Review: Family Magic by Patti Larsen & an awesome giveaway!

Review:

Family Magic is the first book in the Hayle Coven Series by author Patti Larsen. It is told thought female protagonist Sydlynn Hayle who is battling with wanting to be a normal sixteen year old and giving into her magic, to being a witch, something she is destined to be whether she embraces it are not. Oh and did I mention Syd and her sister Meria are half demon as well.

The magic in Family Magic is different from any I have read before, the coven leader, that being Syd's mother Miriam, can control the magic of the coven during ceremonies, she hones in and uses the coven's power. The power Miriam spreads to the coven is of warmth, safety and love which Syd is trying to surpress all the time.

I also really like that the Demon's in Family Magic aren't portrayed as scary monsters after power they just live on a different plane called Demonicon where Syd's dad lives, there are good and bad demons the same as there is good and bad humans.

There is alot of teen angst, with Syd battling against her mother refusing to give in to who she is supposed to be. Hating her mother for making her a witch. The angst did grate a little as Syd did complain an awful lot however Syd does mature as the book continues as she has to finally understand that it her who isn't confident within herself to fully embrace herself and not her mother's fault.

Syd also had to deal with normal teenage issues as well. With being the new girl at school, to being bullied by the head cheerleader and also to top it of it doesn't help that humans can sense she is different and tend to avoid her.

Syd has to mature further as a powerful source attacks the coven and puts her family at risk and also has to deal with overcoming things in her normal life i.e the bullying. I found that I could kind of guess the way the story was going in a sense that I could figure out who some of the traitors were from the start and who was attacking the coven however I was definitely surprised by one traitor and even though the fast paced story I still doubted myself that I had guessed wrong which kept me intrigued.

Of course there was a romance in Family Magic. A love triangle of Syd, high school jock Brad and coven member and darkly handsome and mysterious, Quaid. The story didn't delve too much into the romance side, which I was a little disappointed in however I think its a great set up for the rest of the books in the series.

Finally there were some other awesome characters I loved. Meria, Syd's little sister is so cute, unlike Syd you can see her demon side with her cute little horns and red skin, but she can use her magic to make herself look human. She is so adorable. We also have Gram, Syd's grandmother who is plain crazy. She was attacked years before and it left her off her rocker. She is funny though and the only thing to keep her quiet is chocolate and tequila. And not to forget Uncle Frank, Syd's vampire uncle!

All together Family Magic is a great book. Has a good fast paced storyline, great characters and a great bases for more to come!

4/5 Butterflies

Giveaway:

Patti has kindly offered one lucky reader the chance to win the first four books in the Hayle Coven Series in Ebook. To Enter comment below and leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!

-Giveaway is International
-Giveaway sponsered by Patti Larsen
-Giveaway open to anyone 13+
-Giveaway Ends 6th Febuary