Tamsin is the most powerful witch of her generation. But after committing the worst magical sin, she’s exiled by the ruling Coven and cursed with the inability to love. The only way she can get those feelings back—even for just a little while—is to steal love from others.
Wren is a source—a rare kind of person who is made of magic, despite being unable to use it herself. Sources are required to train with the Coven as soon as they discover their abilities, but Wren—the only caretaker to her ailing father—has spent her life hiding her secret.
When a magical plague ravages the queendom, Wren’s father falls victim. To save him, Wren proposes a bargain: if Tamsin will help her catch the dark witch responsible for creating the plague, then Wren will give Tamsin her love for her father.
Of course, love bargains are a tricky thing, and these two have a long, perilous journey ahead of them—that is, if they don't kill each other first..
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Rating: 3 Stars
My Review: This story was so promising and had a lot going for it but sadly the execution of it just failed to make me care about anyone. The villain was subpar and the plot was kind of meh.
From School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up-Tooley's debut is a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romance between heroines as they embark on a quest to find the source of the dark magic destroying the world. Seventeen-year-old Wren has sacrificed her entire life to keeping her bedridden father alive. When she learns the local witch, Tamsin, has paid her in fake coins, she is furious. Wren's avoided Tamsin to keep her own powerful connection to magic hidden, but when a plague of dark magic strikes her father and he loses his memories, Wren makes a bargain with Tamsin to go after the dark witch together. Tamsin is hesitant to return to the world of her fellow witches after her own brush with dark magic cost Tamsin her twin sister and resulted in her banishment. Though well written and paced, this novel turns stilted as it reaches the climax and falls on expository dialogue to tie up plot threads. Many well-read fantasy readers may feel that it ends too easily despite the deft twists in the plot. Tooley tackles topics like self-worth, sacrifice, and forgiveness from multiple angles with her characters, and brings those arcs to satisfactory conclusions. With high stakes and a wonderfully developed romance, Tooley's characters carry the adventure to its rather anticlimactic ending. Wren and Tamsin have pale skin. VERDICT A secondary purchase, this novel will appeal to younger readers who have tired of fantasies built on warfare. A good choice for fans looking for readalikes to Melissa Bashardoust's Girl, Serpent, Thorn.-Emmy Neal, Lake Forest Lib., ILĪ±(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.
Review
"An especially slow-burn romance, as Tamsin’s curse prevents her from feeling, but the buildup allows for deeper character development and a very satisfying conclusion. Tooley’s debut skillfully and subtly emphasizes the consequences of prioritizing power above people and the environment while the friction between regular people and magic-bearers poignantly echoes the fear and rejection queer people, who are accepted in this world, often face in ours.... Thoughtful, ambitious, and unexpected." (Kirkus )
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FTC Guidelines: In accordance with FTC guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials for bloggers, I would like my readers to know that many of the books I review are provided to me for free by the publisher or author of the book in exchange for an honest review. If am compensated for any reviews on this site I will state that post has been sponsored.
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