Deceptive Casting

by Nancy Chastain

Within the heart lies darkness.

Tabitha is set to have another birthday without a father, without a coven, without the answers she’s been longing for, but this year, it all changes. When the head of the infamous Rouzan Coven shows up at her doorstep, claiming to be her father, Tabitha voluntarily leaves with him, abandoning the ones closest to her.

With a flick of her hand, she closes the gate on her old life and embraces a life she had been deprived of for nearly eighteen years. At the exact hour of her birth, her new role as the next coven leader will begin, and she’ll have more magic than she has ever dreamed of.

But her power comes at a dark price, one an innocent heart should never pay.

94 pages, ebook

Published February 1, 2021

About the author

I have an addiction to books. There I said it, isn't admitting it have the battle. I have always read everything I can get my hands on. My greatest joy is writing a review for a fellow author that has blown me away.
When I set down and decided to take the leap to make my life time dream come true and write a book I was terrified, but in a good way. Publishing a book is the most thrilling thing I have ever done. That's with having 14 grand-kids. LOL!

Reviews

[Cath · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character is seventeen year old witch Tabitha, who lives with her mother and grandmother, who make a basic living making potions and doing simple spells. They only allow her to use simple magic when they are there at their house or in the garden and nowhere else. She has never known who her father was and she is soon going to find out! Her eighteenth birthday is coming up and a gentleman comes to their door, saying he is her father, and pushing his way in past her mother. He doesn’t seem very nice, mistreating her mother and grabbing her by the neck! He is the head of the infamous Rouzan Coven, one of the largest covens anywhere, and looks to be very well off. Her mother doesn’t want her to go with him, saying it would be too dangerous for her, but she wants the chance to live the high life, after struggling for her whole life. When she sees where he lives, what should have been her family home, she is utterly shocked and happy to have left her mother and grandmother behind for a much better life.

Her father expected her mother and grandmother to have trained her well as a witch, but she was only shown the basics and whatever she managed to find out by watching them and reading about it. He opens the huge gates leading to his mansion, with just a flick of his hand and suggests she close them with her magic. She has no real idea how powerful her magic could be, but at the minute of her birth on her eighteenth birthday, she will come into her full powers as the next in line to become the coven leader, after her father. She was taken away from the coven and her father, to keep her safe until she was old enough to come into her powers. This coming into her powers, is a very public ceremony that must take place in front of the members of the coven and other important guests. But it also paints a target on her back, as becoming the leader of her father’s coven and the power that goes with it, comes with a dark price, one that be more than she may want to pay.

She has no idea what she is taking on, but she likes the look of her father’s home and prefers that to the life she has had so far. She asks for her mother and gran to be able to come to stay and they are there for her upcoming ceremony. Her father has lots of security to keep him and especially Tabitha safe, but evil rears its head and someone dies. It won’t be the last! With great powers, comes new responsibilities and hard decisions, which some may not be suited to. Some may use them for good, some for evil or personal gain. Each leader must choose what type of leader they are going to become and Tabitha now has that choice to make. A short story, with an evil twist, and a coming of age storyline. I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.

[Annalisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. The characters are realistic. The lot is full of deception and spilled secrets. It is very exciting. I read it in an afternoon and I really enjoyed it. I was very pleasantly surprised. I am looking forward to the next one.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Con Fran · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. The main character was looking for something more, but when she got it it wasn’t what she thought. The book had some suspense, intrigue, and drama. Not a bad read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.