Review: Witch Hunt by Kasi Blake

WITCH HUNT

The Witch-Game Novels, Book Two

by Kasi Blake

Clean Teen Publishing 

YA Paranormal

293 pages

A magical game of hide-and-seek begins.
Find the missing player and win.
The game resets.
They all forget and start the game again. 
Seventeen-year-old Starr Hughes hasn't believed in magic since the day her mother died. As an aspiring reporter, the only thing she cares about is cold, hard facts. So when she hears the popular kids at school (the It-Squad) are about to start a secret game, she wants every detail, especially since she has a major crush on gorgeous Dylan Winchester. Hiding under the headmaster's desk, planting bugs, and breaking into a classmate's home are all on her to-do list. With her boy-crazy best friend Lily at her side, Starr discovers that witches are not only real, but they also need her help. Someone is using the game to steal their memories, their powers, and perhaps even their lives. 

MY TIDBITS

Vivid high school drama, nicely layered mystery, non-stop action and a twist of magic make this a fun read.

Starr is a noisy reporter, who lets her curiosity get the best of her again and again. She knows no boundaries when it comes to getting her story, which doesn't make her necessarily the most popular girl in school either. When her reporter sense swings her to a group of kids known as the It-Squad, things start getting strange. Before she knows it, odd things are happening and something is off with life in general. Now, if she can just put her finger on exactly what the problem is.

This is the second book in The Witch-Game series. Although I did read the first one, it is by no means necessary to start with book one. Each of the novels is a story for itself, handling different high schools, characters and situations. In other words, this can be read as a stand alone without any problem whatsoever.

I enjoyed this book even more than the first one. The school setting is well done, allowing the lockers and hallways to come to life. There's a lot of inner drama between the students and characters, which comes across very realistic without running into the danger of exaggeration. At first, the It-Squad and the way others see them (or don't notice anything out of sorts) comes across a bit odd, but as the story unfolds, the reason for this becomes clear.

The characters are a real treat. Starr isn't without her flaws. The way she hunts done a story is over the top at times, and its no wonder she isn't loved by all. Still, it's hard not to like her. She has her heart in the right place and a good sense of justice. The other characters each have very definite personalities and traits, making them come to life in their own way. None of them is perfect, but it's exactly this which makes the easier to sympathize with.

The real pulp of the plot takes a bit to get going as the 'normal' situation gets laid out first and allows the reader to sink into the characters and gives hints at the soon layered mystery. And there are lots of twists and turns ahead. A few are easy to see, while others hit with unexpected surprise. The tempo holds steady, however, through-out, making this a book not easy to put down.

There's romance too--sweet and a little humorous. Although there are some darker moments and tension does run high especially toward the end, humor and sarcasm pepper the dialogue making it a fun, entertaining read.

Review: Crushed by Kasi Blake

CRUSHED

The Witch-Game Novels, Book One

by Kasi Blake

Clean Teen Publishing

YA Paranormal

269 pages

The Noah girls have beauty, powers, and brains.
They use all three to play their games.
They blow the dust,
the boys are crushed,
and no one is ever the same.

Each year the Noah girls play a secret game— Crushed. The rules are simple.

1. Use wisdom to pick your target. The boy can't be too weak or too strong-willed.
2. Blow the enchanted dust into your target's face to enchant (Crush) him.
3. Give verbal commands and assign them tasks to perform throughout the year. The more tasks completed, the stronger the witch's power grows.
4. At the end of the year, the witch with the most power wins cold, hard cash.

As if being a witch in high school isn't complicated enough, Kristen picks the wrong boy to Crush. Zack is tall, handsome, and a little scary. Her Crush spell isn't working on him like it has with the others. In fact, he is behaving the opposite of every other boy she's Crushed, hating her instead of adoring her. Something is definitely wrong. After someone attempts to kill her, Kristen realizes there is more at risk than a few hundred dollars. She may be betting with her life. 

MY TIDBITS

Magic and teenage high school drama combine to form an intriguing adventure, where jealousy is almost as dangerous as love itself.

Kristen is one of three sisters, all of which are witches. Each year during high school, they have played a magical game, where each has enchanted a boy to crush on them. So far, Kristen has never been defeated. Now, in their Senior year, especially one of her sisters has sworn to make this change. When Kristen accidentally crushes on the wrong guy, more than the sister's silly game is at stake.

This story sets off into full motion right away and doesn't stop until the very end. The high school scene is well done, portraying the girls and their friends with normal teenage worries and problems. The dialogue is very natural and wonderfully snappy at times. The three girls aren't the most loving siblings, but rather a very tense rivalry exists between them. But the bonds of sisters is a great thing in these pages. Even when the girls get pretty nasty with each other, they still have each others backs.

The tension grows steadily, leading into an ever deepening and dangerous situation. Although some moments and twists are predictable, the layers of secrets are well laid, making it hard to put this book down. Especially Kristen starts out a little rough, but it doesn't take long before she's a true heroine to sympathize with and root for until the end. And her hero, Zach, is a gentleman pure. They have decisions to make, ones that aren't easy, and all the while, they have more than themselves at heart.

It's a world to fall into and feel at home in. The descriptions are kept to a minimum, leaving the exciting plot on center stage. Magic is kept fairly calm outside of a few exciting battles. A couple of the characters could have used a little more depth, but Kristen and Zach pull through, capturing and holding the attention as they should. The ending comes with many emotional moments, ones that make true heroes and heroines. The final result wasn't quite my thing and chopped off quicker, making me wish there was more of these two to come.