wvbookwitch

Summary: The Haunting of Alejandra was a simply refreshing delight following the Mexican folk demon La Llorona as she haunts Alejandra. Alejandra finds a therapist to consult concerning her visions which unbeknownst to her have been caused by La Llorona. Things take a dark turn as Alejandra fights to unravel the secrets of her past and exactly what is going on. La Llorona is vengeful and murderous, we can only hope Alejandra will escape unscathed.  Review: This story!!!!! No....this LEGEND blew me away. I am usually not one for contemporary books but this one took the cake and made me reevaluate my previous notion. I loved the mysterious turn of events that we follow Alejandra on and the representation of Mexican folktales. The Haunting of Alejandra was suspensefully paced and gives Verity vibes in that manner. The one grip I have is that the writing is a little simply put, the prose not quite polished, but that didn't take away much from my enjoyment of the story. Over...

Summary: In this magical journey we follow Anya who is a protector of the lunar moths. The luna moths allow the night lilloe to bloom so that Anya's village may continue to thrive. Anya becomes lonely being so far from the village she lives and yearns to live in the sun. Can Anya face the consequences? Will Anya fulfill her dreams? Review: This was a simply adorable story! Anya's journey was something I will remember for quite sometime. I adore most if not all of O'Neill's work but this takes the cake. This was a wondrous and fantastical journey that was only enhanced by the illustrations. It's easy to win me over with graphic novels this gorgeous  Overall I rate this a 5/5.  TikTok: @wvbookwitch

Summary: In the Ledge a vast civilization is trapped in an icy prison. This civilizatiom knows nothing of the real world, all they know is what the Glacians have created. They have little rations to survive and have turned to periodic human sacrifice. Dawsyn, an axe wielder, has lucky enough to avoid these sacrifices but not for long. Are they murdered? Enslaved? Maybe Worse? Review: This book BLEW me away. I was NOT expecting this vast turn of events. Obviously I love Dawsyn and the pure sass. This originally sounded like a periless book of great demise, to my surprise it was quite more exciting. This is my fourth book of this year which I'll rate this highly, my overall rating is a VERY strong 5/5.  TikTok: @wvbookwitch

TW: SA, self harm, gaslighting, and verbal abuse.  Summary: We are quickly immersed into the seemingly perfect life of Emma and her best friend Hannah. This utopia is disrupted by her friend, Hannah, not meeting up after school like she promised. Emma then is sent through a worlwind upon the news of her father's arrest in a child molestation case. Emma and her family head home to a rude awakening that the life they had will never be quite the same again.  Review: This book was an unexpected and much needed journey for me. The Secrets We Keep hit quite close to home for me as a survivor of familial sexual assault. Emma and Hannah's story in no way painted them out to be victims of their situation, but survivors coming to the realization of the reality of the situation. As children it is a hard subject to understand and deal with as you grow older. The bonds of friendship between the pair were put to the test and made this wrapped this story together perfectly. My ov...

Summary: In this paranormal contemporary fantasy we follow a Chinese immortal and a French elf in their journey of romance, humor, and adventure. Elle, the descendant of the Chinese god of medicine, is destined to be a talented doctor. Unfortunately, she is otherwise employed as a magical calligrapher at a fairy temp agency. Luc, a half elf, is the temp agency's top security expert. Luc must lay low due to a curse he cast on two people from a previous mission. Review: Wow!! This was a very unexpected and fun journey. It was a unique experience that took alot of risk but made it all work together in a beautiful way. I adored this book and the characters in every way. This is my third 5 star read for this year and I am hoping the trend continues. My overall rating for this book (obviously) is a strong 5/5. Extended Breakdown: Story: 5/5 Characters: 5/5 Magic System: 5/5

Summary: In this fantastical tale inspired by modern Egyptian history we follow two powerful women. Nehal, a spoiled noblewoman that gets what she wants. Secondly we follow Giorgina, a bookseller which has next to nothing in this world. These two women have far more in common than meets the eye and together they must fight the struggle of women's rights with forbidden magic.  Review: Firstly, we must appreciate the beautiful cover 😭. Secondly I must say how thoroughly I enjoyed this book. The characters were fluid, three dimensional, and well thought out. The setting, immaculate and seemless. The story, a journey which I wanted to repeat time and time again. This book truly took my heart hugged it then smashed it repeatedly, I loved every second of it. My overall rating for this book is a 4.75/5.  Extended Breakdown: Story: 4.5/5 Characters: 5/5 Magic System: 4/5

Summary: We follow Luna/Rose in her endeavour to own an illegal jazz club set in the 1920s. She must skirt monsters, gangsters, and businessmen which despise her and her culturally diverse staff. She has a passion, a dream, and she is bound to make it work through it all.  Review: Although, rule one is to not talk about jazz club, we must. I really enjoyed the time this story was set in and I liked Luna/Rose's character and her drive. What I did not like so much was the lack of motive for what these gangsters and businessmen were doing except for it being racially driven. It could've been much deeper and more personal than this motive. Alot of it was just surface level and there was very little risk factor which made me want to keep reading The book. Overall my score for this book is 3.75/5.   Extended Breakdown: Story: 3/5 Characters: 2.5/5 Setting: 4/5

Summary: The Molten are coming, war is on the brink. A woman must choose between the one she loves and the lives of a thousand innocent people. That's it.  Review: I enjoyed the prose in this book but aside from that the story fell flat for me. I believe that is a good book but not a great book. Overall the characters were likeable but not special and the story of fae, war, and woah is me has been repeated so much. That is probably just my fault though from reading so many fae books. It is worth the read if you have time but it's nothing different from the hundreds of upcoming fae books.  My overall rating for this book is a 3.5/5.  Extended Breakdown: Story: 3/5 Characters: 2.5/5 Magic System 3.5/5

Summary: Two twin sisters are on the run. They both may look identical but they are different in so many ways. One searches for fabled treasure. The other sister, a changeling, searches for answers. They must work together in the fae realm navigating unpredictable magic, mysteries, and a search for treasure. What secrets might they uncover of the fae? Are these secrets more precious than the so sought after treasure? Review: Buckle up, because this was a treat! Ranging from amazing autistic representation to a reimagined fae realm with more secrets than answers. I adored the characters in this twisted tale of two sisters. Although the plot was slightly predictable, this is one of my new comfort stories. Overall my rating for this book is 4/5. Extended Breakdown: Story: 4/5 Characters: 4.5/5 Magic System: 4/5

Summary: Nova Fandera has always known her duty was to kill demons. She just never thought she would join them. In this winding tale Nova finds family secrets through her relationships with angels, demons, half-demons, and a world full of more questions than answers. She is kept in the confines of her father's estate, locked away, as if to hide a secret. In her journeys she finds a family magical artifact, she hopes it's the answer to her questions but one only know if they answer the call of the Lotus.  Review: Needless to say, this world is beautifully set with mysteries and monsters galore. A battle of angels and demons and a mysterious family heirloom makes this definitely worth a read. Nona is adventurous and a very thought out character. Although sometimes the characters were a little frustrating in their reasoning. There was also a perfect amount of world building which was a delight. I couldn't have asked for a better setting. Overall my rating for this ...

Summary: Two rival bakeries' grandchildren find themselves in a family forbidden love. Their families feud constantly due to the family businesses. They soon find themselves in a all out war of bakeries. And to add to this frustration a new big supermarket has entered town and in turn out alot of small businesses in jeopardy. Lari and Pedro, the lovers, work together against their families wishes to try to save their bakeries. Review: This cozy little book was an adorable and heartwarming read although in alot of places it was lacking. The characters were bland but quirky in their own way. The story was not as original as I would of liked. But it was still an enjoyable read and something that I would read again as a low stakes palette cleanser between books. Overall my rating for this book is 3.5/5. Extended Breakdown: Story: 3/5 Characters: 3.5/5 Coziness: 4/5

Summary: We follow the main character, Kara Ruzz in this fantastical story of aliens, abductions, and most importantly war. Six years previously Kara's best friend was abducted by aliens and heroically escaped their capture. Children were then branded with the mark, Kara happens to be one of them. With this Kara risks becoming a slave to an empire which has taken over Earth in it's entirety and a weapon for the very beings she despises.  Review: The Mark of Chaos and Creation by Arabella Federico kept every promise this book made to me. It promised aliens, spirituality, feminine rage, and a strong female hero. I adored the main character mainly for her feminine rage and the way she drives the story along makes you not want to put it down. The world building is other worldly and like nothing I have read before. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to read this. My overall rating for this book is 5/5. Extended Breakdown: Story: 5/5 Characters: 5/5 Magic Syste...

Summary: In the Heart of the Sun Warrior, the second book in the duology series, we follow Xingyin and the aftermath from the first book. Xingyin has found peace with her newly freed mother, Chang'e, on the moon. This peace is short lived when the Celestial Kingdom finds mysterious magic on the moon. Which in turn puts everything Xingyin has worked for in jeopardy. While these events unfold Xingyin is forced to flee in search of an answer to loosen the control of the Celestial Kingdom on her mother and their home. They then adventure to unexplored lands in the Immortal Realm and fight legendary beasts as well as shrewd monarchs.  Review: The first book in the duology, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, was an exceptional book. It could be read as a standalone and I adored that about it, but it made me question what the purpose was of a second book in the series when the story seemed already finished. Well, long story short, I was wrong. There was so much more to unpack in th...

Summary: In this story set in Salem, Massachusetts we follow our character Vianna Roots. She comes from a long line of murderous and power-hungry witches. When her mother passes away she inherits the family haunted house which has a mind of its own. Vianna hasn’t exactly been in the family witching business and tried to lead a normal life. But, that is hard to do when you can see ghosts. A series of unfortunate events leads to a murder mystery and a bewitching misunderstanding between Vianna and the other covens. She must find out what happened to her best friend which is a current ghosting resident in her family’s haunted house. Who killed her friend? Why? Was it her own family or an outsider from a rival coven? Review: As a witch myself, I will sing this book’s praises from the mountain tops. The haunted house was my favorite character and held many mysteries within its walls. The main character, Vianna Roots, is extremely likable and rebellious in her families witching w...

Summary: In this beautifully written story inspired by Avatar the Last Airbender, Princess Mononoke, and Priory of the Orange Tree, we follow two perspectives, Wave and Jessandra. Wave, an outcast from others her age, has an unspeakable power. An ancient curse that has previously plagued the land is brought from legend to reality with a star crashing at her feet. Jessandra is heir to a throne but hasn’t received her god-given power and is rebuked by her family. Afraid for her life and well-being, Jessandra escapes the castle and her betrothed. The pair meet and form an unlikely alliance. Together they must find the true origins of the curse and bring an end to its tirade before it is too late. Review: Unwinding the Spiral was a delightful surprise and was amazingly executed. The story format reminded me strongly of Priory of the Orange Tree. It was a riveting and unique story that never had a boring moment. I often times felt myself asking these questions which drove me to ...

Summary: LGBTQ+ Finnish witches and more! What more could you ask for? In this whirlwind of a magical and bewitching journey we follow a charming character, Taika, who is a witch that happens to not have any magic at all. Or so it seems. Taika’s name literally means magic. They go to a magical school along with their former best friend and crush, of which makes this journey even more fun. Taika finds their own self identity and friends in this twisted tale when students start to go missing from the school. There is no choice but to go searching for their friend, Natalie, when they go missing. what fantastical beasts will Taika find on their journey? And what will happen between their ex best friend and crush on the way? Review: Aside from the beautifully created and inclusive nonbinary and LGBTQ+ characters, there is a majestic magic system in place. This contains an inspired mix of Finnish and Norse mythology with a modern twist of it’s own. I enjoyed every bit of this...