May 4, 2015

Review: Seriously Wicked by Tina Connolly + Book Giveaway!

Hello witches and warlocks. Today I’m here to tell you a little bit about a new book that I read and loved. I did mention this on my blog this morning, but I’m sharing here as well! Don’t forget to enter the contest below to win a FREE copy of the book! Yippee! That’s at the bottom of this post, but first, let me tell you a little bit about this book AND what I thought about it.

First off, I have just read your new favorite book. Have you heard of Seriously Wicked by Tina Connolly? I’ve actually never read anything from Tina Connolly before but I can assure you that now, I’ll be reading pretty much everything that shoots from this woman’s fingers. Let me give you the details…

About the Book

SERIOUSLY WICKED

by Tina Connolly

The only thing worse than being a witch is living with one.

Camellia’s adopted mother wants Cam to grow up to be just like her. Problem is, Mom’s a seriously wicked witch.

Cam’s used to stopping the witch’s crazy schemes for world domination. But when the witch summons a demon, he gets loose—and into Devon, the cute new boy at school.

Now Cam’s suddenly got bigger problems than passing Algebra. Her friends are getting zombiefied. Their dragon is tired of hiding in the RV garage. For being a shy boy-band boy, Devon is sure kissing a bunch of girls. And a phoenix hidden in the school is going to explode on the night of the Halloween Dance.

To stop the demon before he destroys Devon’s soul, Cam might have to try a spell of her own. But if she’s willing to work spells like the witch…will that mean she’s wicked too?

Pub. Date: May 5, 2015

Publisher: Tor Teen

Where in the World is Seriously Wicked?

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads

Review

First off, if you’re looking for a fun, quirky read, look no further! Seriously Wicked is seriously freaking fantastic! I was absolutely in love with this book from page one.

I think what I love about this book the most is this book is the author, Tina Connolly’s world building. She managed to make this fantastic setting, full of magic, teen angst, mischief, and love and it’s so completely believable.

I think it’s rare that an author can build a magical setting like this and have it be completely believable. Miss Connolly did it flawlessly. It’s not easy to write dragons and pixies and werewolves and have your readers be like, “Yeah, okay, I believe it.” And I did. I believed it and I loved it. I think part of the reason that Tina’s world building is so amazing is that she creatively has come up with these tiny little details that make the story so believable. For example, witches use Witchipedia to look things up. Not Wikipedia. It had me giggling. But it’ s things like this that only make you love the story and the world even more.

I could go on FOR DAYS about Tina’s writing voice. It. Is. Amazing. On the first page alone, I was giggling about dragons and magic and witches. I was completely in love with and cared about the main character Cam, right from the beginning. I like Cam because she’s fun, she’s smart and she’s not a whiney, someone-come-save-me kinda girl. Even the secondary characters are fantastic. I absolutely adored Jenah! And can we all applaud that Tina managed to write a teen that actually had a parental figure that the MC likes and can take advice from? LOL.

I think Seriously Wicked is a super unique read because I feel like there aren’t that many witch stories out there right now that mix contemporary magic and setting with traditional witch lore. And this story, though it is light-hearted and sweet, is unique enough that it absolutely sticks out. I racked my brain trying to figure out what other books are out there like it and I came out with absolutely none. This book is somewhat, in my opinion, groundbreaking in YA.

There were a few twists and turns but what I loved about it most is that since the characters were so relatable, that any person could pick this up and relate to Cam’s longing for belonging, or her coming-of-age, or even her light romance with Devon. I think there’s absolutely something for everyone in this book.

If you’re looking for a bewitching book that will surely put you in a spell, pick up Seriously Wicked by Tina Connolly.

I give this book 5 out of 5 werewolf pups.

About Tina

Tina Connolly is the author of the Ironskin trilogy from Tor Books, and the Seriously Wicked series, from Tor Teen. Ironskin, her first fantasy novel, was a Nebula finalist. Her stories have appeared in Women Destroy SF, Lightspeed, Tor.com, Strange Horizons, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and many more. Her narrations have appeared in audiobooks and podcasts including Podcastle, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, John Joseph Adams’ The End is Nigh series, and more. She runs the Parsec-winning flash fiction podcast Toasted Cake.

She is originally from Lawrence, Kansas, but she now lives with her family in Portland, Oregon, where it is nice and green and wet. Photo credit Caroline M. Yoachim.