SYNOPSIS

Thirty years ago, Cristine and Clem’s grandmother, who was queen of a magic council, died and was accused of murdering the mayor’s daughter. Instead of the queen title passing down to Cristine and Clem’s mother like it should’ve, the title was given to Lenora due to the murder.

More recently, Cristine and Clem’s father died and their mother has fallen mysteriously ill. All of this grief and guilt tear these twins apart until Clem discovers a voodoo doll underneath his mom’s bed. With the realization their lives are in danger, the twins go on their own journeys, which overlap, to investigate who wants to kill them and why. What could possibly happen?

RECAP AND REVIEW

This book is told from multiple perspectives- Clement, Cristina, Zachary, Lenora, Jean-Louise, and Valentina. The two main narrators are Cristina and Clement and the story is really about their family and uncovering the secret of why their aunts and uncles are no longer close and what really happened to their grandmother.

Cristina has had a falling out with magic. She was talented but after she suspects a spell she casts goes wrong, she refuses to touch magic again and won’t tell anyone why. She’s dating a man named Oz, who Clem doesn’t like because he gets bad vibes from him. She is ex best friends with Valentina.

Clem is struggling with anxiety and grief after losing his dad. He feels like he doesn’t have anyone because Cristina has pulled away from him and he doesn’t know why. He has no one to cope with while dealing with the loss of their father, their aunts and uncle moving away, and their mother on her deathbed. He meets someone named Yves and he starts to feel happier.

Valentina is Lenora’s granddaughter, Cristina’s ex best friend, and Oz’s ex girlfriend. Valentina and Cristina got into a magical prank battle of sorts that resulted in their falling out. Valentina clings to her grandmother since her parents are constantly arguing and can’t wait for the day she becomes queen of the council.

Zachary and Lenora only have one or two chapters from their perspective. Zachary isn’t a main character, but is known as Clem’s bully. I can argue that these viewpoints aren’t necessary, though I understand why they’re written. Zachary’s chapter at least helped to show motives behind a major plot point. At the same time, there was a lot of unnecessary information and filler in their chapters because their stories are not the main focus.

Jean-Louise’s perspective is the last chapter and is too much of a spoiler to explain. The story ends in a cliff hanger.

These characters are nuanced and have issues they deal with. Clement is lonely and grief stricken, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. He makes a choice I hate towards the end. Valentina is power hungry and constantly seeking approval from her grandmother, who she believes can do no wrong. Cristina is petty and becomes a little bloodthirsty.

This book revolves around secrets coming to light. It feels like no one is completely honest with anyone. Even in the end, there are some secrets being kept. It made the read interesting and realistic in a sense, but after a while I was like, please just talk to each other.

The action picks up in the last half of the book. Most of everything is explained by the end. The cliffhanger has me excited for the next one.

OVERALL

Overall, I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars. There’s a lot of characters and a lot that happens. It was confusing for me in the beginning to follow how everyone was connected and understand the magic systems and politics. I don’t really like how character perspective’s were introduced mid story. (Also, Yves deserved better).

However, once I got into it with a better understanding of what was going on, I was eager to see how things would play out. I’d recommend it.