Tuesday, August 4, 2015

Blog Tour Book Review: Family Magic by Patti Larsen


 FamilyMagicBanner

Family Magic by Patti Larsen is a young adult paranormal novel that won 1st place in World's Best Story contest and is published by Premiere. The tour runs August 3-31 with mostly reviews as well as author interviews and guest posts. Check out the tour page for more information.


Family Magic
Category: YA Fiction, Genre: magic, witches, demons, paranormal romance, young adult paranormal romance, vampires, family saga, covens

Publisher: Premiere
Release date:May 2015

 Book Description: 

 Her mom’s a witch, her dad’s a demon and she just wants to be ordinary. But, when an insidious evil comes after her family, Sydlynn Hayle has to choose to be the normal girl she craves or step up, embrace her magic and save her coven from disaster.



About the Author:




Patti is an award-winning author with a passion for the paranormal. Now with multiple series in happy publication, she lives in Canada with her patient husband and six demanding cats.





Giveaway:


5 paperback copies of Family Magic (US/CA) and a $25 Amazon gift card (INT)


Ends Aug. 6th


Hosts are not responsible for prizing, prizing is provided by the publisher.



This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.













You will find me hard pressed to ever pass up the chance to read anything that has to do with witches. For some inexplicable reason, I am always drawn to them. Maybe it is the possibility that with magic, anything can happen. Or maybe I'm just a big kid at heart and still believe that in some way, in some form, magic does exist. ;)

Either way I knew I couldn't pass up the chance to read a story about a young girl both witch and demon and this was a really interesting story line with some very fun aspects.

In fact, I actually really enjoyed it. My only big complaint was that the protagonist wasn't very lovable. In short, even though she is sixteen, she is prone to acting like a two year through most of the first half of this story and even into the second. She is a brat, a very selfish one but yet, some how, this story still managed to make me want to continue to see what would transpire next. 

Don't get me wrong, Syd isn't all bad. She does have some good and unselfish moments that shine through but even with those moments, she didn't completely redeem herself in my eyes. I did however love the whole witch demon aspect of the story and her crazy grandma, was a hoot. 

Throw in a demon cursed to be a cat, a dog that is anything but normal, a coven of witches, vampires and of course, one demon loving father and this was something that isn't like anything else I can think of out there right now in the genre.



And even with Syd's faults and some extreme immaturity, this was a fun read that I found hard to put down. 





*All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced by an outside source. I was not compensated for this review.*

50 comments:

  1. " Her mom’s a witch, her dad’s a demon"

    What a coincidence, so are mine. This sounds good despite some of the MC's faults. And I love a crazy grandma!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love witch books too! They are always fun to read. And this sounds a lot like the Hex Hall series. I'm not a fan of bratty selfish protagonists, but if the rest of the book is good, I might give it a shot.
    Lovely review, Ali!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Her attitude did fit the story so it worked even if I wanted to smack her a time or two. ;)

      Delete
  3. This is why I'm wary of YA books because of bratty and annoying MCs, but good to know this was a good read otherwise. Wonderful review!

    Blessie @ Mischievous Reads

    ReplyDelete
  4. Witches and demons are great but I'm a sucker for a crazy grandma! Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love the concept :D And MCs who are brats are sometimes really fun for me to read, I have issues with the goody-goods more often than the brats, actually. Depends on what kind of brat we're talking about, of course, lol.

    Loved your thoughts, thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You will probably really like this one then. ;) Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  6. This sounds fairly interesting but a childish MC, and a story about witches are usually a no for me. Glad you enjoyed it though!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I think I would have a frustrating time with Syd Ali! I do love the sound of a demon cursed to be a cat and a not-normal dog though, and I'm glad you were able to overlook Syd's immaturity at times and still enjoy the story overall. Fantastic review!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I guess she didn't bother me that much for some reason. Which is a bit odd, I'm usually sensitive to that stuff. I guess maybe I forgot because when she showed her true heart. Plus her mom did frustrate me so I guess I understood her behavior more than I may have otherwise.
    Thank you so much for hosting a tour stop and sharing your thoughts!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah they both were at fault a lot of the time. ;)

      Delete
  9. Hey I nominated you for the Blogger Recognition Award! You can see it here http://angelerin.blogspot.com/2015/08/blogger-recognition-award.html

    ReplyDelete
  10. I find it hard to have fun while reading immature characters. Mostly, they just get on my nerves :) So, not a pleasant reading experience... But I do love witches and family affairs, so, maybe... Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ah, witches! Who can pass off a book with paranormal!? The book sounds interesting but maybe a bit cliched. And immature characters are so hard to put up with!
    Escaping Through Ink

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sorry you didn't really love Syd all that much. I do really like books about witches though. I need to read more!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ooh. I love the colors on that cover!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I was bit put off by Syd at first, she was bratty. However, I did like the way she handled the whole bullying thing and the way she stepped up. In the end, I actually enjoyed this one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah that definitely redeemed her in the end.

      Delete
  15. I love a good witchy book as well! I'm sorry Syd wasn't your favorite heroine, but it sounds like you enjoyed the rest of the story and the rest of the characters (crazy grandma)!
    Great review, Ali :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. HI Ali, I love witches too (as you well know from yesterday's blog post) so I'm tempted to try this one, but gaaaa I hate it when I don't really like the stars of the show. So I'll play eeny meeney miney moe ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL. If you do try it, I hope you like it. ;)

      Delete
  17. Unlike you, I tend to shy away from stories about witches, but I do make exceptions now and then. Syd sounds exhausting, but at least there were some redeeming qualities.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Lovely review, I like witches, demons and the paranormal, I struggle with YA books in this genre though and tend to be cautious.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Ah. You have the patience of a saint, Ali! I don't think I could be as forgiving. Lol.

    ReplyDelete
  20. It's been forever since I read a witch book. Happy you liked it.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love books about witches as well. Something about magic is just fascinating to me. Great review Ali

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love books like this one!! I'll have to check it out :) thanks for sharing!

    Lipstick and Mocha

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hey Ali!♡ When I first saw the cover all I saw (in my crazy brain)was a giant blue cupcake??) Do not ask me how. I do not know. I have no words. and whoever told you magic doesn't exist...well...HARRY POTTER. That is all. And I'm super happy you enjoyed your read even though Syd was kind of meh for you at times. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  24. It's been a while since I read this one, but I remember feeling pretty much the same about it. I enjoyed the book but wasn't a huge fan of the MC. Maybe one of these days I'll pick up the other books in the series.

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

    ReplyDelete
  25. I am drawn to witchy reads too. This is my first time seeing this one. I love the premise and it is a shame that the lead was a boob. Thanks for the great review, into, and giveaway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She did redeem herself in the end though. ;)

      Delete