Year of the Wicked: Summer; Fall; Winter; Spring

Witch Season #1-4

by Jeffrey J. Mariotte

In the tradition of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Riverdale, this magical bind-up includes all four novels in the Witch Season series filled with spellbinding romance, revenge, and of course, witches!

A witches’ war is brewing…

And it’s coming straight towards Kerry and her friends at their summertime home. Along with it is Daniel Blessing. Mysterious, charismatic, and handsome Daniel is on the run from a powerful witch named Season.

Kerry and her friends don’t believe in witches and spells, but Kerry can’t help believing in Daniel…and falling for him.

But falling for Daniel pulls Kerry into a feud his family has been waging for generations. A dark feud of passion, magic, and revenge. Suddenly it becomes clear that Season isn’t after just Daniel, she wants Kerry and her friends dead too. Because, though Kerry doesn’t know it yet, she might just be the only one with the power to uncover the truth—and end the witches’ war once and for all.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult, Witches, Magic, Collections, Thriller

672 pages, Paperback

Published September 3, 2019

About the author

Also writes as Jeff Mariotte

Jeffrey J. Mariotte is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 70 novels, including the Cody Cavanaugh western series, historical western epic Blood and Gold: The Legend of Joaquin Murrieta (with Peter Murrieta), thrillers Empty Rooms and The Devil's Bait, supernatural thrillers Season of the Wolf, Missing White Girl, River Runs Red, and Cold Black Hearts, horror epic The Slab, and the Dark Vengeance teen horror quartet. With wife and writing partner Marsheila (Marcy) Rockwell, he wrote the sf/horror/thriller 7 SYKOS and Mafia III: Plain of Jars, the authorized prequel to the bestselling video game. His most recent release is the short story collection Byrd's Luck & Other Stories, comprising five "traditional" Western tales and five horror-Western stories, two of them brand-new for this edition.

He also writes occasional nonfiction, short fiction (some of which is collected in Nine Frights), and comic books, including the long-running horror/Western comic book series Desperadoes and graphic novels Fade to Black and Zombie Cop. With Marsheila Rockwell, he has published several short stories and is working on more. He has worked in virtually every aspect of the book business, as a writer, editor, marketing executive, and bookseller.

Learn more at www.jeffmariotte.com, and follow him at https://www.facebook.com/JeffreyJMari... and @JeffMariotte on Twitter.

Also writes as Jeff Mariotte

Reviews

[Brina]

This could have been action-packed and full of sense, but it isn't.

DNFed at 20%

[Amara Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book on a whim, I thought it looked interesting. In short, it’s not what I expected. It was a good read and definitely worth the time but, it is not, in my opinion, five star worthy. There are many details and passages that don’t have any real significance other than to add length to the novel. However, the important bit, with the actual story line, is fantastic. The book is well written through and through but I can’t get over the unimportant details shoved in randomly. All in all, it was a fine read.

[Anabella · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 22%. This book is the peak of “Male Author writes Female Character,” not to mention the rushed romance, older-man-grooming-younger-girl-he-just-met energy, and the overall bad vibes.

[Book · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really that great of a series. Maybe for someone younger, but the way it was written was weird. The plot was all over the place. Information was dropped throughout all the books yet by the end it still didn't come together. The most interesting character was Season. The others, including the FMC, were so bland. I could not distinguish the povs because their voices were the same.

[Sarah Melanson-O'Neill · Rating 2 out of 5]

the bulldog nickname and grooming energy from Daniel really ruined it for me tbh

[Al'vina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Highlighted Quotes:

“Magic is all in how y’all use the energies that surround us, child… Energy is everything - how else would trees grow, and the grass, not to mention people? It’s how rocks form, how wind blows, how water runs. The world is full of energy, and most people walk around in it without even knowing it’s there, much less how to use it.”

“Her life had been one thing, now it was another. The past was part of her; there was no denying its influence. But it didn’t define her by itself, and it didn’t control her direction from here. She found that she could remember it with a sense of pleasant nostalgia without feeling that she had to be dragged back into the life she had left behind.”

“Whenever people have unreasonable fears and prejudices, if they can point to a specific individual who seems to embody that prejudice, then it’s that much easier for them to lump all the rest of that group in the same category.”

Overall: 2.2/5

[Angel Boucher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be an attention grabber. Though it was clearly Sci-Fy, which is my least favorite genre, it held my interest by constantly having a new problem. The four "books" flowed together well. Each one having a bittersweet ending, especially the true ending. A tale of heartbreak on various levels, but also strength and independence. Kerry never gave up the fight: for love or power. Some people aren't what they seem: Mother Blessing and Season Howe. And the truth will always come out and set you free.

[samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

i DNF this book. not only was it like, insufferable, but it was very clear to me that this author does not know how to write women. at all.

[Birdtrovert · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars (overall average rating)

Woo! I finally finished it! This is technically 4 books in one and each one I gave an individual rating and review for. Well, it's more like my thoughts while I read each one. So, hope you enjoy??

Book 1 - Summer (2/5)
The pacing in this book is weird. It feels like it goes very slowly for quite some time and then it's at a break neck pace. I didn't enjoy the "romance" between Daniel and Kerry. It's very insta-lovey and also kind of weird??? Kerry is 17, Daniel is over 300. And while I've read age-gap fantasy romances before it was more this one line where Daniel says that Kerry was "as mature as any woman I've ever known". It just feels off? I also just couldn't see the "love". They knew each other for maybe 2 weeks and had a few conversations but it never really felt like they actually developed anything together. They made out that's it.

(Also Daniel tells Kerry about how he and his brother track down Season while she's vibing and in love and viscerally murder her lover and then Danny boy is all "surprised" that Season retaliate. Like????? From book 1, I was always Team Season.)

Book 2- Fall (0.5/5)
By far, the WORST of this fantasy quartet. The only good part was the ending which was actually interesting. Fall was a slog to get through. Kerry whines about Daniel and their love but again, WHAT LOVE??? YOU KNEW HIM FOR 2 WEEKS! I didn't care about Mother Blessing. I didn't care about the other povs. This was the worst thing ever.

(Also again, I can't even blame Season if she had been the one who destroyed the town and killed people. They were trying to kill her??? I had already been suspicious because if Season did do all that bad shit and she kept "running" why wouldn't you just stay away? Why would you hunt her down?)

Book 3 - Winter (3/5)
The best of the series. My first note was "ew scott". Yeah, I didn't really like how he acted? I know he's fine later but yeah. None of the supporting cast of Kerry's friends were very exciting. The only ones I felt bad for were Mace (who died book 1 and Idk anything about him) and Rebecca (who was absolutely traumatized by this experience but I'll talk about her more in book 4.) This book cemented my feelings about Season. MB is a lying bitch and Season did not deserve to be dragged into this. Also, Daniel and his brother were groomed by their mom to basically become hunters and murderers of an innocent woman.

(I know Season did kill Daniel and Mace but technically it was self-defense? I liked Kerry starting to bond with Season and realize stuff isn't black or white. And like I said before, we barley knew Mace and I didn't really like Daniel, so I'm not even mad.)

Book 4 - Spring (2.5/5)
The last one. It's a bittersweet ending. It's nice that Kerry becomes a witch and the truth finally comes out about Slocumb (did I spell that right?). I wrote, begrudgingly, that Daniel is actually okay. He was manipulated by his mom but at least he got to know the truth in the end. It was nice that he and Kerry reunited but again I never really felt that emotional beat hit. Good for Scott and Brandy, I guess?

(I get why but I hate that we lost Season. She was fun and just an interesting character. I understand why she is reserved and cautious. Because her daughter has been ruthlessly hunting her for like hundreds of years because of a crime MB committed. In a way, they both get their wish. MB kills Season and Season is able to tell her side of the story. The truth comes out.)

So overall, a slog. Book 3 and 4 were the best by far but not over 3 stars. Book 2 is the worst and, if I hadn't wanted to see this to the end, I would have just given up mid-way through it. Kerry becomes a better character as time goes on (she grows on me) and Season Howe remains my favourite (because she's a queen just living her best life). At least this was all 4 books in one and it wasn't very long.

[jovey kay !! · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. I thought the characters were likable most of the time, and I really enjoyed the story line. The writing was good, and I always enjoy it when authors make characters appear one way in the beginning before letting us in on the truth later in the story. I also found that each book flowed smoothly into the next even if the ends of each were kind of heartbreaking. However, the pacing was a little slower than I would have liked. Book Two: Fall especially struggled to hold my attention, and I pushed through with the hope that it would pick back up again (which it did!). The pacing aside, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it, especially if you have a lot of interest in reading about witchcraft.

[Jennifer Wheeler · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF after finishing the first book, Summer.
Blech. This sounded interesting, and has a lovely cover, so I’m super disappointed. It’s not that the writing itself is bad, because it’s not. It’s just hella boring. Literally nothing important happens for the majority of the book. A little bit of suspense and intrigue at the very beginning, but then the rest of the book is just the characters trying to track down this evil witch. Then in the last few pages, this very underwhelming confrontation between Daniel and Season, during which Daniel dies. So I’m going to nope right out of reading the rest of the books in this omnibus. I am, however, going to mark the first book as read individually, so it counts towards my challenge.

[Christine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly, I didn’t get past summer. When I heard about this book I thought it would be right up my ally and the perfect spring quarantine read. But then they went and killed off Daniel in the first book! I couldn’t believe it! While their relationship was a little insta-lovey, I was so looking forward to seeing how it developed, but then he just died. I read a bit past that but found that it couldn’t hold my attention like before. So, I broke the cardinal rule of reading and read the last chapter to figure out how it ended and I don’t feel like I’m missing much from stepping away from this one.

[Dani Bucher · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could I would give this book a half star. The story dragged and didn't give much excitement into the magical world as I would have hoped. The grammar is what bothered me the most. The continuous misuse of the word "y'all" amongst other things just pushed me over the edge. I typically push through books on pure principle and in hopes of something good to come out of it (because I'm an optimist) but I had to give up on this book. I will say I appreciate how appropriate the book was as far as having virtually no language or sex scenes. I also enjoyed the perspective of Daniel's journal entries. That's about it though.

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some aspects of the book didn't really sit well with me. Kerry is 17 when she meets Daniel who looks like he's in his 20s but is also 300 years old...lol Umm no. Their relationship just didn't feel okay to me.
I also did not like Brandy and Scott (especially Brandy) and I ended up skipping most of their parts.
The pacing of the book is also really slow, but when it did pick up it was good! Really enjoyed the "battle" scenes.

[Lexi Loo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got about halfway through Fall—the first book—at the start of the year and I stopped reading it because I got bored. I kept thinking I’d come back to it but truth be told, I don’t think I will. Also, I don’t remember any of the plot and I have no interest in rereading it.

It just wasn’t for me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

the beginning was sort of slow and i was thinking if ditching it, but towards the end (like winter and spring) is started to get really into it and i started to really like it! i wasn’t excepting the ending and it took me by surprise but i actually liked this book more than i would i would! final rating- 3.5/5

[Ginna · Rating 2 out of 5]

wow where to start…

I hate to disrespect a legendary, incredible show like Whose Line is it Anyways but it’s the most perfect analogy for my feelings: everything was made up and the points didn’t matter. Nothing stood out, nothing made sense, just overall a less then mediocre time.

[Helen H · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved it, it was a very good read

[Zara Morgan]

DNF

[Christine Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a single redeeming quality in 650+ pages.

[Lilly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really slow and kinda boring. Dnf

[Vittoria Vivona · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF, I barely got halfway and then skipped to the explanations and the end. I just couldn't.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, the characters were likeable and the friendships were good and I really liked the storyline, however, the pacing was a bit slow in parts. Overall I did enjoy this book and would recommend it if you like to read about witchcraft.

[Carolina Rizzo]

I DNF’d it after finishing Summer. Just wasn’t my cup of tea.

[Angela M Luffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good and entertaining.

[Taylor Mead · Rating 1 out of 5]

bad. like so bad. The MC is so unlikeable. Had to DNF.

[Kelsey Hefter · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good read, I enjoyed the plot and the characters, but was way too long in my opinion. I think the story couldve been wrapped up a lot quicker.

[Victoria Fasick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good read. Was hard to put it down... And didn't want it to end. Wish it was a series..... HIGHLY RECOMMEND

[Marissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very drawn out, & not much my type of reading as I thought it would be. Took me 3-4 weeks to get through it. Pretty much liked the beginning & end.

[Margeaux Voorhees · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book actually sucks