Book Review: Born Wicked by Jessoca Spotswood

Born Wicked

Jessica Spotswood

330 Pages

Published February 7th 2012 by Putnam Juvenile

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.
Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.
If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

Born Wicked was so much more than I expected. It was historical and fun and suspenseful. I can't wait to purchase and dig into the second installment!

Cate was a strong main character, always on the lookout for her younger sisters. She holds a dark secret, not many people know. Upon death of her mother she vowed to keep her sisters safe, and she does her best to stick with this. There were many things she wanted to do with her life, eventually falling in love, but she ignored her wishes for the greater cause of family.

I loved her sisters too, though they were young and very naive, Maura especially so. The entire trio possessed very powerful magic and have to hide out in fear of the brotherhood, a sick and chaotic group of men who control women.

The brotherhood sickened me with the way they treated woman. Another thing they did bothered me as well, hunting down witches and arresting innocent woman just to keep themselves in power. I really hope in a future installment this group is overthrown.

The sisterhood, the on the outside seems innocent, was another group I was wary of. While they didn't seem hurtful outwardly, they were deceitful and employed less than noble tactics when it came to getting what they want.

The plot had me going, I read this in one sitting about a week ago. The characters were realistic and I loved the historic nature of the book that I wasn't expecting. Born Wicked is one of my favorite's of 2013.