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A review by endlessreader
Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough
4.0
I loved Once A Witch. Seriously, it was one of my favorite books read last year (or was it the year before?) and not only was it the PERFECT Halloween read, but it was also a fairly unique read. You don't see many YA novels written about witches (or at least many that have been done well...or at least I haven't). Therefore, I have been anxiously awaiting the sequel, Always A Witch. While I didn't think the sequel was as good as Once a Witch, it was still a really entertaining novel.
Always a Witch had more thrills, adventures, wit, and sarcasm then it's predecessor, Once A Witch. And I loved the whole Elizabeth Bathory type of storyline that it used. Tamsin is still a strong heroine that never grates. In fact, NONE of the characters in Always a Witch grate (and that has to be an absolute first for me). In fact, Always a Witch is as much fun as Once A Witch was. It might even be more fun as Tamsin stays in the past more than a matter of minutes (like she did in Once A Witch). The sense of danger was also more prevalent in this novel, so that made it that much more intriguing to me.
So why the four stars while Once a Witch got five full stars? I felt that Always a Witch was a bit...rushed. While I did feel that sense of urgency as Tamsin did in wanting to accomplish her goals and destroy the Knight family, I felt like we got to that point extremely quick. I didn't feel that there was enough development in the first few chapters for Tamsin to decide that she has to go right at that particular moment. I would have liked more build up to that. Also, a huge reason why I loved Once A Witch is because I loved Tamsin's wacky, zany, and endlessly entertaining family. Unfortunately, in Always a Witch, Tamsin's family is barely a footnote. They are there for a few pages in the beginning and a bit in the end. That really wasn't enough for me.
So, in the end, I really did like Always a Witch. I just didn't think it surpassed the awesomeness that is Once a Witch. I am, however, still saddened that this seems to be the last in this series. While some authors take their series to the extreme and keep churning one novel after the other even though it's clear to everyone that the series should have came to a close some novels ago, I feel Carolyn MacCullough should at least write one more novel to wrap the series up. Anyway, I recommend Always a Witch. Like it's predecessor, it is an amazing, light read.
Always a Witch had more thrills, adventures, wit, and sarcasm then it's predecessor, Once A Witch. And I loved the whole Elizabeth Bathory type of storyline that it used. Tamsin is still a strong heroine that never grates. In fact, NONE of the characters in Always a Witch grate (and that has to be an absolute first for me). In fact, Always a Witch is as much fun as Once A Witch was. It might even be more fun as Tamsin stays in the past more than a matter of minutes (like she did in Once A Witch). The sense of danger was also more prevalent in this novel, so that made it that much more intriguing to me.
So why the four stars while Once a Witch got five full stars? I felt that Always a Witch was a bit...rushed. While I did feel that sense of urgency as Tamsin did in wanting to accomplish her goals and destroy the Knight family, I felt like we got to that point extremely quick. I didn't feel that there was enough development in the first few chapters for Tamsin to decide that she has to go right at that particular moment. I would have liked more build up to that. Also, a huge reason why I loved Once A Witch is because I loved Tamsin's wacky, zany, and endlessly entertaining family. Unfortunately, in Always a Witch, Tamsin's family is barely a footnote. They are there for a few pages in the beginning and a bit in the end. That really wasn't enough for me.
So, in the end, I really did like Always a Witch. I just didn't think it surpassed the awesomeness that is Once a Witch. I am, however, still saddened that this seems to be the last in this series. While some authors take their series to the extreme and keep churning one novel after the other even though it's clear to everyone that the series should have came to a close some novels ago, I feel Carolyn MacCullough should at least write one more novel to wrap the series up. Anyway, I recommend Always a Witch. Like it's predecessor, it is an amazing, light read.