Stacey O'Neale

This review was completed by Camille Morales, staff reviewer with the YA Fantasy Guide.This book was a really good book. I didn’t know what to expect when I first started reading. This is a romantic book, but it has witchcraft, witches, and past-lives in it. All of the characters (except the ones who were mean and all) were really, really likeable. The main character, Emma, was just pure awesome. We have so much in common! I’m serious. We have the same taste in music (Paramore!) and the same favorite color (purple). She is really funny, and sweet, and her life has been very hard. Let’s talk about Brendan here. Oh, Brendan. Sweet, amazing Brendan. He’s hot, he’s different, and he’s…the kind of guy every girl would want. He has flaws, too. He doesn’t like how fancy his family is, and he defends Emma every single time. But Emma can defend herself. Don’t get me wrong. Oh, and Ashley. She’s Emma’s smaller cousin. She’s 14, and she’s really, extremely…happy. She’s happy all of the time. However, I wish I had a cousin like her. She can be serious, too. She’s Emma’s best friend before she moved in, sort of. They communicated through email. And I liked her. She does one stupid thing in the book (and I felt really sorry for her) but she’s likable. The happy, cheery thing works on her. Coolest. Cousin. Ever. And all of the minor characters were really, really cool. Aunt Christine, Cisco, Cisco’s boyfriend, Angelique (she was awesome, too). All of them. I have never liked so many characters in a book. Back to the plot. The book, in the beginning, may seem like it’s just another romance book. The romance is the main focus here, but only because of a reason I can’t say. The author makes it work. It’s sort of like Evermore, only there are no immortals and no person who can see auras and stuff. Still, it was a really good book, and I definitely recommend it. There will be a sequel, though I don’t know when it’ll come out. I will definitely be reading it, even though I thought the ending was great.