Title: A Witch Alone 

Author: Ruth Warburton 

Series: Winter Trilogy #3 

Publication Date: February 7th, 2013



My rating: 5 of 5

(Book read from my own copy from March 10th to March 12th, 2013)

Summary:

Where do you go when your heart has been ripped out?

For Anna there is only one answer; into her past, where the truth about her mother, her power, and her real identity lie hidden.

But as Anna delves deeper into her history, she begins to fear that the truth about what set her mother running may be darker than she ever suspected. With the witches of the world on the brink of war, Seth gone, and her friend Abe wanting more from her than she can possibly give, Anna is in crisis.

As the clouds around her gather, Anna is torn between friends, family and rival tribes of witches and – at the last – between love and magic.

My Thoughts on the Book:

A Witch Alone is the last book in the Winter Trilogy and definitely the best one. From the moment the book starts, it just doesn't slow down. It's really fast-paced, with lots of things happening that you definitely won't see coming, so lots & lots of twists & turns & excitement, that will make you turn the pages like crazy wanting to know what will happen next. At least that's what happened to me :) I mean, I was expecting A Witch Alone to be good, and I was hoping it will be great, but honestly, I had no idea what I'm in for, and it's been one hell of a ride, both for me & for Anna & her friends.

I don't want to go into details about the story, all I'm going to say is that you have to have read the previous 2 books, before delving into this one, because every answer you would've wanted, you'll get it in this book, and it was beautifully done, and the story was totally unexpected, full of thrills, mystery, action, magic, death, death threats, heartbreak & romance, as well as all of that mixed with a little bit of history (which was a nice touch, as well) and it just doesn't stop through out the whole book.   

As for the characters - I love all of these guys so much. Anna, Seth, Abe & Em had all made themselves a special place in my heart, and they're all going through so much in this book, so it was definitely an emotional & heartbreaking read, that kept me on the edge of the sit, being afraid for them & about what will happen to them. And that ending, it was so emotional & heartbreaking, and although I'm happy with the way it ended, at the same time I'm not, because not everyone did get the happy ending they wanted & I wanted for them, and my heart is breaking a little about that person, because I absolutely loved that character, but it is what it is & I am happy with the ending, because in a way, it was perfect, and the only way it could've end it :) On a side note, I haven't been so emotional about a book in a series since the Soul Screamers series last year, and now this makes me even more afraid of reading the last book With All My Soul...

Anyway, the writing style was great, Ruth Warburton definitely has a talent for writing magical scenes & awesome story, that you won't be able to put it down, so she's definitely an author to watch. And all of those twists & turns & surprises, I still can't believe it. It's been so long since a book surprised me with 90% of the way the storyline developed, and I loved every second of it!

I highly recommend A Witch Alone & the Winter Trilogy to every fan of YA witchy fantasy books, because Ruth Warburton had crafted a lovely trilogy of magic, love, friendship & sacrifice, that became one of my fav trilogies now, and that I know I'd enjoy reading again & again! And I definitely will be picking up everything else Ruth Warburton writes in the future, because she got herself a new fan!

Challenges:

Don't Let It End Reading Challenge

2013 Books-In-A-Series Reading Challenge

Take Control of Your TBR Pile Challenge March 2013

Title: A Witch in Love

Author: Ruth Warburton

 

Series: Winter Trilogy #2

My rating: 4 of 5

(Book read from my own won signed ARC from March 4th to March 10th, 2013)

Summary:

Anna still finds it hard to believe that Seth loves her and has vowed to suppress her powers, no matter what. 

But magic - like love - is uncontrollable and soon, Anna is being hunted. 

Abe wants Anna to embrace her power, while Seth is pushing Anna to accept that his feelings are real. She finally does ...a moment too late. Suddenly, it's like the Salem witch trials all over again: burnings, torture and faceless judgements.

 

In the face of the ultimate betrayal, who will save her?

 

My Thoughts on the Book:

A Witch in Love is a really good sequel of the great debut A Witch in Winter. The story continues 6 months after the events of A Witch in Winter. The Ealdwitan decided to left them all alone, as long as Anna doesn't do any magic on the outwith. So, Anna decides not to do any magic, but that only backfires, because the magic has to get out...

Seth & Anna are happy & in love, so obviously lots of romance in this one ;) They're quite sweet together. Bran is still against the relationship, and I had good idea why, and I was right.   

Finally, on her 18th birthday, she learns more about her mother, and so she decides to find out what exactly happened to her & to find her family, and she manages to track down her grandma. But, suddenly Anna starts to get threatening messages, and this time not from any witches...

 

Of course Em & Abe are here again, I love those guys as characters. I am really sorry about Abe, he's such a sweetie & he's been through so much, and I love the way he fights for those he cares about, he's amazing. The same goes about Em, she's such an amazing friend. As for Anna & Seth, they're both great characters, too, and I liked them a lot & their heartbreak was my heartbreak, too. I love how the author made me care about all the characters. There weren't a lot of surprises, most of them I guessed, but the ending was one amazing, unexpected, thrilling & heartbraking event. The way it was executed was amazing, and it made me want to pick up A Witch Alone right away, which I actually did ;)

So, do I recommend A Witch in Love? Absolutely! If you enjoyed A Witch in Winter, you'll probably enjoy this one, too, so I recommend it a lot!

Challenges:

2013 TBR Pile Challenge

2013 Books-In-A-Series Reading Challenge

Take Control of Your TBR Pile Challenge March 2013

Title: A Witch in Winter

Author: Ruth Warburton

 

Series: Winter Trilogy #1

My rating: 4.5 of 5

(Book re-read from my own copy from March 2nd to March 4th, 2013)

Summary:

Anna Winterson doesn't know she's a witch and would probably mock you for believing in magic, but after moving to the small town of Winter with her father, she learns more than she ever wanted to about power. When Anna meets Seth, she is smitten, but when she enchants him to love her, she unwittingly amplifies a deadly conflict between two witch clans and splits her own heart in two. She wants to love Seth, to let him love her - but if it is her magic that's controlling his passion, then she is as monstrous as the witch clan who are trying to use her amazing powers for their own gain. 

 

When love is tangled up in magic, how can you be sure what's real?

 

My Thoughts on the Book:

Ok, since this was a re-read for me, I read it last year, but never got around to writing a review, and I still remember what I thought about it then, I guess I'll include my thoughts then & my thoughts now.

So,  when I saw A Witch in Winter last year, I knew I had to have it, because it sounded really interesting, and I do love witchy books, and you gotta love that cover - it's even more gorgeous IRL. Anyway, I pre-ordered it, read it & loved it, but as I said I never got around to reviewing it, although it was one of my fav debuts in 2012.   

What I loved about A Witch in Winter? Well, first, I have to admit the writing. It was lovely, a little bit magical, with some really lovely descriptions in this 1st book of the Winter Trilogy. And you could really feel that you're actually there, and I love it when the writing does that to me. Also, the story was really fun & interesting & sweet. Anna doesn't know she's actually a witch, so when joking around with friends trying to do some magic from a grimoire they found, she's in for quite the surprise when she realises that she's actually cast a love spell & now Seth Waters is obsessively in love with her, so she tries to reverse it, and lots of stuff start to happen around. There are some quite amazing, yet terrifying magic when it comes to the weather ;) Anyway, she actually manages to reverse the love spell, and although Seth's not obsessive anymore, he's still in love with her. It's not actually a love at first sight story, but Seth doesn't give up, so Anna falls in love with him, too. Now, that's not all to the story, but anything more would be full of spoilers, but there are some other witches that try to hurt Anna & her new friends & it was really interesting learning about the witch world. As for the characters, I really liked all of them, both Anna & Seth, as well as all the secondary characters, especially Abe & Emmaline. I remember while reading this last year thinking how much I love Abe as a character, he's just so fun, but also mysterious, and he has some amazing magic, and I was thinking that it's great there's not actually a love triangle. To be honest, near the end of the book Abe did something I didn't expect that I thought I might be wrong, but I didn't really mind it, it was just something on the spur of the moment, and after I re-read this book, I still like him quite a lot as a character. As for Seth & Anna, I thought that their romance is sweet & really honest, and they really do love each other, and I liked them a lot as a couple.

 

The ending was pretty great, with lots of action, some heartbreak, and it will leave you eager to pick up the next book, although there isn't a cliffhanger.   

Do I recommend A Witch in Winter? Yes! If you love YA fantasy books full with magic, witches and romance, then I recommend this one!

Challenges:

2013 Books-In-A-Series Reading Challenge