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A review by jessiereadsfantasy
The Coven by Harper L. Woods
4.0
The book starts with placing the reader at the funeral of the mother of our FMC, Willow Madizza, and her half-brother, Ash. Upon her mother's death, Willow becomes increasingly aware that the life her mother guarded from her will soon come knocking at her door in the form of an invitation to Hollow's Grove University as one of 13 select students. And no, this is not your Hogwarts invitation, as the actions that occur within the school would set anyone into a frenzy. Willow's goal is to come into her powers fully as her bloodlines are mixed with green magic and black magic. Once at the school, Willow meets her (very) great (and skeletal)-grandmother, Suzannah Madizza, who is one of the heads of the school. However, she and Headmaster Thorne, a Vessel (they require the blood of witches to live), has his own agenda, and Willow is the missing piece to both of their plans of revenge.
Let me start off by saying that the hold this book had on me was borderline criminal. I mean, I told EVERYBODY about this book. I loved the world the author built from connecting it to a real-world event (Salem Witch trials), to having the Vessels who needed witches' blood to survive, and the family drama and secrets. All great with me. However, the plot, though good, was choppy. Even as I wrote my little spoiler-free summary above, I felt like I didn't write about half of the plot because there was so much plot, and a lot of it did not get much story time in the book. I don't want to spoil the book, so I'll try to list the conflicts as best I can.
1. Willow's relationship with her father and him seeking revenge against the Coven. It isn't until mid-way-ish through the book that we learn how terrible the relationship with her father had been. It's so bad it made me wonder why she even insisted on listening to him and following his plan was beyond me. If I were her, I would not have done anything my abuser told me to do, even if I wanted to regain my birthright. I understand he had raised her to be a weapon against the Coven, but I feel she had many opportunities to go about things in her own way. And the fact that he insisted that she seduce her way to the goal was wrong. It was an afterthought for Willow because it felt forced whenever she tried to use her seduction. There were many awkward instances between her and the other characters that just felt weird, and maybe that was the point because she felt weird even doing it.
2. Willow's quick lack of concern over Ash. In the first few chapters, Willow is all about protecting her brother. You would think she'd be the same way throughout the book. And you'd be wrong if you think that is the case. It's not until the end that all of a sudden she is concerned again and that's because he's there in the room with her. Even when he's taken away again (not going to spoil by who, when, where, and why), she lets him go so easily. She made protecting him a huge part of her personality, but she let him go so easily in the end that I feel like she didn't truly care as much as she seemed to.
3. Headmaster Thorne invoking dominium. Ok so the term is used a total of 6 times in the book and I still have no idea what it truly means. I'm assuming it's about the connection he and Willow forge by sharing each other's blood and the resulting events that came from it, but I'm not sure. But if that were the case, I feel like Susannah would have stepped in to stop it because of all the issues it causes later (not going to spoil what those issues are). Maybe it'll be explained in the next book, but I find it weird that the author chose to explain something in great detail, but left this one with little detail.
Let's talk about the main characters. Our FMC is a baddie in every sense of the word. Though she was cringe at times, she exuded power, sass, and a whole lot of great magic. Headmaster Thorne... what can I say, but he is morally very dark grey. Possessive? Check. Demanding? Check. Uncaring at times but there's an agenda to that? Check. Double-crossing? Check.
Now, the supporting characters. Meh. Some of them weren't very thought out and I didn't even know why some of them were even introduced to be honest. I see why the author tried to give Willow friends/allies at the school, but I don't think they added anything to the story and I could easily see Willow navigating things on her own.
Final words: be cautious with the book if you are not into blood and gore. The descriptions are specific and may be unsettling for some readers.
3.5/stars; level 3 spice (explicit details but nothing too far-fetched). I would definitely recommend it because the hold it had on me was very extreme and I still don't quite know why lol. Also, the book does end on a cliffhanger, but one would expect it to.
Let me start off by saying that the hold this book had on me was borderline criminal. I mean, I told EVERYBODY about this book. I loved the world the author built from connecting it to a real-world event (Salem Witch trials), to having the Vessels who needed witches' blood to survive, and the family drama and secrets. All great with me. However, the plot, though good, was choppy. Even as I wrote my little spoiler-free summary above, I felt like I didn't write about half of the plot because there was so much plot, and a lot of it did not get much story time in the book. I don't want to spoil the book, so I'll try to list the conflicts as best I can.
1. Willow's relationship with her father and him seeking revenge against the Coven. It isn't until mid-way-ish through the book that we learn how terrible the relationship with her father had been. It's so bad it made me wonder why she even insisted on listening to him and following his plan was beyond me. If I were her, I would not have done anything my abuser told me to do, even if I wanted to regain my birthright. I understand he had raised her to be a weapon against the Coven, but I feel she had many opportunities to go about things in her own way. And the fact that he insisted that she seduce her way to the goal was wrong. It was an afterthought for Willow because it felt forced whenever she tried to use her seduction. There were many awkward instances between her and the other characters that just felt weird, and maybe that was the point because she felt weird even doing it.
2. Willow's quick lack of concern over Ash. In the first few chapters, Willow is all about protecting her brother. You would think she'd be the same way throughout the book. And you'd be wrong if you think that is the case. It's not until the end that all of a sudden she is concerned again and that's because he's there in the room with her. Even when he's taken away again (not going to spoil by who, when, where, and why), she lets him go so easily. She made protecting him a huge part of her personality, but she let him go so easily in the end that I feel like she didn't truly care as much as she seemed to.
3. Headmaster Thorne invoking dominium. Ok so the term is used a total of 6 times in the book and I still have no idea what it truly means. I'm assuming it's about the connection he and Willow forge by sharing each other's blood and the resulting events that came from it, but I'm not sure. But if that were the case, I feel like Susannah would have stepped in to stop it because of all the issues it causes later (not going to spoil what those issues are). Maybe it'll be explained in the next book, but I find it weird that the author chose to explain something in great detail, but left this one with little detail.
Let's talk about the main characters. Our FMC is a baddie in every sense of the word. Though she was cringe at times, she exuded power, sass, and a whole lot of great magic. Headmaster Thorne... what can I say, but he is morally very dark grey. Possessive? Check. Demanding? Check. Uncaring at times but there's an agenda to that? Check. Double-crossing? Check.
Now, the supporting characters. Meh. Some of them weren't very thought out and I didn't even know why some of them were even introduced to be honest. I see why the author tried to give Willow friends/allies at the school, but I don't think they added anything to the story and I could easily see Willow navigating things on her own.
Final words: be cautious with the book if you are not into blood and gore. The descriptions are specific and may be unsettling for some readers.
3.5/stars; level 3 spice (explicit details but nothing too far-fetched). I would definitely recommend it because the hold it had on me was very extreme and I still don't quite know why lol. Also, the book does end on a cliffhanger, but one would expect it to.