P. C. Cast

This book is an old favourite - my copy is one of the first published version of this, under the original title Goddess By Mistake - and for that I probably have something of a soft spot for it. Shannon isn't my favourite protagonist but I do like her, and her opinionated, interested, slightly flaily, dedicated voice and self are entertaining and did make me like her. ClanFintan isn't my favourite love interest, either, but I enjoy their dynamic and he is far from the aggravating tropes I find so commonly - and commonly aggravating.

Parthalon is an interesting world and I enjoyed this book, though I've read little of the added-later series beyond it - only the second book, thus far.… (more)

It has been a bit of time since I read these, but I will give my opinion. I enjoyed the first few of this series in the way that I enjoy shows like South Park, mildly entertaining, however completely unstimulating. As a pagan I did enjoy the use of many aspects of Wicca that were brought into daily life for the characters at first. The circle castings were cute, though they do grow progressively mote ridiculous through the series. Props for original ideas, those are hard to find in modern vampire tales. The writing isn't great, but that seems to be common in books marketed to teens. (which I find incredibly counterproductive.) The descriptions and narrative tend to be regurgitated fairly repeatedly and if you continue through the series you will find that the first chapter or two, used to "catch the reader up if they are starting from this point", are almost exactly the same in every book. Overall, decent bubblegum reading if you stick to the first few books, but I believe the cast ladies should have stopped at book 4 and done a few more drafts of each book.
*EDIT*
And then I go and read the comments and remember all the little nagging things that disturbed me...
the ridiculous stereotyping of all of her friends, male, female, from different cultures (her southern character is ridiculous.) of different races, and her pet gay boy. (also the way she frequently feels the need to say, "oh she's pretty but I'm totes not a lez, teehee, that would be gross! not that I'm judging, I don't judge, that makes me totes modern and like forward thinking. lawl!") The slut-shaming. The mental-health-shaming (is there an official term for that?) The overall shallowness of thought that is being implanted into teenagers' heads. Gr. I got pretty far in this series for the same reason I read all 4 twilight books and saw all 5 movies. Common ground with my mother. it's not worth it.… (more)

Draw Down the Moon
Moonstruck, Book 1

I Picked Up This Book Because: Cover lust + liking the author’s previous work.

Media Type: Audiobook
Source: Netgalley
Dates Read: 4/2/24 - 4/3/24
Stars: 4 Stars
Narrator(s): Ina Marie Smith and Jordan Barton

The Characters:

Wren Nightingale:
Lee Young:
Sam, Lily, The one that wears the red sweatshirt all the time and is super brave

The Story:
This is a YA tale that reminds me of Harry Potter Meets Divergent. There’s a magical school, four different houses and something is just not quite right. I love the relationships the Wren has both before and after attending Academia de la Luna. Don’t get too used to them though By the end Wren finds out the truth and some terrible decisions must be made.
I’m really looking forward to the next installment to see how things unfold.… (more)