Thursday, December 22, 2011

Book Review: Witch Eyes

Braden was born with witch eyes: the ability to see the world as it truly is: a blinding explosion of memories, darkness, and magic. The power enables Braden to see through spells and lies, but at the cost of horrible pain.

After a terrifying vision reveals imminent danger for the uncle who raised and instructed him, Braden retreats to Belle Dam, an old city divided by two feuding witch dynasties. As rival family heads Catherine Lansing and Jason Thorpe desperately try to use Braden's powers to unlock Belle Dam's secrets, Braden vows never to become their sacrificial pawn. But everything changes when Braden learns that Jason is his father--and Trey, the enigmatic guy he's falling for, is Catherine's son.

To stop an insidious dark magic from consuming the town, Braden must master his gift—and risk losing the one he loves.


I was really looking forward to Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey. My best friend had talked about how much she was looking forward to it in 2010 that I immediately put it on my to read list. Not only that, but I put it on my 11 Must Reads of 2011 list. I got an early signed copy of it at PAYA back in August, and it took me a bit longer to get to it than I had planned. But I finally read it last week and loved it!

Braden, the main character, is a witch. And he's returning to Belle Dam where a witch feud has been taking place for a while. He has a special gift. A sight which allows him to see more than anyone else. But it causes him severe migraines, so he wears sunglasses to block it out. But he learns in Belle Dam that he is not the first with this gift. 

The history of the town and Grace Lansing were interesting. And Lucien was a fascinating character. I liked Catherine a lot, but I'm not sure I should. This is one of those rare books where the main character is narrating and you (and he) aren't sure who to trust, but you like everyone anyway. Usually, if I can't trust you, I don't like you. 

Other things I enjoyed: Braden is gay. It's something he's not had much acceptance for, but he and Trey fall for each other and are absolutely adorable together. It's also narrated by a male character. Something we're finally starting to see a lot more of in the YA collection. And witches! I love vampires, faeries, werewolves, etc... but I love none of them more than witches!

This is definitely a book to look for if you haven't read it. And look for Demon Eyes in 2012!

3 comments:

Julie@My5monkeys said...

I loved this book too and who to trust and loved that witches

Karen said...

I was never really interested in this book before. I adore male POV's though so I'm going to have to check it out. The whole thing sounds original.

Alex said...

This definitely sounds intriguing, and I tend to like passive magic like it seems to be in this book. Also, I'd like to read a book where the protagonist is gay since I've just never really encountered one- which I understand, but you'd think I would read at least one. Great review!

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