Hollywood Witch Hunter ~ Valerie Tejeda – 2.5 Stars

Tags

Hollywood, Witches, YA Fiction

 I received this ebook from NetGalley and Bloomsbury Spark in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: “From the moment she first learned the truth about witches…she knew she was born to fight them.”

Now, at sixteen, Iris is the lone girl on the Witch Hunters Special Ops Team. But when Iris meets a boy named Arlo, he might just be the key to prevent an evil uprising in Southern California. Together they’re ready to protect the human race at all costs. Because that’s what witch hunters do.

Welcome to Hollywood.

When I first saw this I thought “Cool! It looks like a combination of Charmed and Supernatural with a little bit of Buffy mixed in.” Well, have you ever read a book or watched a movie that has everyone raving about it, yet leaves you scratching your head and wondering what you’re missing? Hollywood Witch Hunter was that kind of read for me.

The book sets things up with a prologue that gives you a short backstory of a witch named Belinda who lives in Hollywood. She not only takes the lives of young self-absorbed girls to keep herself beautiful, but she then places a curse on all the witches living in Hollywood so they are all forced to do the same. Huh.

Enter the Witch Hunters. They’re the only ones standing between witches and innocent, unsuspecting humans. They’re also for the most part a bunch of male chauvinist pigs. I’m sorry, but there’s just no other way to put it. The men are the only ones who inherit this so-called hunter gene, which allows them to successfully battle their enemies. Because they don’t possess these special abilities, women are kept in the background and basically clueless. Iris is the first female with the Hunter gene and is begrudgingly allowed to become part of the elite special ops team. Her brother Knox and a couple of other hunters are the only ones who treat her as an equal. Personality deficits aside, Hollywood has remained fairly safe thanks to the Witch Hunters, until now. Strange things are happening, and Belinda is suddenly acquiring new powers. Yet she doesn’t seem to be the villain she once was. The only thing that’s clear is that Iris is somehow involved.

You’d think that Iris would be a sympathetic character with that kind of set-up, but no matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t connect with her. I understand she’s trying to prove herself to not only her father, who’s in charge of the Witch Hunters, but also the rest of the group. She shows promise in that she’s strong and capable, and trusts her own judgment instead of simply being a follower. However, many times throughout the book these qualities present themselves more like self-centeredness and arrogance.

I’m not generally a fan of love triangles and the one in this book was truly horrendous. On one hand you have earnest boy band material Arlo, who has been recruited by the Witch Hunters and has selected Iris to train him. He’s one of the dullest characters I’ve read in a long time. On the other, there’s the mysterious and attractive Silos, who is Scottish and has magical powers including sharing visions with Iris. He’s also quite interested in her. Throughout the entire book I found myself wondering how Iris could be torn between Arlo who has all the personality of a pet rock, and the more mature and mesmerizing Silos. I wanted to reach in, grab her by her shoulders, and shake some sense into her! 

The plot moves along quickly and has plenty of action. Without giving away any spoilers Iris discovers that things aren’t quite as black and white as she’s been taught. As she discovers some pretty dark secrets about her father and the Witch Hunters, she starts getting more involved with some of the witches, including Belinda. I’m all for throwing off the shackles of indocrination and seeing both sides, but I had a major problem with this as her new buddies are still killers. Just because they love to party and have their fun moments doesn’t makes them any less the remorseless murderers that they are. 

This is Valerie Tejeda’s first novel, so hopefully she’ll get better with writing more likeable and three-dimensional characters. The plot itself is interesting and full of dry humor which helps keep things moving along. I also like that Iris is Columbian and uses her ability to speak fluent Spanish to obtain information which otherwise would be difficult to gather. Unfortunately for me, the negatives outweigh the positives and I don’t think I’ll be trying the sequel when it comes out.

In The Air Tonight (Sisters of the Craft Bk. 1) ~ by Lori Handeland – 4.5 Stars

Tags

Adult Fiction, Charmed tv series, Cults, Ghosts, Paranormal Romance, The Sixth Sense, Witches

 I received this ebook from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Paperbacks in exchange for an honest review.

~ With her dark hair and eyes Raye Larsen has never quite fit in with the blond-haired, blue-eyed residents of the Scandinavian town of New Bergin, Wisconsin. She’s also adopted, which makes her even more of an outsider. No one knows about the secret she’s been careful to hide though. Raye can communicate with the deceased and help them move on. When she’s contacted by the spirit of a murder victim, and handsome New Orleans detective Bobby Doucet arrives in town, they wind up investigating together. The more Raye gets involved, the more she starts to realize that this is somehow tied to her past, and it threatens herself and everyone she loves. 

The Sixth Sense

Meets

Charmed     

I know this theme has been done before, but Lori Handeland has managed to put an enjoyable spin on it and set up an intriguing mythology. The book begins in the year 1600 with a husband and wife magically sending their three infant daughters into the future, just as they’re burned at the stake by a witch hunter. Flash foward to the present day: Raye is living in small town New Bergin, trying to fit in as much as she can, which includes hiding her gift. She happens upon a murder scene and is contacted by the victim, but instead of asking for help, the way other spirits have, this one gives Raye a warning. Bobby Doucet arrives in town after he becomes aware of the recent murder. It bears a chilling resemblance to others committed by a serial killer he’s been pursuing. As Raye and Bobby become more involved, and discover who is really behind the murders, they not only find out there’s a direct correlation between the murders and Raye’s origins, but that she’s a target herself.

Both Raye and Bobby are characters you can’t help but fall in love with. Raye is strong, smart and passionate, yet she’s also a bit insecure, because she’s always felt like an outsider. She has a great sense of humor which helps her keep her head, when others would probably be losing it. Bobby is haunted by a tragedy from his past which gives him a vulnerability that stops him from coming on too strong. It’s not love at first sight for these two but their chemistry is excellent, and you wind up rooting for them to get past their differences, and their personal pain so they can be together.

The story is interesting and suspenseful, and I loved the way Lori Handeland wove the historical backstory into the present day events. The only thing I had an issue with were the multiple POVS.  It switches back and forth between Raye’s first person POV, to Bobby’s which is in the third person. I found this to be a little distracting at first, but the plot was so exciting, that after the first few chapters it didn’t really bother me. The ending was a little rushed, but ultimately satisfying and set things up nicely for the next book: Heat of the Moment. I haven’t read a straight paranormal romance for a while, and I’m glad I read this. I’m looking forward to reading the other two books in the trilogy.

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Release Date: June 30, 2015                       Release Date: August 4, 2015