Check out my review and two teasers here: http://frommetoyouvideophoto.blogspot.com/2012/06/made-grade-coven-series-book-2... ( )

It has been a while since I read these books - from memory, characters inspire a better than average level of sympathy, pretty good development
overall 75% (needs review to verify) ( )

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Bane is the second in the coven series and tells the story of Jax and Egan traveling to Salem to try to find out the truth about the covens, Jax’s power and how to stop the evil for good. Too bad the rest of the world didn’t have the same plan….
Bane is the second of the Coven series, and so this review will contain spoilers for the first book, White Witch. If you haven’t read White Witch, check out my review :). After finishing White Witch, I was quite excited to see that Bane was also open for review copies, and had to keep reading and reviewin for this fun series!

Title: Bane
Author: Trish Milburn
Pages: 178
Genre-ish: Urban Fantasy with only witches
Rating: ★★★★☆ - fun read, minor flaws
Setting: The modern world, but witches are real, Salem pissed them off and made them bargain for true evil powers, and covens live in hiding, using mind control and killing anyone that finds or annoys them.
Premise: Jax was a dark witch, but fled from her coven in the first book. Now she has discovered she can take in and use white witch power, and has traveled to Salem to try to figure out what all that means for her life and the world.

Strengths:
Same compelling writing as the first book. I just want to keep turning the page!
Learning more about the other power that is out there and the other people who know about the covens was quite interesting.
New friends! The secondary characters that appear were refreshing to the plot.
No love triangle (yet). Keller and Toni are involved in Bane, and while there is angst, Jax doesn’t do anything too annoying in the romance department.
Weaknesses:
The conclusion of Bane felt a little weak after all the build up, and there is obviously going to be another book. This is understandable for a second book, but it still would have been nice if it could have stood on its own a little bit better.
A little bit too much teenage angst for me, but it is YA ;-).
Bane had the same weird formatting and some spelling errors as White Witch.
Summary:
I was perhaps a little too excited to get a copy of Bane, and built up my expectations. A second book is rarely as strong as the first, and the plot was a little disappointing. The characters, old and new, however, were very strong and memorable. They made me very much enjoy Bane and I recommend everyone who likes YA fantasy to start or continue the series! ( )

Bane (Book 2: Coven Series) by Trish Milburn
Source: Netgalley
4½/5 stars

Holy crap, Batman! Bane is the second book in Trish Milburn’s Coven series and just like book one, my socks have been rocked! Bane picks up precisely where White Witch ended with Jax and Egan having arrived in Salem after skipping out on Keller and Toni in Baker Gap, North Carolina. Yes, it’s as craptastic as it sounds 

Jax and Egan have landed in Salem with a highly specific and rather terrifying agenda: find out what got into Jax at Shiprock, research the possibility of white witches actually existing and, find the key to taking down the covens. Mind you, the dynamic duo has to accomplish all of this without using any of their own powers and being completely separated from the two people they love most.

Jax and Egan seem to think they are completely under the radar that is, until they discover how odd a town Salem actually is. Jax keeps shaking off the feeling she and Egan are being watched because she can’t actually sense the presence of any witches. That is until she encounters Rule Latimer and his grandmother, Fiona Day. After a rather rocky introduction everyone begins to understand they are all on the same side and have frighteningly similar goals. Once Jax and Egan join forces with Fiona and Rule the real research and work gets started.

Here’s the short list of precisely what rocked my socks:

*the relationship between Jax and Fiona: Fiona is such a strong, wise and no-nonsense woman with a lot of experience and knowledge where witches and witch history is concerned. Fiona is good for Jax and helps her understand her powers and her place within the context of the coming fight

*Keller and Toni’s return: You know they had to show up; stop snorting like I just unloaded a spoiler on you! The reappearance of these two is absolutely necessary to the development of the plot and Jax and Egan’s sanity but their reappearance also creates a whole host of new problems.

*The backstory: I am a big, big, big fan of backstories and histories and this book is full of both. The research the group is doing is how Milburn weaves the backstory and histories of Salem, the original families, the covens, and the Bane (the who?) into the contemporary plot. The information is not only really interesting but it also infuses each of the characters and the plot with a greater sense of depth and dimension.

*The fan-crappin’-tastic cliffhanger!! Even with all the backstory and history Milburn still finds time to squeeze in plenty of heart-pounding action. Believe me when I tell you she has cooked up one hell of an ending that will leave you wondering where the hell that came from. So. Totally. Worth. It. ( )

A fantastic sequel, this book takes the character development a step further than White Witch, making you love the characters even more. Adding a second love story doesn't hurt either, I loved reading this book. I could not put it down, there were so many things I wanted answered and the author does a great job at keeping you interested. I cannot wait for the release of the third in the Coven series, I will be first in line next month! ( )