Witch's Brew (The Spellspinners of Melas County, #1) in The Coliloquy Book Group

Oct 14, 2010 Heidi rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

Turns out the ol' #sexahmagicbook took its nickname too far and hath blossomed into a 10-book series!
Least I could do is give myself a half-star per book, no? ;-)

Can't wait to share book one, WITCH'S BREW, with everyone today!

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Oct 14, 2010 Erica rated it it was amazing

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Fantasy has always been my favorite genre, so when I learned Heidi R Kling was writing a fantasy book, I was beyond ecstatic. For those of you that have read my blog at any point before, you will know of my love for Heidi R Kling’s debut, Sea, and how I harbor this immense crazy love for it. Something I didn’t think was possible happened with Witch’s Brew – I loved it even more. I should learn to never doubt Heidi R Kling, as she is simply a mastermind with words and can write the most beautiful Fantasy has always been my favorite genre, so when I learned Heidi R Kling was writing a fantasy book, I was beyond ecstatic. For those of you that have read my blog at any point before, you will know of my love for Heidi R Kling’s debut, Sea, and how I harbor this immense crazy love for it. Something I didn’t think was possible happened with Witch’s Brew – I loved it even more. I should learn to never doubt Heidi R Kling, as she is simply a mastermind with words and can write the most beautiful stories.

Witch’s Brew is told in split point of view between Lily and Logan. First off, I just loved this – Split point of view is one of my favorite things for an author to do, and Heidi R Kling rocked it. Lily and Logan both had great voices and I found them to be great narrators – I really liked both of their voices.

Another really neat aspect to Witch’s Brew is that there are two different options for the story to go You reach a point a little ways into the book and are given two paths, like a choose your own adventure. That means you get double the characters (specifically double the Logan) and double the story! I loved both options – both were super intense and I loved them for different reasons.

The world Heidi R Kling has spun is wonderful. Her take on witches is fresh and new – which made reading so much fun. I never knew what the rules of the witches and the warlocks were or how they lived. It was a completely new experience. I also just love Kling’s prose – it is so whimsical and has a musicality about it. My emotions were running high the entire time I was reading – I found myself cheering with the characters or get upset when things weren’t going the way I wanted or well for the characters. That is my favorite type of book to read, one where I can get so into the story!

The originality of the witches in Kling’s world really helped make the plot that much more interesting. I had no expectations for what would happen, so I just loved walking through Lily and Logan’s world to figure out what would happen next. There were elements of mystery in the cases of both the witches and the warlocks, and I’m very curious how that will all pan out.

The characters of Witch’s Brew were so much fun. Logan will be sure to catch every girl’s attention – I know he has definitely made the top to my list of hot YA boys. He is just so nice and so pure hearted I felt like. I loved Lily – she is a great main character and another great soul. Daisy was a character who was so fun any scene she was in – I hope to hear a lot more from her in future books! Orchid had so much spunk – She’s another character I’m looking forward to see more of. Maggie only appears in one scene, but she’s yet another character to hear more from in the future.

I simply cannot wait for the second Spellspinners of Melas County book. Kling has built the perfect structure for the series with this book and it will simply take off from here. The last pages of Witch’s Brew built with an immense amount of intensity to just the perfect point, then breaks off in quite the cliffhanger. It is a cruel ending, yet definitely peaked my interest beyond belief for the next book.

Witch’s Brew is the book I have been waiting for since the day I finished the last page of Sea. There’s something about Heidi R Kling’s books that is so magical. The stories she tells and the characters she chooses, they all are just so wonderful and worthy of being told. The cast of characters in this series definitely have a story worth telling, so the wait until book 2 begins now. ...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Kate (VerbVixen) rated it it was amazing

SEXY MAGIC BOOK. That's what twitter has been calling Witch's Brew for months now, and its an apt name. Witchy girls, warlock boys, a feud, mystery, drama, and an intense romance: this book has it all. I love Logan and Lily. Love love love love love. Witch's Brew has so many brilliant moments- of vulnerability, passion, anger, fragility. I will warn you though, be prepared for a heart-stopping, cliff-hanging ending that will leave you screaming. No really there was actual shrieking involved. Kli ...more

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Jan 07, 2013 JeanBookNerd rated it it was amazing

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Heidi R. Kling’s first book in The Spellspinners of Melas County, Witch’s Brew, is an amazing story about a complex barred love between a witch and a warlock. Sixteen-year-olds Lily and Logan, who were once soulmates and now strangers for a hundred years, they meet again in a magical battleground called the Solstice Stones. They spent years of training for their first Stones only to realize that the enemy in the Solstice Stones is not what they have been preparing for.

This magical world that aut ...more

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Sep 22, 2013 Alaina rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, 1st-in-a-series, captivated-by-the-covers, firstreads-wins-and-review-copys, paranormal-romance, witches-wizards-magic, urban-fantasy

I would like to thank the author for offering me a copy of Witch's Brew in exchange for an honest review

I was really excited to start this story, it sounded like such a fun read and I haven't read many strictly witch story lines lately. Ms. Kling did a great job of creating a unique story with a different twist on witches and warlocks... combining some of the things that I love in a story about magic and spells with some new twists on their powers and the balance between light and dark. I loved I would like to thank the author for offering me a copy of Witch's Brew in exchange for an honest review

I was really excited to start this story, it sounded like such a fun read and I haven't read many strictly witch story lines lately. Ms. Kling did a great job of creating a unique story with a different twist on witches and warlocks... combining some of the things that I love in a story about magic and spells with some new twists on their powers and the balance between light and dark. I loved her "special" power, and the witches names and the aspects of the curse (but since I don't want to give away spoilers I won't say anything more about that). Overall I would have to give this 3.5 stars.

I didn't expect a lot of what I got when I read this book, and I was shocked when I got to the first selection for the choose your own adventure storyline. I have mixed feelings with having the choice between two different paths for the characters/story. I really enjoyed these types of books when I was younger, but now I almost feel like I could be making the wrong choice and second guess which one I should pick... which makes me dislike that aspect of these types of books. After going back and skimming through the choices that I didn't make I also realized that there were some details about the characters that I felt like I missed out on if I hadn't read both parts... but they both went in almost completely different directions toward the same ending (which is I suppose the point, and would be great for a person who loves a choose your path book). I think that personally I would have liked to have a story that was a little bit longer with a mixture of details from both the paths.

I did really like the characters, especially Logan and the other warlocks you get to meet in this book... Jacob was one of those villains that I truly love to hate! I did have some issues with some of the witches, but that helped with the suspense and my personal guesses on who would do what throughout the story. I went back and forth between liking Lily and almost wanting to strangle her... there were times she seemed very strong and sure, and then times that she just walked into a situation without one teensy thought on the repercussions... it drove me crazy, but at the same time left some room for her to learn from her mistakes.

The relationship between Logan and Lily was pretty fun and I liked that they both didn't really know how to feel about it a lot of the time. The only thing that really bothered me was some of the dialogue between them (I'm not a huge fan of really childish sayings thrown into dialogue even though I read a lot of young adult books).

This story left off with one of those cliffhangers that made me want to pick the second book up right away, it was a quick read and I would definitely recommend it to someone who wants something fun or who really enjoys the idea of a choose your adventure story. ...more

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Jun 22, 2013 Lindsay rated it liked it

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3.5 stars
Okay, so this actually turned out to be a remarkably sweet story. I was worried that there would be an insta-love connection (which nobody ever seems to enjoy), but instead there was more of an instant connection that invoked guilt and confusion. I loved the way the relationship was sparked, and was built on. Love is far from simple, and Kling showed this perfectly.

The main characters are likeable, and the villains are not, just as they should be. Not everyone can be categorized so easi 3.5 stars
Okay, so this actually turned out to be a remarkably sweet story. I was worried that there would be an insta-love connection (which nobody ever seems to enjoy), but instead there was more of an instant connection that invoked guilt and confusion. I loved the way the relationship was sparked, and was built on. Love is far from simple, and Kling showed this perfectly.

The main characters are likeable, and the villains are not, just as they should be. Not everyone can be categorized so easily though. I love when there are a few characters with ambiguous allegiance. Are they grouchy good guys, or do they have an ulterior motives? Are the bad guys actually bad, or are they just misunderstood? It makes me start to guess and second guess, which makes the journey so much more fun! I love not being able to figure the whole story out!

I was a little overwhelmed by the complex details in the beginning. First off, I had to work out how the magic works. All “witch” books are going to have their own spin to how magic works, so I made sure to take a few pages to get my feet under me. Then, there are the characters, and the backstory and history. Add to that the set up for the future of the series, and it’s a lot for a reader to absorb. Once I got my bearings, though, I really enjoyed this! The first time anyway… This brings me to the twist: you get to select your pathway through the story, through a series of links, to decide how the characters will get to the finish. I was curious to see how this would affect the ending, since there are sequels. How can you possibly read a second book, when you’re not even sure if you picked the right ending?! It is, however, just their path that you get to choose. The ending is stable when you finally get there.

While the “choose your own adventure” style is fun and quirky, I could have done without it. I felt compelled to read it again (because I can’t leave a book half read like that). My first pass over the book was actually much better than the second, the story coming together in a more solid way the first time. I felt like the chemistry between Lily and Logan was more heated and believable. A reader’s enjoyment could easily differ depending on what choices they make for the story. It also makes it near impossible for me to give a rating to it. I can definitely recommend it though, if you’re in the mood for a light, PNR. I look forward to seeing where the story takes me in The Gleaning!

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Jennifer Ko rated it it was amazing

Witch's Brew was the first book I've read by Heidi R. Kling and I look forward to reading more. She paints a gorgeous modern day world about witches and warlocks and has these beautiful scenes (with the right touch of steaminess) between Lily and Logan - the book's two star-crossed lovers. Another awesome feature of the book is that it's interactive - kind of like Choose Your Own Adventure but with better plot development. It's fun to see how the story shifts depending on which path you pick. In ...more

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