Once a Witch [Hardcover]

 

 

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Seventeen years ago, Tamsin Greene was born. Her grandmother told her mother, "Your daughter will be one of the most powerful we have ever seen in this family. She will be a beacon for us all."

Tamsin lives with a family of witches. And 17 years later, her grandmother's prophecy still has not come true. In fact, Tamsin is the only person in her entire family without a Talent.

So when a mysterious stranger mistakes Tamsin for her Talented sister, she jumps at the chance to help him and prove that she can be useful. However, the stranger is not what he seems, and soon Tamsin and her family are in great danger. Does Tamsin have a Talent after all, and will she be able to use it to save everyone she loves?

This is a great urban fantasy story with magic, romance, time travel, and adventure. Tamsin is an excellent heroine - she's a black sheep, but she has a sense of humour and determination that make her easy to like.

Excellent book!

***May contain spoilers***

When I first started reading this book I felt so gosh darn badly for Tamsin as her story is quite sad. She was the only person in her family (and a large family at that) who was born without a Talent and as such she was seen as the black sheep of the family. Therefore when a man, Alistair Callum, came to her family's bookstore in the hopes of hiring someone to aid him in finding a family heirloom I think I may have jumped at the chance to prove to her family her worth faster than Tamsin herself did. But then when it became apparent that Alistair was looking for help from Tamsin's sister Rowena and not Tamsin therefore leading to Tasmin pretending to be her sister I just couldn't help thinking to myself, 'Tamsin are you sure this is a good idea? This sounds like it could end similarly to when some brainless female from a horror story hears a weird noise outside and goes out to check it out knowing that there is a serial killer outside and gets her head hacked off by said serial killer'.

Tamsin was completely different from the female characters that I typically read (ie. girly girls who get introduced to the paranormal world by either their love interest or when they discover that their life is a gigantic lie and they are some paranormal being themselves), with her chain-smoking-when-stressed,-vintage-clothing-shop-lover,-artistic-and-the-likes-of-tendencies and I really did appreciate her uniqueness.

As soon as Carolyn wrote that when Tamsin was biking home and ran into a person who emitted a male 'Oomph' I felt like we were in for a treat and that said male would become a love interest- and boy were we ever in for a treat! To describe said boy (Gabriel) in one word? Hot. But more than that he was just such a sweet guy and super caring (I mean how many guys would write to their female friend that they left behind years beforehand when his parents moved him across the country and when he returned he was upset with his female friend for not responding to his letters?)... But I just felt like Tamsin was super hard on him and on occasion anti-Gabriel and more than once in the story I felt like shaking Tamsin and screaming at her, 'Gabriel is such a nice guy who is clearly in love with you SO WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN TO HIM? WHY DON'T YOU JUST THROW HIM A BONE AND GIVE HIM A CHANCE?!?' Anyways, Gabriel? Super swoon-worthy!

Furthermore the world of witches that Carolyn created I thought was really quite unique, unlike I have ever read before (all of the various Talents that everyone had? Super cool! I don't think that there would be a single one that I would be unhappy with having). My biggest complaint (aside from Tamsin being unappreciated of Gabriel and all he had to offer) was the action. I felt like the first ' of the story were a bit slow and when the action did pick up it lasted only a handful of pages.

All in all, I do think that it was a good YA read and that the world in which Carolyn has created is super unique. Also, this book doesn't follow the stereotypical YA plot line (love triangle, disappearing parents, and the likes of) so yay for that!

Tamsin's family all have Talent - it manifests at the age of eight. However, Tamsin never fully developed; she's the only one with no Talent. She's spent her whole life on the outside wishing she fit in with her family.

She's clumsy and awkward but has the perfect older sister who will one day take over the family business of finding lost items through their bookstore. One day, a man comes into the bookstore looking for Tamsin's sister. Tamsin is the only one there and allows him to believe she can help him.

She's determined to find the clock he's looking for, an old family heirloom. Without understanding the consequences, she enlists an old friend to help her recover the item. Together, they've unleashed a danger far greater than they ever imagined - a danger that could lead to their clan's ruin. Can they do damage control or is it too late?

I adore books about witches and the cover of ONCE A WITCH definitely caught my eye. I really enjoyed reading and uncovering the mystery behind layers of family drama, romantic suspense, and danger.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel

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Carolyn MacCullough's Once a Witch is the story of Tamsin who was born in a a family of witches and who was supposed to be the most Talented among them. Read more

Published 22 months ago by B. Kounlavout

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