Branded

Branded #1

by Neva Bell

Your typical modern day witches, identical twins Chelsea and Chloe are about to leave their parents behind for their first year of college. There's only one thing left to do - receive their brands. These magical tattoos not only determine their lesson plans, but also the type of magic the twins will practice for the rest of their lives. Convinced they already know what Branding Day has in store for them, Chelsea and Chloe quickly learn nothing is guaranteed when fate and magic are involved.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal

313 pages, Paperback

Published October 30, 2019

About the author

Hi everyone! I am a lawyer and writer from the United States who enjoys writing romantic comedies, erotic novellas, and poetry. I also dabble in the paranormal.

My romantic comedies - Love & Omissions, The Sleeping Arrangement, and The Things We Don't Say - fall into the romantic comedy category. The main characters are strong female leads who are willing to open their hearts to the right person. I am currently working on the edits for my fourth romantic comedy and hope to have it out by Spring 2021.

Branded, my third full-length novel, and its sequel Torn are now both available on Amazon. While Branded and Torn diverge from my romantic comedies in the sense that they include paranormal elements, readers will find the humor, drama and romance that appear in my romantic comedies.

I go by the name Allie Hayes when I write erotica novels. Allie's novellas - The Perfect Cure and Restless - are romantic comedies with naughty scenes that are inappropriate for readers under the age of 18. Allie also dabbles in poetry with spice.

My poetry books are my babies. They are so fun to put together. I love writing novels, but they require a lot of time and brain space that I don't always have. Poetry is a wonderful way for me to take a break from writing novels, but still flex my writing muscle. I would not consider myself a complicated poet by any means and I've been told my poetry is relatable to readers who don't traditionally read poetry. I have a seven book poetry collection I refer to as the "Flower Series" - Wildflower, Dandelion, Venus Fly Trap, Orchid, Tiger Lily, and Daisy. I've also written a poetry book about a young woman's struggle with addiction - Dragonfly, and a poetry collection based on the journey from a struggling soul to happy days - Symmetry. Like my novels, all of my poetry books are available on Kindle Unlimited.

In my free time, I enjoy yoga, pilates, and lifting weights. I have an amazing son who brings a tremendous amount of love and joy to my life, a Pekingese puppy named Remi who reminds me an awful lot of my four-legged companion Duke who I lost this past summer, and an amazing support group of family and friends who encourage me to keep writing.

Please feel free to reach out to me. I love hearing from readers!

Reviews

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 1 out of 5]

I stalled out about two-thirds in, but I was on inertia long before then. Chloe's eponymous brand marks her as the rare third path in their coming of age ritual and singles her out as the next leader of her people. And the target of some psychopaths who are into killing those so marked for reasons that come down to "because it's an evil thing to do". And the best plan all the witches can come up with is to "protect" her by isolating her as much as possible while still trying to "hide" that she is this verhena thing that's so super-special. I kept waiting for someone to point out that giving a girl new to the school a bunch of special classes and living accommodations was the opposite of hiding, but whatever.

And then some time passes. And some stuff happens, some of it both tragic and predictable (oh, and that reflects really poorly on Chloe's intelligence and/or perception). And a relationship that felt manufactured because "destiny" or something. That turns out not to be anything of the kind because it crashes and burns in a really stupid way. And through it all, Chloe is super-isolated and all her interactions are constrained by everyone scared to death that the psychopaths are going to kill her despite the witches being super powerful and having super-slick technology and enormous wealth. I guess I got tired of all the hyper awareness of threat without anything really happening but lots of training and some hot boys to fight with.

[Marlena Smith-Burris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was immediately hooked from page one. The world that Neva has created, mixed in with relatable characters, pulls you right in. There are some interesting spins on magic that I haven't seen before, which really add to the story.

Branded has a little bit of everything-magic, love, family, humor, and suspense. The suspense weaved in this story will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat. The end was somewhat predictable, but that could be because of my own creative brain. Plus, I was really invested in the story and the characters. I felt like I was one of them.

As for the writing, if there were errors, I was too wrapped up in the book to notice. The story flows perfectly, with a few twists along the way.

[Laaauraaa Normz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was absolutely fantastic! Never read a genre like this but I have to admit, I’m hooked! Lots of plot twists… two main plots twists that made me very angry (no spoilers..) you’ll have to trust me and go and find out yourself.. you won’t be disappointed, I promise!

[Emma-Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
First of all, fantasy is not really my happy place, but if it WERE to be my happy place, it would be because of urban fantasy settings like this one.
The first third or so of the book had me questioning whether I was going to enjoy this or not. It seemed predictable and the writing was a little robotic. I am also not a fan of insta-love, and that seemed to be where this was going.
But this story was actually a lot of fun! There were a few twists thrown in and a good story about the relationship between witches and good werewolves vs rogue werewolves. There was some decent character growth in the main character as well. I do wish the relationship was ii a bit more fleshed out. Overall, a quick and entertaining read!

[varena manion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good vs evil

Fast paced action. Overall light read but very entertaining. Bell is a talented fantasy story teller, will read the sequel.

[kts.booknook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really hoped for a lot out of this book. The concept of the branding and the idea behind the story was super intriguing to me however the characters just weren’t for me. Chloe is supposed to be 20 but her mannerisms, personality everything just seemed to be someone of a much younger age. The other characters were very rushed to me, thrown in for more story line but not quite developed. James and Chloe became suddenly in love after only being semi friends for a short time period. And that’s not including her VERY rushed relationship with Elliot that seemingly didn’t have much of a place in the story. Chloe is supposed to be very important the next Verhena but there was never much told about her responsibilities as the next leader of witches other than mentioning a few of the journals towards the end of the story.
I’ll be checking out the next book but with much lower expectations.

[Kasey Mart-Fridley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book gifted to me by the author. First off I just love the cover. It was beautiful.

Okay so Review time.
The story was kinda fast paced. Took me awhile to realize that. I was so confused at first.
It would of been helpful if there was more of a notice that it was a few weeks later or months later it kinda ran into the next part so quick. That was my only issue with the story.

I like the Characters. Chloe seems a little childish at first but as you read on she gets better.

Elliot... ugh didn't like it. In the beginning I knew something was up. So I didn't care for him. And later on in the story I find out why I didn't like him like wow.. really Elliot. That was low..
I would have liked to find out nore about why Elliot did that. Was he just with her because of her new status?
Wonder if that's covered in the next book.

James.. a hot werewolf soon to be leader of his pack. Strong. Tall. Handsome. Cool headed. I'm in love with him. Where can I find me a James.


The werewolves when they shift I imagined it like how they do in the movie Underworld. Very cool to me.


Overall I did enjoy the book it was a good read. Nice break from the spice lol

[Traci Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story.

I really liked the story and characters - Chloe is quite the badass - but the book could use some help with grammar and formatting.

My primary grammar issue was with vocative and joining commas. A vocative comma is used before or after a name, such as, "Hello, Chloe." Sure, without it ("Hello Chloe.") is clear, but it made reading dialog feel rushed to me. Joining commas are for sentences that, well, join sentences together, such as, "Chloe is a witch, and James is a werewolf." This type of comma was missing most of the time, and there were commas where there shouldn't be, such as, "Chloe is a witch, and needs training." I know this sounds nitpicky, but I hate that this took away from my enjoyment of the book.

The formatting errors were mainly white blocks before chapters - I read in sepia since I read at night a lot - and these blocks stand out. Perhaps the background color was changed to white instead of automatic.

Anyway, like I said, I did really enjoy the story and will be reading the sequel.

[TXBRITGAL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, adventure filled take on witches and weres!

I had so much fun reading this first book in a new series by a brand new author to me. Chelsea and Chloe are identical twins witches and best friends. In their world on your eighteenth birthday a tattoo is bestowed upon you. Either a dove or a hawk. Their entire life everyone assumed Chelsea would get the dove as she's so kind and loving. The only downside is doves and hawks don't tend to train together, and the girls have never been apart. Chloe was already preparing herself for the big day, but she had no clue what was really coming!!!! This book is filled with sisterhood, family, mysticism, witches, prophecy, adventure, suspense, betrayal, and not a boring page in the entire book! Chloe learns family comes in all different forms, and no matter the form should be held close. There's so much excitement in this book coming from so many directions. I truly can't wait to see what is coming in book two!!!!

[debturk1970_bookvibes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Gripping & Engulfing Read!🐺😭✨💫💘
A 4.5 Star Read.🌟
(Read using Kindle Unlimited)
Branded: Branded #1

Chelsea & Chloe are identical twins, they're also witches that are about to twenty. When female witches turn twenty they're seen by a 'skin reader's they determine what type of magic you'll specialize in, passive or aggressive. A healer or warrior. No twins can ever be the same magical type. Nearly everyone thinks they know Chelsea will get the dove & Chloe the hawk!💥

This book is so well written. It's world building & character development is really good. It's got a bit of everything but it's the huge betrayal, grief and mostly the emotional connections that are made, that make this such a gripping story! the werewolves are fascinating, especially Whitney & James. I can't help but wrote Frank!😍
I'm off to download book #2 immediately, I can't recommend this enough!🌟

Debbie, 1970, UK

[Kathy Zuercher Diveley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chloe

Chloe & Chelsea are twin witches, and are just getting their tattoo or brand. Chelsea gets the peaceful dove as expected, but Chole gets the white hawk or Verhena- future leader of the witches. She must be protected. For the rogue werewolves are out to kill her. So as they head to Leviston, the witches college the guards go with them. Chelsea's boyfriend Rory goes to Leviston ,too. Tragedy happens and Chloe has to go into hiding at the reigning Verhena- Willa's house. There she meets the present werewolf leader and his grandkids. The rogue werewolf is the 2nd son of the werewolf leader and father of the grandkids. The goal is to capture the rogue leader, and have peace between witches and werewolves.
Captivating and intriguing story.

[Cassie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like this could have been a great book, but needs to be flushed out more.

One glaring example would be Chelsea’s death. Chloe mourns her for like 3 days, then let’s it go. Another example - the ex-boyfriend getting married two weeks later after Chloe broke up with him? Even though he had supposedly had some sort of vision about them (even though what the vision was is never revealed).

The writing also came across almost like a YA book, but the main characters are all at least 20. Chloe acted more like 16 imo.

[Sherry Sias · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing read!!

This is a first read of this author. Found through an ad on Facebook. So glad I picked it up. Chloe and her twin sister Chelsea are wishes. On their 20th birthday they get their branding, which decides the courses they take at their college. Unbeknownst to them, their whole world is about to change. This is action-packed and very well-written. Loved every bit of it and can't wait to dove into the next book.

[Eileen McMullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was something about the cover of this book that drew me in; perhaps it was the simplicity of the artwork or the one word title. I downloaded and read the entire book in one sitting. In fact, I read the next two books in the series just as quickly. Yes, the series is likely Young Adult but that didn't bother me one bit. The books were fun to read and ones I'll likely read again.

[Bridgett Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author suggested that I read this book along with the others in this series. I finished this in 2 days. I’d give it 4.5 stars. It was much better than I anticipated. It’s a very easy and quick read but with wonderful characters. Plot is decent. Not too deep but still good. Off to read book 2.

[Marianne W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute

Branded is a cute story that has some ups and downs. The characters are fun and developed, but there are long stretches with anticipating upcoming actions. Overall a very good plot line and set of characters.

[Artist_carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this is not really my usual read but Tiktok made me lol
No seriously I did see it on tiktok and it seemed like something I would want to read but omg! This was so much better then I expected, it was really great.

[Dorothy E Barton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very engaging!

Enjoyed the idea of twins, born witches. The idea of tattoos for identity and to indicate prowess was unique. Good tension among all the characters, making the storyline move quickly.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

YA Book

It started off good, but I think it's for a late teen (18 y.o.) to about early 20's. It was more of a YA book and not too much of it was paranormal. The characters were not fleshed out enough for me. Others may like it.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved it! The book had me crying in the first few chapters and giggling and kicking my feet at the last half. I’m definitely getting the second book! And I plan on buying the hard copies to keep on my shelf!

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story! Excellent storyline with a couple twists I wasn't expecting. Can't wait to read more of the series!!

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love!

Great character build and storyline. Literally read this novel in one sitting. Love the twists and turns. Great read! Download it now!

[Abby Lowery · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Been on a streak of books that have been letdowns so this was a refreshing change.

[Valerie Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different but good

A very different take on witches and werewolves but excellent
characters and story telling. Well worth a read. On to the next in the series

[Brenna Joyce · Rating 2 out of 5]

I literally skimmed this whole book. It was legit ridiculous. The main heroine is supposed to be 20, but she acts like a teenager. A young teenager too...like 13 or 14. Just...no.

[LaTerica Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool!!!!!

I surprisingly enjoyed this book. A little predictable but nice writing! Enjoyed it, quick read. Curious to see what book 2 is about!

[cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good!

Chloe is amazing! I love how she has her moments of anger and let’s it out with her magic. I was hooked on this book and looking forward to the next.

[Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good book I like that it's not hard to get into the story, I'm now reading the second book,this story is different it's not just a witch story its, about a woman that is a higher up witch.

[Joyce Lingle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Held my attention

Easy reading, fast paced and great story line! Enjoyed every page and every twist. Had me vested from the beginning

[Lynn Urrutia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

I really enjoyed the concept of the brands, and I like witches and werewolves, so I really liked this book.