Born Wicked
The Cahill Witch Chronicles, Book One
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4.1 • 7 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
In a world where being a witch is forbidden, a young woman and her sisters must hide their extraordinary powers.
“A tale so captivating you don’t want it to end.”—Andrea Cremer, New York Times bestselling author of the Nightshade series
“An intriguing story of witchcraft, family responsibility, and unrequited love.”—Booklist
Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.
Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with six months to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.
If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Spotswood's debut, first in the Cahill Witch Chronicles, is set in an alternate New England circa 1896. The Brotherhood has established a Christian dictatorship by overthrowing a governing caste of witches, and any hint of the arcane is now reason enough to sentence a woman to an asylum or hard labor. Girls must marry or go into the convent by their 17th birthday, and Cate Cahill's moment of truth is fast approaching. Cate, like her two sisters, is a secret witch, the legacy of a mother who died young trying to produce a male heir. Cate is responsible for protecting her family, a responsibility that does not square with marrying the tempting and handsome Paul McLeod. Her dilemma worsens when an eagle-eyed governess takes up residence, and a mysterious note arrives, urging Cate to seek her mother's diary. Spotswood falls prey to occasional pedantic exposition, and casting Christians as fascistic chauvinists is nothing new. The pace doesn't lag, however, and the fate of the Cahill sisters inspires genuine dread by the time the cliffhanger ending arrives. Ages 12 up.
