Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Title: Born Wicked
Author: Jessica Spotswood
Series: The Cahill Witch Chronicles Book 1
Format- Hardcover
Published- February 7th 2012
Publisher- G.P Putnam Son's (Imprint of Penguin Group Inc.)
Pages- 330
Source- Library

Overview:
The Cahill sisters are known around town as being... different. They are much too pretty, too isolated, and too educated for their own good. The sisters live in a time where witches are persecuted and women are told to be obedient to their husbands who are much superior than them. It is a dangerous time for the sisters because they are in fact witches. Cate, the eldest, tries to keep their magic hidden while Maura, the middle child, flagrantly uses magic like it's a gift and not a curse. Tessa, the youngest, is more obedient towards her eldest sister but magic is something still remarkable to her so she doesn't know to fear it and the consequences it can bring her and her sisters.

The sisters just aren't the same without their mother who was a witch herself. They cannot confide in their father for fear that he will break even more. The only thing to do is to keep it to themselves so that the Brotherhood or Sisterhood will never find out. But with Cate almost having to declare who she will marry or if she will go off to the Sisterhood she is even more wary of the time that is coming and what it means foe her and her sisters. New discoveries of love and danger, choices that have to be made, tension between two sisters and emotions rising because of everything going on - Cate must always do what's best to keep her promise to her mother, to protect her sisters. But who will be there to protect her?

Review:
The gorgeousness of this book cover is just unbelievable. Loving the flowers and the old feel to her look and the setting surrounding her. It screams - pick me up! Cate as the eldest has to take care of her sisters after her mother dies which is no easy task. She has to act like the mother in the relationship because her mother, before she died, asked her to take care of them so she took that to heart. I was worried Cate was going to be a total bore but she recants what she was like in childhood and I knew there was hope. Not only that but her love interest and her make me practically giddy! If you were to walk into the room while I was reading with them in a middle of a conversation you would see this ridiculous smile on my face and squealing sounds of delight coming out of me. I love these two. She also proved me wrong on her own. I connected with her so much during the book. I would love to have her on my side because I know she would fight for me fiercely even if she suffers in the process.

The love interest is Finn Belastra (love the name) who is not the hot, dashing, bad boy type of guy which I seriously need a break from. He loves books and is poor but has the cutest little gap in between his teeth (I never liked my gap when I was younger but on him it sounds adorable) and orange hair. He's sweet and later on Cate finds how loyal he is with his family which is right up her alley. There is another guy but she hasn't seen him in ages and the summary on the book flap does not mention him so you know he's unimportant... slightly.

Maura is a firecracker. One day she doesn't have magic and the next day it's busting out of her seams which really describes herself all on its own. She's very immature even though she's the middle child and not much younger than Cate (about a year or two). She really wants more for her life and you can admire her for wanting more. She reminded me a little of Belle from Beauty and the Beast, books and all. Although she can be hotheaded you can't help but like her personality and know that she's acting this way for a reason. She just wants out. She appreciates her gift unlike Cate. With all that rebellion she can be very sensitive; enough that you want to give her a hug.

Tess is the cleverest of them all. Her mother made Cate only use magic in the garden so that's where she goes. I can only remember her using it once during the present tense of the book where she made a flower become alive during fall. She's very observant so it's like she can see into people's souls. That can go a long way especially since she's so observant I feel like she will be invaluable in the upcoming books.

The Brotherhood likes to think woman are second class. I guess there can be no guy warlocks/wizards so they really only worry about the girls. They uprooted the witches before and proceeded to execute them. Now if you are caught being a witch you'll get sent to an asylum?/prison or to work in hazardous conditions where you can starve and die. The Sisterhood is the girl version of The Brotherhood but they have no real authority. They do get sent as governesses so they can be a problem. They are both a constant worry to Cate. The Brotherhood is very religious and domineering and I just imagine them as a Malfoy but not at all in a good way. I can imagine them looking at a girl with disgust or haughty arrogance and I seriously want to strangle them.

There are couple of surprises in this book and I can just imagine an all-out battle against the Brotherhood later. I despise the Brotherhood so I would love to see this happen to them. I say this because there is a prophecy and you know whenever there is a prophecy it can only mean bad things for the main characters. I won't say what it is though. It has some surprises in it. I declare that this book is utter genius. It is brilliant, amazing, astounding, and all other adjectives out there that tell you how much I truly loved this book. From the sweet romance, to the mystery and danger lurking around where the sisters least expect it, to Cate's overwhelming loyalty to her mother and sisters, and finally to the enchanting yet disturbing sides of their magic. This book soared beyond my hopes. It's not only a pretty cover, it is a gorgeous tale ultimately of sisters and loyalty. I am so very sad that I have to wait till March for this book. Oh the woes of being a reader... I'm looking forward to the cover reveal of Star Cursed and all that Spotswood is going to dish out at me. Just please don't break my heart too much.