Seeker by Cate Tiernan

Title: Seeker
Author: Cate Tiernan
Publisher: Puffin Books
ISBN: 0-141-31551-2
Pages: 172
Series: Wicca/Sweep #10
Type: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Hunter Niall's parents disappeared eleven years ago, trying to save their children and outrun a mystical dark wave. Hunter was left with a lot of unanswered questions and has been looking for his parents for years. Now he has finally tracked his family down and he is travelling to Canada in search of answers. But all is not as Hunter expects and soon he finds himself with more questions than ever before, questions that place his dedication to the International Council of Witches in doubt.

This is the tenth book in the Wicca series (after Book of Shadows, The Coven, Blood Witch, Dark Magick, Awakening, Spellbound, The Calling, Changeling and Strife) and is the first book to be written from Hunter's perspective. A change in narrator like this can often spell trouble for a long-running series, but I liked Hunter's voice and found it interesting to see things from his perspective. Morgan's diary entries are also included so the reader can also keep track of events back in Widows Vale.

The mystery of where Hunter's parents are has been a key part of his character development and plotlines since his introduction and now there are finally some answers. To me, the most interesting part of this book is Hunter's internal struggles with what has become of his family and whether he is happy with the direction his life has taken. Hunter has always seemed very self-assured and confident in his role as a Seeker so it is great to see that he has doubts sometimes.

Once more morality is a big part of the storyline, although this time it is focused more on the question "is the wrong thing done for the right reasons still the wrong thing". Morals become clouded, choices aren't clear cut and the characters all deal with this dilemma in different ways. Hunter strives for the right thing to do while his father Daniel no longer cares about right and wrong.

All in all this was a fun read and I'm looking forward to Origins.

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 7/10

Overall: 45/50

Strife by Cate Tiernan

Title: Strife

Author: Cate Tiernan
Publisher: Puffin Books
ISBN: 0-141-31550-4
Pages: 188
Series: Wicca/Sweep #9
Type: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Morgan has experienced both the beauty and the terror that magick can bring yet she has managed to find a place of peace within herself. With her boyfriend Hunter by her side she is looking forward to learning as much as she can about the craft. But when strange telekinetic events start to occur around Morgan, a dangerous question arises. Is someone deliberately targeting her, or are the events somehow being caused by Morgan herself?

This is the ninth book in the Wicca series (after Book of Shadows, The Coven, Blood Witch, Dark Magick, Awakening, Spellbound, The Calling and Changeling) and causes Morgan to take somewhat of a step back and leaves her without her magick. The threat in this book is more insidious than before as no-one can determine it's origin. Morgan has drawn the attention of powerful dark witches but the randomness of the events doesn't seem to fit. This means that the tension is brought up a notch and the unseen foe adds an air of mystery.

One thing I liked about the storyline is that as Morgan begins to doubt her magick, her parents force her to look at what her interest in wicca has cost her. Her life is out of control with her grades freefalling and a lack of connection with her family. It is the first time Morgan has had to work at her mundane life and it is great to see how realistically this is dealt with.

There is also more of a focus on Alisa, the youngest member of Kithic and one of Mary K's closest friends. Alisa is terrified of Morgan's powers and so there is the introduction of witch hysteria into Morgan's world. This, strangely, also leads Morgan to connect with her healing gifts adding a new dimension to her studies.

All in all, this was a great read and I'm looking forward to Seeker.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 8/10

Overall: 47/50

Teaser Tuesday (24)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

My teaser:

"Wave after wave of emotions flooded over me - despair, agony, longing, regret, fear. Deep fear."

~ Page 32, Strife by Cate Tiernan

Changeling by Cate Tiernan

Title: Changeling
Author: Cate Tiernan
Publisher: Puffin Books
ISBN: 0-14-131484-2
Pages: 188
Series: Wicca/Sweep #8
Type: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Morgan Rowlands has discovered a terrible secret about her origins that has thrown her entire life into doubt. She pushes her beloved Hunter away, determined to isolate herself so as not to threaten the lives of those she loves. But as soon as she does Morgan is contacted by the International Council of Witches. It turns out she is uniquely qualified to help them deal with a dangerous witch...but doing so could cost her her life.

This is the eighth book in the Wicca series (after Book of Shadows, The Coven, Blood Witch, Dark Magick, Awakening, Spellbound and The Calling) and it picks up shortly after the last left off. Morgan has broken up with Hunter and distanced herself from her friends and so this story takes a more introverted view. A large part of the story comes from Morgan's inner thoughts and, with her family away on vacation, this guides her choices throughout.

The morality of good versus bad has been covered before in the series but this installment takes it one step further by looking at how much personal choice is involved. Can a person be predestined to be either good or bad, or can they choose their own path? For that matter is it a one time choice or something that must be repeated? Heavy themes but well handled so that the characters and reader can come to their own conclusion.

With Hunter and Morgan separated the romance angle of the storyline is less than previously and this gap is filled with tension, not only from Morgan's work with the council but from the strained relationships throughout the book. Killan makes a welcome return and he manages to spread both joy and chaos in his wake, giving the book some lighter moments to balance the dark.

All in all this was a great read and I'm looking forward to Strife.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 8/10

Overall: 47/50

The Calling by Cate Tiernan

Title: The Calling
Author: Cate Tiernan
Publisher: Puffin Books
ISBN: 0-14-131483-4
Pages: 189
Series: Wicca/Sweep #7
Type: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Purchased
Goodreads


Morgan Rowlands has discovered magick and with it love, danger and betrayal. Now she has escaped from the grasp of dark witches who wanted only her powers and has found peace within herself. With her boyfriend Hunter, Morgan is ready to face anything...or so she thinks. When she begins to have disturbing dreams about the death of a young witch, Morgan and her coven travel to New York to help but end up changing their lives forever.

This is the seventh book in the Wicca series (after Book of Shadows, The Coven, Blood Witch, Dark Magick, Awakening and Spellbound) and begins a new era for Morgan. Cal and Selene are gone and Morgan is now in a relationship with Hunter. Morgan is also starting to grow into her powers and become more accepting of who she is. This also marks somewhat of a turning point for the series - from this point on the battles are bigger, the highs higher, the lows lower and the magick steps further from modern wicca into the realm of fantasy.

By moving the setting to New York, there is also the opportunity to focus back on a smaller group of characters. Previously the two covens of Cirrus and Kithic had united which meant a lot of characters with not much pagetime. In New York there is only Morgan, Hunter, Bree, Robbie, Sky and Raven which not only means a tighter focus and more depth but also a romantic angle that is far more prevalent than before. It is interesting to read about how different each of the three couples are, and how each has their own unique strengths and weaknesses.

One thing that has remained from the previous books is the careful crafting of tension. Morgan's time is spent looking for a witch in danger, but also on discovering more about her past. Her birth parents lived in New York for a while and Morgan's search to find out more puts one friendship in jeopardy. There are also several twists and turns I didn't see coming leading to a shocking conclusion.

All in all, this was an interesting read and I'm looking forward to Changeling.

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 47/50 

Impromptu Hiatus

Hi guys! Sorry for disappearing on you. I've been a bit under the weather over the last month and haven't really been up to blogging. I'm feeling better now and I'm hoping to get back on track :)

Bloggiesta - Summary

Bloggiesta has now finished and I've managed to do okay. I've sorted out my pages and updated my challenges. Some of my old posts have been converted to the new format, but I keep getting error messages from Blogger so I'll be leaving the rest for another day when hopefully this will be sorted.

Thanks to Suey at It's All About Books for hosting such a fun and educational weekend :)