Born Wicked- Jessica Spotswood

Title: Born Wicked
Author: Jessica Spotswood
Source: Borrowed
Series: Yes, Book 1
Rating: 4/5
















Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

Would you give up everything you love for your families’ safety? 

 Everyone knows who the cahill sisters are. They are considered too pretty and too odd to blend in.  They are also keeping a secret. They are witches. If they are discovered the brotherhood would either send them to an insane asylum or kill them.

Cate promises her mother she will always keep her sisters safe. After her mother dies, Cate discovers a diary that changes everything she believed.  While she is trying to discover what exactly her mother’s diary is trying to tell her she must also juggle tea parties and romances.

The setting in this book is what gives the story so much life. It reads like a historical fiction, it includes true facts with a twist. The society in that time is portrayed as it would have been with women not having rights while the men have the right to do whatever they want. The way women who were suspected of being witches were also written well. I felt really bad for Cate and her sisters. Your choices are to either get married or join the sisterhood.  The girls are already considered too educated and any further education is out of the question.

I was not a fan of Mura. I could sympathize with her but I felt she was very selfish and did not have good control over her powers. Cat and the youngest Tess were constantly trying to clean up after Maura when she lost control of her magic.  Cat could be a little bossy and I wished she would think for herself at times but I also understood she had to put her sisters first. Tess was my favourite. We do not see a lot of her but her willingness to help is a lot like Cate. Plus I think she was the sweetest.

I am still trying to figure out how Cate managed to balance her time between marriage proposals, and a  forbidden romance Finn Belastra. I am totally team Finn. There moment in the root cellar had me swooning.  I liked what Paul offered Cate but he was too stuck up for my liking.

This book rekindled my love for witches. I am keyed up for the next book to come out.