A Wicked and Beautiful Garden by Katie McGarry is my latest favorite read, and it’s available now!!!
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Blurb
Twenty-eight year-old Cassie Strega can’t escape fate.
All she wants is to live a normal, quiet life delivering the babies in her small town. But when she discovers she comes from a lineage of witches, her life becomes extraordinary—in the gravely dangerous type of way.
Then, she’s reunited with her first love.
Orion, the sultry Fae warrior who broke her heart years before, is searching for a baby. Not just any baby, but the queen of the Fae who will one day lead them in their final battle against the demons determined to rule the world. The same baby who has been calling to Cassie for help in her dreams.
Fighting the intense attraction of their former blood bond, Cassie and Orion work together to find the child. But when the heartbreak that nearly destroyed Cassie nine years before looms once more, she’ll have to decide whether getting involved in the supernatural war is worth losing everything, including her life.
Review
“Heaven, hell and earth, Cassie. I will move each and every single one for you.”
5+ epic stars!
I literally just finished this book, and my heart is racing, my hands are literally shaking as I type this, I’m so full of feels, adrenaline, and just… everything! OMG, what an absolutely incredible, amazing read! McGarry has written some of my all-time fave YA books, and when I first read the blurb for this one, I knew I needed it. I was right. This is McGarry’s first adult urban fantasy novel, and she has delivered something truly special with this fantastic story – full of action, suspense, heartwrenching emotion, and an epic, epic second-chance romance, I was captivated from the first page and couldn’t put this book down.
Twenty-eight year old Cassie has experienced more than her share of heartache, and she’s finally settled in a small town, delivering babies and pretty much keeping to herself. But her world shifts when her fae ex-boyfriend and first love appears out of the blue – nine years after his supposed ‘death’. And if that’s not enough, her entire life is upended when she learns that she is a witch, and she is sucked into a dangerous new reality.
Cassie knew that Orion was fae, but she didn’t realise that he was a warrior for his race. His current mission is to find a newborn baby, who is actually the fae queen – and it just happens to be the same baby that has been calling out to Cassie in her dreams. Not wanting anything to do with the man who betrayed her and shattered her heart, but determined to help the baby she is somehow bonded to, Cassie agrees to help Orion, and she soon finds herself emersed in the world of the fae (not all of whom are happy to see her back in Orion’s life), while trying to figure out her scary new powers as a witch, all while searching for the baby before it’s too late. And in the middle of all of that, she is torn between her grief and anger over Orion’s betrayal, and the still-present connection that has surged strongly back to life.
Set in the real world with fantasy and paranormal elements, McGarry has created an intriguing, well-developed and exciting world. There is a fantastic bunch of characters – some you will love and some you will hate – with wonderful dynamics, and I loved getting to know Orion’s fae buddies, Mercutio and Shaw, and the fabulous Wren. I’m hoping we get a lot more of them in future books, but this book absolutely belongs to Cassie and Orion.
Cassie is strong and brave, and completely relatable. She’s been through and overcome so much, and it’s so special watching her come back to the ‘family’ that she found as a 19 year old – now with so much more wisdom and life experience. She’s not the naïve and needy young girl she once was, and I loved watching her really come into herself as the strong and independent woman that she is. And by her side through it all is Orion, the man who shattered her heart, but the man who still loves her deeply. Their connection is palpable, and the chemistry and sexual tension between them just drips off the page. They share an emotional bond that is so beautifully written, but there is so much that they need to deal with in order to truly find their way back to each other and I was in a world of swoony feels as they do just that.
“Letting you go is the hardest thing I’ve done. I don’t know how to describe to you how you’re a part of me. How you will always be a part of me. That without you, I’m lost.”
“My walls are lowered. You won’t find regret, you won’t find pain. You’ll find a man who wants nothing more than to love you.”
But there is so much more to their reunion than just overcoming all of the lies and hurt from the past. There are consequences to their reconnection that are way out of their control, and with secrets from the past and visions of the future influencing their every move, they’ve got a lot to figure out.
“To be with you, I will do anything,” Orion continued. “To protect you, I will give my life … I will break every rule necessary to keep you by my side.”
All this while a supernatural war is brewing as humans turn against paranormals, demons fight to control the human world, and the fae fight to save the world, and the future of their race. Cassie is in the middle of it, fighting for her life, and it’s a wild journey.
This review just scrapes the surface of the story, but I don’t want to say any more because you just need to dive in and experience this one. The story twists and turns, there are secrets and surprises, and I love that I never knew what was going to happen. The action is exciting, the mystery is suspenseful, and the love story completely stole my heart. And through all of it, there is a wonderful character story as Cassie figures out her role in it all. McGarry has written this story beautifully, and the feels are intense, and kept me emotionally invested the whole way through.
I freaking love this book! It’s an incredible read that has me on an absolute high, and I can’t wait to read it again! It ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but it’s not too painful. I’m eagerly awaiting the release of A Stormy and Sultry Sea later this year.
5+ epic stars!
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Witches of the Island
A Wicked and Beautiful Garden (#1)
Review
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About the Author
Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.
Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON, BREAKING THE RULES, and NOWHERE BUT HERE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine’s 2012 Reviewer’s Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.
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