters and the way their relationships to one another changed over time, I thought was very well down. Also, this book dealt with some surprisingly dark topics, though some things never felt fully fleshed out, like some issues with a character's parents. I though this book was good at showcasing both the healthy and unhealthy ways people deal with trauma, and how their relationships to each other can change because of that.
Some things I didn't like: the villain was lame. Sorry. And the final battle was also, meh. I'm not sure I can put into words why I didn't like it, but I think the author was trying to show how much they had progressed since the beginning of the story but it didn't necessarily work for me. The pacing in this book can also be a little off, especially at the beginning. I respect that the author wanted to set things up as quickly as possible so we could dive right in but DAMN. Anyway, the story ends up being told in flashbacks that occasionally made me want to roll my eyes with the teenage drama (but it is a book for teens so that is the price I pay, but, again, the relationships were so complex that the reasoning behind their fractured friendship felt cheap).
Also, the world's biggest disappointment was the potential for this book to be much queerer then it actually was (though that may just be my reading of, I will be interested to here what other reviewers say about how they read the book/the character's journey). I will keep this vague to avoid spoilers but I thought one character was being written to possibly realize they were queer in some way, but nothing ever came of it except some self-love (which is still also good for this character's journey). Because of this, I was semi-disappointed by the ending. In the end, it really is about strong friendships which, again, is good but just wasn't what I was expecting.
Also, this whole book in general just felt kind of distant. I think there was something small missing from this book, but it was enough to throw me off. Like some books have a lot of heart while this book was just kind of chilly, if that makes sense. It had a lot of other good things going for it but that one last spark just wasn't there for me.
Still, if you can get invested in this book I think it is worth the read, just so we can talk about whether or not you thought this book was going to be queerer then it actually was!
I finished this book but even after, I'm still not sure if I really liked it. Things I appreciated tied together with things that annoyed me. A breakdown:
Dan and Liss are two high school best friends who find a magic book that has a spell for turning them into witches (of course, they cast that spell and it is successful). Eventually, something (several somethings) goes horribly wrong and their friendship breaks apart. The book then picks it up senior year of high school, with the two characters dealing with their magic and the fallout from their friendship in their own way. Eventually, of course, they are brought back together to try and fix their mistakes and hopefully, their friendship. Of course, some other magical nonsense might get in the way.
Some things I liked: the cover! big fan. The author was great at creating this atmosphere, which had creepy, Northwest, weird hokey small town vibes. I also thought the three main characters (Dan, Liss, and Dan's friend Alexa) had their own distinct journeys to go on throughout the story and each felt fully fleshed out and complex in a way that can sometimes be missing from YA (though this book gets off to a rough start because the characters can come off as a bit annoying; once you dive in more it starts to make sense). The three characters and the way their relationships to one another changed over time, I thought was very well down. Also, this book dealt with some surprisingly dark topics, though some things never felt fully fleshed out, like some issues with a character's parents. I though this book was good at showcasing both the healthy and unhealthy ways people deal with trauma, and how their relationships to each other can change because of that.
Some things I didn't like: the villain was lame. Sorry. And the final battle was also, meh. I'm not sure I can put into words why I didn't like it, but I think the author was trying to show how much they had progressed since the beginning of the story but it didn't necessarily work for me. The pacing in this book can also be a little off, especially at the beginning. I respect that the author wanted to set things up as quickly as possible so we could dive right in but DAMN. Anyway, the story ends up being told in flashbacks that occasionally made me want to roll my eyes with the teenage drama (but it is a book for teens so that is the price I pay, but, again, the relationships were so complex that the reasoning behind their fractured friendship felt cheap).
Also, the world's biggest disappointment was the potential for this book to be much queerer then it actually was (though that may just be my reading of, I will be interested to here what other reviewers say about how they read the book/the character's journey). I will keep this vague to avoid spoilers but I thought one character was being written to possibly realize they were queer in some way, but nothing ever came of it except some self-love (which is still also good for this character's journey). Because of this, I was semi-disappointed by the ending. In the end, it really is about strong friendships which, again, is good but just wasn't what I was expecting.
Also, this whole book in general just felt kind of distant. I think there was something small missing from this book, but it was enough to throw me off. Like some books have a lot of heart while this book was just kind of chilly, if that makes sense. It had a lot of other good things going for it but that one last spark just wasn't there for me.
Still, if you can get invested in this book I think it is worth the read, just so we can talk about whether or not you thought this book was going to be queerer then it actually was!
June 30, 2020
A WICKED MAGIC is a mind bender of a book. After I finished it, I found myself going back to the characters and their dilemmas and wondering what's next for them--always a good sign that a story has done its job.
Books about witches are usually about power—power that intoxicates, power that tests the mettle of the characters, and power that poses interesting questions about the human potential for good and evil. But this book is also a book about girl relationships. Flawed characters like Liss, Dan, and Alexa are such excellent vehicles for a witchy story. Secrets, hidden guilt, past transgressions—A WICKED MAGIC has it all. Also, it was refreshing to see mental health issues drawn with complexity, rather than the mental health issues being thrown in as a decoration.
In addition to interesting human characters, you also have setting as character, which is one of my all time favorite elements of story. The author’s descriptions of the Northern California coast are just mesmerizing, and her caves at low tide really creeped me out. If you love a dramatic setting that underlines the witch nature of the story, you have to read A WICKED MAGIC.
Books about witches are usually about power—power that intoxicates, power that tests the mettle of the characters, and power that poses interesting questions about the human potential for good and evil. But this book is also a book about girl relationships. Flawed characters like Liss, Dan, and Alexa are such excellent vehicles for a witchy story. Secrets, hidden guilt, past transgressions—A WICKED MAGIC has it all. Also, it was refreshing to see mental health issues drawn with complexity, rather than the mental health issues being thrown in as a decoration.
In addition to interesting human characters, you also have setting as character, which is one of my all time favorite elements of story. The author’s descriptions of the Northern California coast are just mesmerizing, and her caves at low tide really creeped me out. If you love a dramatic setting that underlines the witch nature of the story, you have to read A WICKED MAGIC.
September 8, 2022
It’s not hard to add in a trigger warnings page. Whether it’s in the back or front. For people who don’t want to read them they can literally just skip over the content warning page. This book could have definitely used a content warning page. So if you’re about to dive in please look that up!
Also this book was just very toxic. With the relationships written and with how one felt how another friend should feel towards them. Just very toxic. I was so disappointed in this book, and was a bit disgusted. I normally don’t give 1 star reviews but this book didn’t deserved anything higher.
Also this book was just very toxic. With the relationships written and with how one felt how another friend should feel towards them. Just very toxic. I was so disappointed in this book, and was a bit disgusted. I normally don’t give 1 star reviews but this book didn’t deserved anything higher.
May 14, 2023
this book should have a full page of trigger warnings bc oh my god.
July 29, 2020
“Magic gave you gifts, but it took from you too, and although it had seemed fantastic and fun when she and Liss first tasted that world, they had learned better.”
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
With my favorite character being Dan, Daniela, a young Mexican girl with depression and a love of rock music; I’d say yeah this book was kinda hard to relate to. Nope nothing to relate to here…
Okay, but seriously I never read a book with my name in it when I was a teenager so this was kind of huge for me. Especially in a book so surprisingly dark and full of magic, it’s lowkey a dream- so just be happy for me. In any case, Dan is my favorite, but that’s not to say that other characters didn’t grab my attention.
Liss was this character that I kept going back and forth on before deciding that nope! I don’t like her, then changing my mind again. I felt for her, but then she would say something super toxic or just selfish. She’s definitely a character that’s meant to grate on you though. Honestly, they all are written to be flawed in their own ways. But it was really interesting to read through the shattered pieces of Liss and Dan’s friendship. It’s this really broken dynamic that you can’t decide whether if it’s better that way or not.
Alexis was also a character I went back and forth on. I wanted so badly for Liss and Dan to be friends again and I didn’t always trust Alexis at first. But she quickly became one of the most interesting characters in the book. Together, the three of them made a pretty messy, but awesome witch gang. And Domino was incredibly entertaining.
Speaking of Alexis, dang this book can get pretty scary. I guess I was expecting this book to be more of a cutesy magical quirky fun times. Nope! This book had me quaking at times. I know I’m just a big scaredy cat, but I had to actually turn on the lights to read this book. When it said a “wicked magic” she meant it! Part of it is the descriptions of the setting. Northern California isn’t exactly my definition of scary, but the writing in this book is so atmospheric and it just pulls you in. The book is so frank with the reader at times and tragically vague at others. It really pins down ordinary, but unsettling things and capitalizes on them. It just makes things uncertain and creepy. I will officially never go jogging at night because I’m officially scared of pavement.
Also, this book gets very dark in it’s subject matter as well. I got BIG triggered in this book, which I don’t consider that big of a deal, but I will be adding some Trigger Warnings at the bottom for those of y’all who may need them. Don’t get caught slipping like me, lol. But this book just goes places that are very true to the experience of so many teens and are just as disquieting as the magical horrors at play.
I’ll also say that this book had a super slow start for me, but really picked up about half-way through and became very interesting after that. Basically, as soon as people start actually communicating with each other, lol. The plot really starts to roll itself out.
TL;DR: Part teen horror and part girl gang adventure, this book frights and excites and frights some more. The characters are messy and complex, plus the magic just makes things worse, and in the end- isn’t the real magic the friends we made along the way?
Trigger Warnings (take care lovelies): mentions of domestic abuse, sexual harassment against teen girls, self-harm, depression.
E-galley provided by the author, Penguin Group, and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All quotations and opinions are based off an uncorrected proof.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
With my favorite character being Dan, Daniela, a young Mexican girl with depression and a love of rock music; I’d say yeah this book was kinda hard to relate to. Nope nothing to relate to here…
Okay, but seriously I never read a book with my name in it when I was a teenager so this was kind of huge for me. Especially in a book so surprisingly dark and full of magic, it’s lowkey a dream- so just be happy for me. In any case, Dan is my favorite, but that’s not to say that other characters didn’t grab my attention.
Liss was this character that I kept going back and forth on before deciding that nope! I don’t like her, then changing my mind again. I felt for her, but then she would say something super toxic or just selfish. She’s definitely a character that’s meant to grate on you though. Honestly, they all are written to be flawed in their own ways. But it was really interesting to read through the shattered pieces of Liss and Dan’s friendship. It’s this really broken dynamic that you can’t decide whether if it’s better that way or not.
Alexis was also a character I went back and forth on. I wanted so badly for Liss and Dan to be friends again and I didn’t always trust Alexis at first. But she quickly became one of the most interesting characters in the book. Together, the three of them made a pretty messy, but awesome witch gang. And Domino was incredibly entertaining.
Speaking of Alexis, dang this book can get pretty scary. I guess I was expecting this book to be more of a cutesy magical quirky fun times. Nope! This book had me quaking at times. I know I’m just a big scaredy cat, but I had to actually turn on the lights to read this book. When it said a “wicked magic” she meant it! Part of it is the descriptions of the setting. Northern California isn’t exactly my definition of scary, but the writing in this book is so atmospheric and it just pulls you in. The book is so frank with the reader at times and tragically vague at others. It really pins down ordinary, but unsettling things and capitalizes on them. It just makes things uncertain and creepy. I will officially never go jogging at night because I’m officially scared of pavement.
Also, this book gets very dark in it’s subject matter as well. I got BIG triggered in this book, which I don’t consider that big of a deal, but I will be adding some Trigger Warnings at the bottom for those of y’all who may need them. Don’t get caught slipping like me, lol. But this book just goes places that are very true to the experience of so many teens and are just as disquieting as the magical horrors at play.
I’ll also say that this book had a super slow start for me, but really picked up about half-way through and became very interesting after that. Basically, as soon as people start actually communicating with each other, lol. The plot really starts to roll itself out.
TL;DR: Part teen horror and part girl gang adventure, this book frights and excites and frights some more. The characters are messy and complex, plus the magic just makes things worse, and in the end- isn’t the real magic the friends we made along the way?
Trigger Warnings (take care lovelies): mentions of domestic abuse, sexual harassment against teen girls, self-harm, depression.
E-galley provided by the author, Penguin Group, and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All quotations and opinions are based off an uncorrected proof.
July 24, 2020
I received A Wicked Magic by Sasha Laurens for free by the author and the publisher Razorbill in exchange for an honest review. It will be published on the 28th July 2020!
Content/Trigger Warnings: self harm/ anxiety / depression / drug use / brief mention of a relationship between a 17 year old & 31 year old.
In A Wicked Magic by Sasha Laurens we join our protagonists, Dan & Liss, as they find a book of magic and find a spell that will turn them into witches. However, they soon realise that magic comes with a steep price when a spell goes awry and Liss' boyfriend gets taken by a horrific creature they accidentally conjured. The police have given up the case believing him to just be another runaway, but when more kids start going mysteriously missing, the girls know that they are the only ones who'll be able to save them.
I thought this was a really intriguing concept and I can definitely see why it's been likened to the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina! It's a dark fantasy involving witches that doesn't shy away from heavy and important subjects. Another amazing show that this book reminded me of was Charmed and I absolutely loved that. Three young amateur witches who get their spells from a special book and go on magical adventures..right!
Dan and Liss are practically two halves of a whole - the best of friends until the spell that goes wrong. Now they're not speaking, Dan has sworn off of magic whereas Liss craves magic like a drug.
Dan is the more anxious one of the two and the guilt from what happened is weighing heavy on her shoulders. She's got a new best friend, Alexa, and she wants to keep her as far away from the magic world as possible - in fact she wants to forget that magic exists entirely but this will prove harder than it looks. Whereas Liss is determined to do everything in her power to get her boyfriend back. She's strategic, self obsessed and always has a plan for every situation but under the surface we see that there is also so much more to her. Neither of these girls have had an easy life and I really liked that the book showcased that they are young and flawed, they're nowhere near perfect, they're genuine teenage girls.
The magic system throughout the book was unique and enjoyable. There are very interesting differences between the types of witches in the book. For example, Dan & Liss are 'naive witches' as they performed a spell to give them magic rather than inheriting and practising magic like the 'wardens'.
The story has a medium pace and is an easy read, I got halfway through without realising! Plus I really enjoyed the feminist themes, women empowerment and theme of friendship showcased throughout the book!
It is a great story for older teens and YA readers. A story of friendship, fixing what's broken and takes the idiom "be careful what you wish for" to the next level!
Content/Trigger Warnings: self harm/ anxiety / depression / drug use / brief mention of a relationship between a 17 year old & 31 year old.
In A Wicked Magic by Sasha Laurens we join our protagonists, Dan & Liss, as they find a book of magic and find a spell that will turn them into witches. However, they soon realise that magic comes with a steep price when a spell goes awry and Liss' boyfriend gets taken by a horrific creature they accidentally conjured. The police have given up the case believing him to just be another runaway, but when more kids start going mysteriously missing, the girls know that they are the only ones who'll be able to save them.
I thought this was a really intriguing concept and I can definitely see why it's been likened to the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina! It's a dark fantasy involving witches that doesn't shy away from heavy and important subjects. Another amazing show that this book reminded me of was Charmed and I absolutely loved that. Three young amateur witches who get their spells from a special book and go on magical adventures..right!
Dan and Liss are practically two halves of a whole - the best of friends until the spell that goes wrong. Now they're not speaking, Dan has sworn off of magic whereas Liss craves magic like a drug.
Dan is the more anxious one of the two and the guilt from what happened is weighing heavy on her shoulders. She's got a new best friend, Alexa, and she wants to keep her as far away from the magic world as possible - in fact she wants to forget that magic exists entirely but this will prove harder than it looks. Whereas Liss is determined to do everything in her power to get her boyfriend back. She's strategic, self obsessed and always has a plan for every situation but under the surface we see that there is also so much more to her. Neither of these girls have had an easy life and I really liked that the book showcased that they are young and flawed, they're nowhere near perfect, they're genuine teenage girls.
The magic system throughout the book was unique and enjoyable. There are very interesting differences between the types of witches in the book. For example, Dan & Liss are 'naive witches' as they performed a spell to give them magic rather than inheriting and practising magic like the 'wardens'.
The story has a medium pace and is an easy read, I got halfway through without realising! Plus I really enjoyed the feminist themes, women empowerment and theme of friendship showcased throughout the book!
It is a great story for older teens and YA readers. A story of friendship, fixing what's broken and takes the idiom "be careful what you wish for" to the next level!
July 21, 2020
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: A Wicked Magic
Author: Sasha Laurens
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3/5
Recommended For...: fantasy, ya, magic
Publication Date: July 28, 2020
Genre: YA Fantasy
Recommended Age: 16+ (slight romance, violence, death, slight gore)
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 368
Synopsis: Dan and Liss are witches. The Black Book granted them that power. Harnessing that power feels good, especially when everything in their lives makes them feel powerless.
During a spell gone wrong, Liss's boyfriend is snatched away by an evil entity and presumed dead. Dan and Liss's friendship dies that night, too. How can they practice magic after the darkness that they conjured?
Months later, Liss discovers that her boyfriend is alive, trapped underground in the grips of an ancient force. She must save him, and she needs Dan and the power of The Black Book to do so. Dan is quickly sucked back into Liss's orbit and pushes away her best friend, Alexa. But Alexa has some big secrets she's hiding and her own unique magical disaster to deal with.
When another teenager disappears, the girls know it's no coincidence. What greedy magic have they awakened? And what does it want with these teens it has stolen?
Set in the atmospheric wilds of California's northern coast, Sasha Laurens's thrilling debut novel is about the complications of friendship, how to take back power, and how to embrace the darkness that lives within us all.
Review: Overall, this is a good book. The book had a lot of good character development and the world building was well done. The book was also wrote with a good atmosphere. The book had this creepy vibe throughout it and I think it fit well for the story. The book also had a decent plot.
However, I didn’t like the switching POVs and I think the book would have been better with just one. I think the ending battle was weirdly wrote and it bored me a bit. The pacing of this book is super slow. Also, I got super mad at this book because there is a character who is, in my mind, queer but the author doesn’t write them that way. The book felt weird and I didn’t connect with it at all.
Verdict: It was good, just not for me.
Book: A Wicked Magic
Author: Sasha Laurens
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3/5
Recommended For...: fantasy, ya, magic
Publication Date: July 28, 2020
Genre: YA Fantasy
Recommended Age: 16+ (slight romance, violence, death, slight gore)
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 368
Synopsis: Dan and Liss are witches. The Black Book granted them that power. Harnessing that power feels good, especially when everything in their lives makes them feel powerless.
During a spell gone wrong, Liss's boyfriend is snatched away by an evil entity and presumed dead. Dan and Liss's friendship dies that night, too. How can they practice magic after the darkness that they conjured?
Months later, Liss discovers that her boyfriend is alive, trapped underground in the grips of an ancient force. She must save him, and she needs Dan and the power of The Black Book to do so. Dan is quickly sucked back into Liss's orbit and pushes away her best friend, Alexa. But Alexa has some big secrets she's hiding and her own unique magical disaster to deal with.
When another teenager disappears, the girls know it's no coincidence. What greedy magic have they awakened? And what does it want with these teens it has stolen?
Set in the atmospheric wilds of California's northern coast, Sasha Laurens's thrilling debut novel is about the complications of friendship, how to take back power, and how to embrace the darkness that lives within us all.
Review: Overall, this is a good book. The book had a lot of good character development and the world building was well done. The book was also wrote with a good atmosphere. The book had this creepy vibe throughout it and I think it fit well for the story. The book also had a decent plot.
However, I didn’t like the switching POVs and I think the book would have been better with just one. I think the ending battle was weirdly wrote and it bored me a bit. The pacing of this book is super slow. Also, I got super mad at this book because there is a character who is, in my mind, queer but the author doesn’t write them that way. The book felt weird and I didn’t connect with it at all.
Verdict: It was good, just not for me.
July 27, 2020
A Wicked Magic is a story of two best friends who find a mysterious book containing a spell that transforms them into witches. It all seems like fun and games until one night they cast a spell and Liss’s boyfriend gets taken. This causes Liss and Dan’s friendship to fall apart, as Liss is desperately trying to find a spell to save her boyfriend but Dan wants nothing to do with magic. When Liss discovers a spell that helps her speak to her boyfriend, she draws Dan back into the world of witchery in hopes that they can fix their mistake. Before that can happen, the characters must first overcome their differences and face their own inner demons.
The book focuses around Dan, Liss, and Alexa. Dan and Liss are ex-best friends, and Alexa is Dan’s current best friend who recently moved to their small town in Northern California. I didn’t really connect with the characters until close to the end. I began to like them more as they started to overcome the things that were holding them back. I did really love Domino, but he wasn’t in the story as much as I would have enjoyed.
It took me a little while to get into this book. The beginning included a lot of background story with flashbacks and not as much magic as I wanted. About halfway through, the story started to pick up as more mysterious things started to happen. I really began to get into the story and couldn’t wait to see what happened next. This is when the magic started to pick up and become more of a focus, which is what I was waiting for. I will admit I was disappointed in the final showdown with the villain, which felt too rushed and almost easy. I thought for sure something would go wrong to make it more interesting, but I was left wanting.
A Wicked Magic is a witchy story with some similar vibes to The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, although it takes some time to get to that point. The majority of the book felt more like a contemporary with a lot of hard hitting topics than it did a fantasy or thriller. I wish that there had been more magic from the beginning, but once it got going I was happy with it. Overall, I did enjoy this debut novel by Sasha Laurens, and I hope to read more from her in the future.
Thank you so much to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book.
Content warning: self harm and suicidal thoughts
The book focuses around Dan, Liss, and Alexa. Dan and Liss are ex-best friends, and Alexa is Dan’s current best friend who recently moved to their small town in Northern California. I didn’t really connect with the characters until close to the end. I began to like them more as they started to overcome the things that were holding them back. I did really love Domino, but he wasn’t in the story as much as I would have enjoyed.
It took me a little while to get into this book. The beginning included a lot of background story with flashbacks and not as much magic as I wanted. About halfway through, the story started to pick up as more mysterious things started to happen. I really began to get into the story and couldn’t wait to see what happened next. This is when the magic started to pick up and become more of a focus, which is what I was waiting for. I will admit I was disappointed in the final showdown with the villain, which felt too rushed and almost easy. I thought for sure something would go wrong to make it more interesting, but I was left wanting.
A Wicked Magic is a witchy story with some similar vibes to The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, although it takes some time to get to that point. The majority of the book felt more like a contemporary with a lot of hard hitting topics than it did a fantasy or thriller. I wish that there had been more magic from the beginning, but once it got going I was happy with it. Overall, I did enjoy this debut novel by Sasha Laurens, and I hope to read more from her in the future.
Thank you so much to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book.
Content warning: self harm and suicidal thoughts
October 9, 2021
3 1/2 stars
This book in the reviews is getting a lot hate, but there's a lot to love about the book. The story revolves around 3 witches and has a real cool, scary vibe. The majority of the book is peeling back the layers to reveal the tragedy that incites the book. I thought the Liss and Dan storylines were really well done and had lots of tension!
The only main issue for me until the ending was how Alexa's point of view seemed to disconnected from the others. Her storyline was jarring and felt like it was there last minute and only used to explain magic things. I wish she were somehow more included in the past events or better integrated into the story. She starts off as an outsider while it's useful and then becomes a knowledgeable witch when it's useful.
I thought the villain was really scary and liked his twist of granting wishes. Wish there had been more focus on him rather than the Keith character and his cult. That part and the Wardens never really had a big enough impact on the story to warrant being included.
My favorite parts of the story were the quieter moments when they were practicing magic or at a coffee shop. It was great at character focus. This helped set up a great aesthetic and set the story apart from others.
I seriously would have given this book 5 stars before the epilogue because it was a great read. But that epilogue really didn't make a lot of sense for me. It rushed through things that should have been laid out before. Made me wonder why it wasn't included in a sequel or just left out. Some relationships got resolved or completely forgotten in a way that was confusing and frustrating.
I think this might have been a stand alone, but I would totally read a follow up. It had a great setting and characters that I would like to visit again. Overall, I would recommend :)
This book in the reviews is getting a lot hate, but there's a lot to love about the book. The story revolves around 3 witches and has a real cool, scary vibe. The majority of the book is peeling back the layers to reveal the tragedy that incites the book. I thought the Liss and Dan storylines were really well done and had lots of tension!
The only main issue for me until the ending was how Alexa's point of view seemed to disconnected from the others. Her storyline was jarring and felt like it was there last minute and only used to explain magic things. I wish she were somehow more included in the past events or better integrated into the story. She starts off as an outsider while it's useful and then becomes a knowledgeable witch when it's useful.
I thought the villain was really scary and liked his twist of granting wishes. Wish there had been more focus on him rather than the Keith character and his cult. That part and the Wardens never really had a big enough impact on the story to warrant being included.
My favorite parts of the story were the quieter moments when they were practicing magic or at a coffee shop. It was great at character focus. This helped set up a great aesthetic and set the story apart from others.
I seriously would have given this book 5 stars before the epilogue because it was a great read. But that epilogue really didn't make a lot of sense for me. It rushed through things that should have been laid out before. Made me wonder why it wasn't included in a sequel or just left out. Some relationships got resolved or completely forgotten in a way that was confusing and frustrating.
I think this might have been a stand alone, but I would totally read a follow up. It had a great setting and characters that I would like to visit again. Overall, I would recommend :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews