Smada's Book Smack : Blog Tour & Giveaway: Julia Defiant (Witch's Child #2) by Catherine Egan

Book Blurb:

Title: JULIA DEFIANT (Witch's Child #2)

Author: Catharine Egan

Pub. Date: June 13, 2017

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Pages: 464

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Fans of The Rose Society, Graceling, and Six of Crows will thrill to the masterful world-building and fiercely flawed heroine in this heart-pounding follow-up to Julia Vanishes, book two in the Witch's Child trilogy.

Adventure, murder, romance, intrigue, and betrayal with a 16-year-old heroine that is both fierce and flawed at the same time. Hypable.com

Julia and a mismatched band of revolutionaries, scholars, and thieves have crossed the world searching for a witch. But for all the miles traveled, they are no closer to finding Ko Dan. No closer to undoing the terrible spell he cast that bound an ancient magic to the life of a small child. Casimir wants that magic will happily kill Theo to extract it and every moment they hunt for Ko Dan, Casimir's assassins are hunting them.

Julia can deal with danger. The thing that truly scares her lies within. Her strange ability to vanish to a place just out of sight has grown: she can now disappear so completely that it's like stepping into another world. It’s a fiery, hellish world, filled with creatures who seem to recognize her and count her as one of their own.

So . . . is Julia a girl with a monster lurking inside her? Or a monster wearing the disguise of a girl?

If she can use her monstrous power to save Theo, does it matter?

In this riveting second book in the Witch s Child trilogy, Catherine Egan goes deep within the heart of a fierce, defiant girl trying to discover not just who but what she truly is.

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My Review:

4.5 Out Of 5 Stars

Genre: Another-World, Historical, Mystery, Royal-Court, Scary, Supernatural, Suspense, Werewolves, Witches--

Book 2 picks up a few weeks after the events at the end of book one, with Julia and her crew now working as body-guardish types to Mrs. Orche and her charges to try and protect baby Theo from the people looking to claim him. This is not a standalone story, but instead the second book in a fantastical series, and desperately needs to be read in order for the world building and relationship dynamics to really make sense.

I found book one to be a very slow start, taking me almost half the story before I was invested in the book, and boy did I get invested! The second half the book was am amazing supernatural adventure full of danger and surprises, so I could not wait to jump right into the second book to see what would happen next to Julia and her hodge-podge group. Well, book 2 started almost as slow as book one for me, with some more, yet different world building before the action really took off. I was afraid that I was going to have a repeat of book 1, but luckily it took only about 60 pages into the story before the tension and the action built until I just could not handle it anymore. People say that the second book in a trilogy generally suffers from a sophmore slum, but this book blew book one out of the water for me.

The world the author created was magic- and yes, the book is about witches and supernatural creatures, but I still feel like that is the best word to describe what the author created. It is another world, most similar to England in the late 1800s (add in a feudal-like China-ish land for book 2), but with witches being real and hunted down, strange "others" lurking about, making pawns out of the average man, and a secret deadly war being fought on the fringes, right under man's nose, which could destroy the world. I loved every little nuance the author created, be it unique creatures, odd special powers, an alternate scary firey reality to escape to, children who have a lost shadow inside them, spiders who recognize if a person belongs... I had no idea what to expect next and I loved that. I felt like if I put the book down, or even blinked, I would miss out on something important, even if it was just a small detail, so I ate up the story in one sitting.

Struggled with Julia in the first book, not genuinely liking her until the second half of the book, but in this story she shined for me. She was strong, determined and resolute, not letting anything stand in her way in her pursuit of what was right. She had a hard go of it, but she tried and I could not fault her for it. My favorite parts of the book were her interactions with Theo, how sweet and careful her she was with him, and her wonder at how she came to care for the impish child she had originally thought was a burden. But to be honest, I loved Theo too, so it made sense to me. She was so young to have so much responsibility thrust on her, but she had a maturity most teens could never even imagine. And the questions about who she is and where she comes from are never-ending.

The ending! Oh my geez, the ending was so surprising and left me wanting to get my hands on the last book as soon as possible! I could never have predicted where the story was going to go, and who was involved made it that much worse. Betrayal, surprise and danger, wrapped up the story, and led to the start of Julia's next journey to get revenge. This series is a must read for any fantasy lovers who are looking for an entirely new world to disappear into.

I received this title in return for my honest review.

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Haven’t started the series? Make sure to grab the Paperback of JULIA VANISHES!

Book Blurb:

Julia has the unusual ability to be . . . unseen. Not invisible, exactly. Just beyond most people's senses.

It's a dangerous trait in a city that has banned all forms of magic and drowns witches in public Cleansings. But it's a useful trait for a thief and a spy. And Julia has learned--crime pays.

Her latest job is paying very well indeed. Julia is posing as a housemaid in the grand house of Mrs. Och, where an odd assortment of characters live and work: A disgraced professor who sends her to fetch parcels containing bullets, spiders, and poison. An aristocratic houseguest who is locked in the basement each night. And a mysterious young woman who is clearly in hiding--though from what or whom?

Worse, Julia suspects that there's a connection between these people and the killer leaving a trail of bodies across the frozen city.

The more she learns, the more she wants to be done with this unnatural job. To go back to the safety of her friends and fellow thieves. But Julia is entangled in a struggle between forces more powerful than she'd ever imagined. Escape will come at a terrible price.

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Author Bio: