Dark Magick By: Cate Tiernan Sweep # 4

 

Dark Magick By: Cate Tiernan

Sweep # 4

"I love Cal Blaire. 

He taught me about wicca. 

He helped me find out who I am.

But now we share a secret. 

A terrible, dark secret that binds us together, 

even as it tears us apart.

I don't know Cal anymore. I don't even know myself. 

And I don't know who or what to trust - 

Except my magick."

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******Spoiler Warning******

Morgan Rowlands 17th birthday has come and she has just killed a man. Although death was not her intention when she threw her athame at Hunter Niall, His falling over the edge of a cliff into the chilly Hudson river surely killed him. Morgan feels guilt and relief about what happened, she didn't mean to kill Hunter, only stop him, but the thought of him being gone and not being able to hurt Cal keeps her calm for the moment. Cal is beaten and bloody with blistering burns on his wrists from where Hunter's silver chain had bound him. She takes him back to his house and cares for him until he has fallen asleep then heads home. Her guilt at what happened makes her call 911 and leave an anonymous tip about someone falling into the river. As a last resort, she sends a witch message to Sky telling her where Hunter fell in and that he needed her help. 

Hours later her guilt makes her return to the cliff where Hunter had fallen in to see if he somehow landed on a cliff and was still alive. While there was no sign of Hunter, she does run into Sky. Sky asks her what happened and says that she can no longer feel Hunter's presence. Sky tries using magick to force Morgan to tell her what happened, but Morgan walls off her mind. She heads to Cal's to check on him and gets intercepted by Selene who hugs her and thanks her for saving Cal's life. Cal is asleep, healing from the ordeal, so Morgan leaves.

She decides to take a trip up to Practical Magick because it has always felt like a safe space for her. While there she tells Alyce about scrying and finding Belwicket's tools. Alyce says that she needs to bind the tools to herself so others cannot easily use them and they will be stronger for her. She copy's down the spell Morgan needs and tells her that she should do it as soon as possible. Morgan does as she was instructed later that night, imbuing the tools with her magick and binding them to her. After hiding the other tools, Morgan starts to read Maeve's BOS, but is using the athame to read along. She starts to see glowing on the page and discovers hidden entries in the BOS that are only visible using the athame. She soon reads about her mother meeting a witch named Ciaran and falling in love with him. She reads how her mother feels pulled toward Ciaran and starts to believe he is her múirn beatha dán. Morgan feels betrayed because Angus was her birth father and they had been dating when her mother met Ciaran. 

When Morgan arrives at school the next day, Selene is waiting for her in the parking lot. She eagerly asks Morgan about Belwicket's tools and offers to show her how to use them and even share her power with them. When Morgan tells Selene that she has already bound the tools to her, Selene seems displeased and says that they can always do a spell to unbind them. Morgan feels possessive of the tools and doesn't know if she wants them unbound. That night Morgan does a scrying circle to try out her new tools, and the fire shows her two possible futures for herself. In the first vision she is a haggard old crone in a cave, but she is immensely powerful and doing major magick. This vision scares her as much as it entices her. The next vision shows her older but beautiful and pregnant, walking through a field happy and calm. The visions flicker back and forth causing Morgan to panic and pull herself from them.

At Cal's house he admits that he lied to her about not knowing what clan he was from. He tells her that his line is from a traditional practicing Woodbane clan unlike Belwicket. He shows her the Woodbane athame birthmark he bares so similar to her own, and tells her that they hide their clan because they don't believe in the councils’ rules about interfering in the lives of humans. He then takes her to a secret room out in the pool-house that he calls his sanctuary or his seómar. This room is small with only a tiny window near the roof and it’s filled with hundreds of candles and sigils covering every inch of the walls. As they sat, Morgan began to find the chaos of the room uncomfortable and claustrophobic. As Cal started talking about them making magick in it, Morgan felt the need to leave and made an excuse that she needed to go home. When Cal calls her later, he tells her that some of his mother’s Woodbane friends want to meet her. For some reason this statement fills her with fear and the need to run. Having a panic attack, Morgan ignores Cal's insistence that she meet with his mother’s friends and hangs up on him, grabbing her keys she flees to where she feels the most safe; Practical magic.

Due to Thanksgiving, Practical Magick was closed, but David opens the door and allows her inside anyway. As she walks to the back room, she stops cold when she sees Hunter sitting at the small table. She asks him how he is alive, and he says Sky found him in the river and pulled him out. The start to argue in circles about who did what, getting nowhere until David steps in and tells them that even though they are afraid, they need to trust each other to face what is coming. Morgan decides the only way she can trust Hunter is if they connect minds and see each other’s truths. As she touches him, sparks and energy flow through her body but she continues. Morgan learns that Hunter was telling the truth about being a seeker for the council and that he was sent to investigate Cal and Selene for misuse of magick. She could feel Hunter searching her mind for any involvement in dark magick and finding none. She also feels Hunters relief when he discovers that she and Cal had not yet been intimate, and flushes with embarrassment and confusion. The mind meld she did with Hunter was far deeper that the one she had done with Cal. They learned each other’s pasts and present and found a level of trust.

Once apart, Hunter was in disbelief that she was able to do a "táth meanma", saying only witches with years of training should be able to do them. Hunter tells Morgan that the sigils that they had placed on her house were sigils of protection, and that he believes Cal and Selene are using her for her power and Woodbane heritage. Sky enters through a back door and freaks out when she sees Morgan sitting with Hunter. She screams that if another witch hadn't seen what she had done and sent her a witch message telling her where to find Hunter, that he would be dead right now. Morgan is furious with Sky for letting her believe Hunter was dead, and yells back that she had sent the message. Sky doesn't believe her because she says she isn't strong enough, but Hunter speaks up saying that she is and that they had just done a táth meanma. Morgan tells them that her and Cal have done a táth meanma also and that it proves that they are not evil. Hunter causes doubt in her resolve when he asks her who led the mind meld and how deep it went. Cal had led it and they had only touched the surface, nothing like what she and Hunter had done. 

Once home Morgan called Cal and told him about Hunter being alive and how it was a weight off her shoulders. Cal seemed angry at the news and even angrier that she was happy about it, so she forwent telling him about the mind meld they had done. He was also upset because she blew off the offer to meet his mother’s friends. Feeling the fear again at the mention of the people, she apologized and said they could talk more tomorrow. Morgan’s feelings about Hunter confuse her, when they were alone Hunter didn't seem so bad, but with Cal, Hunter seems like the worst person on the planet. Hunter comes to her house later that night to re-draw the protection sigils around her house and his presence causes odd feelings within her. They talk for a while out in the cold, and when Morgan shivers, Hunter immediately puts his arms around her and rubs her back to warm her up. She has a moment of awe before she remembers who he is and steps back. They look at each other and Hunter grabs her chin and leans in to kiss her. A car door slams before he does, breaking the moment and she pushes a shocked Hunter back.

The next day, wanting to get away from all the stress in her life, Morgan takes her tools out to a clearing by the river. She sheds all items including Cal's pendant and dons her mother’s robe. In her circle she sees visions or her maternal ancestors passing the tools down from generation to generation until a vision of her mother hands them to her. Her vision self then turns and hands them to a tall girl with hazel eyes; her future daughter whom she will call Moira. She releases the power from her circle to the goddess, and when she opens her eyes, she finds Sky waiting. Sky doesn't believe Morgan has only been studying Wicca for 3 months, and claims that she is the most powerful witch that she has ever met. She tells Morgan that she wishes that she could scry so that Morgan could see the truth about Cal and Selene. Morgan says she can scry with fire and they end up doing a táth meanma and scrying circle together. During the circle they see a vision of the present where Cal and Selene are with others and they are discussing her. They say that she was Cals assignment and is his responsibility to bring into the fold, and he responds saying she will come.

Reeling from the circle, Morgan decides to get Cal's side of the story, but before she confronts him, she hides her mother’s tools under Bree's house knowing no one would think to look for them with her enemy. Cal sends her a witch message to meet him at the cemetery where they held their circle on Samhain. She flat out asks Cal if Selene is trying to hurt her and if they are in a Woodbane coven trying to destroy non-woodbane witches. Cal gets upset and tells her that they are múirn beatha dán's and that she needs to trust him. It isn't until she says out loud that they are not that she realizes that it's true. In an effort to distract him she tells him she knows that he slept with Bree and he finally admits that it did happen once, the news breaking Morgan's heart. Cal says that she was his assignment but he fell in love with her anyway and that they could both leave his mother’s coven after helping her with one last spell. Cal asks her to go meet with his mother and tell her she doesn't want any part of their coven; she refuses and ends their relationship. Cal binds her with a spell and throws her into her own car. While bound, she sends witch messages to anyone she can think of begging for help and telling them Cal has her. Cal brings her to his pool-house sanctuary and puts her inside. He finally notices that the pendant he gave her is gone and gets angry saying she never loved him and hits her with a ball of black energy knocking her unconscious.

When she awakens, she is still locked in Cal's seómar and without his pendant, she can feel the dark energy he has used inside. She makes a circle out of her tears and blood and meditates to try and get the door open, but as it opens a crack smoke comes in as well as voices. She hears Selene asking what Cal is doing and he claims he is solving the problem. The smoke in the room causes her to lose her concentration and the door snaps shut. Cal was burning her alive, just like her mother. The voices disappear and Morgan is huddled on the floor struggling to breathe when she hears familiar voices screaming her name. Bree and Robbie are outside the burning pool-house looking for her, she screams as loud as she can that she is inside and they tell her to move away from the wall. Bree then takes Morgan's car and rams the wall making a hole Morgan can escape through.

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 My opinion on this book

I absolutely love it!

 This is book four of the series.

In the beginning of each chapter through the books there have been journal entries. The first book just had "quotes" from books about witches, but in the next few you see entries from Maeve under her coven name as well as entries from people named Sgáth and Giomanach. We learn through clues in the text as we read who each of these names are. 

Sgáth is Cal's coven name and as we read his entries you see that he is not the perfect boyfriend that he seems to be in the main text of the book, he says that his mother wants his love, but he doesn't say her name until the chapter 11 entry where he says she will be the "flamethrower" in their "war machine". 

Giomanach is Hunter's real name, it's Gaelic for hunter. In his entries you get a look into his past and traumas that he has been through, and learn a lot more about him then you do in the main text. It makes hunter more relatable than an antagonist usually is in a book which gives it depth. My first time reading these books I didn't know who these characters were until they came right out and told us, but reading it this time around knowing who they are beforehand, you see the entries differently. You can see the darkness in Cal that you don't see until the end of this book, and Hunter doesn't seem like such a bad guy when you have gotten to know him. You see them deeper than you do originally and I am loving the re-read because of this.

Cals seómar when I was first reading it gave me the creeps. It doesn't describe it much other than size and what's on the walls. When I picture it, I think of a small room with black walls, floor, and ceiling, white or red sigils covering every inch of the room and white candles all over the floor, it doesn't describe it in detail like that so my mind just filled in the blanks with what I thought might be creepy.

Lastly, I wanted to talk about Cal's pendant, it doesn't go into what it does other than the fact that she felt clearer headed when she removed it, and I always wondered what else it was doing. was it syphoning some of her powers at every circle? Was it what was causing feelings of dread and distrust in Morgan towards Sky and Hunter because Cal did not like them? 

This book was the first one I read that showed me that the first boy who I loved may not be the right one, and that you don't have to sleep with someone just because they say they love you and that you love them. You can always say no.

There is so much more I can talk about, but it will have to wait for future books because I don't want to spoil too much and I need something to write later.

Blood Witch By: Cate Tiernan Sweep # 3

 Blood Witch By: Cate Tiernan

Sweep # 3

"Every day, I learn more about magick. 

The more I learn, the more my power grows. 

Sometimes, my own strength frightens me. 

I know I'm not alone, though. 

Cal is with me, my soul mate, my partner, my love.

Now I feel a shadow over us. 

When I cast out my senses, I pick up danger. 

But is it real, or is it all in my mind?"

************

******Spoiler Warning******

Morgan just discovered her birth mothers lost Book of Shadows in a secret library in Cal and Selene's house while trying to hide from Hunter Niall and Sky Eventide; two witches who cause odd and unrecognizable feelings within her. When she starts reading the Book of Shadows, she ends up losing track of time and is found by Cal and Selene. Although Selene seems calm on the outside, Morgan feels the rage she is hiding underneath and at first feels guilty about entering this private room without permission. Her guilt quickly turns to anger when she remembers that she found her mother’s BOS. She confronts them about keeping her mother’s book from her when they knew she was searching for information and tells them it is her book and she is taking it home. 

On a trip to Practical Magick the next day, Morgan finally tells Cal about Seeing Sky with Bree and Raven in the cemetery. Although unexpected, Cal doesn't seem concerned about the information. Cal buys Morgan a Wicca gardening book as an early birthday present and Alyce tells Morgan she should read a book about Woodbanes. Although skeptical about the book, Morgan trusts Alyce and so she buys it. As they are leaving the shop, they come out to find Hunter crouched near the back of Cal's car. 

After the initial surprise wears off, Hunter and Cal show how much they dislike each other. They take jabs at each other during a short and antagonistic conversation. Hunter Really gets under Cal's skin when Cal tell him he can leave and Hunter says that he plans on sticking around and might even teach Morgan a thing or two while he is here. He then goes on to tell Morgan that Cal is not a "big man" that he is just a "small fry" and that he wants to be around when Morgan realizes it. This upsets Morgan and she tells Hunter off and brushes past him knocking into his arm. When they touch a rush of energy enters Morgan knocking the breath out of her. Afraid of what just happened she begs Cal to leave. As they drive away, she glances toward Hunter and sees him staring at her with a look of hunger on his face.

 Later that night at the coven’s circle, Cal tells Morgan he found a Peorth rune stuck to the underside of his car where Hunter was crouched. The Peorth rune stands for hidden things revealed, and Cal believes that Hunter is spying on them. During the circle the coven members all speak what their goals are, and Morgan's goal is to realize her power. After saying this an ancient Gaelic chant comes to her from an ancestral memory, the way other small spells have been coming to her since her first circle. This chant calls power to her and she briefly enjoys it before it overwhelms her and she has to ground herself. While Morgan is laying down grounding herself, a tiny gray kitten starts to climb on her. Jenna says the kittens are two months old and looking for homes. Remembering the kitten from her mother’s BOS she decides to keep it and gives it the same name; Dagda.

One day at school while in the restroom, Morgan heard Bree and Raven enter. Not wanting to get into a confrontation, she pulled up her feet and hid in the stall. They were talking about their circle with Sky and Raven asked if Bree was able to get some of Morgan's hair. She confirmed that she did get some from an old hairbrush and the girls left the bathroom. She wants to tell Cal about what she overheard but he had to leave immediately after school to help his mother. Instead, Morgan and Robbie decide to go foraging for pinecones for thanksgiving décor. While out with Robbie they hear voices in the forest and come across Matt and Raven discussing Matt joining their coven, when Raving asking doesn't work she starts to kiss him and promise him that if he joins them that they can be together. As much as Matt tried to resist, he eventually gives in to Ravens seductions and they start making out. Morgan and Robbie hide until the others leave, they both feel bad for Matt's girlfriend Jenna, another member of their coven, and Morgan decides she will have to talk to Matt and Cal.

When Morgan gets home from school the next day there is a grey car she doesn't recognize in front of her house. As she walks up Hunter gets out and comes over. The last time she saw him he looked a little ill, but now he looks even worse. He tells her that Cal and Selene are dangerous and that she doesn't know what she has gotten herself into with them. He says that because this is all new to her, she doesn't know any better and that he doesn't blame her but she needs to stay away from them. When Morgan calls him a liar, he claims that they are causing his sickness with dark magick. Morgan tells him off and turns to walk away, but Hunter grabs her arm. She immediately smacks away his hand and blue witch fire shocks him like it did Bakker. Hunter tells her that Cal only wants her because she is a super powerful Woodbane witch from the Belwicket coven, and that all of Belwicket was Woodbane including her parents. He tells her that Cal is a Woodbane as well and that they both have a choice to make. He says he is a member of the International Council of Witches; a large group of blood witches from all 7 of the great clans that make up the equivalent of the Wiccan government, and that he is also Cal's Brother.

After fleeing Hunter and what she hopes are lies, she starts looking through the BOS and finds an entry where her mother confirms that they are indeed Woodbanes. She goes to Cal's to talk and finds Sky getting ready to leave. Cal tells her that Sky was warning him that Hunter was out to get him and that he should be careful. Confused Morgan asks Cal why Hunter is after him but he wouldn't give her an answer. She tells him all that has happened, about the girls in the restroom, Matt in the woods, and even about Hunter and what he told her. Cal tells her knowing she is Woodbane is better than not knowing what she is or being a "mongrel". He also tells her that Hunter 6 months younger than him and the son of the woman his father married after he left them. He doesn't believe his father is also Hunter’s biological father and that at the most they are step-brothers.

Morgan takes a trip up to Practical Magick and ends up talking to David about the ICW, their seekers which are like council police, and being Woodbane. He tells her he is a Burnhide and that some blood witches have physical traits or marks denoting their clan. She shows David her birthmark and he says that it is what’s known as the Woodbane athame but not all Woodbanes have it. After leaving Practical Magick to head home, Morgan sees bright lights in her mirror tail-gaiting her. In her distraction she hits a patch of ice and loses control of her car, crashing it into a drainage ditch. Minutes later Bree pulls up and offers Morgan a ride home. Morgan doesn't know who was in the car that caused her to crash, so feeling that she can’t trust her she declines and walks the rest of the way home.

While waiting alone at home for the tow truck to arrive with Das Boot, Morgan reads a passage in the BOS about how her mother preferred scrying with fire. Morgan herself has always loved fire and decides to try scrying with it herself. She sees many images and many people, but the clearest image was one of Maeve standing near a small house pointing underneath it and smiling at her. A ringing phone breaks her concentration, but when she answers it, no one is on the line. All alone and spooked by the phone call, Morgan locks the doors and windows and she turns on all outside lights before hiding in her bedroom. Sending out her senses she feels the presence of two people on the edge of the property, but when she goes to look all spotted was long pale blond hair before all the lights go out. She knows Sky is outside and believes the other presence to be Hunter, they start circling her house slowly and she believes they are putting a spell on her. After they leave Morgan is too afraid to go outside and look so she decides to wait until morning. When she does go out to look the next morning, there is no sign of anyone ever being there.

Cal was not available so Morgan asks Robbie to take a trip to Meshomah Falls with her to find Maeve's old house. When she finally finds the house, she tells Robbie everything about why they are here and whose house it was. Although shocked Robbie is supportive and keeps lookout while Morgan crawls underneath the house where in her vision Maeve was pointing. Using her senses, she finds a metal box with the initials M.R. engraved on the top. When she opens it later at Robbie's house, they find the Belwicket coven tools inside; an athame with 18 pairs of initials down the blade, a green silk robe with silver and gold embroidery, 4 small silver ritual bowls, and a black wood wand with gold and silver lines and a large crystal sphere at the end. Once home, she uses her mother’s athame and walks around her house again, this time Sigils glowed all around the house.

Later at Cals she tells him about finding her mother’s tools and about the sigils around her house, Cal is ecstatic about the tools and wants to see them but Morgan left them at home. Cal gives Morgan multiple presents for her birthday including an athame, tiger's eye earrings, a spell-weaving book, and a lavender blouse. When Cal tells Morgan that he wants to make love to her, she hesitates and declares that she isn't ready to take that step yet. Instead, they do a two-person meditation circle before gathering all of her gifts and heading outside to take her home. Before they are able to get into the truck, a car pulls in behind them and Hunter gets out.

Hunter accuses Cal of playing Morgan for her power and plotting to destroy the council as well as anyone who is not Woodbane. Cal antagonizes Hunter by saying that he is a killer and that it is his fault their younger brother is dead. Their argument gets more intense and Cal grabs Morgan's birthday athame and takes off into the woods taunting Hunter to come and get him. When Morgan finally catches up to the boys, Cal uses a binding spell on her to keep her from interfering. As Cal and Hunter brawl in the snow, Morgan summons her strength and breaks Cal's spell then runs to grab the athame on the ground. 

Hunter claims to be a seeker for the council and is authorized to take Cal in for his crimes. After pinning Cal, Hunter wraps a silver chain around his wrists. Cal screams in pain and screams to Morgan that Hunter is killing him. In an effort to protect Cal, Morgan throws the athame hitting Hunter in the side of the neck making him stumble. Cal takes the opportunity of Hunter’s distraction to kick him in the chest, sending him over the edge of the cliff and into the icy Hudson river below. Morgan then removes the Chain from his wrists deep red burn marks beneath. Cal tells Morgan that she saved his life and that he loves her more than he ever thought he could and that their future truly begins today. Walking back to Cal's house, Morgan realizes that it is after midnight and officially her birthday, she is now 17.

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 My opinion on this book

I absolutely love it!

 This is book three of the series and I'm going to talk about some of the things I noticed during the re-read. 

Cal's use of the word "mongrel" in this book sent up a red flag this time around that it didn't last time. I'm not sure if it's just that I've matured these last 12 years, that I know where the story leads, or if it’s the society that we live in today, but last time I read the book I focused more on the fact Morgan found out that she was the one thing she didn't want to be, then I did on Cal's reaction to the news. By him saying that being Woodbane was better than being a mongrel, it made me think he sounded like a purist. Kind of like the pure bloods in Harry Potter except more closed off. If he really didn't know what Clan he was from, that would make him a mongrel so I felt this time around like he was lying to her.

This series takes place in 2001, the same time that the first few books came out. This is a normal thing when people write books, a lot of the time they take place around the time of the author writing them so they can include tech and things that they know. Reading this in the year 2021, I noticed things this time around that just make me feel old. For example, not all of the teens have cellphones, Morgan herself doesn't have one but decides to ask for one after her accident. Nowadays you would be hard pressed to find someone in high school who doesn't have one, heck even a lot of middle school kids have them.

Cal mentions that he tried to call Morgan in one chapter, but it wouldn't go through. She replies with the fact that someone must have been online. Morgan is referring to dial-up internet! it’s been so long since I have had to deal with dial-up, that I was actually shocked when I read this line. I also got a wave of nostalgia when Morgan tried dialing *69 to return a phone call. This all takes place before caller ID was big, so the only way you could call someone back if you didn't know who had just called was to *69 them. Hopefully they didn’t *67 before dialing and block your return call like it seems happened in this book. Both of these made me feel very old, I’m almost 30 and remember these things but if a Gen-Z person was to read about these, I’m not sure they would get the references.

Finally, I would like to say that I am impressed that consent exists in these books, other than Raven trying to seduce Matt of course. In the previous books you are told you can't do magick for anyone without their knowledge and consent, Bakker gets hit with a bat when trying to pressure Mary-K into sex, and in these books when Morgan says she isn’t ready for sex, Cal doesn't throw a fit and say "but we are here together in my bed" and try to pressure Morgan into it. I like that these books make consent a key feature and even show that women can be the ones pressuring others (*cough* *cough* Raven).

There is so much more I can talk about, but it will have to wait for future books because I don't want to spoil too much and I need something to write later.

The Coven By: Cate Tiernan Sweep # 2

 The Coven By: Cate Tiernan

Sweep # 2

"I am not who I thought I was. I am not a regular sixteen-year-old girl. 

I am a witch. A real, ancestral witch. My parents are not my biological parents. 

My sister and I share no blood.

Even in the coven, I am too powerful now, too different to belong.

I am alone except for Cal. Cal tells me he loves me, and I need to believe him."

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******Spoiler Warning******

16-year-old Morgan Rowlands has just joined the newly created Cirrus coven. At the coven's creation circle on Samhain; after a display of power making a flower bud bloom in front of everyone, her major crush Cal Blair tells her she is a blood witch: a person who is born with natural magical abilities and then kisses her in front of their entire new coven including her former best friend Bree who believes she is in love with Cal. 

Morgan now believes her parents have been lying to her, because if she is truly a blood witch then they have to be as well. When Morgan's mother finds the Wicca books that Bree leaves on their front porch the next morning in revenge, she bursts into Morgan's room demanding an explanation. Morgan calmly explains to them everything she has learned and suggests that all of them must be blood witches. Her mother screeches that they are not witches, and Morgan laughs and jokingly asks if she was adopted. The silence she got in return to her question made her run to find her birth certificate. Praying she was wrong she looked at where her birth mothers name was and where she expected to see Mary Grace Rowlands, instead she sees Maeve Riordan. Reeling from this revelation, she grabs her keys and runs from the house.

Sitting in her car under the Oak tree near the location of their first circle, a sobbing Morgan says a spell calling Cal to her. He comforts her while she sobs and tells him how she should have known because of how different she was from the rest of her family. He tells her he loves her and that he has wanted to be with her from the beginning. After returning home to an empty house and a locked filing cabinet, Morgan takes to the computer to do a search about her birth mother. She finds a family tree with Wiccan terminology and dates and locations that fit what she knows about her birth mother, but the site shuts down before she can learn much more that the date and location of her death. Morgan goes to the library archives and finds an article about her mother’s body being found in a burned down barn. During a trip to Practical Magick, Morgan learns most of her birth mothers’ story from Alyce, one of the shopkeepers.

After another fight with her parents and Aunt about not being told she was adopted, Morgan leaves to find comfort with Cal again, this time though she finds his mother. Selene invites Morgan in for hot coco and offers to do a two-person calming circle with her to help her with her emotions. She takes Morgan to her sanctuary where she holds her coven’s circles. The circle helps calm her and Selene teaches Morgan some rune magick. She leaves feeling better than she has in days.

The rift between Morgan and Bree has never been worse and Bree is now teaming up with Raven to bad-mouth Morgan. Beth, Ravens best friend tells Cal and the coven that she is quitting Wicca and wants nothing to do with it anymore. After she leaves, Bree and Raven approach the coven and declare they too are quitting Cirrus and joining a new coven with another witch who they do not name.

When they have time alone, Cal tells Morgan about his father and how he left them when Cal was four, to be with another woman and to start a new family. He says he has a step-brother his age and two half-siblings from his father’s second family. Before Morgan leaves, he kisses her and calls her his "múirn beatha dán". She has never heard this term before and he tells her that it means "soulmate" and that they were destined to be together. He then gives her the pentacle necklace he has always worn as a token of his love and devotion to her.

Cirrus' next circle is the first without Bree, Raven, or Beth. Morgan's only remaining best friend Robbie comes in without glasses and believes Morgan has put another spell on him without his knowledge. Morgan swears that she didn't and Cal says that his now perfect vision is probably another result of the spelled facewash Morgan had previously given him. He tells her that because she banished limitations at their first circle and did not set any limitations or restrictions on her facewash spell, it is continuing to fix imperfections on Robbie's face. As long as Robbie does not use it on any other part of his body and does not ingest it, this should be the last side effect. They continue with their circle and Morgan takes her energy and puts it into Jenna; a fellow coven member whose asthma has been bad lately, and opens her lungs and airways so she can breathe.

Morgan's Parents finally sit down at tell her what they know about her birth parents and her adoption. They tell her after trying for years for children they finally applied for adoption, and a few months later on a rainy night an acquaintance calls them up with a child who needed a private adoption. They took her in and a week later read about two people found burned to death in a barn. The bodies were identified as Maeve Riordan and Angus Bramson, the people listed on her birth certificate. The barn had been locked from the outside and set ablaze with gasoline.

Her father continued to search for information for a few years even going to the town where Maeve was from in Ireland. The town was almost completely gone. Some locals from the next town over told him that Ballynigel was a town of witches and that a large and powerful coven had lived there until a dark waterless wave had risen up and destroyed the town and everyone who lived in it. They said that if anyone had made it out alive, they would be hunted down and killed. Her birthparents had been murdered just three years after her ancestral home and family coven had been decimated. After learning all of this, Morgan's parents were afraid that someone would come after her if they knew about her so they decided not to tell her about any of it.

Bree hits Morgan in the face with a volleyball, breaking her nose after she sees her wearing Cal's necklace. Morgan decides to try and confront Bree and hash everything out, but her plan goes array when Bree and Raven drive out to the cemetery that the Samhain circle was held at. Morgan hides and watches the girls when another young woman around their age shows up. The wind is loud and Morgan can only hear fragments of what the girls are talking about, but what she does hear makes her worry that they are planning something dark and dangerous. 

The next day she plans on telling Cal about what she saw and heard but gets distracted making out with Cal in the back of her car. When he asks her if he will be her first, she asks him about what Bree told her and if it was true. He tells her that he never slept with Bree because he was already falling for her and then shows her how to call magick to themselves in intimate situations. While in the back seat Cal notices Morgan's birthmark on her side under her arm, she said that she has always had it and that she loves it even more now because it is rose pink and shaped like an Athame; a Wiccan ceremonial dagger.

While preparing to go to the movies for a triple date with two of the other coven couples; Jenna and Mat along with Sharron and Ethan, they decide to hang out and wait at Cal's house. His mother Selene is having a circle later in the evening and there are already people over. Morgan wants to thank Selene for helping her the other day and they go into the sanctuary to see her. While talking, the young woman who met Raven and Bree in the cemetery comes over and Selene introduces her as Sky Eventide. Sky then introduces the man with her as Hunter Niall. Instantly warry of Hunter, Morgan feels an immediate need to flee and reminds Cal about the movie, but before they can leave Selene asks if she can speak to Cal.

Waiting in the hall for Cal Morgan hears voices coming toward her and recognizes them as Hunter and Sky. Her reaction to Hunter scares her as she has never had this strong of a reaction to anyone before, not even when she first met Cal. She leans against a wall trying to hide when she almost falls through a hidden doorway. Wanting to keep away from Hunter and Sky, Morgan shuts herself inside what looks like to be a private study. Fascinated by the all of the magical items and books, Morgan starts exploring even though she knows she should leave. While browsing, Morgan feels a compelling tingle when she runs her hand over a red book high on one of the shelves. After bringing it down Morgan discovers that the book that called to her was her mother’s lost Book of Shadows. She starts reading it losing track of time and ends up being found by Cal and an upset Selene. 

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 My opinion on this book was that I absolutely love it!

 This is book two of the series and I have re-read it a few times over the years. The series is still a favorite of mine. Reading this I felt I understood Morgan. Our situations were nothing alike, but our personalities were similar, shy girls who didn't stand out compared to their beautiful friends. Never dating anyone or being on anyone's radar. Having a religious family who didn't understand my interests and some of whom would "disown" me if I even questioned my religion in front of them. 

I connected with Morgan and this series immediately, and even before reading it I was fascinated with Wicca. All I ever wanted to be for Halloween was a witch, I loved movies like Teen Witch (1989) and Practical Magic (1998), and Charmed (1998-2006) was my absolute favorite TV show ever. 

*Side note; my wonderful husband bought me the Charmed Complete collection BOS Edition for our first wedding anniversary. It's so pretty and I love it so much! He is the best husband anyone could ask for!

I've shared this series and my love for it with a few close people over the years. One of my younger sisters who I knew was openminded and very much a bibliophile like me, and who I knew wouldn't shun me for reading a fictional story about Wicca, my best friend after adulthood who eventually became my sister-in-law, and finally my husband’s uncle who is a practicing Wiccan. Everyone I have recommended it too has loved it and I’m so glad I got to share a part of something I love with the people I love.

Knowing what happens in the rest of the books and how I connected to them, as well as the lessons I took away from reading them, I find it hard to write an unbiased review without including things that haven't happened yet. There are characters I love and ones that I now can't stand, that many people wouldn’t understand yet at this point why I feel the way I do. All I can say is that this series has remained one of my absolute favorite series for years and I am enjoying re-reading and summarizing them for this blog.

Book Of Shadows By: Cate Tiernan Sweep # 1

Book Of Shadows By: Cate Tiernan

Sweep # 1

"Something is happening to me that I don't understand.

I see things, feel things in a new way. I can do things normal people can't do.

Powerful things. Magical things. It scares me.

I never chose to learn witchcraft. But I'm starting to wonder if witchcraft is choosing me."

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******Spoiler Warning******

Morgan Rowlands is a 16-year-old Junior in high school, living in the small town of Widow's Vale, about two hours north of New York city. Although smart and taking senior math and science classes, Morgan describes herself as an ordinary girl with broad shoulders about 5'6" with long single length medium brown hair, dark eyes, a strong nose, and still awaiting a visit from the breast fairy. She lives an ordinary life with parents who are still married and love each other and a younger sister everyone adores. They go to church every Sunday and have brunch at the local diner. Morgan is described as the Owl of her family while the rest of them are larks, she is different in many ways but they still love each other. She has two best friends she has had since childhood that no matter how they have changed have managed to stay close

Her ordinary life becomes unsettled upon meeting the new senior Cal Blaire, with his black-brown hair, golden eyes, and perfect olive skin. Cal quickly becomes the most popular and sought-after guy in school, drawing the attention and admiration of every girl, including Morgan, her best friend Bree Warren, and popular goth girl Raven Meltzer. Having quickly gained popularity with his air of charisma and good looks, Cal manages to befriend several students from all different cliques and invites them to a party in a field at the edge of town. During the party, Cal reveals he is a witch and practices Wicca and hoped to celebrate Mabon; the Autumnal Equinox, one of the Wiccan Sabbats by inviting his peers to join him in a circle.

Many of the partygoers leave feeling discomfort at the idea, but Bree and Morgan as well as a few others decide to stay for the circle. During the circle Morgan banishes limitations and feels a sort of dizzy energy and a small pain in her chest, this draws Cal's attention as no one else has this reaction. From that moment on, Morgan begins showing a natural affinity for Witchcraft, she seems to know things she should not know before they happen, like numbers of the hymns church, who's calling before the phone rings, and even what someone has behind their back. Morgan's reaction to Magick sparks Cal's interest and he tries to get closer to her. 

Bree tells Morgan that she fallen for Cal and wants to be with him, although Morgan feels the same way she decides she has no chance with him and keeps her feelings to herself. Bree takes Morgan to an Occult bookstore Cal told her about just north of Widow's Vale in Red Kill called Practical Magick. She feels an odd longing to be in the shop and to know all about Wicca. She purchases a few books, one on wicca and another recommended to her by the shop owner about blood witches and the seven great clans. The shop owner makes her nervous as he seems to know something about her that she doesn't know herself. He asks her about her clan insinuating that she is a blood witch.

The second circle has much the same effect on Morgan as the first and Cal tells the others that she is a very sensitive energy conduit, and helps her ground herself afterwards. The group then decides to go for a swim (skinny dipping) and Morgan panics comparing her body to those of her friends. A naked Cal tries to talk her into joining, but when he can't convince her and she tries to leave, he scoops her up in his arms and walks her into the pool, much to the annoyance of Bree. The next day, after reassuring Bree that the pool incident wasn't her coming on to Cal they make up, but it doesn't change Morgan's feelings

One day Morgan's parents find her Wicca books and her mother goes ballistic. Her family is Catholic and believes witchcraft to be sinful and the work of the devil. They tell her that those books are not allowed in their house and she must get rid of them. Bree tells her she can keep them at her place and she decides not to attend the next circle because of her parent's feelings, even though it upsets her. She soon decides that even though it's not what her parents want for her, she wants to be a witch and decides to practice on her own since she had already missed two circles. She tries a beginner spell for clear skin one night and gives it to her friend Robbie who has struggled with horrible acne since seventh grade telling him it was a new facewash her mom bought.  

Just days after giving her spelled tincture to Robbie, he comes to school with healing skin, Robbie doesn't tell anyone he got a cream from her, and doesn't ask Morgan about it but keeps looking at her, Cal looks at her like he knows she had something to do with it. By the end of the week Robbie's skin is completely clear and he tells the group his suspicions. Cal, Bree, and Robbie confront Morgan about her spell, Robbie is hurt that he was used as a guinea pig, but still happy about the results. Cal warns her not to do spells until she has been trained, but seems more impressed and interested in her abilities which upsets Bree who was already jealous of Cal's attention.

  Cal snubbing Bree's advances irritates her, so as Cal's attention to Morgan becomes apparent, a rift in Bree and Morgan’s friendship emerges. Starting with the incident at the pool party, and getting deeper every time Bree sees Cal and Morgan together. Her Jealousy finally overtakes her while she is driving Morgan to that week's circle. An argument ensues and Bree ends up Leaving Morgan on the side of the road too far from their destination to make it on time. Upset and hurt from the argument and losing her best friend, Morgan begins the long walk home. At the circle, Bree tells the group that Morgan will no longer be participating.

Later that week Bree sits beside Morgan in the library and tells her that she and Cal have slept together and will soon be a couple, so they can go back to being friends again and put their whole fight behind them. Hurt at the thought of Bree and Cal together and still furious at Bree for what she had done, Morgan tells her that what she did will never be behind them. She says that she is going to the circle on Samhain; the witch's new year on October 31st, and that she wants to be a witch because she actually has a connection to it, unlike Bree who is only pretending to be interested in it for the guy.

During the Samhain gathering Cal and his friends form a coven called Cirrus. During this circle Morgan feels filled with magical energy, after they have stopped their chanting and spinning, she reaches out to a flower bud and it blooms in front of everyone. Cal tells Morgan she needs to ground herself and lays her down on the ground with her head in his lap. She asks him what is happening to her. He tells her that she made magick and that she is a blood witch: a person who is born with magical abilities, and is able to trace their ancestry back to one of the original seven clans. after this revelation Cal leans down and kisses her in front of the entire coven.

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 My opinion on this book was that I absolutely love it!

 

This book is one I have re-read many times over the years; it was one of the first series I ever read and has stayed a favorite of mine. I first read it in high school when I was 17. I instantly felt a connection to Morgan. Besides the fact that we both thought of ourselves as ordinary and had similar features, we both took an interest in wicca and had strict god-fearing families who didn't approve. 

 As a seventeen-year-old who had just gotten into reading (thank you Twilight) I didn't know what to expect, I didn’t know what good writing looked like and so I just read whatever I could find that interested me. I didn’t have a Genera or know what I liked yet so I browsed the fiction section. Over the years I had read a few books I enjoyed, but I had never found anything that got me to want to read more.

 I found this series in my school library and picked it up mainly because of the title of book one. As I said I had become interested in wicca so I knew what a book of shadows was and it intrigued me. I devoured the book in a matter of hours and returned the next day for the next one. I checked the books out two at a time (my schools limit) and would return them and get the next two the following day.

 Weekends were torture because two books would not last me Friday, let alone the rest of the weekend. I ended up going to Barnes and Noble over the weekend and buying some of them to continue reading. I eventually went and purchased them all after I turned 18 but that’s another story.

 Re-reading them years later I still love them and enjoy the nostalgia they bring back. As a 29-year-old I see the characters as young and naive whereas at 17 I saw them as nearly adults, probably due to the fact that I saw myself that way. I now have siblings and cousins the age that Morgan is in the books and I look at things a little differently.

 Now that I have been reading for avidly for over a decade, I can see that the writing is not as advanced as other things I have read, but I have to keep in mind that this series was written for 8-12 graders. It is a young adult coming of age story about a young girl who finds herself and the truth about herself all while navigating adolescence, friendships, and love.

 I will always love this series and will continue to recommend it to anyone who will listen. This story spoke to me and connected me to a million other worlds in books, and without stories like this one (and Twilight) I would not have become the bibliophile that I am today.