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ecath's review
4.0
A Spell for the Revolution (book two in the Traitor to the Crown series) picks up almost where The Patriot Witch leaves off--a year or so down the road, with the battle for freedom growing ever deeper and more desperate. Washington's troops are struggling, and it's not only the British they're fighting. The Covenant, a group of witches determined to have their way in this battle, is growing in power. Add to this, the powers of a Hessian necromancer, who has chained dead souls to the living. Proctor and Deborah are still together, fighting to keep their own small band of witches together, witches determined to do good and fight the Covenant. The Farm has become a haven for them, though one the Covenant is determined to shatter.
Beyond the nation's turmoil, Proctor and Deborah have their own smaller battles: Proctor feels his power is somehow waning, while Deborah's seems to grow, leaving her uncertain how to handle it. The personal relationship between the young pair is also in flux; poor Proctor thinks they're more brother and sister these days, rather than young witches in love. Their journey is harrowing this time, deeper into the war to try and claim a young witch before the Covenant can--will they reach him in time? And does the youngster hold the key to winning this war?
Finlay has delivered a solid book in his trilogy; I found myself wishing I had the entire series bound as one volume, to simply read the entire thing through--because I don't want to wait! As he did in The Patriot Witch, Finlay pulls out some marvelous things along the way; for me, the scarecrow Bootzamon is one of the most entertaining characters I've come across in recent reads. And Paul Revere? Just a delight to see brought to life in a story like this.
The Demon Redcoat arrives soon--so if you haven't leapt into the magical fight for America's liberty, do it now!
Beyond the nation's turmoil, Proctor and Deborah have their own smaller battles: Proctor feels his power is somehow waning, while Deborah's seems to grow, leaving her uncertain how to handle it. The personal relationship between the young pair is also in flux; poor Proctor thinks they're more brother and sister these days, rather than young witches in love. Their journey is harrowing this time, deeper into the war to try and claim a young witch before the Covenant can--will they reach him in time? And does the youngster hold the key to winning this war?
Finlay has delivered a solid book in his trilogy; I found myself wishing I had the entire series bound as one volume, to simply read the entire thing through--because I don't want to wait! As he did in The Patriot Witch, Finlay pulls out some marvelous things along the way; for me, the scarecrow Bootzamon is one of the most entertaining characters I've come across in recent reads. And Paul Revere? Just a delight to see brought to life in a story like this.
The Demon Redcoat arrives soon--so if you haven't leapt into the magical fight for America's liberty, do it now!
krisrid's review
2.0
After really liking the first book in this series, I had high hopes for book two, but this book was a disappointment and I didn't finish it.
First off, Deborah increasingly irritated me as the book went along. She seemed to expect Proctor to somehow magically [no pun intended!] accomplish all the extreme objectives they set for themselves without breaking any of the rules she decided they needed to follow in order to be paragons of virtue. Maybe that would have been possible if they weren't in the middle of TWO wars - the mundane one with the British AND the magical one with the Covenant - but war is hell, and Proctor was doing more than anyone could to try to be honourable despite the situation. The fact that Deborah didn't understand that or give him any recognition for what he DID accomplish made me want to smack her. Proctor deserved better treatment in my opinion.
I also felt like this book's plot was a bit more convoluted and disjointed. There was lots of excitement, and I love the combination of the Revolutionary War with magic and a magical war. But the combination of Deborah irritating me, and the jumpy nature of the story got to me at about the halfway point of the book and I was just done.
I won't be continuing with this series.
First off, Deborah increasingly irritated me as the book went along. She seemed to expect Proctor to somehow magically [no pun intended!] accomplish all the extreme objectives they set for themselves without breaking any of the rules she decided they needed to follow in order to be paragons of virtue. Maybe that would have been possible if they weren't in the middle of TWO wars - the mundane one with the British AND the magical one with the Covenant - but war is hell, and Proctor was doing more than anyone could to try to be honourable despite the situation. The fact that Deborah didn't understand that or give him any recognition for what he DID accomplish made me want to smack her. Proctor deserved better treatment in my opinion.
I also felt like this book's plot was a bit more convoluted and disjointed. There was lots of excitement, and I love the combination of the Revolutionary War with magic and a magical war. But the combination of Deborah irritating me, and the jumpy nature of the story got to me at about the halfway point of the book and I was just done.
I won't be continuing with this series.
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