Stunning cover - love the colors
Mark of the Wicked
By Georgia Bowers
Magic always leaves its mark.
All her life, Matilda has been told one thing about her magic: You use only when necessary. But Matilda isn't interested in being a good witch. She wants revenge and popularity, and to live her life free of consequences, free of the scars that dark magic leaves on her face as a reminder of her misdeeds.
When a spell goes awry and the new boy at school catches her in the act, Matilda thinks her secret might be out. But far from being afraid, Oliver already knows about her magic - and he wants to learn more. As Oliver and Matilda grow closer, bizarre things begin to happen: animals show up with their throats slashed & her name carved into their bodies, & a young girl dies mysteriously. But she isn't responsible -- at least, not that she can remember. As her magic begins to spin out of control, Matilda must decide for herself what makes a good witch, and discover the truth...before anyone else turns up dead.
***Disclaimer: I was given this arc by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own***
The premise of this book is fantastic. I loved the idea that if a magic user harms someone, it shows up on their skin. I also loved the idea of a main character who is a bit wicked. I honestly didn't like Matilda at first, not because of how wicked she is, but because she just seemed like any other bratty, rebellious teen. She did get better as the book continued. I honestly don't think she was wicked at all(maybe a tiny bit gray). She's a teenager who wants a bit of revenge on the people who have bullied, shunned, or otherwise hurt her. What teen wouldn't want that? I'm certain most would.
This book did a great job of building up tension and at times I did feel actually uncomfortable reading it, which lead to me putting it down for a couple of days at a time before picking it back up again because I really did want to know what happened next. The dead animals, weird occurrences, and some of Matilda's visions were disturbing. The feeling of being followed and not knowing who to trust and the fact that the book was also counting down the days to Halloween also lead to a sense of dread. I did know the big twist pretty much right away, but that still didn't stop that uncomfortable build up from happening. I think that says quite a bit about the author's writing.
I thought the family dynamics in the book were fantastic. The resentment toward and distance Matilda had with her mom was very true to life. Lack of communication and feeling hurt at the heart of it all. The grandmother! Oh, I loved her. She didn't talk much, but you could still tell there was so much love and strength there. A truly wonderful character.
This is a solid debut and I am looking forward to reading anything else this author does in the future. This would be a fantastic book to read in October, as it had that spooky feel to it, with that countdown to Halloween. Perfect read for a chilly autumn night, curled up under a blanket with a mug of tea or hot cider.
About the author:
Georgia Bowers lives in Bedford, a small market town in England. When she got to the age where she had to decide what to do with her life, she was obsessed with two things: books and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It seemed sensible to follow in the brogued footsteps of Rupert Giles, so she became a librarian, though sadly not the demon fighting kind. But there’s still time. Ever since her mum told her that witches used to meet in the woods near their village she has been obsessed with witchcraft and the paranormal. When she was a teenager, a weekly habit of Point Horrors satisfied her thirst for chilling tales before she moved on to reading Stephen King. These days she likes to give her nerves a break every now and then with a good YA romance.
After completing a course in writing YA fiction she was a winner in the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Undiscovered Voices. Since then she has dabbled with stories of chosen ones and ghostly best friends until she conjured up the magical ingredients for her debut novel, Mark of the Wicked.
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