Review: The Curse of the Bruel Coven by Sabrina Ramoth

Book Blurb:

When secrets from the past collide with the present, the consequences may be deadly.

Vivienne Davenport is an ordinary teenager—at least, she thinks she is. Then the untimely death of her mother reveals a family secret. She's adopted . . . and her real mom is a witch.

The truth only complicates Vivienne's life further. Buried deep within her family’s history of magic is a deadly curse that has plagued them for generations. When her birth mom disappears, Vivienne must tap into her suppressed powers to save her long-lost mother—and herself. Can Vivienne become the witch she needs to be? Or will her newfound powers prove too much for her to handle? Only one thing is certain: She will soon learn that all magic comes at a price.

My Review:

3 Out Of 5 Stars

Genre: Mystery, Royal-Court, Supernatural, Teen, Vampires, Witches--

Vivienne has had a hard time coping from the fairly sudden loss of her mother a few months ago due to cancer. Now she has discovered that she was adopted, something she never would have guessed. She and her friend decide to use their Spring break to go on a quest to find Vivienne’s birth mother. Little did they know that they were getting into a dangerous, unexpected situation full of magic, witches, curses and vampires.

This was an incredibly fast, short read, which was surprising considering how much info and action the author crammed into the book. That being said, I feel like I would have liked this better if it had been either a longer book (instead of the 120ish pages my ereader said it was) or if half the info was left out maybe for another book. I was on info overload, and I feel like that hurt the character development of the 30ish characters thrown at me (who I could not keep straight at all).

I liked how different this story was from anything else that I have read recently. The book dealt with family secrets and curses, as well as how to unlock magical powers and a vampire creature who has stalked the witches for years (but it was all so fast, and Vivienne became proficient in magic in like a day, which is probably the most unbelievable part of the book). Vivienne was a roll with the punches type of girl and no matter what she was told or experienced, she just kept on going. Through dreams, she experienced memories that she should never have, which caused feelings she should never feel, which I thought was a good twist. Her potential love interest does not exist…or does he still? My favorite character was her best friend, and the fact she was not heard from at the end of the story was a big issue that I wanted solved (but maybe she is fine…). The rest of the characters I did not really know because there were so many and to be honest I don’t remember all the names, just a vague awareness that there are many in the coven.

I feel like this book had potential, and this better be a series because there was so much left unanswered. My interest is piqued and I would like to read another book to see if it has a little more character development, and hopefully the pace slows down just a tad so I am not confused/overwhelmed by the overload. This would be a good series for someone looking for an easy read that deals with the supernatural.

I received this title in return for my honest review.