The books of the Wicked series are the result of a collaboration between authors Nancy Holder and Debbie Vigiué. The five books in the series have been compressed to three – the first two, Witch & Curse, the next two, Legacy and Spellbound, and the final book, Resurrection.
Wicked follows Holly Cathers, an average girl who loses her parents and her best friend on an unfortunate rafting trip whilst on vacation. At a loss, she gets adopted by her best friend’s mother, Barbara Davis-Chin. Nothing’s that simple, though. She barely gets time to grieve when disaster strikes in the form of one cunning Michael Deveraux. Michael’s the father of two warlock sons, Eli and Jeraud (Jer) Deveraux, and he has an agenda. Descended from the line of the noble Deveraux family, he’s adamant in exterminating the last of the rival family line (the Cahors).
It turns out that the history of the family feud between the Cahors and the Deveraux goes way back – to the 1800s of France, or so it seems. Both families betrothed their offspring, Isabeau Cahors and Jean Deveraux, in marital union. Though the two powers loved each other intensely, betrayal and politics tore them apart, with their story ending tragically in the Black Fire. Subsequently, the Deveraux line has tried numerous times to end the Cahors family line – all was thought to be lost until Holly Cathers appeared on the radar.
Now, Holly must move to live with her biological aunt to Seattle, where she gains two new sisters, Nicole and Amanda Anderson. Unbeknownst to Holly, her aunt and Nicole are practicing witchcraft, and it isn’t long before a chance encounter with Jer Deveraux that she realizes the spirit of Isabeau Cahors is within her. As such, Holly and Jer are inexplicably drawn to each other. Amanda’s powers awaken as well, and the three sisters find themselves part of their own exclusive circle of power as the treachery of Michael Deveraux comes to light. Jer is lost to the Black Fire, leaving behind a distraught band of witches and friends.
The attacks grow stronger and increase in frequency, and Nicole, unable to cope, decides to flee to Europe to find a safe haven. Instead, she finds herself running from chapel to chapel from Michael’s evil minions and spies, finally finding allies in a coven of men, who are determined to bring her to safety. Holly becomes the High Priestess of the Coven, and is torn between leading her coven to Nicole’s location and leaving the coven itself to find Jer (or what remains of him). Burned and scarred beyond recognition, Jer lives in self-loathing in his prison located in the Supreme Coven’s headquarters. Things spiral out of control when the gang finally lands in Paris and have to navigate their way to Nicole, who has been captured and forced to marry James Moore, an evil warlock in his own right. Familiars get killed, sacrifices are made, Isabeau screws with Holly’s mind at every turn, and the final showdown’s on the watery horizon. Fun times.
The book wasn’t as lighthearted or fluffy as I thought it would be – by the end of Witch, the plot had become significantly darker and went in that general vein from there. Numerous flashbacks interspersed with the actual story made it somewhat confusing to follow, though the writing, in general, was decent (if a bit heavy at times). While it wasn’t the most terrible book I’ve ever read, I don’t think I’ll be revisiting it anytime soon.
See also: Legacy/Spellbound, Resurrection
Characters: 3/5
Writing style: 3/5
Total score: 9/15
malicecat
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