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Cover Inspection:
Oh! This cover is just gorgeous!

SUMMARY (book description based on GoodReads):

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.

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:
1800s New England.

MAIN CHARACTERS:
The main character is Cate Cahill. She is the eldest Cahill sister. After her mother died, she felt responsible for her sister's safety as her father is away on business trips most of the time. For this reason, she's paranoid and a worry wart. Nevertheless, she has a strong personality. She's defiant and does not take no for an answer. She's definitely not the meek and submissive girl that her society requires her to be.

WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT:
Cate's mother had died, and she is now left with her father and two sisters. It happened that Cate, like her sisters, are witches. Cate discovered her mother's diary, and she learned that she and her sisters needed to be careful when using magic, and that they must hide it from their society for fear of being used... or being killed.

LOVE:
The writing! The story is set in the 1800s and so the language used is rather formal. Nevertheless, the writer managed to make the story easy to read. She didn't try hard by using difficult words, but she didn't dumb it down either. I also love how this book is like Pride and Prejudice, with all its ramblings about parties and tea, and being polite and proper, and yes... catching a husband. In fact, Cate may be likened to Elizabeth Bennet. Outspoken. Judgmental. Impertinent. She doesn't want to marry for convenience, but for love. And speaking of love, I adore Finn! He's so dreamy! He's a gardener who doesn't know how to garden. He loves reading books, and is regarded as a genius by his peers. But above all, he treats Cate like an equal. Oh!!! And I LOVED the Cate and Finn's swoony make out scene inside the closet. Their kisses are sweet yet sexy, scandalous yet innocent. I want more of those! I also liked the ending. Yes, there is a cliff hanger, which means that there will definitely be a sequel. But the way the story ended is good. It ended with a huge sacrifice on Cate's part. It's really very sad, and it makes me want to read the sequel now.

NO LOVE:
First, this book is all walk and talk. There are no action scenes. Some would even consider this boring. Nevertheless, the intrigue, and the twists and turns of the story would be enough to keep the reader glued to the book. I would say the air of mystery made up for the lack of action. Second, I didn't like that the father, who should have been there for his young, impressionable daughters, was absent for most of the book. He could have made things a little bit easier for Cate and her sisters.

FAVORITE CHARACTER:
Finn! I love Finn because of his swoony kisses. Don't you think that's reason enough?

FAVORITE SCENE:

He reaches out to trace the curve of my cheek. Can he feel my pulse pounding? His eyes never leave mine. He’s barely touching me, but my breath catches, and my tongue darts out to wet my lips.
It’s all I can do not to grab him by the collar and pull his mouth to mine.
He laughs, a little hoarse. “Do you want me to compromise you further?”
“I do.” Is that too honest? “I don’t see the point of pretending that I don’t like”—I hesitate, my face burning—“being kissed. By you. I do like it.”
He grins, but takes a small step backward. “That’s quite convenient, as I’d like to kiss you again. Not now. Not here, where anyone could see us. But soon. At great length.”

MUSINGS:
It cannot be denied that sexism is a big issue in this book. In Cate's society, women are viewed as weak, sinful, and stupid. It tackled issues such as gender roles and equality, submissive women as against progressive women, oppressing women as against empowering them. Also, as can be gleaned from the blurb, this book is about witches. But for the first half of the book, there were only a few scenes where the girls showed what they can do with their powers. It didn't feel like I was reading a book about witches. But upon reaching the second half, things got really very interesting, and Cate and her sisters were doing magic all over. I can see the resemblance to Libba Bray's Great and Terrible Beauty and Michelle Zink's Prophecy of the Sisters. While I do love Zink's Guardian of Gate and Circle of Fire (in fact they are two of my favorite books), I did not like Prophecy of the Sisters at all. I think it's boring and I feel that it lacks oomph! Born Wicked, on the other hand, has that oomph! This book is what Prophecy of the Sisters should have been.

DOODLES: