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A review by novelbloglover
The Witch's Tears by Katharine Corr, Elizabeth Corr
3.0
Book Review
Title: The Witch's Tears
Author: Katharine Corr & Elizabeth Corr
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Paranormal
Rating: ***
Review: So, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Witch’s Tears and the Witch’s Kiss ended smoothly with minimal loose ends so, I didn’t know what to expect from this book although there were a few things that I wanted to happen. This novel takes place almost three months after the events of the first book and it has had lasting effects on both Leo and Merry driving a huge wedge between the siblings as they both try and pretend they are moving on with their lives. However, a mysterious presence in their garden and a report on a new murder have Merry wondering whether she is going to stumble across something magical again. Merry is also part of the coven now and this comes with endless lessons, rules and regulations she must follow as a witch but Merry doesn’t seem to be able to conform to the way other witch’s practice magic making it incredibly difficult and slow for her to learn anything new.
It doesn’t take long for things to get interesting again especially when Merry’s grandmother tells her that witches and wizards across the world have been dying in strange circumstances lately but Merry doesn’t want to be involved until Leo is attacked by his old friend Simon for being gay. This literally infuriates Merry and she is out for blood but manages to reign it in at the last second, but she is intrigued by the boy who brought Leo home the night of the attack; Ronan. With a huge strain on their relationship, her distance from her friends and her new reluctance to be around her grandmother and the coven because of her new abilities, Merry feels more alone that ever before.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, we learn that Ronan is a wizard and has taken quite an interest in Leo, however, there is something else going on as everyone in the house especially Leo and his mother are being affected by something that makes them irritable by they chalk it up to too much magic and not enough sleep but Merry feels that there is something larger at work. Merry also is distrustful of Ronan because her grandmother warned her that wizards aren't trustworthy but considering she knows her gran has been lying to her, I wasn't sure myself who could be trusted. Despite being part of the sisterhood Merry has never felt more alone especially with Leo distancing himself from her and starting a relationship with Ronan. We also get perspectives from both Leo and Merry and we see them really struggling to accept what happened with Gwydion and how they fit or don't for into the magical community. Despite seeking like a nice guy something Ronan says gives me a really bad feeling and it is a mirror of the story her gran had told her earlier in the novel. The atmosphere isn't helped by insomnia and the nightmare that plague both siblings but, Leo seems to be coping better since he met Ronan, but this isn't the case for Merry. Merry also seems to be losing control of her magic again but not for the same reason as before. This time she hears a voice in her head which causes her to lose focus pouring her emotions into a spell which did more damage than good as it was intended to.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Leo is content with his new relationship with Ronan and even begins to repair his relationship with Merry. However, things get bad when they turn up at their grandmother's house only to find it trashed and they also find blood. Despite their numerous efforts to contact Elinor turn up nothing but Merry knows she is alive and now she has to figure out who is behind the attacks and why her gran was targeted. During this time the coven turn Merry down at every opportunity because her gran isn't there to vouch for her, but it seems whenever something goes wrong Ronan seems to appear soon after like he knows where people are going.
When more wizards including Finn appear that are Merry and Leo's age the witches don't take kindly to them despite them being like royalty. As her grandmother who supposed to help and protect Finn, in her absence Leo's mother decides to look after him instead much to the irritation of Merry but he seems far too cocky for his own good. While a million different things buzz around Merry’s especially now she grabs the file containing all relevant information to the murders that have been happening from her gran’s safe, thinking it might all be connected. I really liked how the first book centred on Merry but in this one she takes a back seat to Leo allowing us to get to know him better. It also allows us to see how Leo a non-magical person has dealt with being thrown into situations he is qualified or prepared to be in. It also begins to highlight the jealousy of non-magical people and the way the magical people hoard the power they have, even Merry is guilty of this.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, we have seen hints at some actions but nothing significant apart from gran’s disappearance has happened. Things do get more dramatic when another witch goes missing and this time it is Flo. In order to find her and her gran Merry asks Finn to help her with a blood ritual and all he asks in return is a kiss and Merry agrees. When they present their evidence to the coven the temporary leader is furious but Merry felt like they weren't doing anything, and they weren't to be honest. In her rage Merry unleashes a burst of magic that injuries Finn and covers a surrounding tree in glass. When Finn investigates the tree, they find the mutilated body of Flo and in her grief Denise, Flo’s mother blames Merry and her unnatural way of performing magic for her daughter's death and this is the second death that Merry has experienced recently and they may be more as she can feel her grandmother is only barely holding onto life. Merry is desperate for the coven to do something to use the information she found to bring her gran home and restore the balance in the coven. Merry also feels isolated because she defeated a centuries old dark wizard and now the coven seeks to hide her away and shut her out of all the important decisions, but it is something that Merry won't stand for especially where family is concerned.
While the coven is trying to track down Elinor’s location Merry begins looking for who or what took her and in her gran’s file she finds a description of a creature that takes human form but in order to survive it has to steal magic from witches and wizards. From the description of the magic stealing process in the file Merry discovers it is the same way Flo and the others were killed. As she has been isolated from the coven she asks Finn for help if she finds out where the creature is hiding, and he agrees. We also get to see a romance developing between the pair, but we know relationships between witches and wizards are prohibited so this might not work out for them. I also had the sinking feeling that the creature might be Ronan and that would be devastating for Leo as Ronan has helped him move on from Dan's death in the previous book.
When her gran is found Merry is more determined than ever to find out what happened to her, but she has to wait for her gran to wake up. However, one of the other coven members let's slip that there was a body found with her gran of an ordinary boy that could be Ethan from earlier on the novel. She also gets numerous warnings to stay away from Finn despite not seeing a reason for doing so with the exception of one incident he has been kind and caring towards her even when she tried to push him away he stayed by her side with neither Leo or the coven has done.
In the final pages of the Witch’s tear we are treated to some proper action which this book has lacked for the majority, but it presents us with a new conflict for the Witch’s blood, I believe the 3rd book is called and it also sets up a rather nice love triangle but not in the way everyone thinks of it. However, I do worry what the events of this book is going to do to Leo given how much he has gone through will he snap or will he by some miracle be able to pull through it all. While this book did feel a bit like a filler book I do highly recommend the first book and can’t wait to get into the final book when I can.
Title: The Witch's Tears
Author: Katharine Corr & Elizabeth Corr
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Paranormal
Rating: ***
Review: So, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Witch’s Tears and the Witch’s Kiss ended smoothly with minimal loose ends so, I didn’t know what to expect from this book although there were a few things that I wanted to happen. This novel takes place almost three months after the events of the first book and it has had lasting effects on both Leo and Merry driving a huge wedge between the siblings as they both try and pretend they are moving on with their lives. However, a mysterious presence in their garden and a report on a new murder have Merry wondering whether she is going to stumble across something magical again. Merry is also part of the coven now and this comes with endless lessons, rules and regulations she must follow as a witch but Merry doesn’t seem to be able to conform to the way other witch’s practice magic making it incredibly difficult and slow for her to learn anything new.
It doesn’t take long for things to get interesting again especially when Merry’s grandmother tells her that witches and wizards across the world have been dying in strange circumstances lately but Merry doesn’t want to be involved until Leo is attacked by his old friend Simon for being gay. This literally infuriates Merry and she is out for blood but manages to reign it in at the last second, but she is intrigued by the boy who brought Leo home the night of the attack; Ronan. With a huge strain on their relationship, her distance from her friends and her new reluctance to be around her grandmother and the coven because of her new abilities, Merry feels more alone that ever before.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, we learn that Ronan is a wizard and has taken quite an interest in Leo, however, there is something else going on as everyone in the house especially Leo and his mother are being affected by something that makes them irritable by they chalk it up to too much magic and not enough sleep but Merry feels that there is something larger at work. Merry also is distrustful of Ronan because her grandmother warned her that wizards aren't trustworthy but considering she knows her gran has been lying to her, I wasn't sure myself who could be trusted. Despite being part of the sisterhood Merry has never felt more alone especially with Leo distancing himself from her and starting a relationship with Ronan. We also get perspectives from both Leo and Merry and we see them really struggling to accept what happened with Gwydion and how they fit or don't for into the magical community. Despite seeking like a nice guy something Ronan says gives me a really bad feeling and it is a mirror of the story her gran had told her earlier in the novel. The atmosphere isn't helped by insomnia and the nightmare that plague both siblings but, Leo seems to be coping better since he met Ronan, but this isn't the case for Merry. Merry also seems to be losing control of her magic again but not for the same reason as before. This time she hears a voice in her head which causes her to lose focus pouring her emotions into a spell which did more damage than good as it was intended to.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Leo is content with his new relationship with Ronan and even begins to repair his relationship with Merry. However, things get bad when they turn up at their grandmother's house only to find it trashed and they also find blood. Despite their numerous efforts to contact Elinor turn up nothing but Merry knows she is alive and now she has to figure out who is behind the attacks and why her gran was targeted. During this time the coven turn Merry down at every opportunity because her gran isn't there to vouch for her, but it seems whenever something goes wrong Ronan seems to appear soon after like he knows where people are going.
When more wizards including Finn appear that are Merry and Leo's age the witches don't take kindly to them despite them being like royalty. As her grandmother who supposed to help and protect Finn, in her absence Leo's mother decides to look after him instead much to the irritation of Merry but he seems far too cocky for his own good. While a million different things buzz around Merry’s especially now she grabs the file containing all relevant information to the murders that have been happening from her gran’s safe, thinking it might all be connected. I really liked how the first book centred on Merry but in this one she takes a back seat to Leo allowing us to get to know him better. It also allows us to see how Leo a non-magical person has dealt with being thrown into situations he is qualified or prepared to be in. It also begins to highlight the jealousy of non-magical people and the way the magical people hoard the power they have, even Merry is guilty of this.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, we have seen hints at some actions but nothing significant apart from gran’s disappearance has happened. Things do get more dramatic when another witch goes missing and this time it is Flo. In order to find her and her gran Merry asks Finn to help her with a blood ritual and all he asks in return is a kiss and Merry agrees. When they present their evidence to the coven the temporary leader is furious but Merry felt like they weren't doing anything, and they weren't to be honest. In her rage Merry unleashes a burst of magic that injuries Finn and covers a surrounding tree in glass. When Finn investigates the tree, they find the mutilated body of Flo and in her grief Denise, Flo’s mother blames Merry and her unnatural way of performing magic for her daughter's death and this is the second death that Merry has experienced recently and they may be more as she can feel her grandmother is only barely holding onto life. Merry is desperate for the coven to do something to use the information she found to bring her gran home and restore the balance in the coven. Merry also feels isolated because she defeated a centuries old dark wizard and now the coven seeks to hide her away and shut her out of all the important decisions, but it is something that Merry won't stand for especially where family is concerned.
While the coven is trying to track down Elinor’s location Merry begins looking for who or what took her and in her gran’s file she finds a description of a creature that takes human form but in order to survive it has to steal magic from witches and wizards. From the description of the magic stealing process in the file Merry discovers it is the same way Flo and the others were killed. As she has been isolated from the coven she asks Finn for help if she finds out where the creature is hiding, and he agrees. We also get to see a romance developing between the pair, but we know relationships between witches and wizards are prohibited so this might not work out for them. I also had the sinking feeling that the creature might be Ronan and that would be devastating for Leo as Ronan has helped him move on from Dan's death in the previous book.
When her gran is found Merry is more determined than ever to find out what happened to her, but she has to wait for her gran to wake up. However, one of the other coven members let's slip that there was a body found with her gran of an ordinary boy that could be Ethan from earlier on the novel. She also gets numerous warnings to stay away from Finn despite not seeing a reason for doing so with the exception of one incident he has been kind and caring towards her even when she tried to push him away he stayed by her side with neither Leo or the coven has done.
In the final pages of the Witch’s tear we are treated to some proper action which this book has lacked for the majority, but it presents us with a new conflict for the Witch’s blood, I believe the 3rd book is called and it also sets up a rather nice love triangle but not in the way everyone thinks of it. However, I do worry what the events of this book is going to do to Leo given how much he has gone through will he snap or will he by some miracle be able to pull through it all. While this book did feel a bit like a filler book I do highly recommend the first book and can’t wait to get into the final book when I can.