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Book of Shadows (Sweep #1)

4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 · rating details · 9,523 ratings · 619 reviews

Morgan thinks witchcraft is laughable when her best friend Bree drags her to a meeting of the Cirrus Coven. But during a cermony led by Cal, Morgan's long-time crush, Morgan feels a shock. Suddenly everything looks brighter, clearer. Morgan doesn't want to get involved with witchcraft--but she feels like witchcraft is choosing her.

Paperback, 192 pages

Published February 7th 2002 by Puffin Books (first published January 29th 2001)

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May 14, 2013 Jenie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, magic-supernatural, mean-teens, meh, teen-reads

Scale of 1-10: 4
Pros: Tiernan's writing does not suck, and she might be able to get decent mileage out of her story, as the books are short and quick reads.
Cons: Struck me as a Harry Potter retread with an older, female heroine.

Synopsis: Morgan Rowlands finds out she's got a talent for witchcraft after superhot, supernatural Cal Blaire moves to her small, upstate NY town and starts slingin' the magic mojo around...not that anyone seems to notice or think it's weird.

My take: In a nutshell? Tiern...more

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May 03, 2008 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews, jen-owns, series-bk-1

Reviewed by Michaela Pallante aka "Mickey" for TeensReadToo.com

Morgan Rowlands is a normal teenage girl. She gets good grades, hangs out with her friends, and goes to church with her family on Sundays. Nothing out of the ordinary ever happens to her... until she meets Cal Blaire.

Cal is the new cute senior who has just transferred to Widow's Vale High. His looks aren't the only thing that sets him apart from other boys. He's Wiccan, a different religion than Morgan and one that she has never com...more

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Feb 17, 2008 April rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 23, 2011 Mindy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Tiffany Duke

Shelves: 2011, paranormal-or-urban-fantasy, recommend-to-read, romance, warlocks-witches-wizards

Wow! What can I say without completely ruining this book?

In previous reviews; I have complained about books with way too much page filler but not this book! It is a small, quick, easy and entertaining read!

Unlike a lot of the other Urban Fantasy books I have been reading lately, this book seemed really lifelike! I could see how this would make someone curious about Wicca. I don't believe in "Wicca" or White Magic but I could see how this book could make someone really want to study into it.

Morga...more Wow! What can I say without completely ruining this book?

In previous reviews; I have complained about books with way too much page filler but not this book! It is a small, quick, easy and entertaining read!

Unlike a lot of the other Urban Fantasy books I have been reading lately, this book seemed really lifelike! I could see how this would make someone curious about Wicca. I don't believe in "Wicca" or White Magic but I could see how this book could make someone really want to study into it.

Morgan is just an average shy girl with a very popular best friend Bree! Morgan and Bree have been best friends since they were young kids. Even with Morgan and Bree hanging out in two completely different crowds, it never dampens their close relationship.

There is a new boy in their school. Cal Blaire. The moment he walks up to the school, everyone's head turns in his direction. All the girls immediately salivate over his olive skin and gold colored eyes. To make it even worse, Morgan isn’t immune to the crazy obsession! Morgan has never been fully in to a guy before now; she has never had a boyfriend or even her first kiss. She is automatically drawn to Cal but she knows that he is way out of her league.

Once everyone starts getting to know Cal; just about everyone either wants to be his friend or just “wants him period”. The exception is all the guys that are jealous that their girlfriend gawk at Cal right in front of them. Cal doesn’t fall into a click to “hang” with, he just accepts each person the same as the next. Morgan admires this about Cal; he even goes out of his way to start multiple conversations with her! Her one concern is that she thinks he is a player. He goes on dates with girls but just goes from one to the next.

One day, Cal goes around the school to all the Junior and Senior students to invite them to a party. The directions he gives them leads the partygoers to a large field and this is when Cal introduces Wicca. This meeting wakes up something in Morgan.

I am going to immediately start the second book to the series and I this is a book that I would highly recommend!

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Dec 30, 2012 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favourites-shelf, fantasy, paranormal-romance, ya

You can check out my full review here: http://beckysblogs.wordpress.com/2012... A fantastic first book full of magic, mystery and discovery. This is around the 4/5 time I've read this book now and it never disappoints! I first discovered this series aged 14, and in a weird way, I almost feel like the books chose me. They came to me in a point in my life where I really needed them, and held for me some key advice and life lessons that helped me deal with several big changes going on at that time....more You can check out my full review here: http://beckysblogs.wordpress.com/2012... A fantastic first book full of magic, mystery and discovery. This is around the 4/5 time I've read this book now and it never disappoints! I first discovered this series aged 14, and in a weird way, I almost feel like the books chose me. They came to me in a point in my life where I really needed them, and held for me some key advice and life lessons that helped me deal with several big changes going on at that time. These books are incredibly underrated and in my opinion deserve a much bigger spotlight.
Now the writing in this book is not what you would consider ‘good’ technical writing. Character descriptions aren't integrated in a subtle way, they are laid out pure and simple from the first moment we meet each character. There are a few instances of awkward phrasing, and there are no super fancy words. But the beauty of Tiernan’s writing, lies in its simplicity. For every standard description there is also a unique or interesting passage from a narrative voice that is yet to reach its peak. It always amazes me how Tiernan packs so much into only 187 pages, and there is not one dull moment. She conveys effectively what some books stretch into 300 something pages. The plot is consistently fast paced and there is no unneeded meandering or boring chapters. It brings together a lot of typical YA story-lines, two best friends in an unequal relationship feuding over the same guy, teenage insecurities and family fights, yet I feel like it is dealt with in a much less superficial way. It’s realistic and believable. What I also love about this book is that although romance and lusting after a guy is a key plot point, (and is pretty over-dramatic) it is not the main focus. Instead it centers more on Morgan’s involvement with the religion Wicca, and through it her own self discovery. I would be lying if I didn't say the biggest reason I love these books is my genuine fascination with the religion.
Tiernan also has a knack for creating great vivid characters; simple little things such as Morgan's addiction to Diet Coke make her feel all the more realistic. She’s got spunk, but not in a typically cliched over the top YA way, and her integrity and the way she sticks to her convictions make her stand out from the crowd.
Bree, who at first seems like the stereotypical sassy boy obsessed best friend found in so many YA books, is quickly given much more depth and complexity. Robbie is sweet and loyal, Cal is mysterious and yet instantly likable. They are all interesting, and remarkably fleshed out for such a small book.

One of my all time favourite series, and I would recommend it to everyone! xD(less)

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Jan 29, 2011 Wendy Darling rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pn-witches, young-adult, ruined-series, read-2011

This review is really about the whole Sweep series, but I'm putting it with Book One because that's where people will go to find out whether all of them are worth reading. I started out really enjoying the series, then HATED WITH A PASSION what seemed to be going on, and then am left now feeling really sad and cheated. I've never started out liking a series and then turned around and felt so angry and disappointed and sad after it ended.

Firstly, I have to say that I really enjoyed books 1 - 6....more This review is really about the whole Sweep series, but I'm putting it with Book One because that's where people will go to find out whether all of them are worth reading. I started out really enjoying the series, then HATED WITH A PASSION what seemed to be going on, and then am left now feeling really sad and cheated. I've never started out liking a series and then turned around and felt so angry and disappointed and sad after it ended.

Firstly, I have to say that I really enjoyed books 1 - 6. Some are stronger than others, but overall they are well-written and packed with action, plus the whole wicca thing is well-researched and really interesting to read about. Morgan is also an interesting character who goes through a lot of personal growth and development, and her attraction to the new boy in town and her feelings about her friend Bree and her parents and her sister (et al) are completely relatable. I also liked books 8, 9, and 12, and would give these nine books 3.5-4 out of 5 stars.

Spoiler-free things I never cared for, right from the very beginning:

* the books are too short. They're literally half the size of a typical YA novel (way to drag out a series) and nearly every one ended on an abrupt cliffhanger. I kept clicking forward on my Kindle, thinking there was something glitchy going on with my e-reader, but it turns out the writing just...stopped. Annoying and unnecessary, since there is a way to both give closure to a volume and whet an appetite for the next novel without making your readers feel as if you've yanked the covers off them.

* the stories that did not relate directly to Morgan's narrative diluted the books. Some detail is enjoyable, but when so few characters really have anything to do at all (back to this later) and there is so much time spent re-hashing everyone's mundane dating details in every single book when it doesn't affect anything else, it gets really boring really fast. As such, I never really cared for the bit at the beginning of each chapter that was an "excerpt" from a journal entry or book on magick. The only time I felt it really added to the book were when you got a glimpse of what Hunter was feeling in towards the earlier part of the series. And yes, this means Alisa too--one of the least interesting secondary characters who shows up late and then suddenly got POV narrative and her own book. The more the series went on, the more time was spent with other characters, and the series was less strong as a result.

I did think narrating a book from Hunter's point of view was interesting, until his story went way far away from Morgan's. This might've been okay if the book had been longer and their relationship more fleshed out after he returns AND....

**SPOILER ALERT for the rest of this review*

* ....if he didn't freaking cheat on her while he's gone. (for just two weeks! in Canada!) This was such a slap in the face after everything that happened with Cal and drawing out their will they-won't they relationship for more than 10 books. I don't understand why this was put in at all, because there is nearly no time devoted to resolving how Morgan would really feel about this happening afterwards. There are literally maybe 5 short paragraphs contained over two books to deal with this, which is completely unrealistic for any girl, no matter what else was going on. And for someone like Morgan, who was already betrayed by his brother? Completely impossible that she would have gotten over it so quickly.

* By the time I finished Book 13, I was so ready for Morgan and Hunter to get things resolved already. Since I was already pretty much skimming through anything that wasn't Morgan or Hunter's narrative, I skipped Book 14 entirely and then I read about the HUGE thing that happens in the beginning of Book 15. After reading the sample chapter (read it, read it, it's linked on Amazon), I couldn't believe an author would invest so much of her readers' time and emotion only to kill off a main character like that for no apparent reason. I felt so angry and so cheated, and I swore I would never read anything by this author again. It was only after I read the spoiler-y reviews on Good Reads that I decided to read the rest of the book--and even after things were resolved, I still have very mixed emotions about the whole thing.

You barely spend any time with Morgan and Hunter in the beginning before things end (literally, maybe 15 pages in) and the whole thing just goes off-kilter from there. Morgan doesn't learn anything from Hunter's death and we have no time at all to mourn him ourselves until all the sudden she's married, had a child, and had her husband die on her. Everyone whose lives you heard so much about in the series is also pretty much dumped here, with just a couple mentions of what happened to Bree and Mary K. This is because they don't matter in the big scheme of things, and apparently they never did.

Like many of the other readers here, I was fine with Moira but I really could have done without her and mostly just skimmed the book impatiently until Hunter shows up again. And while I'm happy they got a happy ending, I still feel drained and sad and upset over the whole thing. Poor Hunter is hugely diminished in this book, and you never really get a sense of how awful his island imprisonment was. You also don't get much emotional satisfaction once he comes back--so little time is spent on his homecoming and recovery, and as another reader pointed out, is he really going to stay in the guest bedroom once he (soul mate and father) comes home? There is no anguish, no comforting, no healing, no real emotional truth or connection. It all just felt completely unrealistic and sad.

I've never been so disappointed in a series that I liked. Because of the way everything was dragged on and on (these would have been better condensed into maybe 5 - 6 books, with a lot of things edited out) and because of the huge emotional battering that did NOT make me feel fulfilled and happy at the end, I would not recommend this series to anyone. I started out giving this series a 3 out of 5 stars, but as I wrote this review I realized a more accurate rating would be a 2. Because no matter how much I enjoyed some of the books, the others were not worth the time and money and emotional investment.
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Sep 14, 2010 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010, ya

I liked this book quite a lot i have to say!It's the first YA book about witches and only witches i have ever read and it was quite fun reading it.Surely it was too small to be bored, so that's both a plus and a minus!It's a plus because you'll never get tired while reading it and the plot was quickly evolving and a minus because the ending was quite abrupt...I had reached the end and thought "What,there's nothing more?" .

I really liked Tiernan's writing style.She didn't go around the bush,just...more I liked this book quite a lot i have to say!It's the first YA book about witches and only witches i have ever read and it was quite fun reading it.Surely it was too small to be bored, so that's both a plus and a minus!It's a plus because you'll never get tired while reading it and the plot was quickly evolving and a minus because the ending was quite abrupt...I had reached the end and thought "What,there's nothing more?" .

I really liked Tiernan's writing style.She didn't go around the bush,just "dived" her readers immediately into the point of her book and i loved her main heroine Morgan.She was a well developed character no matter how short the book was and that's propably because the book was narrated from her point of view.I liked her internal conflict,the way she was fascinated by something new and in contrast to her previous beliefs,and ultimatelly the way she decided to make her own path and do what was important to her no matter the obstacles.I also loved Bree...Don't mind me,i know she was a total manipulative bitch but i thought she was a nice addition in the book and to be honest i think that with Bree there's more than meets the eye.

I liked the fact that although a YA book,Tiernan didn't choose as her main setting the school area,in fact the scenes taking place at school where few.I found it quite refreshing among all those books where everything seems to happen in school area only.

What i didn't like though,was the ridiculously long number of names mentioned.I mean for such a small book to mention that many names it was,at least,confusing.Especially at the beggining i thought i might want to right down all those names in order to remember who is who and if i decide to pick up the sequel some months later i know i will definitely have a problem to remember everyone.Also,the way Cal tried to create his coven was a bit disturbing...It remind me of someone who's trying to manipulate you and change your beliefs,which is kind of what he wanted to do,but Wicca is supposed to be something good not evil and the way he tried to create new Wicca followers definitely reminded me of someone who's up to something bad.Lastly,i didn't like the religious implications in this book,not because i am a religious fanatic,rather than i find it a bit risky to touch those issues in a YA book.

Anyway,to sum it up,it was a fun read and i'll certainly continue with the sequel.

Book originally reviewed at http://bookstobrightenyourmood.blogsp...(less)

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Oct 26, 2007 Loren rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: teenagers

A wonderful start to 'Sweep'/'Wicca'. *Spoilers books 1-4*

Tiernan has an incredible talent for creating uniquely vivid characters. Normally I shy away from books written in the 1st person, but this was pleasantly different.

The vulnerable nature of the main character means we can begin to empathise with her unusually quickly. This also blinds us to simple truths such as Hunter and Sky's true natures. We stand united with Morgan against them and we too feel crushed at Cal's betrayal.

The ending i...more

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Dec 19, 2007 Jackie "the Librarian" rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: teens 13 and up

Shelves: horror, youngadult, magic

Morgan is incredibly attracted to Cal, a new senior at her school, but so is her friend Bree. Cal invites both of them to what ends up being a Wicca ritual. Morgan is fascinated by Wicca, and some weird psychic events that happened to her after that night. But overshadowing her enthusiasm is a rivalry developing between her and Bree.
Very readable, with a strong plot. I wish the end hadn't been as abrupt - it's a total cliff-hanger. Not for those who object to the occult and magic, or for sexual...more

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Feb 26, 2013 Lissa rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: boring-boring-boring, commercial-garbage, duller-than-dirt, hop-that-bandwagon

I've always been an enormous fan of witches, probably from watching so much Buffy and reading so much fantasy as a teenager. And although I have no religious or supernatural beliefs, I like reading about paganism and witchcraft. I was looking for a quick, fun fantasy or paranormal read, particularly in the YA genre (my favourite guilty pleasure), and I ran across Sweep. Sadly, it's one of the most pointless, boring books I have ever read.

Literally, NOTHING happens in this book. A girl meets a c...more I've always been an enormous fan of witches, probably from watching so much Buffy and reading so much fantasy as a teenager. And although I have no religious or supernatural beliefs, I like reading about paganism and witchcraft. I was looking for a quick, fun fantasy or paranormal read, particularly in the YA genre (my favourite guilty pleasure), and I ran across Sweep. Sadly, it's one of the most pointless, boring books I have ever read.

Literally, NOTHING happens in this book. A girl meets a cute boy and gets together with him and several friends to practice Wicca. That's it. There's almost no conflict, and no climax - the book cuts off abruptly. It reads more like a how-to for wanna-be Wiccans than a story. The lack of plot, character development, humor, and style (the author introduces every character with a description of their appearance and clothing, EVERY TIME) made it a struggle for me to plod through. I seriously had to force myself to finish reading this book. I normally devour books. I plowed through the Hunger Games in one sitting, read I Know This Much is True (912 pages) over three days, and read most of A Game of Thrones (864 pages) during one night when I was laid up with a broken ankle and was too uncomfortable to sleep. When I was a teenager, I'd stay up late to read as much Harry Potter as I could. But when I tried to read Sweep, I found my attention wandering and I'd start skimming large chunks of text. The book is only 176 pages, which is really, really short for a YA book.

I can't give an entirely accurate word count, but supposedly, the standard estimate is 250 words per page. So, Sweep would be just over 41,000 words. Given that the industry standard is a minimum of 60,000 words for a YA novel, and fantasy novels can run as high as 100,000 - 130,000, that's really short. It can't be middle-grade with all the references to skinny-dipping and penis-shaped candles. I wonder if this book is intended for reluctant or struggling readers (what one my editing teachers called "hi-lo fiction" - high-interest, low-vocabulary). There's nothing wrong with fiction for reluctant readers, but it's a shame that the quality of writing and plotting is so low. I really hope there's better material out there.

Of course, the explanation for the book's short length could be the simplest of all - the author split the books up to make more money. Instead of selling three books, she could sell fifteen books. I glanced at the endings of the next few books in the series, and saw that they ended on cliffhangers. What a cheap tactic. I'll be staying far away from this author and her books in future.(less)

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Dec 13, 2012 Angel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Angel Brittain
Independent novel
Book review
English 9 hr 5
Sweep
Book of shadows
By Cate Tiernan
I like this book because it’s about witches and I find them interesting because some of my relatives are suppose to be witches. The book is hard to anticipate what’s going to happen next for example when I thought Morgan was going to go to the circle but she didn’t go. A circle is a gathering to perform witch craft and to cleanse the body, mind, and soul. In the book she went to a convent and she right...more Angel Brittain
Independent novel
Book review
English 9 hr 5
Sweep
Book of shadows
By Cate Tiernan
I like this book because it’s about witches and I find them interesting because some of my relatives are suppose to be witches. The book is hard to anticipate what’s going to happen next for example when I thought Morgan was going to go to the circle but she didn’t go. A circle is a gathering to perform witch craft and to cleanse the body, mind, and soul. In the book she went to a convent and she right away thought about how the garden reminded her of the seven clans. A clan of witches is a family of witches and in the book there were seven witch clans one was good and one was bad the other where in the middle. This new guy moves to their town and with him he brings wicka a religion of practicing magick. In the book they spell it magick because that’s how witch craft magic is spelled. A group is formed to practice the wicka circles. The group has people from all different clicks and the only thing holding it together is cal the new guy. The conflict in the book is whether Morgan should practice magick or follow her Christian town and if she chooses magick she will be considered a devil worshiper. Cal is the other main character who is writing in his book of shadows which is basically a witches diary or journal. Throughout the story it shows what his entries in his book of shadows but you don’t know it right away. At first I was wondering what the quote at the beginning of every chapter was then later you find out it’s his entries in his book of shadows. This book is a good book to read because suspenseful and its funny but I don’t think you’ll want me to be specific on that because it’s inappropriate for school. I like that the book is entertaining, funny, suspenseful, surprising, riveting and not really hard to read. What I don’t like about this book is that I have to write this paper about it. This book is like some of the books by the author of killing Mr. Griffin she writes books about witches and other mystical creators. I would classify this book as a young adult or a comedy in some places or an adventure book. I think mostly girls would like this book because it shows how some girls and in some ways it is true about what a girls friend ship with others is like. I think guys wouldn’t like it because they would call it a girly book and would find it dumb. With some of the things in it I don’t recommend it for children it would be inappropriate and they wouldn’t understand and if they did they would probably be embarrassed. So this book is probably best for teen girls and older.
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Dec 09, 2012 Bücherplanet rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Morgan lebt ein ganz normales Leben, bis Cal an ihrer Schule auftaucht. Ihr neuer Mitschüler fasziniert sie von der ersten Sekunde an. Als Cal ihr und einigen anderen Mitschülern dann auch noch offenbart eine Hexe zu sein und einen Hexenzirkel mit ihnen gründet, erschließt sich Morgan eine ganz neue Welt. Und sie bemerkt, dass sie auf die Rituale anders, heftiger reagiert als ihre Mitschüler. Plötzlich hat sie Vorahnungen, nimmt die Dinge anders wahr und fühlt sich energiegeladen. Und verliebt s...more Morgan lebt ein ganz normales Leben, bis Cal an ihrer Schule auftaucht. Ihr neuer Mitschüler fasziniert sie von der ersten Sekunde an. Als Cal ihr und einigen anderen Mitschülern dann auch noch offenbart eine Hexe zu sein und einen Hexenzirkel mit ihnen gründet, erschließt sich Morgan eine ganz neue Welt. Und sie bemerkt, dass sie auf die Rituale anders, heftiger reagiert als ihre Mitschüler. Plötzlich hat sie Vorahnungen, nimmt die Dinge anders wahr und fühlt sich energiegeladen. Und verliebt sich immer mehr in Cal'

Doch auch ihre beste Freundin, die atemberaubende Bree, verliebt sich sofort in ihn. Da Bree Cal um jeden Preis für sich gewinnen will, und Morgan glaubt, sowieso keine Chance bei ihm zu haben, schreibt sie ihn ab und versucht, Cal zu vergessen. Doch warum kommt er immer wieder zu ihr statt zu Bree? Interessiert er sich etwa doch für sie, die unscheinbare Musterschülerin?

Anfangs hatte ich Probleme, in das Buch hinein zu finden. Das erste Drittel zog sich etwas in die Länge, dann konnte ich es jedoch nicht mehr aus der Hand legen und habe den 2. Band direkt in einem Rutsch hinterher gelesen.

Es handelt hauptsächlich von der entstehenden Beziehung zwischen Cal und Morgan, vom Wicca-Kult und von den Konflikten, in die Morgan gerät ' zum Einen mit ihrer Freundin Bree, zum Anderen aber auch mit ihrer Familie, die von ihrem Interesse an der Hexerei alles andere als begeistert ist.

Die Buch der Schatten Reihe ist übrigens eine Buchreihe, die mittlerweile nach 15 Bänden abgeschlossen ist. Auf Deutsch sind allerdings bisher leider erst zwei Bücher erschienen, der 3. Band erscheint (10 Monate nach dem 2.) im Februar 2012. Begeisterte Leser der Reihe sollten also entweder Geduld oder gute Englisch-Kenntnisse mitbringen.

Eine Kritik gibt es jedoch an der Kindle-Version: An jedem Kapitel-Anfang befindet sich ein Zitat, und außerdem am Anfang vieler Kapitel ein oder zwei Sätze aus der Sicht einer anderen Person. In der Print-Ausgabe sind diese Absätze durch verschiedene Schriftarten hervorgehoben, in der Kindle-Version handelt es sich immer um die gleiche Schrift. Das Zitat am Anfang lässt sich dadurch erkennen, dass es eingerückt ist, die Sätze aus Sicht der anderen Person unterscheiden sich jedoch gar nicht vom restlichen Text. Das ist anfangs etwas irritierend.

Das tut dem Lese-Vergnügen jedoch keinen Abbruch: es ist toll geschrieben, das Thema Wicca ist mir bisher noch nicht in der Jugend-Fantasy begegnet (was nicht heißen soll, dass es das nicht gibt) und spannend.

Mareike von MexxBooks (less)

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Dec 06, 2012 Fazeena rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Book of Shadows (Wicca) is an interesting story about witchcraft. The story is about a girl called Morgan Rowland who is a normal girl that does carries out normal day to day activities. Suddenly strange things start happening to her when Cal Blair moves into town. Cal is a cool kid who everyone likes and is a secret witch. Morgan later learns that she is a powerful witch which supernatural powers. Morgan is amazed by the new found religion in her life (wicca). She is the most popular kid in...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Lindsey rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not going to say this book is bad or even uninteresting. I am going to say that the plot was a slightly odd length. The amount of story told in this book seemed really drawn out and then chopped as soon as anything happened. It seemed like the purpose was to make more books instead of making the one book as good as it could be. It was incredibly short at only around 180 pages. The story did make me want to keep reading. I felt a strong desire to know what would happen next and was drawn in q...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Christie ♥ The Shadower's Shelf ♥ rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dreaded-love-triangle, predictable, might-make-you-shit-in-your-pants

Have you ever experienced any of these?

A.) Fight with your best friend over a really cute boy

B.) Try a magic beauty potion on one of your friends with acne

C.) Join Wicca circles and faint right after it

Well, if not, then this book is for you! This book is all about a bitchy best friend who is in love with your soul mate, crazy potions and fainting after circles! :D Ain't that fun?

But okay, seriously. I enjoyed this book because of all the magical aspects: the religion of Wicca (or witchcraft...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Charlotte Phillips rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It may be a short book but it is appearing to be a very interesting series. I found the first book of the series to be very addictive and engaging because it was different, unique but it also spoke of truth. Wicca is something that I have been interested in for a while. I would love to learn about it and understand it more, but I also could not break away from my Catholic religion. So I thought reading a book based on the religion would be close enough for me to learn about it a little, whilst e...more It may be a short book but it is appearing to be a very interesting series. I found the first book of the series to be very addictive and engaging because it was different, unique but it also spoke of truth. Wicca is something that I have been interested in for a while. I would love to learn about it and understand it more, but I also could not break away from my Catholic religion. So I thought reading a book based on the religion would be close enough for me to learn about it a little, whilst enjoying a young adult fantasy novel. I felt that the book was written very well with a way of making the characters spring and come to life as you read it. Of course the new guy is always the most grogeous and fit looking guy in the school and yes this did irritate me a little because it would be nice for a normal blend into the crowd sort of guy to be mentioned for once, as the fake fit guy just breaks away from that sense of reality.

Although the book was a fantasy novel it really did seem to teach the reader the way of Wicca, in that it made it clear that it was not a religion based on satan, that it was merely based on doing good and being one with the elements of the earth. I found that it was actually written in a very simplistic way, but not over simplistic that you became bored with it. Instead there was enough drama to have you captivated, like the best friend who appears to be a bitch and who only wants the guy, and then the others who are there merely for the sake of making the crowd, but have potential to broaden out and become good friends at the end of it all. Yes it was obvious that something between Morgan and Cal was going to happen, but the way it ended was ok, but it was cliche but still somewhat magical and when your a romantic sweetheart at heart, you take what you are given.

It is a short book, so I am therefore thankful that I have the rest of the series reserved and withdrawn from the library and now look forward to moving on to the next one. I just found myself wanting to know more and that passion and urge to research up wicca was raging throughout me the whole time I was reading the book. You can tell this book was written with passion, perhaps by a person who truly believes and follows the wicca religion. either way, I really enjoyed the novel and look forward to reading more.(less)

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Dec 12, 2011 Kaisa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nononononono T_T I wanted this book to be good. But then again, what was I thinking? If a book is 160 pages long.. and also a part of a series with three gazillion other books... it just can't be good.

I don't know why, but recently I've been interested in wicca. It's probably cuz I've been re-watching Charmed. The TV show.
Anyway, that's why I bought the first three books in this series. I wanted to read about witches.

This book is about a bunch of teens who get involved with a wiccan witch dude...more

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Dec 12, 2011 Nikki Nielsen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Two stars and yet I am reading #2. Why am I sticking with the series? Tiernan creates likable believable characters and I like her writing style. Why only 2 stars? Book of Shadows felt like Harry Potter meets Bella and Edward in New York .. and I guess I don't especially appreciate the 'Band Wagon' magical/supernatural authors.

Storyline - Morgan is a teenager with normal teenage issues; she feels plain and self-conscious, her friends are her life, she loves her family even though they drive her...more

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Dec 04, 2011 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, guilty-pleasure

I picked this book up by chance since it was available immediately on Overdrive. I've seen the series at the library and was mildly interested in reading it, but I didn't expect to like them as much as I did.

So far the plot of this series isn't entirely unique by any stretch of the mind... Girl lives a mundane life in a normal family, feels slightly like a black sheep. Then a large giant comes on her 12th birthday and tells her she's a witch... Oh wait. Wrong book. This is a YA novel after all....more

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Nov 30, 2011 Jia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love this book! it started with Morgan Rowland, on the first day of high school as a Junior, just like every other girl. Then Cal Blaire came to the picture,with his perfect nose, olive skin, and gold-colored eyes he quickly becomes the center of admiration of all the girls in school, this including Morgan and her best friend, Bree Warren. Cal is able to gain enough popularity that he is able to gather people from his new school for a party, there he reveals his wiccan origin by inviting his p...more

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Oct 05, 2011 Larissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Klappentext:
Etwas passiert mit mir. Etwas, das ich nicht erwartet habe. Ich kann Dinge tun, die kein anderer tun kann. Dinge voller Macht und Gefahr. Davor fürchte ich mich. Ich habe die Magie nicht gewählt. Sie hat mich gewählt.

Morgan Rowlands hält sich für ein normales 16-jähriges Mädchen. Doch als sie Cal trifft, den faszinierenden Anführer eines Hexenzirkels, steht ihre Welt Kopf. Denn Morgan ist eine Hexe. Mächtiger als selbst Cal gedacht hätte. Unwiderstehlich fühlt sich Morgan zu Cal und...more

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Aug 17, 2011 Yvo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

Eine faszinierende Saga über Liebe, Gefahr und Magie

Ich bin Morgan. Ich bin kein normales sechzehnjähriges Mädchen. Ich bin eine Hexe.

Die Geschichte beginnt bereits auf der ersten Seite… Cal kommt als neuer Schüler an die Schule und zieht sofort alle Mädchen in seinen Bann. Er scheint sich mit jedem zu verstehen. Kurz nach seiner Ankunft veranstaltet er eine Party im Feld, auf der er seinen Gästen verkündet, dass er Wicca praktiziert und mit seinen Mitschülern gerne einen Hexenkreis durchführen...more

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Jun 24, 2011 Frishawn Rasheed rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I started reading this book because I kept seeing it when I visited my online library. I must admit that I was not overjoyed when I added it to my TBR list. I just thought, "Oh well...what can it hurt."
I am so happy to report that I was so very wrong. Morgan and Bree were the best of friends...until Cal. Everything was joy and butterflies and everyone knew their place...until Cal. Bree was the beautiful Alpha to Morgan's wallflower Beta...until Cal. Morgan had no idea that she was a witch and...more

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Jun 07, 2011 Annette M Guerriero Nishimoto rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Today's review is on Sweep: Book of Shadows by: Cate Tiernan

I had often seen this series at my local Borders bookstore but never thought to purchase it. So when my sister handed me her copy while I was visiting her I didn't hesitate to check it out.

Morgan Rowlands thought she was just an ordinary girl, but when a new student; Cal Blaire, comes to town she finds that she is so much more.

Cal invites Morgan and some of her friends to a party where he tells them about Wicca. You see Cal is a witch...more

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May 15, 2011 Chameleon rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, romance-love, magic, horrible-horrible-horrible

I'm not going to say that the book was awful, cause it wasn't, but I'm not too crazy about it either. So, my impression of the book: it was bizarre. really bizarre. The entire book felt unnatural, as if something like that couldn't happen in the real world. I'm not talking about the "magick." No. What I'm saying is that nobody gets all excited about some kind of pagan circle chanting religion in a day. It was as if they all just kinda said, I'm going to go against everything I've known in the pa...more

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May 12, 2011 Ashlee-Rose Lovegood rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of a realistic kind of fantasy

Shelves: my-all-time-favorites

I don't have time to go on and write a review for this entire series, so I'll just write one here.

This series is amazing. I am actually a Witch-in-training, and although this series has elements of fantasy, it is actually derived from actual Witchcraft, which I love.

Cate Tiernan has spun a believable and realistic character in Morgan. I think she kind of represents every lost teenage girl trying to find themselves. Through the series we see her transform into a woman, which I found very empower...more

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Apr 19, 2011 Reading Teen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I REEEALLY enjoyed this series. I have read eight of the fifteen book series so far. My review will be for the eight books I already read. I'm sure the entire series is amazing. Like I said, I really enjoyed this series. Cate Tiernan just knows how to tell a story. I seriously can't believe that this series has had me so captivated, it's crazy. Normally, I will read a book and even if I own the sequel, I have to go to something else before I read a sequel to a book I just read. I did not encount...more

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Feb 13, 2011 Trish rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This was a welcome distraction from life. After reading Jessica Day George's top ten blog post, I was really wanting to read this book and I caught a break and was able to check it out digitally from the library. I love being able to download it for free without moving from my bed. Some people don't like reading books on the computer, but I think of my MBP as a giant kindle. Plus, I am able to take breaks between working on stuff for church and my day job.

So I liked the story and how "a gift eme...more This was a welcome distraction from life. After reading Jessica Day George's top ten blog post, I was really wanting to read this book and I caught a break and was able to check it out digitally from the library. I love being able to download it for free without moving from my bed. Some people don't like reading books on the computer, but I think of my MBP as a giant kindle. Plus, I am able to take breaks between working on stuff for church and my day job.

So I liked the story and how "a gift emerges". I did feel a little bit like I was being educated on how not scary Wicca is. I could have done without that because I could feel the prose slow down as explanations were made. I really liked just reading about how Morgan discovers she is a witch. She seems to be a good Catholic girl with no aspirations and is content with her role as best friend or sister to girls with envious good-looks. She is content still when the handsome-to-stop-traffic boy comes to her school. Too bad his name is Cal. How not sexy is the name Cal? It makes me think of cows. Maybe this series will change my mind. Anyway, everyone and their sister falls in love with Cal, but Morgan's BFF is on a rampage to get him. And the makings of a huge fight between good and evil is born. Just like Smallville... too best friends start the journey together, find something to test their relationship, and one of them chooses the dark side, all the while not seeing how her actions are turning her into a monster. Morgan, for her part, is on a road to self-discovery regardless of the boy. He just happens to be there to set her foot on the path and then be there for her on the journey. Good for her.

OK, due to recent comments on my reviews of a teen book, I'm thinking I may be a little negative about some things when I think of them in terms of teaching my daughter about the world. But I can't help myself, and I just got the good stuff out of the way, so here goes. This book gave me pause only because of the way Wicca is presented as a non-threat to the Catholic religion. I have issues with the Catholic religion anyway. It was accurately portrayed in the book as something familiar--like the sound of the organ, the friends, the lunch out tradition with the family... there is no mention of the actual belief system of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Wiccan practice along with staying a Catholic is presented as a possibility and yet there are naked teenagers in a pool. Cal slept with Bree and there was no explanation, but I'll assume that the next book will cover it as just another celebration of life. And with all his witchiness, why does Cal not see the inevitable and confront Bree with his love for Morgan in the first place? Now she can only feel betrayed. You can pick your choices, but not the consequences and moral consequences hurt the most. OK, I'll stop now.(less)

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Nov 14, 2010 Dee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Overall: The Sweep series by Cate is a light read, yet still really interesting. I felt like this was the sorbet course, a hiatus, amidst my reading of George RR Martin's much weightier tomes. Every novel covers Magick, young love and fitting in (or not!).

However, a novel in the Sweep series is so short that it is almost a chapter in the lives of the characters.
Plus: The Wiccan research is pretty intense, and the books give an authentic feel to being in a coven and the troubles/challenges a youn...more

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Nov 09, 2010 Kristi-The Book Faery rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: written-reviews

16 year old Morgan Rowlands lives in upstate New York with her devout Catholic family. Morgan tends to live in the shadows of others, her best friend Bree, gorgeous and confident and her little sister, Mary K, popular and pretty. Morgan isn't hideous, she's just Morgan of little to no make-up, very few-if any, curves and values the quality of her friends so much as quantity; she's okay with that, she's happy with her place in the world until she meets good looking and outward thinking Cal Blaire...more

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About Cate Tiernan

"was born in New Orleans, LA, in 1961. New Orleans is one of the most interesting American cities, and it has an incredibly rich and exotic culture that had a profound influence on me. Kids in other cities have lemonade stands; we sold voodoo gris-gris and made wax dolls in the likenesses of our enemies. It's a very beautiful city, and the constant heat and humidity make gardens grow out of contro...more "was born in New Orleans, LA, in 1961. New Orleans is one of the most interesting American cities, and it has an incredibly rich and exotic culture that had a profound influence on me. Kids in other cities have lemonade stands; we sold voodoo gris-gris and made wax dolls in the likenesses of our enemies. It's a very beautiful city, and the constant heat and humidity make gardens grow out of control. There's an air of lassitude there, a general acceptance of eccentic or flamboyant behavior--the heat simply makes people do crazy things.

I went to school in New York, and after school went back to New Orleans. Then I went back to New York (Manhattan) and got a job in publishing and started writing. My first book, a young, middle-grade chapter book, was published in 1990.

Living in Manhattan was incredible, even though I didn't have a lot of money. There was so much to do and see, and so many interesting people to watch. There was a lot of frenetic energy there, and sometimes that felt very wearing and hard to live with. After eight years I was ready for a change, and my husband and I moved back to New Orleans. (Are you seeing a pattern here?)

(While I was in NY, I helped edit "The Secret Circle" by L.J. Smith. I thought it was great.)

We stayed in New Orleans five years. By the time we had two small children we knew we had to find someplace safer to live. I was glad my children were born in New Orleans--I had been born there, and my father had, and his father had, and his father had and so on. There was something about the connection of generations of blood coming from one place that I found very primal and important.

Now I live in a cohousing community in Durham, NC. This is the most suburban place I've ever lived, and it's very different from living right in the middle of a city. For one thing, there aren't enough coffee shops. However, it's incredibly safe, and the community is very important to me. There are a lot of strong women here, and I find them inspiring.

Am I a witch? Well, no. Even Wicca is too organized a religion for me. I'm much more idiosyncratic and just need to do my own thing, which is kind of new-agey and pantheistic. It's not that I don't work or play well with others, but I need to decide for myself when I do a certain thing, and how I do it. However, I can really relate to Wicca, and I so appreciate its woman-centeredness and its essentially female identity. I love those aspects, among others.

I have several favorite writers. Barbara Hambly has been the biggest influence on how I describe magic. She's an incredibly imaginative and empathetic writer with a gift for creating a rich, sensual world. I love Barbara Pym, an English writer whose books came out mostly in the fifties. She was a master at describing the thousand tiny moments that make up a woman's day; how the seemingly small and inconsequential thing can suddenly take on a huge emotional importance. I greatly admire P.D. James. She's one of the very few writers who makes me actually look up words in the dictionary. She has a beautiful, precise, educated command of the language that leaves me in awe. I love Philip Larkin's poetry. I read a lot of nonfiction and also have some favorite romance writers. Before anyone groans, let me say that these women write really well about women trying to achieve emotional fulfillment, and that's kind of what we're all doing, right? I also just like reading about sex. Anyway, Jennifer Crusie, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and early Linda Howard are my faves.

And then of course there's my dark side, but more on that later.

" -Source

Cate Tiernan is a pseudonym for Gabrielle Charbonnet (less)

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Quotes from Book of Shadows

“Anytime you feel love for anything, be it stone, tree, lover, or child, you are touched by the Goddess's magick...” — 66 people liked it

“In fairy tales there's always one person who is made for one other, and they find each other and live happily ever after. Cal was my person. I couldn't imagine anyone more perfect. Yet what kind of sick fairy tale would it be if he was the one made exactly right for me and I wasn't right for him?” — 18 people liked it

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Book of Shadows (Sweep #1)

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