Thea and Blaise are two cousins who have been expelled from five high schools because of Blaise's exploits. Unable to control her, Thea can only watch as Blaise toys with human boys and commands them to do her bidding.
At their new school, things seem no different with Blaise setting her sights on Eric, a boy Thea is strangely attracted to. Amused by his refusal of Blaise, amusement soon turns to anxiety as Thea realises that her cousin is determined to make Eric desire her.
Breaking the rule of never loving a human, Thea puts both her and Eric's life on the line as she tries to ward Blaise off.
The two main characters (Blaise and Thea) are very well written and I could visualise them quite easily. They are both strong women and Blaise is not the complete ... that she seems to be. Nor is Thea the obedient, good girl she seems to be.
Eric - and most human males in the series I must admit - is a bit of a weak character. When you really think about it, it's not that surprising. How can a weak human male compare to a cool, ruthless, strong vampire guy? He's not written in as much detail but you do get the general idea.
There is a very good twist at the end and if you read carefully, you won't really guess it but you'll pick up small clues. Quite a bit of suspense and I liked the extra touch with the spirit.
Despite the facts above, L.J. Smith actually did her research! If you are Wiccan, you will get a kick out this book if you can ignore the innacuracies of the plot line. You'll find the Rede, mentions of herbs and their associations, a fairly accurate portrayal of the Burning Times and a few mentions of circle casting and spellwork. You'll also find a running theme of Maiden/Mother/Crone. For those Pagans or Witches who are not Wiccan (like me), you might enjoy the overall message/s of the book as well as the fairly accurate Pagan elements.
Of course, the first thing that impressed me were the strong female Witch characters. The second was the actual accuracies in the book. Oh yes, and there were male Witches. Pagan fiction isn't exactly readily available, so I'll take what I can get in that department. The plotline is VERY innacurate (includes vampires, a "world" of Witches and a hatred of humans), so be prepared for this.
Onto the entertainment value of the book. I devour books. I picked this one up for a quick "fluffy" read. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was really quite good. Her writing will take you into another world and if you love reading, you will likely devour this book in one sitting. The writing is fantastic. Most of the characters are well written and the book flows very well. Very entertaining and satisfying.
I have to rate this book with 5 stars as a result of incredible energy rush I received after reading it.
Off to ground myself, Enchantress B. RM.