Born Wicked

Once, a long time ago, witches ruled, but those days are long gone. The Brothers' eradicated the witches and now keep a tight leash on all the women. If a woman is accused to witchery she is arrested, and shipped off to Harwood, an institution meant to cure them of their deviant ways. This is Cate's world, and when her mother died she had to grow up fast so she could take care of her sisters, Maura and Tess. She needed to teach them and protect them from the Brothers, because the Cahill women are all witches.Paul McLeod is Cate's oldest friend. He's been away for a while, and now that he's come back all grown up and handsome, he intends to marry Cate. She has no problem with this, what could be better than marry someone she's known all her life? But he wants them to live in the city, and she can't afford to leave her sisters now. Not only that, but now that she's gotten to know Finn Belastra, the bookseller turned gardener, Cate can't stop thinking about him and his freckles!Born Wicked is a delightful tale of knowing what you really want, going for it, and making sacrifices for the sake of others. Cate was a wonderful character to read. She's a bit of a control freak, but with good reason since she's trying to keep her sisters safe from the Brothers. She has no choice but to be the parent, the "bad guy," the one who "doesn't have fun." And I think that's why Finn is so perfect for her. He just lets her be free, be who she really is. The girl who likes to climb trees, and get dirty while gardening. I don't know if Paul would have let her be that free, though he seems to like her well enough and they've been friends forever.I can't get into the story without giving away some major things, but I will tell you this...it will keep you reading all night long! As the story unfolds there are more and more twists and surprises on every chapter. Born Wicked ends with a rather disagreeable ending where Cate has given up her freedom, her happiness to save everyone she loves, and there is no hope on the horizon. But this is just the first book in the Cahill Witch Chronicles, and boy is it a great start! I can't wait what's next in store for Cate and her sisters!

What an amazing alternate reality Jessica Spotswood has created! Set in Chatham, in the early 1900's in a world of fashion gowns, corsets, arranged marriages, tea parties...and witches! 16 year old Cate Cahill and her two younger sisters, Maura and Tess are witches. Problem is that it's considered evil and wicked to be a witch and the Brotherhood either locks up girls accused of witchery or sends them to an asylum.With the death of their mother, Cate must now take care of her sisters and make sure that they are not caught using magic. Her sisters don't understand what is so bad about being witches but Cate believes what the Brotherhood says, that she is wicked. She is hard on her sister when they use magic which causes a rift between them.Cate has a short time to either announce her engagement, pledge to join the Sisterhood or let the Brotherhood pick a husband for her. Cate's deadline is fast approaching and she is torn between joining he sisterhood, marrying her childhood friend Paul McLeod, or her forbidden attraction to Finn Balastra. Meanwhile, Cate finds her mother's diary in which she warns her about a prophecy about three sisters that will become the most powerful witches who will either save humanity or bring upon the second terror. She also warns her not to trust the Sisterhood.I LOVED Cate and her sisters! While Maura got on my nerves at times, I totally understood her and even felt sorry for her. The relationship between the sisters was very realistic and it was nice to see how they each progressed throughout the book. And the progression of the relationship between Cate and Finn was sweet and at times so hot, especially since it was forbidden. And the ending was totally unexpected; blew me away and left me desperately wanting to read more about the Cahill sisters NOW! Not much else I can say without going into spoiler territory but this is the start of what will be a great series. Great characters, secrets, romance, suspense, surprises and magic, this book has it all! If none of this convinces you to get this book just look at the cover one more time and that will probably change your mind. The cover is so beautiful and one of my favorites covers I have seen so far for 2012. You won't want to miss this book!5 out of 5 sparkly stars!Some of my favorite non-spoiler quotes from Born Wicked:-"What good is all this anyway, if we can't use it to make things more beautiful?"As far as I can tell, "all this" is good for precious little.-Now I have to play mother for Tess and Maura, and ignore the wild girl that still bangs in my heart, begging to be let out.-"It's a shame when it's come to this, people afraid of books!"Never mind people being afraid of girls.-The lord does not hear the pleas of wicked girls.-"That's what they do with bad girls. Lock them up and throw away the key."-"Why did you stay friends with her? If it was dangerous?"Marianne smiles as though it's a reasonable question and not an impertinent one. "Some things are worth the danger, aren't they? I don't believe anyone should be allowed to dictate what I read and who my friends are. It gives me pleasure to know that I can thwart the Brotherhood in some small way."-I am wicked in many ways.-I've done magic and told lies. I've read forbidden books; I've kissed a man and liked it.***Make sure to check out my exclusive interview with Jessica Spotswood in March!Check out more of my reviews at Mostly YA Book Obsessed.

Born Wicked is set in a late 19th century New England, but it's not a history you'll recognise. Jessica Spotswood's world is one where witches are still persecuted and society is ruled by the fearsome Brotherhood. Women are repressed, forbidden to educate themselves and forced into marriage or The Sisterhood at an early age. It's an alternative history and I soaked it up completely, finding the world intriguing, sinister and believable.Cate Cahill and her sisters struggle in this world. Born witches and inherently intelligent, it isn't in their nature to act the way society expects. But Cate is determined they must try their best to fit in and keep safe. With their mother dead and father travelling, a great deal of responsibility rests on her young shoulders. I really liked Cate, she's the type of heroine who doesn't particularly relish her role, but steps up to it with strength and determination.Born Wicked started off really well, it was so easy to get involved in and the pages turned effortlessly. However around midway through I thought the story got a little bit flat. Don't get me wrong, the writing is great, it flows beautifully and the setting is described wonderfully. I just thought it lacked a little excitement to drive the plot. I also found the love triangle (yep...one of those) predictable and knew exactly where it would lead way before Cate even saw it coming. I can forgive a love triangle if I believe in it. This one I did not. But then about fifty pages towards the end the pace really picks up and I was back to loving this book. Jessica Spotswood has created an ending that ensures I'll be following this series as I have to know what happens next!Overall I liked this book. It didn't blow me away and I feel a little disappointed about that because of the recent hype. However I really liked both the beginning and the end and see great promise for future books. It's a very easy read, just over 330 pages, and I read it in a day. Do I recommend it? Well if witches, history and love triangles are your thing then you'll probably enjoy this book. If the thought of yet another love triangle has you pulling out teeth, then best avoid.

Inhalt: Cate lebt in einem alternativen Neu England um 1900. Früher haben hier Hexen geherrscht, doch sie wurden irgendwann niedergeworfen und nun regiert die Bruderschaft des Herrn mit eiserner Hand. Damit es nicht noch einmal zu einer Herrschaft der Hexen kommt, werden alle Frauen unterdrückt und klein gehalten. Sie dürfen nicht zu selbstständig werden und müssen sich immer den Männern unterordnen. Die einzige Wahlmöglichkeit, die ihnen bleibt, ist entweder zu heiraten oder sich der Schwesternschaft anzuschließen. Doch selbst dann sind sie nicht außer Gefahr: Ständig werden junge Frauen vor Gericht gestellt, da sie angeblich Hexen sein sollen und nach ihrer Verurteilung wartet nichts Gutes auf sie.Auch Cate und ihre 2 Schwestern sind Hexen. Seitdem ihre Mutter gestorben ist, muss Cate sich um die Familie kümmern und dafür sorgen, dass ihr Geheimnis verborgen bleibt. Doch Cate hat nur noch wenige Monate, bis sie 17 wird und entscheiden muss, ob sie heiraten wird oder sich der Schwesternschaft zuwenden wird. Was passiert dann mit ihren Schwestern? Damit beginnt für Cate eine schwere Zeit. Sie bekommt einen Heiratsantrag von ihrem besten Freund Paul, doch er möchte mit ihr wegziehen und Cate müsste ihre Schwestern alleine zurück lassen. Außerdem schlägt Cates Herz eigentlich für ihren jungen Gärtner Finn. Als Cate dann auch noch erfährt, was sich wirklich hinter der Schwesternschaft verbirgt, weiß sie gar nicht mehr, was sie tun soll. Doch die Zeit läuft ihr davon...Über all dem schwebt eine alte Prophezeiung und als Cate diese entdeckt, steht ihr Leben Kopf. Denn so wie es aussieht, sind sie und ihre Schwestern Teil dieser Prophezeiung und werden somit zum Spielball zwischen den Hexen und der Bruderschaft.Meine Meinung: Das Buch hat sich interessant angehört, allerdings habe ich nicht erwartet, dass es mich so vom Hocker hauen würde...das hat es aber! Es gibt nichts, was ich auszusetzen hätte, daher erhält "Born Wicked" die volle Punktzahl von mir.Mir gefällt sehr gut, dass die Geschichte an sich wie ein historischer Roman geschrieben ist, allerdings auch Fantasyelemente enthält. Das hier beschriebene Neu England ist erfunden, allerdings findet man viele Parallelen zur echten Welt, wie z.B. die Unterdrückung der Frauen und die Hexenverfolgung. Das Buch ist aufjedenfall ein Buch über Feminismus. Es ist erschreckend zu lesen, wie das Leben der Frauen fremdbestimmt wird und sie keinerlei Rechte haben, einfach nur weil sie Frauen sind. So ist es auch klar, dass man viel Sympathie für Cate empfindet. Sie hat es wirklich nicht leicht: Einerseits muss sie sich entscheiden, ob sie heiratet oder sich der Schwesternschaft anschließt, andererseits muss sie aber auch noch abwägen, welcher Weg besser für ihre Schwestern ist. Was sie selbst mit ihrem Leben anfangen möchte, interessiert niemanden. Aber sie ist nicht die Art von Frau, die das einfach hinnimmt. Sie ist wütend über ihr Schicksal und kämpft so gut sie kann dagegen an.Auch die Liebe kommt nicht zu kurz. Die Dreiecks-Beziehung zwischen Cate, Paul und Finn hat mich total begeistert. Ich selbst wüsste an Cates Stelle nicht, für wen ich mich entscheiden sollte. Paul und Finn sind beide sehr liebenswert, stehen aber für ganz unterschiedliche Beziehungsarten.Die Handlung hält ein paar überraschende Wendungen bereit, die jedes Mal zusätzliche Spannung bringen. Man fiebert immer mit, ob Cate eine Möglichkeit finden kann, das Leben zu leben, das sie gerne hätte. Und jedes Mal, wenn ihr ein neuer Stein in den Weg gelegt wird, leidet man mit ihr mit. Ich hätte nicht gedacht, dass dieses recht dünne Buch, so viel Handlung enthält und bin wirklich positiv überrascht. Vorallem gibt es noch so viele offene Handlungsstränge für die Folgebände. Echt klasse, was sich die Autorin einfallen lassen hat und wie sie die Story verpackt hat. Das Ende des ersten Teils ist richtig dramatisch und ich kann es jetzt gar nicht abwarten den nächsten Teil zu lesen."Born Wicked" ist mir sehr ans Herz gewachsen. Das Buch enthält von allem etwas: Historischer Roman, Magie, Liebe, Spannung... Ich denke da ist für Jeden etwas dabei.

El lenguaje es muy claro y se lee perfectamente en inglés aunque no tengas un nivel altísimo. La historia engancha tanto que no paré de leer hasta terminarlo....está muy bien...estoy deseando ver cómo continúa.

Super introduction to the series... Finn and Cate the most loving characters of this book...

Un très bon livre que j'ai aussi lu en français, juste dommage que les couvertures soient si différentes et banales en francais !