Review: Always a Witch

Title: Always a Witch
Author: Carolyn MacCullough
Series: Once A Witch #2
Published: 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing
Obtained: Library

Since the gripping conclusion of Once A Witch, Tamsin Greene has been haunted by her grandmother's prophecy that she will soon be forced to make a crucial decision—one so terrible that it could harm her family forever. When she discovers that her enemy, Alistair Knight, went back in time to Victorian-era New York in order to destroy her family, Tamsin is forced to follow him into the past. Stranded all alone in the nineteenth century, Tamsin soon finds herself disguised as a lady's maid in the terrifying mansion of the evil Knight family, avoiding the watchful eye of the vicious matron, La Spider, and fending off the advances of Liam Knight. As time runs out, both families square off in a thrilling display of magic. And to her horror, Tamsin finally understands the nature of her fateful choice.

First Sentence: “‘I look awful,’ I say, staring at myself in front of the dressing room mirror.”

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This is sequel to Once A Witch, my review of which is here. THEREFORE, SPOILERS MIGHT BE AHEAD. HERE BE SPOILERS. You’ve been warned. Mmk?

Alright, so I liked Once A Witch. I thought it was an interesting and unique story of magic. The sequel wasn’t as good, I thought, but was still needed to wind up the series (I’m assuming no more are coming…).

… I feel really lame, but I can’t remember some of the plot (note to self: review books QUICKLY after reading them..). So this review will be a quick skim of the surface, because obviously the little I remember made some kind of impact on me, so that’s the important stuff.

In this one Tamsin goes back in time to try and stop Alistair from ruining the Greene family’s future. She gets a job as a maid in the household of the Knights and it’s there that she does her snooping and waits for Alistair. What she finds out is that Liam Knight (a real creeper) is performing dark magic and the maid before Tamsin was a victim of this magic. Eventually she has to figure out how to stop Alistair and get the Greene family from the past to listen to her warnings about him.

I really enjoyed seeing the past Greene family and how they were contrasted to the current Greene family. Also, Gabriel and Tamsin’s relationship bloomed further. . .although mostly that meant they had “power” struggles and made out. BUT STILL.

Liam was a total CREEPER FACE. First he shows up from the past at the Greene’s house and KISSES Tamsin like only a CREEPER could. Then when Tamsin was back in time at his house, he flirted nonstop with this other maid, who was assisting him with his “experiments.”

However, his sister was a completely different story, she was really struggling with the whole “no, we’re not GOOD witches, we’re EVIL” part. Being forced to break up with the guy you love because your mother forced you to is pretty rough. I still feel like she could have rebelled a bit more if she was truly uncomfortable. However, her mother was pretty intimidating “La Spider” (I keep saying it the MegaMind way….haha).

I probably mentioned this is my review of Once A Witch, but I love how their magic is a “talent” thing. Different people have different “talents” AKA magic skills. It’s a pretty cool concept.

This series is really good if you enjoy stories regarding magic and witches. I enjoyed reading it and distinctly remember getting distracted from my schoolwork because I had to finish reading!

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Content Warnings: Making-out (kissing.), creeper-ness, and mind language.

Rating:

Review: Once A Witch

Title: Once A Witch
Author: Carolyn MacCullough
Published: 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Obtained: Library

Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in Manhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search—and the stranger—will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all. This is a spellbinding display of storytelling that will exhilarate, enthrall, and thoroughly enchant.

First Sentence:”I was born on the night of Samhain, when the barrier between the worlds is whisper thin and when magic, old magic, sings its heady and sweet song to anyone who cares to hear it.”

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I really enjoyed this book. The writing was absent of serious blemishes (yep.), the characters were strong, and the plot was fascinating.

While not big on supernatural stories, I do love a good story about magic. The way that magic is presented in this book was creative and classic. Each witch has a “Talent” which lets them do a specific thing really well. Healing, finding, hiding, and persuading are just some of the Talents possessed by Tamsin’s family and friends.

Tamsin, however, does not have a Talent, even though she was supposed to be really Talented. Obviously this makes her feel lonely and out of the loop, so she avoids family functions whenever she can. Thus she attends a boarding school in New York and only comes home when she has to. From here her desire to feel powerful like her family, starts her on a journey to find an old clock. However the “handsome young professor” is not all together honest, and Tamsin gets swept into a crazy magical conflict.

As for the characters, they were quite impressive. Tamsin’s roommate Agatha was a lovely side character who supported Tamsin even without knowing all the details. Gabriel, the love interest, was charming. Each family member was very unique and complex. There was a lot going on with each of them, even though we only saw certain aspects of their character.

A lot of the conflict/plot comes from Tamsin’s feeling of failure from not having a Talent. This causes her to accept a task she probably couldn’t accomplish. Along the way she finds out powers she had but didn’t know about, and we see her coming to terms with herself.
So all in all, I really enjoyed the characters, concept, and plot of Once A Witch, and I look forward to picking up the sequel, Always A Witch, which just came out!!

Rating:

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Content Warnings: Language, suggestive comments, witchcraft.