Author: Carolyn MacCullough
Publication: Clarion Books (August 1, 2011)
Description: Since the gripping conclusion of Once a Witch, Tamsin Greene has been haunted by her grandmother’s prophecy that she will soon be forced to make a crucial decision—one so terrible that it could harm her family forever. When she discovers that her enemy, Alistair Knight, went back in time to Victorian-era New York in order to destroy her family, Tamsin is forced to follow him into the past. Stranded all alone in the nineteenth century, Tamsin soon finds herself disguised as a lady’s maid in the terrifying mansion of the evil Knight family, avoiding the watchful eye of the vicious matron, La Spider, and fending off the advances of Liam Knight. As time runs out, both families square off in a thrilling display of magic. And to her horror, Tamsin finally understands the nature of her fateful choice.
My Thoughts: This sequel to Once a Witch starts right where it left off. Tamsin is getting used to the idea that she does have Talents and some pretty extraordinary ones too. But she is plagued with bad dreams and with her grandmother's prophecy that she will have to be the beacon for her family.
The villain of the first book Alistair Knight has found a way to go back into the past to try to right what he sees were wrongs. But his changes could result in the destruction of the Greene family. Tamsin needs to go back in time to 1887 New York City to stop Alistair before he changes everything.
Tamsin has been to the past before with Gabriel but this time she is going alone. Her first problem is locating the Greene family. Before she finds them, she gains entry into the Knight home as a maid and sees for herself how ruthlessly they use their Talents.
Then, after finding the Greene family, she can't convince them that the Knights are a threat until they capture and hurt one of the Greenes. Gabriel does manage to find her and follow her to the past but it is dangerous for him. If he stays longer than three days, he can die.
The story was filled with interesting characters and was very readable. I do recommend that you read Once a Witch first because there were no info-dumps to remind the reader of what had gone before. I think that readers can identify with Tamsin as the one ordinary person in a family of talented people. I liked her and think other readers would too.
Favorite Quote:
It took the return of an old family enemy, two episodes of time travel, and one very dangerous love spell that nearly killed my sister before I learned three things. First, I can stop anyone from using their Talent to harm me. Second, I can absorb a person's Talent if they attempt to use it against me three times. Third, I apparently have a choice ahead of me.I received the eARC from NetGalley. You can find it here at Amazon.
I liked this one more than the first book maybe because so much of it is set in the past. I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to know the villains better. Nice review!
ReplyDeleteHave you read Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier? I want to read it soon to compare it to this series because the premise is so similar.