Wicked: Witch and Curse by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie

Wicked: Witch and Curse by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie
Buy Wicked: Witch and Curse by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Teens
Reviewer: Ceri Padley
Summary: Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié's Witch series is a must-read for every paranormal and supernatural fan. Filled with witchcraft and magic, mystery and romance, Witch & Curse is the first instalment of an unforgettable story that'll have you hooked from chapter one.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 672	Date: September 2009
Publisher: Simon & Schuster's Children's Books
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1847386625
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Holly Cathers always thought she was a normal teenage girl. Until one day when she's forced to move across the country to live with her aunt, Marie-Claire, and her twin cousins, Amanda and Nicole. Struggling to cope with the loss of her parents and trying to settle into her new environment, Holly can't help but notice strange incidents surrounding her new family. Plagued with visions from her mysterious ancestors and struck with an immediate enchantment to a boy she hardly knows, Holly is thrown into the world of magic and witchcraft with her cousins and drawn into a voracious war against a warlock clan that has been spanning generations.

For the first time, Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié's captivating Wicked series is now available in double volume editions for you to delve into and enjoy. Witch and Curse are our introduction into Holly's world at a time when she is still confused about who she is in spite of what her family history tells her.

In Witch Holly begins her journey into the world of witchcraft after she starts to fear for her life. Strange things are happening and she can't shake the feeling that someone - or something - is watching her. It is because Holly is a novice to this world at the beginning of the first book that gives us an immediate connection to her. She's just a normal person, like us, who is thrown into a world that usually belongs in our imagination. She is as overwhelmed as we are and uses her readers as a shoulder to cry on when it all gets too much. As a result, Witch is a page-turner: we want to be with Holly every step of the way through all the spells, secrets, and battles, and we want her to win.

Readers will be delighted with the double edition of this series – You almost get the sense that the story hasn't finished during the final pages of Witch, and will be thrilled at being able to carry on with the series in the second book, Curse. Having started her own coven with her cousins and friends, Holly is becoming more and more powerful every day with the practice of new spells, and the help from the spirit of her ancestor, Isabeau. Filled with more supernatural action and excitement than before, Curse is the journey into a mysterious and secret universe spanning over six hundred years, filled with the history of the Cahors/Cathers and Deveraux families and how they came to war.

This really is an incredible read. I was sad to finish Curse but pleased to discover that there are three more books to dive into in the Wicked series. Fans of the supernatural genre will not be disappointed by Holly's conflicts with the dark side of her craft, romance with the enemy, and encounters with the 'Black Fire'. Her gradual initiation into witchcraft is also a bonus for those readers who haven't read a lot of paranormal tales and are looking to find a fascinating introduction.

Holder and Viguié's storytelling is gripping and easy but never too fluffy or predictable. The authors are not afraid to give their books a certain dark 'edge' that lacks in a lot of young adult novels and, though Holly and her cousins are well-developed characters, they are easy to get beneath the skins of so that teenage readers will find a heroine to connect with. The Deveraux men also serve well as the fierce enemies, invoking the darkest powers and terrifying the citizens of their hometown out of their wits. These are solid and believable opponents – a trait that makes them all the more frightening to know that they must be defeated.

Fans of the hit TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, might get a kick out of this series of books – Nancy Holder is the author of a wide number of the Buffy novels and has brought her quick wit, great character development, and magical touch to the Wicked series.

If you're given the chance to buy these books or borrow them, do it. You won't be sorry. Fans of this series will also enjoy The Witching Hour by Elizabeth Laird. Children are recommended The Worst Witch series by Jill Murphy, while parents might enjoy sharing My Unwilling Witch (The Rumblewick Letters) by Hiawyn Oram with younger children.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to The Bookbag. I've found a great series that I'm now hooked on. I urge everyone to give these books a try. You won't want to put them down.

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