Review: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
First in a possible series

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship--or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with six months to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate stars scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood -- not even from each other.

I love, love, love historical fiction. I love how it can transport me to another century and make me want to live there but even though this book did transport me to the late 1800s I certainly don't want to live in it. In this setting the 'Brotherhood' controls everything and women have absolutely no power and being a witch means being arrested or worse. This makes life very hard for the main character and her two younger sisters since they’re witches.

I really liked Cate she was strong and stood up for what she believed in. She was also very protective of her younger sisters Maura and Tess and as someone with two younger sisters that made her very relatable. The middle sister Maura annoyed me so much. To me she was whiny and ungrateful but in the end I felt bad for her. The youngest sister Tess was awesome and I feel like we haven't seen all of her yet. Now onto the love interests yes there's two but don't let that turn you off. Finn was so adorkable he was a reader and he had freckles and I just absolutely loved him. The romance between him and Cate was so perfect and I loved how he would do anything for her. I totally want to go read the cute parts again. Paul was the other love interest and I actually liked him he was really nice and I really liked the history between him and Cate but I'm still very team Finn.

I thought everything about this book was fantastic and the ending already has me dying for the next one. I seriously hope it comes out as soon as possible. If you're looking for a book that's historical but not really heavy historical or a book about witches I would definitely recommend this :)
5/5 stars

-Marissa