Genre: Fantasy/Dark Romance
Author: Harper L Woods
Synopsis
Revenge.
Raised to be my father’s weapon against the Coven that took away his sister and his birthright, I would do anything to protect my younger brother from suffering the same fate. My duty forces me to the secret town of Crystal Hollow and the prestigious Hollow’s Grove University—where the best and brightest of my kind learn to practice their magic free from human judgment.
There are no whispered words here. No condemnation for the blood that flows through my veins. The only animosity I face comes from the beautiful and infuriating Headmaster, Alaric Grayson Thorne, a man who despises me just as much as I loathe him and everything he stands for.
But that doesn’t mean secrets don’t threaten to tear the school in two. No one talks about the bloody massacre that forced it to close decades prior, only the opportunity it can afford to those fortunate enough to attend.
Because for the first time in fifty years, the Coven will open its wards to the Thirteen.
Thirteen promising students destined to change the world.
If the ghosts of Hollow’s Grove’s victims don’t kill them first.
The Coven is book one in the Coven of Bones series and ends on a cliffhanger. This is a gothic, dark academia, paranormal romance and includes elements that may be triggering to some readers.
Spoiler Free Review
When reading an Advanced Readers Copy of a book, I always get that anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach in case I don’t enjoy it… But oh my, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
“The Coven” offers everything I was anticipating and more. From witches to demons, elemental magic to vampires. This ticks many boxes for this lover of fantasy and dark academia. Expect tropes such as “Touch her and die”, slow-burn enemies to lovers.
We follow Willow our main protagonist who is dealing with the death of her mother. Secluded and somewhat alone in a world where she and her brother are in hiding from The Coven. A group of ruling families brought together to keep the witch bloodlines not just surviving, but thriving in this world, where the old ways are dying out.
Taken away from her brother to attend a prestigious witch school, Willow has to adjust fast and work out the mystery surrounding her life, and who exactly is killing students at the school. Just like 50 years ago…
Full of wonder, mystery and suspense this book, will most definitely captivate the reader, engrossing you completely into the plot, the witch lore and the history of this world right up to the end of the book which ends on a major cliff-hanger.
Warning: Expect a book hangover! It took me days to recover from this ending. Thankfully the sequel to the duology is planned for release in August 2023 so not too much time between the two.
There were however a couple of gripes I had with this book. This may have been my own fault due to reading it in such a short space of time, I may have just missed it. But, I feel like the mystery to what happened 50 years ago goes unanswered in detail and leaves me wondering. If it hasn’t been addressed yet I hope it does in the sequel.
Another thought I had was I wish we had a little more information around Willow’s childhood, I personally would have enjoyed maybe a flashback or two to show more character development and reasoning to why our main character is the way she is. She’s strong willed, a fighter, sassy… but was she always this way?
Having said that, it didn’t take away any enjoyment I had from “The Coven” and I would recommend it to any lover of the genre or author.
Finally, I would like to thank Harper L. Woods for kindly gifting me this E-ARC (Electronic Advanced Readers Copy) in exchange for an honest review. This review has been written fairly and has not been affected by this.
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