Book Recap: Witch's Brew by Heidi Kling

Cover Inspection:
Just beautiful!
The cover instantly caught my eye.

SUMMARY (book description based on GoodReads):
The Spellspinners of Melas County is a fantasy YA romance series about a witch, a warlock, and their fight for their forbidden but prophesied love.

Once soulmates, the witch and warlock covens of the California coast have been estranged for a century. Raised to hate each other, their teenagers meet in the Solstice Stones, a magical battleground where they draw energy from each other to maintain their balance. 16 year olds Logan and Lily have spent years training for their first Stones…only to discover just days before that the enemy may not be what either of them had thought.

In Witch’s Brew, Lily is torn between her feelings for Logan and her coven’s need to know who—or what—he is. The young lovers race against time, their distrust for each other, and the powerful influence of their elders to unravel the mystery of their pasts before their future is destroyed.

This is an Active Fiction title.
"Active fiction" is a new type of e-reading experience that allows the reader and the author to interact with each other and the text in new and different ways.

In Witch’s Brew, Lily and Logan's fate is already decided, but Heidi explores several different possible pathways for how they get there. She shares scenes that wouldn’t normally fit in a book format and gives readers more precious moments between the two young lovers. As the series progresses, you'll see some normal narrative forms, interspersed with smaller scenes, alternate points of view, and a lot of "what if" scenarios.

BOOK REPORT CARD:

Cover	3.5
Plot	3.0
Writing	3.5
Characters	3.0
Ending	1.5
Overall Rating	3.0 Very Good! (89% to 92%) * highest rating possible is 4.0

LOCATION/SETTING:
The story is set in Melas County. Modern day.

MAIN CHARACTERS:
Lily is a teen witch in training. She used to play second fiddle to her best friend (also a witch) until she was chosen to be the coven leader. She can breathe underwater (a trait that even ordinary witches do not have), so she kept this fact a secret, as promised to her mom. Then there is Logan. The teen warlock who belongs to the opposing coven. Arrogant and playful and attractive.

WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT:
At the beginning of the book, there is something wrong with Lily's powers. She has to overcome this because she has to defeat the warlock she's paired with during the Gleaming (magical battleground). Then she meets Logan, the warlock she's paired with and she's supposed to defeat. But instead of seeing him as the enemy, she falls in love with him.

LOVE:
I like the way the history was completely laid down right at the beginning of the story for the reader's better understanding. I did appreciate the story better and enjoyed the book so much more because of this. I also loved the writing. Heidi Kling's writing is sensual and enticing. While the writing is lyrical, it is not difficult to read or overly flowery. And the world she created is just amazing. Magic and fantasy are beautifully tied up in this special book. Most of all, I love the STRONG connection and the SIZZLING chemistry between Logan and Lily. The reader will be able to feel the oozing hormones from these two. Plus, Logan can read Lily's mind. I just love stories with a mind reading element. It shows intimacy between the characters. Let me show you just how intimate and connected Logan and Lily are with this scene from the book:

Logan and I immediately stepped into each other’s orbit as if we were a planet and a moon with no other choice. Our arms were swinging together like two pendulums in sync. When my fingers accidentally grazed his, I felt his whole body–all tense energy–snap like a rubber band. Logan quickly stuffed his hands in his pockets, leaving me offended and nonsensically disappointed.
I stepped out of his orbit. I don’t like you, either.
“Untrue,” he said aloud with an eyebrow raised.
He was Reading me again.
“Well, I wish it were true.”
“No, you don’t. Remember, Lily”–he leaned into me–“I can Hear your every thought. Even when you try to block me.”
“No, you can’t.”
“Yes. I can.”

NO LOVE:
I LOVED every word, every sentence, but I do have one major complaint. I did not like the way the story ended. This book has one of the worst cliffhangers ever. The ending literally popped out of nowhere, and the story stopped just when things are getting really interesting and hot. Also, while I fully appreciate man chests, I don't see the point in Logan having to take off his shirt every now and then. Don't get me wrong, I'm NOT complaining! But I fail to see any logical connection between taking off one's shirt to hold hot things when you can grab something else.

FAVORITE CHARACTER:
I don't know. While I did like most, if not all of the characters, I feel that I haven't had the chance to get to know each one of them as much as I wanted to.

MUSINGS:
In this book, love is portrayed like a sugar rush. I especially loved the part where Logan and Lily were just being silly and enjoying each other's company and falling in love. I think that part was truly beautiful. The author captured the feeling of falling in love with someone, and I applaud her for weaving it to a story.

This is actually the first book with active content that I have read and it did not disappoint. For those who do not know, it's a choose your own story type of book. It used to be available only on Kindle in the US, but it can now be purchased in Google Play from Android devices and the Nook.

I really enjoyed Witch's brew. It's a very romantic witch-warlock story because it kind of has a paranormal Romeo and Juliet feel to it - opposing coven, and all that. But then again, I didn't like the ending. There was no resolution to anything at all. It's as if there were missing chapters at the end of the book. This really annoyed me. I would have to wait for the next installment to find out what happens to Lily and Logan.

Nevertheless, Witch's brew is an amazing read, not only because of its active content, but also with respect to the story. And it's wonderfully sexy! The readers will surely want, no... they will NEED more, especially after that annoying ending. I can't wait for the second installment!

DOODLES:

Haven't found the book trailer... yet.

AUTHOR'S WEBSITE:
Coliloquy Website

Heidi Kling

SIMILAR READS:
You can't really categorize Witch's Brew. It's fairly original with respect to how its published and the story itself.

CONTENT REVIEW:
profanity: mild
violence: moderate
sexual content: moderate to heavy
mature themes: mild
age recommendation: 14+