Title: Witch Finder
Author: Ruth Warburton (Twitter)
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Publish Date: January 2, 2014
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Pages: 374
Source: Publisher

London. 1880. In the slums of Spitalfields apprentice blacksmith Luke is facing initiation into the Malleus Maleficorum, the fearsome brotherhood dedicated to hunting and killing witches.

Luke’s final test is to pick a name at random from the Book of Witches, a name he must track down and kill within a month, or face death himself. Luke knows that tonight will change his life forever. But when he picks out sixteen-year-old Rosa Greenwood, Luke has no idea that his task will be harder than he could ever imagine.

There's nothing quite like a forbidden romance unless, of course, you're talking about a forbidden romance in which the stakes are much higher, much more dire and play along a life-or-death balance. The beautiful and haunting thing, however, is that Witch Finder takes ups the ante even more, giving us a new take on the age-old witch hunts and sending us into what is inevitably a dark and terrifying spiral of lies and deception. Ruth Warburton brings 1880 London alive in a manner that is dark, bleak and altogether tragic in its own right, luring us into a web of lies that can only result in heartbreak and destruction. However, we're captivated, and we can't look away.

Witch Finder was a maze of complexities for me as a reader. On one hand, I can truly appreciate the author's writing style. Ms. Warburton is a master of plot-weaving, carefully balancing the faster elements with the slower ones and lingering upon those moments that draw out the tension and leave us wanting more. However, it must be said that I don't feel the historical setting was nearly as illustrated as it could, or should have been to support such a  story. In one of my favourite novels, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, the setting of the story was as significant as the characters within the story. That, in large part, is why the book felt so very real to me and worked so well in the end. With Witch Finder, however, it felt as though great, painstaking care was taking when developing the characters and personas of Luke, Rosa and the others, but setting took a noticeable back seat. 

Like I said though, the characters are the highlights of Witch Finder for me, and though Rosa's naivete was a bit trying for me at times, I can't help but feel for her character and her situation. There was a delicate air of vulnerability around her that perfectly complemented the tortured aspects of Luke's persona. While Rosa struggles to deal with painful life at home, all the while balancing immense power, Luke battles to maintain his sanity and his mission to avenge his parents. I was incredibly worried that the author would force us into an insta-love scenario in which Luke immediately stopped hunting the witch he absolutely had to save in order to survive, but I was thrilled to see that Ms. Warburton avoided that trap with ease. You could sense the connection between the two, and the connection was there, but like a cat and mouse game, we're forced to endure the back and forth until the ultimate reveal, which definitely added an element of fun and intrigue to the novel.

All in all, I can't say that Witch Finder was the best book I've ever read, and I do wish we'd had a bit more magic peppered throughout the pages, but it was a solid story with overall solid characters. I'd definitely read on and continue the series gladly, as the ending is not at all what I wanted or expected to read. I give this novel a 3.5 out of 5, and I recommend it to fans of YA, especially those who enjoy fantasy novels.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

Title: Impostor
Author: Susanne Winnacker (Twitter)
Publisher: Hodder Children's
Publish Date: January 2, 2014 (UK)
Genre: YA, Sci-Fi
Pages: 320
Source: Publisher

Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she's spent the last two years with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. There she trains with other Variants, such as long-term crush Alec, who each have their own extraordinary ability.

When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again. Tessa hates everything about being an impostor - the stress, the danger, the deceit - but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she'd do anything to keep.

Science fiction is a genre that I'm fairly certain I'll never grow tired of, especially when novels like Impostor make their way onto the market. This book moved at breakneck speed, sweeping us up into a fantastic, powerful and imaginative journey in which we are helpless but to become fully engrossed and invested in the story. Author, Susanne Winnacker, gives us a contemporary setting that is easy to understand and follow, which makes a science fiction novel work better for me. It makes the scene and the setting much more accessible, and as a reader, I can picture scenes playing out.

Impostor was unique to the science fiction genre though, in my opinion, in that there wasn't a hidden message that I could find in the story. It wasn't so much a political subplot or a masked agenda, which made the story more enjoyable for me. Rather than feeling like I was being preached to, as many dystopian and science fiction novels seem, Impostor's setup made it possible for me to enjoy the story and the characters for what they were at face-value, rather than asking me to delve into deep-rooted subplots that actually pertained to real life. Rather, it gave me action, adventure, drama and intrigue - all without asking me to sign up for a subliminal message.

Tessa was an incredible character, too, which is often a rarity in science fiction. Often we have to settle for either characters or plot, but Impostor managed to give readers both, and in Tessa, we find the girl next door kicked up a notch. I worried that her ability to become another person might leave her character feeling muddled, but Tessa was tangible from start to finish, even as she became Madison. Madison's characteristics became ingrained in her, too, but I never lost sight of Tessa or her power. And, yet, she felt entirely real to me despite it all, as well. Take away her powers and you just have a wonderful, rich teenage character.

The only slight qualm I had with Impostor was with Alex, the love interest. Tessa was a strong character, yet I felt like Alex's character almost tried to overshadow her with diminutive comments and an oft-times patronizing demeanor. He was meant to protect her, and I understood that, but when it was reiterated by him time and again, I could help but feel as though he was trying a bit too hard to be this alpha male who, in all honestly, paled in comparison to the power and persona that Tessa embodied.

Overall though, Impostor was a really, really good read, and it was such a welcome breath of fresh air after a string of so-so novels. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where the series goes and progresses, and I'll definitely continue on. I give it a 4.5 out of 5, and I highly recommend it to all fans of YA, especially those who enjoy science fiction and X-Men-type stories.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill from Breaking the Spine, and specifically spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. As always, there are some amazing upcoming books, but this week I'm particularly excited for...

Title: Witch Finder

Author: Ruth Warburton (Twitter)

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books

Publish Date: January 2, 2014

Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, 

Pages: Unknown

London. 1880. In the slums of Spitalfields apprentice blacksmith Luke is facing initiation into the Malleus Maleficorum, the fearsome brotherhood dedicated to hunting and killing witches.

Luke’s final test is to pick a name at random from the Book of Witches, a name he must track down and kill within a month, or face death himself. Luke knows that tonight will change his life forever. But when he picks out sixteen-year-old Rosa Greenwood, Luke has no idea that his task will be harder than he could ever imagine.

It's been a while since I've read a good historical fiction novel. It's been even longer since a book about witches really captured my eye. In fact, I think it's been since before I started blogging 3+ years ago. Witch Finder sounds rich, layered, complex and just romantic enough to capture more than just the historical fiction crowd. Plus, when a novel like this ventures on the paranormal and gives a fabulous setting (and cover - holy crap!) to book, I'm obviously sold. What do you think, and what are you waiting on this week?

Title: Summer (Beautiful Dead #3)
Author: Eden Maguire
Publisher: Hodder Children's
Published: May 6, 2010
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Pages: 274
Source: Publisher

Six months have passed since the last Ellerton teenager died, but Darina is still traumatized by the stabbing of her own beloved Phoenix. But there's work to be done as Darina must now turn her attention to the shooting of Summer Madison - the beautiful and gifted, singer-song-writer with a heart of gold. It's been nearly a year since the random shooting in a shopping mall caused Summer's meaningless death.

Summer left behind recordings of her wonderful songs and a deep sadness amongst high school friends. Now Darina must act as Summerās agent to track down the psychotic killer in a clear search for justice. With the sound of Summer's music constantly playing inside Darina's head, recalling the wonderful months when she was alive and performing her first gigs, Darina, Phoenix and the Beautiful Dead are determined to catch the crazed killer. And all the while Darina's love for Phoenix continues to beat ...

Summer is dead, and she wants to know why. Brought back from limbo, she’s on the track to solve the mystery surrounding the random shooting that killed her in her prime, but she’s frustrated, and it seems like every time she thinks she’s getting close to figuring out the truth, something else pops up and throws a wrench in it all again. As Summer begins to fade into an everlasting limbo, Darina must discover the truth about Summer’s death at all costs, but it might be more than she was expecting, and without a clear suspect or even a place to start, discovering the truth about Summer’s death might just be too much for the Beautiful Dead this time.

Ok, if you haven’t read the series, Summer is book three in the Beautiful Dead series about the Beautiful Dead, souls chosen to return from limbo, marked with angel wings and given unique powers, to discover what happened to them and why they died. Following the same general premise as the first two books, Jonas and Arizona, Summer starts with a bang – literally picking up with Summer’s sudden death. Eden Maguire has created a rich series with an interesting and fluctuating cast of characters that adds depth to each installment of the Beautiful Dead story.

I read the first two books in the series a good while ago, and I quite enjoyed them, so I was excited to tackle Summer. As with the previous books, I enjoyed the dynamic between Darina and Phoenix, her (un)dead boyfriend, but I have to say that Darina’s voice got to me a bit this time. She was so jealous all the time, and I felt that almost hindered the story of Summer. I wanted to know what happened to Summer, but I felt it was weighted down by Darina’s insecurities. That said, I do love that the plot wasn’t so cut and dried this time. I enjoyed the twists and turns that came with a lack of a suspect in Summer’s shooting, and I thought that really propelled the mystery of Summer forward.

All in all, Summer is a good third installment in the Beautiful Dead series. It definitely kept me guessing despite my issues with Darina this time. I give it a strong 3.5 out of 5, and I’d recommend it to YA fans of the series (you should read books one and two first, or you’ll be lost), as well as those who enjoy fantasy and paranormal novels.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.