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Apr 24, 2019AConsolver rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5-4 Stars - I recommend if you enjoy YA fantasy. Nor is a part of the line of Blackburn witches. Ever since her ancestor Rona Blackburn, each woman of the family is doomed to love for just three days, get pregnant with a daughter, and only have one type of magic (or "burden"). Nor's mother was greedy and wanted her lover to come back, and started using black magic to make it happen, abusing Nor and then leaving her to live with her grandmother. Nor hasn't told anyone that she has more than one burden, and when signs of her mother pop up everywhere, she knows it is only a matter of time before she returns. I picked this book because it sounded interesting and it is such a beautiful book. The cover and the red pages are just so stunning! I'm finding this really hard to rate. I loved the writing and the everyday world and characters that Walton created... but I didn't love some of the elements of the story and how they fit together. I loved Walton's writing style it is very magical and atmospheric. I wanted to go to their town and their house. I also liked that the story centered around a family of magical ladies, that is one of my favorite character groups! I really enjoyed this in the beginning and got swept up into the setting and lives of the quirky characters very quickly. A bit of the way through the book it felt like there was an awful lot going on. So many cool ideas for magic and creatures, etc. etc. but sometimes it just didn't fit for me. Overall I found myself smiling as the book went on even though it didn't go quite where I had hoped. The way this ended... I feel like there should be another book.. a lot of things were never explained, or felt like they needed weaving together, and there is a bit of a tense moment at the end....but it is just a standalone novel right now. So yeah, great writing, writing, setting, and characters.... a little disjointed in the story piece.