Grade: B+

It’s tough having the same title as a literary phenomenon turned Broadway musical. How do you compete and set a name for yourself? Well if you’re smart you get a really standout cover and make the book as huge as possible (even if you have to combine two books in one). Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie can consider this a job accomplished. Their book practically leaped off the shelf at me while perusing my local bookstore and I thought, “If you can judge a book by it’s cover, this is going to be a good one.”

I really enjoyed this story of Holly Cathers and her cousins Amanda and Nicole, descendants of a hugely powerful wiccan tribe, the Cahors whose long running blood feud with warlock family the Deveraux has been passed down from generation to generation as the ghosts of Isabeau Cahors and Jean Deveraux attempt to live out their destinies through each generation, resulting in bloody massacres, heart break and deception.

The book’s story is rich and complex, and grows more and more intricate with each chapter, but never feels like too much – Holder and Viguie masterfully weave their tale in just the right way, the mix of current teen culture and ancient magical history is well accomplished. I really enjoyed the story and definitely plan to read the next book, Wicked 2: Legacy & Spellbound. I did feel like some of the story was rushed, some tragedies seemed to simply fix themselves with little explanation.

I also think this story might be way too much for some teenagers to handle. This book has a lot of death – and a lot of the deaths are friends and family. There are some very dark passages describing magical rituals, some involving sex, though not explicit, it isn’t romantic either. I’d be hesitant to recommend it to just anyone in the teenage set. A college student and above I think could easily handle it and some mature teenagers might do fine, but it’s definitely not for the faint of heart.

Still, all said, I really enjoyed this story and look forward to the next installment.

This review can also be found at @ Momma’s Review.