Monday, March 23, 2015

Review: Sorceress (Spellcaster #3) by Claudia Gray

Release date: March 3, 2015
Author info: Website | Twitter | Facebook
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
Source: Author provided for review
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository
To save the lives of countless people in Captive’s Sound, Nadia has sworn herself to the One Beneath, to black magic. Her plan, and the town’s only hope, is for Nadia to learn enough sorcery to strike back against the forces of darkness. But now that she’s separated from her friends, her family, and her Steadfast, Mateo, Nadia is more vulnerable than ever to darkness. And as the sorceress Elizabeth summons torrential rains and brings the One Beneath closer to the mortal world, Nadia is running out of time to stop her. The final battle lines are drawn, surprising alliances are made, and true love is tested in the action-packed conclusion to the breathtaking Spellcaster series. 

Sorceress is richly woven with New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray’s signature dark magic, captivating mystery, and star-crossed romance.
I've been dying to read Sorceress for ages! I had to know how this series would end, after the ending of Steadfast when Nadia swore herself to the One Beneath. It seemed an insurmountable feat. How do you take down the one you're unable to do anything against?

Just as in the first two books, the magic is the highlight of the book. And the ultimate magic, in the end, oh, it made me so happy. It's all about memories and emotions. If you haven't experienced it, you can't use it for a spell, so some spells are out of a witch's depth. I loved seeing a slightly darker side to Nadia, even as she struggles to keep that at bay, and the way she uses the magic to achieve the end is just...awesome, the best embodiment of what I've loved about these books all along.

I also have really come to love the characters, Verlaine especially and Asa as a close second. Nadia and Mateo are great, but Verlaine is so much more compelling. She's been deprived of love from anyone other than her uncles her entire life, but she's still got so much love to give. Some days she struggles, because she knows her friends don't care for her the way they should under the curse, and there's so much more of that here. She's vilified by the town because no one can feel affection for her and as conditions in Captive's Sound get worse, people start to blame her for Elizabeth's havoc. It's truly dangerous for her at times, bBut Verlaine is unflagging, and you can't help but really love her for that.

As a series ender, parts felt a little anticlimactic to me, knowing the big ending was here, but they didn't feel as big as maybe they should. I still loved how things were solved, though, because it was so true to the magic in this series. Even though the ending isn't all sunshines and smiles. it's very fitting for the scope of the books, but satisfying as well.

The Spellcaster series is one I've really enjoyed. It's truly worth is solely for the magic, because even with three books behind me, I still can't get enough of it, but you'll come to love the characters, without a doubt.


About the author:

Claudia Gray is the pseudonym of Amy Vincent, a bestselling, New Orleans-based novelist. She is perhaps best known for her four-book Evernight series, which follows a girl named Bianca, who is sent to Evernight Academy, a boarding school for vampires.

Gray has also published Balthazar, a spin-off of the Evernight series about Bianca's vampire friend, and a stand-alone novel entitled Fateful, the tale of a young serving woman aboard the doomed ship Titanic, and a dark stranger who is pursued by werewolves. Gray's short stories have been featured in anthologies such as Immortal, Enthralled, and Vacations from Hell. Before working as a full-time novelist, Gray worked as a lawyer, a disc jockey, a journalist, and a waitress (a terrible one by her reckoning). She enjoys hiking, traveling, reading, and listening to music, but says she loves writing best of all.

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