The Coven

SPOILER WARNING!!! Although there are no spoilers for this book. There are spoilers in this review for those who haven't read the previous book. So if you haven't already read the first of the series then you may not want to read my review.

I try to express only my most honest opinion in a spoiler free way. If you feel anything in my review is a spoiler and is not already hidden in spoiler brackets please let me know. Thank you.
Morgan and Cal are now an 'item' and that means that Bree and Morgan are on the outs. As it becomes apparent that Morgan is a very powerful witch, she turns to the past to get answers about herself. The coven loses a few members and the mention of another blood witch comes up. Cal seems worried and warns Morgan show more that not all witches are benign.
Loved it. It was just as engaging and interesting as the first in its series, but now it has some real danger lurking on the horizon. I love the relationship that are developing with more and more depth between the characters. Bree is seriously ticking me off. I mean she has got to be the most spoiled, bratty, crappy friend ever. I just had to get that out. I love how caring and devoted Cal is to Morgan though. The book was short and easy to read. I guess that could be seen as either a good or bad thing. It was nice that it went by so easily, but its one of those books that you hate to have end. I'll soon be on to the next in this series.
How I choose my rating:
1* Did not finish, or hated it but forced myself to finish.
2** Didn't really like it. Didn't hate it but not sure why I finished it other then for some closure.
3*** I liked it. I had some issues with it, but as a whole it was good. I probably won't reread again ever, but there is a chance I might finish the series. (If part of one) But if not it's not a huge loss.
4**** I really liked this book. Maybe not a work of genius, but highly entertaining. I might reread this again, and I will finish the series. (If part of one) I would recommend to those I know hold interest in this books content.
5***** I loved this book. I found little to no issues with it at all. I will definitely be rereading this and probably more than once. I will finish the series and reread it multiple times. (If part of one) I will recommend this book to EVERYONE!!!! show less

The first 2-3 books in this series are addictive, a fresh "modern-teen" POV in the tired genre of witches/kids with supernatural powers finding themselves (and the wonder of Wicca) among families/communities who "don't get it".

After #3, it goes downhill. There is no psychological development of the main characters (and the secondary characters are quite shallowly described and hard to distinguish throughout the series; even the more promising and believable ones, BFFs Bree & Robbie are essentially dropped from the books by #4) a lot of the narrative suspenseful points are all "tell" and no "show", the conclusions are hurried and tied up nicely--except for a minimum of predictable suspense that the publisher made you have to draw people show more through the series. Also, each book is so short, (it's like a single chapter of a Harry Potter) that the narrative arc is predictable and hasty, and makes one wonder if these were paid by the book, or that the series was extended way beyond what should have been its natural life span by the publisher, or what.

It's no Harry Potter, that's for sure. Apart from the above flaws, here's no humor (unless you count Morgan's drinking Diet Coke all the time, which gets tired really fast) and no writing good enough to be enjoyed by adults as well (a sure sign of a good children's book).

Also there's way too much touchy-feely Wicca rituals and pseudo Gaelic chanting, which is not well enough written to be convincing and also gets tiresome. show less

The Coven is an excellent continuation of the Sweep series. I like that “real” issues come into play and that the characters react the way that I would expect real people (especially real teenagers) to react. This series is exactly what it should be (i.e., do not expect stellar writing or storylines here); it’s fast-paced, and a quick and easy read.

Last year, I read and reviewed the first book in the Sweep series, Book of Shadows. I had read some of these books when I was younger and very much into Wicca, but never read the entire series. While I enjoyed the first book, I thought it was very mild, not much happened throughout the entire book, and the last chapter was probably the most exciting part. I also didn't like how it ended so abruptly.

So naturally, I had to pick up the second book, The Coven. I'd gotten a bind-up of the first three books, because that was a lot cheaper than buying each book separately. The Coven goes further almost immediately after the first book ended, which I appreciate. Most of the times, when a book ends with a cliffhanger - the story goes on a couple show more of days, weeks or even months later. This book picks up the day after Samhain, after the group made their first circle.

I personally still think the narrative is a bit too young for me. Morgan is sixteen, but she sounds so much younger in my opinion, more like twelve or something. One plus, she only talks about her non-existing breasts twice in this book (I've decided to count them because there were so many in the first book). She now only thinks about Cal, Cal, Cal, and about how much she misses Bree. Because Bree - who had a big crush on Cal - is not happy with how Cal didn't choose her, so of course the most logical way is to be a big bitch to your best friend (who had no interest in Cal at all up until Samhain, I guess, honestly I don't remember that well).

This book is still pretty mild, not much happens, the most exciting things are when Morgan tries to find out about her birthparents, but it's still really enjoyable. There are some passages from the Book of Shadows of someone at the beginning of each chapter, and we find out more about this woman later on in the story. And then there's this mysterious girl named Sky (of course) who we'll probably be seeing more of in the next book.

Again, this book ends so abruptly that I actually wanted to start the third book immediately, but I think I'm going to buy the next bind-up first before I do that, because I have the feeling that every book is going to end like this. This is just not my favourite way of ending a book, and I did take away points for that. But other than that, The Coven was really enjoyable and I relived my youth by reading this series.

If you're into witches, Wiccan and light reads, you should pick up the Sweep series!

My opinion on this book in one gif: show less

The story is starting to become more intriguing as the main character Morgan, finds out that she is adopted. She figures this out after she comes to realize that she is very powerful, and Cal tells her that she must be a blood witch. She accuses her parents of being blood witches and they deny it, and she finally asks them if she's adopted. She goes on a search for her birth mother, who is dead. The story heats up even more when a few members of their group leave the coven and join forces with someone else, who, ironically, is in Cal's mother's coven. Morgan also finds her mother's BOS among Cal's mother's library collection. I can't wait to see what happens next. I enjoy the stories ending on a cliffhanger note, they make me anticipate show more the next ones all the more. show less

Once again, a quick, easy and entertaining read! I love books like this. Cate Tiernan gets strait to the story, no extra details to skim through and only 185 pages.

The part that really intrigued me; is reading from a perspective of someone that has been betrayed and lied to by the people she loves when a shocking secret is revealed. Worst of all, she doesn’t have her best friend to confide in.

Morgan’s best friend Bree is a spoiled, selfish, little brat! The one and only time Bree doesn’t get what she wants; she turns on her best friend and becomes a “Mean Girl”.

WELL, Morgan has someone new to confide in. She can now confide in Cal, her new boyfriend. The very boy that every girl has been drooling over. The boy that introduced show more Morgan to witchcraft. The boy that caused the rift in Morgan and Bree’s friendship. And, Morgan’s first kiss! I am not sure about Cal, I am wondering if he is someone Morgan should trust. His mom seems pretty cool.

Anyways, about the witchcraft; when they perform a circle, it reminds me a lot like meditation. I could see that even if someone believed in wicca, it would be natural to be at peace when performing this ritual.

Overall, I loved the storyline. I could not pry my eyes from this book the moment I started reading (other than going to the restroom…sorry for that mental picture and yes I always wash my hands. LOL). So I read the whole book last night while my neighbor’s dog wouldn’t stop barking.

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These are my new favorite lunch books. In this second book, Morgan is learning more about her family and about her powers. She is a little pissy through a lot of the book, but she is going through a lot of issues so I cut her some slack for this book. Hopefully she will have her big girl panties on for the rest of the series. This is turning out to be quite a fun series. I expect much angst and drama in my future. Can't wait!