Witch Season

Overall Rating: 5/5

Fall under the spell of Witch Season...

Magic always demands a price.

And that price is not just the blood ... but the pain that comes with it.

Katherine Barnes is an enforcer. It is her job to make sure that those in Los Angeles follow the rules of the infamous Aestas coven... and to bring in any unsettled witches (people who are unaware they hold magic) into the coven's fold. She is also an enforcer who owes her life to the silver-haired Aestas coven leader and founder, Silvia Page... because she too was once Unsettled.

When her coven is called on by the heir of the most powerful Noctis coven, Silas Khatri, for some of their more unconventional practices... Katherine's dislike for him only grows.

Not only because of his good looks or his seemingly endless supply of money but for his coven's dangerous attitude towards the unsettled... which only causes Katherine to hate him even more.

But a powerful threat is rising, and one that is stronger than any coven alone.

One more dangerous than the long-time power struggle between covens.

One that will force the Noctis coven, and the Aestas coven to join forces despite their differences... and even then, that will not stop the war to come.

I went into this book completely blind, and I have to say, this has now once more slid into one of my favorites that I have read this year. This was something that grabbed me from the very start and refused to let me go until I had devoured the very last page.

Something I especially loved was just how alive the world felt... how you could literally feel the conflict between covens, and the complexity of the politics... the tension that hums between the pages.... Julia has done a fantastic job of making it feel like the reader is also living in this world... experiencing the things that our characters are at the same time as they unfold.

Julia has also done a beyond amazing job on bringing a vibrant magic system to life... adding on to its complexity slowly through dialogue, scenery, and conflicts as the story progresses...this adds on to the veritable tension that is felt throughout the story... and only makes the world feel even more alive... more like you stepped into its streets as another form of yourself.. in a world full of danger that could turn sour at any moment.

While there is a supposed enemies-to-lovers sort of romance, personally I didn't feel like it fit the normal trope? Maybe that was me... but the romance felt slightly off from both character's views...but it doesn't detract enough from this magical, whirling...darkly intense sensation for me to have to point out in detail.

I want to extend some special thanks to Kejana Ayala at St. Martin's Press for the invite to read this beautiful work of magic, and of politics... set in a beautifully fantastical world that I look forward to falling into again and again. If you are looking for a truly magical read... then I highly suggest checking out the beyond talented Julia Bianco's debut novel.