Sorceress

April 1, 2015

Gr 8 Up-Nadia, Mateo, Asa, and Verlaine continue to battle against the One Beneath to save their beloved home, in this conclusion to the paranormal trilogy. Hoping to sabatoge from within, Nadia delves deeper into dark magic while trying to keep herself from succumbing to its charms. Teens will cheer for starcrossed Verlaine and Asa's relationship. A thrilling, action-packed series for fans of teen witch fiction with a romantic twist.

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2014
To save the people of Captive's Sound, Nadia bound herself as apprentice to 400-year-old witch Elizabeth Pike; now Nadia's friends seek to free her and to stop Elizabeth's master, the One Beneath, from entering the world.Nadia is acutely aware of how Elizabeth's dark magic has begun to change her. Mateo-contrary to the conventional wisdom that all witches are female-has powers of his own, but ensnared by the Cabot Curse, he's not only unable to help, his efforts bind him to evil, too. Demon Asa remains free to work against Elizabeth, but he must obey their infernal master and, if ordered, destroy Nadia, Mateo or even Verlaine, the girl he loves. The trilogy's swift-moving conclusion features gripping suspense and clever plotting. Conflict is the engine of fiction, and that gives evil an inherent advantage over goodness-in maintaining readers' interest at least. By reversing their traditional attributes, Gray redresses this imbalance. While the teens struggle against jealousy, anger and fear, Elizabeth offers the One Beneath unswerving, selfless and single-minded devotion. The teens' work ethic is puny compared to hers. Free of any doubts or influences from outside that could deter her, serenely ignoring her derelict house and body now falling apart, Elizabeth's a genuinely horrifying creation. Entertaining and substantial, satisfying and subversive-either way, it's a treat. (Paranormal suspense. 13-17)

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November 15, 2014
Grades 7-10 In order to save her sweetheart Mateo, Nadia has apprenticed herself to evil sorceress Elizabeth Pike to help complete the final breach and bring the One Beneath back into the world to rule amid chaos and fear. But Nadia's own powers are growing, and she and her friends continue to try to overcome the darkness. This concluding volume in the Spellcaster series builds in a believable way toward a rather tidy ending, but the fizz of the earlier booksSpellcaster (2013) and Steadfast (2014)seems to be missing. Lovers Nadia and Mateo created their share of heat in earlier books, but demon Asa and his human love interest Verlaine (who is also under a curse) are more fascinating and endearing and steal the focus from the original stars. Events leading to the denouement are imaginative and crafted with care but somehow lack the previous volumes' level of energy. Still, Gray remains a talent, and this hiccup won't deter fans from eagerly gobbling this down. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Best-seller Gray nabbed gobs of fans with the Evernight series, and steady promotion should help keep her in fans' headlights.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)