Week 26 Review: Familiar Things

From Goodreads:
Sixteen-year-old witch Everrose Morgantwill isn't sure which monster is causing her more trouble—the ten-foot-tall wildcat she's attracted as her familiar, or her emotionally unstable boyfriend. 

Half her spells go nowhere, and people always have trouble remembering her name, but even so—Everrose's life is idyllic. Born and raised in All Hollows County, a secretive world created by powerful witches and warlocks for the protection of the magically inclined, she's never had to fear persecution. In All Hollows, magic is used openly. A great spell known as the Nestle Ward isolates and protects it, though there is one odd little side effect. 

In our world, it's 2015. In All Hollows, it's 1958. 

Between sewing the perfect high school wardrobe, experimenting with red lipstick and cake mascara, and dreaming about prom, Everrose has a lot on her mind. When her steady boyfriend returns from a trip to "the Layside" a changed warlock, however—she notices. Handsome Vincent Olwen was affectionate and self-effacing when he left, but he's come back acting sullen and withdrawn. Everrose is lost for an explanation—and lost for what to do.

Troubled by the changes she sees in Vincent, Everrose tries to distract herself by searching for her first familiar—a rite of passage for sixteen-year-olds in All Hollows. But when she does make the Connexion, it's with the last animal she would've ever expected—a massive, terrifying wildeor called a trothenbeast. Only powerful witches and warlocks attract wildeors as familiars. Yet, when it comes to magic, Everrose is completely inept. It makes no sense. Weirder still, the beast fails to alert Everrose to the presence of magic, and refuses to shadow her. In short, he doesn't act like a protecting, guiding familiar animal at all. 

Faced with all of this, Everrose is just about ready to throw in the towel. Before she can, though, she learns that the trothenbeast has been cursed by an evil witch named Ebonella Rosu—and that Ebonella wants him back. 

Everrose must contend with a witch who wants her dead, a familiar who needs her protection, and a boyfriend who's changing before her eyes. When she finally reaches out for help, she finds it from an unlikely source—her boyfriend's moody, somewhat mysterious father, the mayor of her little town. What secrets does Roderick Olwen harbor? And what do they have to do with Everrose herself?

My Review:
I am so glad that I read this book! It was so fantastic, wonderful to read, and just a pure joy to read! I don't buy very many e-books, but this one I did, simply because I had to read it! And I'm so glad that I did, this book, it was just terrific!

To be honest, before I read this book, I was not having a good day, and was wishing for something good to come along. Then I found this book, and I dove right it! And then read it till I finished it at 1 in the morning! That's how entranced by this book I was!

Loved the world, of the Nestle Ward, and how while they used to be at the same time as us, our time goes quicker, so while we're in 2015, they're in the 50's. Which means vocabulary, clothing, culture. Well, besides magic. And technology approved by the group.

Technology is something that was a bit of a sticking point, because of her boyfriend. Because he wants to bring our modern technology to their world. Honestly, I think he's pretty right, though he went about it the wrong way! That they should do what they do, but speed up the schedule, because they are behind, they'll probably always be behind. So why not have modern day technology, with 50's culture?

This world of familiars, and Everrose's familiar being a trothenbeast. And all the issues and things that came along with that! It was just so fantastic, and all the clues that were there, as things came out, and with the bit of the mystery, oh, man, this book!

Favourite lines: "They're jealous. If they were any greener with envy, we could zap them through the Ward and make the Laysiders think they were being invaded by Martians." Yeah, we would, because that's how strange and powerful her position is! "This evening, Monday, October 9th, I stole from you the following supplies. I will make full payment. It might take a while, because I'm just a high school student. But I promise I will. – E.M" This is totally weird, but they are in a 50's mentality!

I mean, I loved it so much, it was so fantastic! Loved it, and I really can't wait for the sequel, because I want to know more about this world, these characters-I'm invested in them!

Author: Lia Habel
Series: A Book of All Hollows #1
Read: June 23rd, 2015
Source: Bought
Reason Why: It looked utterly fantastic, I needed a good thing in my rotten day, and it's a Historical Fiction 2015 Book and a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2015 Book!
Publisher: Kitten Perfume Publishing
Published: October 28th 2014

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars