Savannah Storm (Savannah Stories Book 1)

View all 12 comments. Jan 02, Alicia rated it it was amazing Shelves: This is my second five star review and addition to the 'absolute favorites' shelf in a row. What is going on, people?! I saw The Line on Kindle First and was instantly intrigued. The Savannah setting, the family of witches as a staring cast, and the concept of there being a 'line' that has to be held down around the world to keep the demons away pretty much add up to my idea of a perfect book, and damn if The Line didn't live up to my expectations.

I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical of rea This is my second five star review and addition to the 'absolute favorites' shelf in a row. I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical of reading a story told by a female lead, written by a male author. There are so many nuances of the female psyche that, unless you're a woman, can be difficult to describe and let's face it, even being a woman doesn't make it easy.

But again, damn if J. Horn didn't pull it off. As for the other characters, just like the city of Savannah I found their Southern charm easy to love. Oliver was, of course, a favorite. I also came to care for Iris and Ellen. Something about an old Southern black hoodoo doctor ess is just fascinating. I loved her speech patterns and the the way she begrudgingly came to respect and like Mercy.

So that leaves me with just Mercy and Maise Horn did a great job of getting into the female brain and he described all the jealousy and sisterly love that I know so well, and even a bit I couldn't understand because I'm not a twin. I wish we had gotten a bit more time with Maise, however, because the Maise in the beginning of the story and the Maise at the end were rather abrupt changes.

That's about all I can say without heading to spoiler-town. Mercy was awesome though. It's possible she was a bit too sweet, good, and genuine for a lot of readers, but I was okay with that. I'm tired of reading about characters who are written with flaws or who take frustrating actions just to be seen as 'real. Now as for the story and the plot and all that jazz While I was reading The Line, it seemed impossible to put down. I could not wait to get home from work and get back into it. Buuuuut I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a little bit predictable - I could kinda see where things were headed from the beginning.

Don't get me wrong, there were surprises and things that I couldn't predict. But as for the overarching storyline, I kinda saw the grand finale coming. But just like with Mercy's goodness, I didn't mind. There's no small comfort in being able to yell "I KNEW IT" when you reach the almost-end of a story, especially when you were starting to think for a second or two that you didn't actually 'know it. Horn better hurry up with the next installment, and there better be more Uncle Oliver. Until then - give The Line a chance. If you're into witches and the old South, you should dig it.

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View all 15 comments. Jul 28, Morgannah rated it it was ok Shelves: I just couldn't do it. This one just wasn't for me. Perhaps it is because Savannah is near and dear to my heart and I felt like this book didn't do her justice. I think others might like it though. View all 13 comments. Jan 03, Bibliomancy rated it it was ok Shelves: After finishing a book, I often wonder why the author felt called to write it. What was it about these particular characters that clamored to have their story told?

To me, The Line had a curious emptiness at its heart. It felt as if Horn had made a list of the elements most likely to appeal to readers of paranormal romance—plucky heroine, supernatural world, love triangles, Deep South quirkiness, melodramatic plot twists—and checked them off one by one. I read a few blog posts and interviews wit After finishing a book, I often wonder why the author felt called to write it. His book embraces the melodrama of the campy supernatural soap, but misses the mark in so many other ways.

Everyone else was flat, especially the wide-eyed Mercy, whom I found insufferably mealymouthed. Then again, the Sookie Stackhouse books, to which the Witching Savannah series claims to be the heir, gets similar criticism and still manages to be a bestselling behemoth. The plot puts Mercy through the ringer, but all the events happen to her without requiring her to do anything. The revelations in the last quarter of the book—no doubt meant to be shocking—piled up one after the other like cars on the Interstate. And like a traffic accident, I found it difficult to look away. Despite a few genuinely charming Southern colloquialisms, most of the dialogue is stilted and heavy.

He bent back in and looked me squarely in the eye. And more often not, buy someone in their own family. Cross-posted to my blog, http: View all 3 comments. May 22, Alaina rated it liked it Shelves: The Line was kind of weird but a pretty quick audio book. Listened to it within a couple of hours on 2x speed mostly because.. The family was crazy and the whole story was just weird to me.

Mercy and Maisie are twins. One has magic and the other doesn't - or so we think. Mercy is basically the lone wolf or the black sheep of the family. Everyone but like one person actually hates her. Despises her for living and slowly but surely we find out why. Honestly, everyone's reasoning The Line was kind of weird but a pretty quick audio book. Honestly, everyone's reasoning for hating her was kind of stupid. Also, her sister was bat shit crazy and I loathed her. Besides the weird mystery and murders happening, the magic aspect was pretty interesting. I still think it's weird that mostly everyone in this weird ass witch family didn't want Mercy to have powers..

There was a romance thing happening and I'm so glad it didn't take the love triangle route. I would've hated this book so quickly if they did. I sort of liked Peter, like a whole lot more than Jackson and Maisie.. Again, this book was weird. Everyone was a god damn hot mess. The pacing was all over the place which definitely explains why I had it on a high speed level. I just wanted to get through this book. Overall, the ending was okay but it definitely took some random and weird ass turns. I still don't really understand this book right now and I just finished it..

I will definitely have to think about it. This review might change.. Sorry not sorry for this shitty review.. Mar 23, Marc Jentzsch rated it it was ok Shelves: The book starts far stronger than it finishes, as it descends into expositional monologues, secret princess witch wish-fulfillment and generally failing to deliver much witching at all. The first few chapters drew me in. They were well-done, well-paced and interesting.

By the time things really start rolling though, it becomes clear that what little plot there is exists solely to show us how special the main character is. There is very little world-building, the main character is too passive, an The book starts far stronger than it finishes, as it descends into expositional monologues, secret princess witch wish-fulfillment and generally failing to deliver much witching at all.

There is very little world-building, the main character is too passive, and none of the romantic interests were even remotely compelling. That said, there's potential here. Despite the overabundance of supervillain style monologue-ing thanks for that, Mr. Bird, haha , the over passivity of the main character, and the tepid - and almost at this point, obligatory - romantic knot, the romancey elements didn't overpower the story. For the next book, I hope Mercy finally starts acting like the self-assured girl we met in the opening chapter of this one.

THAT character I'm interested in, not the one that so obligingly falls into a relationship with no chemistry and life-altering baggage; not the one that hides in her room and pines for her sister and a boy constantly; not the one that has absolutely NO hand in her own salvation. It just really would have helped if we'd seen more strength of will in the face of those around her with so much power, more pluck and determination, more self-propulsion. I would also love to see some actual world-building, some adventure to go with the romance and family-soap shenanigans. But I'm probably barking up the wrong tree.

Savannah is one of my favorite cities. Rich in history, redolent with the aromas of the South,and a just plain fun place to spend some time. And you don't have to look too deeply or far to know that Savannah is not just a pretty face. The city is steeped in the energies of those who have gone before. Because of my love affair with Savannah, I am pretty protective of her.

So if you are going to use her in a book, it had better be good. I believe this author did a pretty good job. Granted , there Savannah is one of my favorite cities. Granted , there are inconsistencies, some lack of depth in respect to some of his characters. But overall, I liked the family of witches that make up the center of the book, and will follow to see where they take me on their adventures.

At it's heart I believe this is more of a YA rather than adult read, I'm good with that. For this series the reader must just suspend judgement and enjoy the ride. It took me a minute or two to warm up to the audiobook, not having the opportunity to speed-read my way through the first few chapters till I reached the actual action, but once we met Mother Jilo, I was sold. The Line is a pretty good book, not great, but solid enough to re-read and re-listen to.

The syno "Choosing, and then living with the consequences, that is what deciding really is. The synopsis might come off a little cheesy, but the premise is solid with plenty of elements that I personally love and enjoy: Anytime Mercy mentioned the heat and the humidity, sweat trickling in unmentionable places, I was nodding my head right along with her.

Mmhmm, honey, I know what you mean. Missouri was my old stompin' grounds and I spent too many summers sweating to ever forget the sensation of sweat dripping from the top of my end to the bottom of my toes. I felt the characters were really well rounded out and avoided some of the more tropey-tropes Oliver being a gay man in the South but he's a mans man and not the overly feminine gay character that is seen most of the time.

I was worried that the accents used by the narrator would come across as over the top or just mocking but no, I've heard peoples accents very much like that and it was a delight to listen to the "chewing" and "dropping" of syllables and words. The story itself was full of twists and turns and just when I thought we had ourselves back on the straight and narrow to where the story should have been going or so I thought BAM.

A curveball out of left field and I was shocked at least 3 different times by the plot twist that I honestly did not see coming! I did feel that sometimes we went wandering down one side plot a little long to bring the focus back to the story but all in all, it was captivating and kept me highly entertained. Her voices were amazing and highly distinct from each other and were easy to tell who was speaking at what point in time. Her pacing was superb and she really knew when to add emphasis or to speed through something to heighten the story.

I also felt her accents were spot on and sounded like many Southerners I had met in my time living in Missouri. Course for me, they sounded like they came from the Ozarks but it was distinctive and good. I also appreciated that she gave every accent its on twist and flavor with certain people Mother Jilo sounding like they've been chewing cud for years and others with only a slight twang Mercy and Oliver.

It really added to the effect of the story and I highly appreciated the attention to detail given to each voice! All in all, I would say that Witching Savannah has a lot of potential as a series and with it now complete, I plan on racing my way through each and every book to see how this all ends. The ending for The Line caught me by surprise and leaves a lot of questions unanswered that I look forward to seeing resolved in the other books!

Nov 20, J. Fenn rated it it was amazing Shelves: Horn evokes a very natural, human world for magic, where ghosts and other paranormal creatures live in tandem with our known reality, and the writing is stellar, from the engaging first person narration to the evocative descriptions of Savannah itself. Feb 22, AH rated it really liked it Shelves: I loved the setting Savannah, Georgia. I loved Mercy and Jilo. I loved the story. Witchcraft, hoodoo, and even Jewish lore combine to create an enthralling narrative. The Line kept me on the edge of my seat with its unexpected twists and turns.

Savannah's paranormal side is brought to light in The Line. The Line is the first book in J. Horn's Witching Savannah series. The book focuses on the Taylor family witches, notably fraternal twin s Initial Thoughts: The book focuses on the Taylor family witches, notably fraternal twin sisters Maisie and Mercy. Maisie is the golden child, the stunningly beautiful sister gifted with all the magical powers. Maisie was groomed to become her Aunt Ginny's replacement as anchor of the line and head of the family.

In contrast, Mercy had little or no magic and was shunned by her aunt. Mercy sees herself as plain looking and passes her time working as a walking tour guide in Savannah. Mercy comes under the radar of her aunt when she visits Jilo the root doctor for a love potion. There's some family history between the Taylors and Mother Jilo and any deal with Jilo may not turn out as expected. Mercy is hopelessly attracted to her sister's boyfriend even though her own boyfriend is smitten by her. Upon arriving at her Aunt Ginny's home, Mercy discovers that Ginny has been murdered which sets off a series of events that change Mercy's life.

I loved the atmosphere of this book. We're in Savannah, Georgia and it's hot, humid, and sweaty in contrast to the freezing temperatures outside while I was reading this book. It's a perfect locale for witches and hoodoo. Then, as an added plus, there's some interesting ghosts and even a golem. Horn is a natural storyteller. I was absolutely glued to this book.

The Line is a solid debut and a fantastic start to a new urban fantasy series. I can't wait to see what comes next! View all 5 comments. Feb 01, Jacob Proffitt rated it did not like it Shelves: Okay, I got fed up. There are some things broadcast from the very start, and maybe it's just me that I picked up on this, but some story structures are just obvious. And if you're halfway through the book and the obvious hasn't yet been confirmed, denied, or twisted you have a problem. I'll spoiler tag the rest of this for the sake of people who may be skimming reviews but really, I can't see how you don't see this coming from miles away.

And yes, I read a bunch of reviews here seeking out spoile Okay, I got fed up. And yes, I read a bunch of reviews here seeking out spoilers to see if it does pan out the way I suspect and it so totally does. Now, who doesn't start looking for who stole Mercy's power and gave it to Maisy?!?! I mean come on! Ginny was so obviously a stone-cold bitch that something so evil could easily be laid at her door probably to be continued by Maisy who obviously has a strong sense of entitlement.

Maisy's plotting is so bloody transparent that when she blows her top and goes outright evil it's not so much a surprise as it is a "finally, now we'll start the story of finding out what to do about it. And that's before you even get to the romance where it's obvious that at least one love spell is already in place probably on Jackson, though there's something wrong with him altogether and I'm not sure if it's bad characterization or a poorly-delaying reveal. There's also probably one on Mercy—and I mean before she tries to put one on herself.

I mean Horn goes out of his way to explain the weaknesses of love spells and what you might look for and darned if you can't see those fissures staring you in the face. How stupid is Mercy not to see that immediately?!? I lost all patience after Maisy blows her top and Mercy's lame response is "I must find her to apologize so that she'll love me again. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.

To view it, click here. You have been warned I'm really not sure how I feel about this book. On one hand, I read it, through to the end and for the most part enjoyed it. On the other hand when I finished I was annoyed. A couple things stood out to me; Mercy was much younger than her age 20 when I was reading. By her behavior, and mannerisms, she was no older than 16 to me. But, then by the end of the book all of a sudden she was a grown up.

Meanwhile, am I the only one who is sick of girls getting pr Huge spoilers. Meanwhile, am I the only one who is sick of girls getting pregnant at the drop of a hat?! Seriously, I can't even. My other problem was this; have you ever had a conversation with someone, who obviously started the conversation early in their head and only verbalises the very end of their thoughts so you are all "wait, what? How did we get here? Jackson made no fucking sense to me, and again on the pregnancy thing, just out of the blue, and you really want to go looking for your asshole sister when you have a child to protect and you KNOW what she wants to do to you??

This sounds far more negative than I intended. As I said, I did enjoy it. The descriptions of Savannah were rich and there were several characters I hope we get to know more in the next book, which, I will definitely read. Welcome to Savannah, a city where magic is real and everyone has a secret. Mercy Taylor is from a very powerful line of witches but unlike her family there is no magic coursing through her veins.

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She is a disappointment to her family, and more often then not, herself. When her aunt is murdered everything in her life changes. She quickly finds that nothing is as it seems. I enjoyed every second of this book! It was fast paced and an easy read. There were twists and turns throughout the entire nov Welcome to Savannah, a city where magic is real and everyone has a secret. There were twists and turns throughout the entire novel. It was full of mystery. If you are looking for a romance this isn't the book for you.

There's absolutely no discussion about what happens to this eagle after the fight; and 2 Is Tadd mute? He's a five year old boy who gets moved into a completely new home, and is surrounded by cats and a new puppy and witches throwing around fire This story takes suspension of disbelief to an unacceptable level, and, minus the sex scenes, is best suited for teenagers.

It took me a while to read this first book in the series. It is a easy ready but not a page turner. Not sure what pulled them to Savannah. They all end up in a Mansion on an island were they are welcomed by Anna, the 9th female and descendant of witches. Here they find out that they are all witches, each with their own talent and magic, destined to go through trials to stop a demon from returning. This book follows Shauni the girl that can speak to animals. Mixed into it is a sweet love story. The 1st hurdle has been won One person found this helpful. I just finished the "Whisper of a Witch" and let me tell you it definitely interupted my life I was so caught up in each unique personality, I was impatient to read what happened next.

The dialogues were snappy and true to life. I got a kick out of how each of the women intereacted - just like real 'sisters'; sometimes hissing at each other, sometimes unsure, but always standing together against an enemy. I need to note that the love scenes were very unique - no gushing teeny bopper, no borderline porn - just handled in an honest and satisfying manner. It's nice to finally find a writer who tells a story for an adult.

Can't wait to see how each of the "nine" in the coven handle their own magical tests. There's more than one way to best a demon in this world. I've already purchased the next two in the series. I was very intrigued by the plot of this series and purchased the first book to try it out. I found myself getting frustrated at some points - I felt that the back story wasn't well developed in the beginning and that the characters were somewhat shallow.

However, I kept reading through and by the end of the first book I was interested enough to buy the second.

It only got better from there. This ended up being one of those series that I liked so much I bought the next book as soon as I finished the last.

The Line (Witching Savannah, #1) by J.D. Horn

I literally can't put it down! The writing finds it's depth, the details get filled in, and the the characters become beautifully fleshed out. If you like the premise and you're debating on reading further, I encourage you to try the next book. The promise that you are seeing in this first book does come to fruition quickly. This book had all the elements to make a great story Mind u it was hard to put the book down, but so frustrating!

Too me it was so choppy like it was very rushed. I felt alot of things could have definately been made richer and deeper. Some things ran so quick and shallow, like the "test" the witch had to go through.. It was very anti-climatic. Grant you it is the first in a series, but it really has left me leary of buying the others given there are 8 other witches to go through thier "tests" and as skimmed as this?

I gave it a 3 because it did have all the elements as i said of a good story, but it really lacked so much in the depth. Peter and Jackson are both terrible. In fact, most of the characters have done something pretty shady. Some of the characters I really enjoyed, despite their questionable characters. The Line drew me in and kept me guessing I highly recommend it! You can also fin this review and more at https: Nov 10, Lucy rated it did not like it Shelves: I was really looking forward to this book.

Hailed as the next Sookie Stackhouse, big UF hit. Lots of issues with the book, mainly just the hackneyed, cliched plot lines. Yeah, UF gets old if you read a lot of it, but this wasn't even well-written enough for me, a UF addict, to keep reading. Our heroine, Mercy, falls flat flat flat. I feel like she just appeared out of nowhere when the book was written. No history, no back s I'm bummed. No history, no back story.

She's 20 and feels like she needs to settle down and put a love spell on herself? She's only just questioning about her powers? She's in this crazy family where she has no power and all of a sudden she feels the desire to get magic? She's got some kind of weird powerful attraction with Jackson, but been dating Peter. We know nothing about either of them, but I guess we know nothing about Mercy either, so no problems there.

But two hot men in love with her? She has this crazy weird family that didn't want to try and teach her anything about magic? She has a twin who has all the power, the hot boyfriend, and a sister complex? Every bit of it felt contrived in a way to appeal to UF readers. Strong heroine who has been wronged by magic, but is still somehow going to be powerful. She has a love triangle with two hot guys who like her for some unknown reason. A weird family and a forced mystery.

I didn't feel connected to any one character. Not to mention, the writing itself could have also suffered a few more edits. I found myself thinking too much about the fact that I was reading. I often found myself caught up on awkward phrases, or awkward turn of thoughts, where our character would be presumably headed in one direction emotionally only to make a quick u-turn all within one sentence. The idea behind it is fun, the actual product itself falls flat. Jan 18, Kayla rated it it was amazing Shelves: Savannah is my favorite city in the whole world so I may be a little biased, but this book is awesome!

From the very beginning I was hooked. Then you learn that Savannah really does play host to powerful magic, spirits and some old world hoodoo. Mercy was born without powers, but her Savannah is my favorite city in the whole world so I may be a little biased, but this book is awesome! Mercy was born without powers, but her twin sister, Maisie was born with more powers than normal. Everyone in this family has their own secret agenda, and just when you think you have it figured out.

Expect to be surprised until the very last pages! I cannot wait to read more! Nov 03, Robyn rated it liked it Shelves: I thought this was a decent starting point to a series with Southern-flair and intriguing magic. Savannah plays a huge role in the book and is well-described. I thought the characterisation was a bit off and didn't really connect but will likely try another one in the series!

I loved this book! It was a wonderful debut from J. Horn and I am actually a little surprised that it is his first book. Don't let the back cover copy fool you though, this really isn't anything like the Sookie Stackhouse books. The Line was a very unique tale is a genre that has been getting a little stale lately. The Line starts out with main character Mercy Taylo 4. She takes them to historical sites, but tells them stories that she made up about the monuments.

She does this as a counter point to all the typical ghost tours around the town. The Liar's Tour also provided a nice segue into meeting another main character, Mother Jilo, without it feeling like too much telling vs showing. Mother Jilo was a hoodoo practitioner in The Line. She freaked me out a bit at the beginning with all her talk of blood and bodies buried in the ground.

Not being a natural witch, Jilo has to steal her power and some of the best ways to do that are through blood and death. She definitely is an unlikely ally for Mercy, but it was true that Jilo was more honest to her than her family. The initiating event in this story was the murder of Mercy's very powerful aunt, Ginny. After Ginny is murdered, the Taylor family comes together to try to figure out who killed her and also to decide who would be next in line as the leader.

Each witch in the family has their own specialization but Maisie and Ginny were the most powerful overall. Oliver had the power to make people do what he wanted, call it charm or persuasion. Ellen was a powerful healer and Iris had a talent for finding things. It was nice to see that everyone had their own little power niche instead of just being "all powerful. I didn't really like Maisie very much, but I did feel a little sorry for her at first. She was just always training instead. In The Line , the Taylor family stands with the other witch families against the demons. I loved the mythos of this world and how the witches maintained the lines between our world and the world of the demons.

Some time in the past, three of the twelve families pulled away so there were only nine witch families left to protect "the line. I found the golem to be very interesting. I thought it was especially interesting that the different psyches seemed to start to fuse more and more closely into one cohesive consciousness. It was a good way to introduce some periphery character without completely overwhelming the cast. There was a lot of intrigue and a bit of a love square woven throughout The Line.

Ginny turned out to be a stone-cold bitch and I think the family would have been much better off without her meddling — Mercy at the foremost. I think the thing with Ellen's son was the worst, aside from what she did to Mercy. I wasn't crazy about the romantic entanglements between Mercy, Maisie, Peter, and Jackson but they ended up playing out in a way I didn't expect. Overall, The Line was a very unique take on witches and it was filled with delicious drama. I will most definitely be picking up the next book and have found a new UF author to watch in J. It doesn't seem like too many new Urban Fantasy series are coming out lately.

So that's why The Line caught my eye. Then it threw witches into the mix. And if I'm honest witches are my guilty pleasure for Urban Fantasy. True, I'm a hard core werewolves and vampires fan. Deep down witches will alwa It doesn't seem like too many new Urban Fantasy series are coming out lately. Deep down witches will always hold a secret place in my heart. Sadly very few things that utilize witches make them believable and well. Or over the top Satan's spawn!! That's why within a few pages of The Line I was hooked. Mercy Taylor is promptly introduced while giving her Lair's Tour.

While it's unclear if she really needs the money, one thing is clear this book is gonna have drama! The main character is from a prominent—filthy rich—family. The Lairs Tour is a job Mercy created where she goes around taking people on tours lying about the city and places.

Making up or spinning stories off the top of her head. To be honest I think it's brilliant and I would hands down take that tour! With the rich writing, I felt like I was sweating it up in Savannah and indeed on that tour. Boy is The Line all about the drama. Crazy soap opera family drama! All the character's have some serious issues, and what I'd fondly refer to as zany personalities. From Mercy's crazy as hell head of the house, slushed up aunt, and gay uncle there's plenty of personalities to butt heads.

Though the big fail for me was how evil Mercy's sister is, and at no point was there any love on the sister's part towards Mercy to make me feel for the relationship. In that one huge wicked-sister plot point was the books fatal flaw. Yet, the drama mixed in with all the mysteries, multiple plots, and drama—yes loads of drama—made it all better. There was plenty of predictable points, but Horn definitely made up for it and pulled a few over my eyes. Now I'm not going to ruin anything and won't dig to much into the plot. However, I will say there are plenty of players here and it kind of made me think of Game of Thrones witches edition.

They both definitely have drama. Mercy is a pretty nice character, at times she comes off as a martyr and I wished she'd get her bitch on and smack down on some people! But there in lies the breath of fresh are that The Line brings to the genre. Mercy is a genuine and nice person, one who wants to see the best in people.

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Even when her own romance is tanked and everyone she knows has betrayed her somehow. The drama, characters, plot, and the magic here is soooooooooooo refreshing. When the last page turned this unearthly glowing happened and I was transported to my happy book place that had been unreachable this year with my book funk. The Line made me feel refreshed and brave to go out and try new authors again!

Plenty of sexual humor, and some dark themes. The love scene was actually fairly mild. Originally reviewed at Book Whispers. Jun 28, Stephanie Swint rated it really liked it.

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Horn introduces us to the addicting series 'Witching Savannah' with 'The Line. Mercy is the daughter of a powerful family of society witches, but Savannah is also home to hoodoo root doctors and a bevy of ghosts. Residents are used to the unexpected and unexplainable. Mercy has a fraternal twin, Maizy.

When they were born their mother died bringing Mercy into the world. Mercy barely survived and was born powerless but her J. Mercy barely survived and was born powerless but her beautiful, loving twin was born with an extraordinary amount. While Mercy felt the sting of neglect she also had freedom. Mercy was openly called 'The Disappointment,' and Maizy was showered with attention but also expectation.

It would have been easy for Mercy to be jealous but she found all the love she needed in her twin. Minor romance drama leads Mercy to reach out to a dangerous, disdained, Root Doctor named Mother Jilo. Mercy has fallen in love with Maizy's boyfriend, but she is not looking for Jilo to have him fall in love with her.

She wants Jilo to cast a spell on Mercy to fall in love with her best friend who she knows would make her happy. Jilo explains the basics of magic and power, something her family never bothered to do. Jilo can cast this but only with sacrifice Mercy sees the mistake but Jilo won't turn back warning her family and her trust in them is misplaced. The next day her evil Aunt Ginny dies. More accurately, she is murdered. Mercy had been summoned to Ginny, the families seat of power and anchor to The Line. As Mercy enters the room she sees her Aunt has just had her severed.

Like a normal human, she doesn't call the police she screams drawing her family to the scene. The search for the culprit begins and opens doors to many family secrets and questions. Mercy learns her Aunt was an Anchor to The Line, a magical barrier created by thirteen witch families and held in place by thirteen witches to protect the world from demons.

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• Il grande gioco (Miscellanea) (Italian Edition).

Demons that would enslave us. Ginny's seat of power is empty and the vacuum must be filled. Horn has given us good YA fiction. It's loosely YA, as Mercy is twenty, but it is coming of age. The romance is minimal and secondary to learning to deal with your family as adults, and finding purpose and a place in the world. It just takes place in a beautiful gothic construction of Savannah with witches.

It passes the Bechdel test, and it's a good mystery. I listened to an audible version narrated by Shannon McMannus. She has a beautiful southern accent that made me feel like I was in Savannah. She also did well with character differentiation. If you enjoy audible books this is a good series to listen to. It is lighter fare but well worth your time.



• The Secret to a New Life.
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I've picked up the second in the series. Jan 02, Traci rated it it was amazing Shelves: I'm going to make a confession here and say that I was kind of a snob when I picked this out. And looking back on it, I have absolutely no idea why. The kindle first deals just didn't seem to appeal to me this month, I guess, and I picked the one that seemed like the least of the four evils.

Maybe I was just feeling cynical that day, or maybe I am a little more disappointed in my past choices than I really thought. Sometimes males don't write females well, and vice versa, so maybe I was a little I'm going to make a confession here and say that I was kind of a snob when I picked this out.

Sometimes males don't write females well, and vice versa, so maybe I was a little harsh on that point, as well. I am happy to say that I was wrong on all points. This book centers around Mercy Taylor, a girl born into a family full of witches without one bit of magic of her own. She's just shy of her twentieth birthday and is giving tours of Savannah, her hometown, when she catches sight of a hoodoo pracitioner, Mother Jilo, and gets the idea that she should visit Jilo for a spell of her own--a love spell.

Mother Jilo taunts her a bit, and though Mercy ultimately says that she changes her mind, Jilo says she'll work the spell anyway. And then the cruel family matriarch, Aunt Ginny, is murdered and it throws the family into a tailspin, because Aunt Ginny is the guardian of something called the line, which protects the human world from the demons who once ruled it. This book got really interesting really fast. I expected Mercy to be the whining kind of girl who was prone to throwing fits about being the only normal person in her family and therefore perceiving some of the abuses she puts up with.

This wasn't the case. Everyone really, truly did treat her differently, from giving her disparaging nicknames to making her wait in an undecorated foyer for hours because she wasn't important enough to warrant an audience. I think that the thing I liked the most about reading this was that Mercy didn't know anything more than the reader, really, and so there was a lot of honest discovery going on, not just info-dumps of information because Mercy knows so much more than we do.

She's just as in the dark. While at times I felt like she was maybe a little too naive and a little too good, I feel like the events closer to the end of the book, regarding her personal life, made it seem like she'd grown and matured through the events of the book. There were a couple of parts that I felt were reasonably predictable view spoiler [Mercy not really being born without magic, for example, and some events regarding the drawing of the lots after Aunt Ginny's death hide spoiler ] but I still really enjoyed them.

I really had to tell myself to slow down at parts. I was reading too fast and I thought I'd miss something. I'll definitely reread this and I'm looking forward to the sequel! View all 4 comments. Feb 22, Ariana Fae rated it really liked it. I have always been drawn to stories about witches and when I saw The Line I had to read it.

D Horn creates an interesting urban fantasy set in Savannah, Ga about family conspiracies, betrayals, rivalry and revenge. I immediately liked the protagonist, Mercy, when she is introduced, she is spunky and clever. However, as the story plugs along I began getting annoyed with her. Mercy is supposed to be twenty years old but I felt she came off as being sixteen with her actions, choices and thoughts. The most interesting character in the whole book was Mother Jilo and I enjoyed reading the scenes she was in. It was an easy, fast and entertaining read.

If you like stories about witches with a soap opera twist, then you may want to read The Line. Jan 01, Derek rated it liked it Shelves: While The Line started slowly, and felt like it would be predictable, it wasn't, at least not toward the end. The characters that are fully fleshed out are fantastic, but they are few. The feeling that The Line should just be the first section of a much larger book which is the case for many of these ubiquitous series which are intended from conception to be series- instead of "I think I have another story to tell with these characters, perhaps I'll write a equal" is there, but not as bad as s While The Line started slowly, and felt like it would be predictable, it wasn't, at least not toward the end.

The feeling that The Line should just be the first section of a much larger book which is the case for many of these ubiquitous series which are intended from conception to be series- instead of "I think I have another story to tell with these characters, perhaps I'll write a equal" is there, but not as bad as say, Timebound which was my December choice for my Amazon freebie , where the story feels like it just begins as the book ends.

Oct 21, Mo rated it liked it. I actually prefer listening to this book. Savannah is an atmospheric type city in the way it is described by the narrator. The witchcraft aspect adds to the story. You really have to listen to the nuances. I listened to this book and I'm glad I did. The narrator added more to the story than the written word. I totally forgot to review this book after I read it. This story takes place literally 45 minutes up the road from where I live, in Savannah, Georgia. Of course, that caught my eye.

It's a really good book until it gets kind of complicated between a few of the characters and then a little predictability. Nov 04, Kara-karina rated it really liked it. Joint review with Victoria Karina: Well, I'm eating my hat now. First of I didn't like this book, ladies and gents. It took awhile to get used to somewhat detached writing style. The emotional accents were not where I was expecting them.