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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Witchy Goodness, October 5, 2008
This review is from: Revealers (Paperback)
Vampires, werewolves and demons are no problem for Jules, Dani, Zahara and Margo. That's because these girls are young members of a powerful coven of witches and it is their job to hunt down these evil creatures of the night. If there is a threat to innocent humans, they will be there with cape, broom and spell to take the monsters back to...where bad things go. While they fight the things that go bump in the night, they still have to keep their grades up in school and literally fly under the radar, careful to keep their magical identities a secret. They have been told that if anyone finds out, there will be consequences. They aren't sure what these consequences are, but they suspect it can't be anything good and accept it as one of the many secrets that the coven seems to be keeping. Besides, when the girls turn 18, they will be initiated into the inner circle and the secrets will be revealed to them.
Jules is the youngest and most rebelious of the group. She's always the first to break the rules or question the outdated traditions of the coven. She even gets herself involved in a dangerously forbidden romance. She is trying to be a good little witch, but it's dificult for her to follow every rule and regulation, especially when some of them don't make sense or don't seem fair.
As Jules watches her friends become part of the inner circle, she notices a change in each of them. They are acting strange and seem very afraid of something. She wonders exactly what secrets the coven is hiding. As Jules gets closer to the truth she begins to doubt the intentions of her own friends and family and she has no idea who or what she can trust. Up until now, she's been hunting "monsters" for what she thought was the good of the world, but she's not so sure who the real monsters are anymore. As she watches her world crumble, she now must decide if she will follow the ways of the coven or stand up and fight for what she thinks is right.
Revealers is a fantastic, supernatural coming of age story about friendship, courage and trust. It is a perfect mix of magic, suspense and sweetness, a delicious treat with a few tricks up it's sleeves.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Spells & Snarkiness (a KarenKincy.com review), January 14, 2009
This review is from: Revealers (Paperback)
I was lucky enough to win a copy of REVEALERS from a contest on Amanda Marrone's blog, and read it soon after it came in the mail, intrigued by the mysterious beauty of the metallic blue cover. I finished the story over the course of two or three days, drawn into the world of Jules, a highschool senior and Revealer witch: one of several teenage girls with the power to force werewolves, vampires, etc. into revealing their true natures so the Revealers can kill the unpleasant undead.
I haven't read many paranormal YA books about witches, so I liked learning more about Marrone's particular brand of magic. The folklore behind witch balls was an especially nice touch. Magic takes a backseat, though, to the banter between Jules and her friends--Marrone does a good job of pulling off dialogue between teenage girls, steering clear of the cliche-and-slang-filled speech created by lesser YA authors. I did, however, find the snarkiness-to-politeness ratio a little high, particularly since Jules's sarcasm doesn't seem drastically different from the legions of snarky paranormal heroines out there. But I've been guilty of snark before, too, and I liked Jules, anyway.
I especially liked how Jules actively pursues her crush, Conner, and has no hang-ups about her sexuality. This isn't a finger-wagging dangers-of-teen-sex kind of book, or one that promotes promiscuous girls jumping into any hot guy's bed, but instead shows how a young woman can smartly explore sex in a way that doesn't have horrible consequences. That always gets a thumbs up from me when I see it in YA.
Anyway, despite my rambling in this review, REVEALERS is not a romance novel, and moves along at a fairly brisk pace with increasing suspense and danger to the witches. Not to spoil too much, I did find the parts with demons and spells a little cheesy, and found the fate of one of the characters dealt with in a somewhat unbelievably casual way. So I wouldn't say I rank plot as one of this story's strengths, but I definitely read it for the fun characters and snappy dialogue. Be sure to check this out if you're an aficionado of YA paranormal fiction, but also give it a try if you're new to the genre.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Witches, Vampires, and Ghosts, oh my!, September 22, 2008
This review is from: Revealers (Paperback)
Jules and her good friends Dani, Sascha, Zahara, and Margo aren't just your ordinary clique of teenagers; they belong to a coven of Revealer witches and have the power to make certain supernatural creatures reveal themselves so that these dangerous beasts can be destroyed. But at the age of eighteen, each girl is initiated into the coven's inner circle. But this ceremony isn't all that it's cracked up to be, at least, it seems this ways to Jules after having watched three of her friends come out changed--and not for the better. It turns out that there's a big secret the mothers of these young witches have kept from their daughters, a secret that could tear the world as they know it apart. It's something that if they don't follow to the tiniest detail, one of them could be lost--forever.
Revealers is a fast-paced and interesting story about supernatural beings such as witches, werewolves, vampires, ghosts, and demons. The story started off strong, because I was intrigued by the coven's duty to destroy all the dangerous supernatural creatures--basically everything that isn't human except for themselves. I found myself becoming skeptical about the origins of the coven's strange traditions, as Jules did during the story, but I did not like the lack of details when the big secret was revealed. The secret itself was not the issue, but the fact that people could actually agree to its conditions blew my mind. Also, the solution to this problem was a bit unrealistic as the secret was; it came way too easily. I would think that after such a horrific secret, fixing it would be a little harder than it was in this story. Despite the slightly disappointing ending, Revealers was an quick and enjoyable story with action, magic, and a touch of romance.
Revealers was good, but I definitely would not consider it anywhere near great. I recommend this for fans of the supernatural, especially teen girls who like books about magic.
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