EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY!! Sister’s Fate by Jessica Spotswood

SISTERS’ FATE (THE CAHILL WITCH CHRONICLES #3)

By: Jessica Spotswood

Publication Date: August 14, 2014

Sisters' Fate (The Cahill Witch Chronicles, #3)

Indiebound

Summary

A fever ravages New London, but with the Brotherhood sending suspected witches straight to the gallows, the Sisters are powerless against the disease. They can’t help without revealing their powers—as Cate learns when a potent display of magic turns her into the most wanted witch in all of New England.

To make matters worse, Cate has been erased from the memory of her beloved Finn. While she’s torn between protecting him from further attacks and encouraging him to fall for her all over again, she’s certain she can never forgive Maura’s betrayal. And now that Tess’s visions have taken a deadly turn, the prophecy that one Cahill sister will murder another looms ever closer to its fulfillment.

About Jessica

I heart books, yoga, tea, cardamom cookies, the color pink, board games, theatre, twirly dresses, and bells chiming the hour. I’m frighteningly enthusiastic.

I grew up in a tiny one-stoplight town in Pennsylvania, where I could be found swimming, playing clarinet, memorizing lines for the school play, or—most often—with my nose in a book. I’ve been writing since I was little but studied theatre in college and grad school. Now I live in Washington, DC with my brilliant playwright husband and a cuddly cat named Monkey.

Read An Excerpt

This excerpt is from Chapter 4, as Cate begins to infiltrate the Resistance movement led by handsome, arrogant, maddening newspaperman Alistair Merriweather, who’s my favorite new character in SISTERS’ FATE. Stay tuned for another excerpt involving Merriweather, Cate, Finn, and Rilla in two weeks at Jean Book Nerd!

Warning: this scene contains spoilers for BORN WICKED & STAR CURSED!
(don’t read further if you don’t want to be spoiled!! Skip to the giveaway! )
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O’Neill hides a grin behind one wrinkled, liver-spotted hand. “Sister Elena, Cate, this is Alistair Merriweather, publisher and editor in chief of the Gazette.”

This is Alistair Merriweather? I gape at him. From Gretchen’s description, I was expecting some old curmudgeon, but he can’t be more than twenty-five himself, and he looks more poet than revolutionary. He’s tall and angular, with a square jaw and black hair that flops over his pale forehead. He may be in hiding like Brennan, but he’s dressed like a dandy, with a purple silk cravat wrapped around his throat and a brocade vest and black jacket over a snowy white shirt.

“Hugh, this is mad. Surely you see that!” Merriweather throws up his hands. His fingers are streaked with black newsprint and blue ink, which reminds me of Finn. “It was one thing to allow Cora access to our meetings. She brought us valuable intelligence. We may have disagreed at times”—here, O’Neill snorts—“but she was clever enough—for a woman. What can this child offer us?”

Clever enough—for a woman? And he calls himself a progressive? I grit my teeth. “I can hear, you know. As for what I’ve got to offer”—I touch the key around my neck, transforming it back into a ruby. “Magic.”

“More witches from within the Sisterhood? How . . . interesting.” Merriweather glances at me and then, obviously finding me wanting in some way, he turns to Elena. “Where’s Gretchen? I thought she’d be the replacement.”

“Sister Gretchen is ill.” Elena doesn’t wait to be invited to sit at the table. She crosses the room, slim hips swaying, black skirts rustling, and takes an empty chair. “She’s been keeping vigil for Cora all week.”

“I was sorry to hear of Cora’s passing.” Merriweather bows his head, and the five men around the table follow suit. “But I’ve got to confess, I don’t see the need to have any of you here.”

“Any of us?” I ask, voice tart. “Witches, or women?”

“Either. Both.” He’s got delicate winged brows over those penetrating gray eyes. “I’m not a proponent of giving women the vote. We already face an uphill battle in giving men from every race, every class, and every religion a voice in the new government. Insisting on giving women the vote—or on permitting the practice of magic—will make our battle well near impossible.”

“Well, that’s a rather defeatist view to take.” I prop one hand on my hip. “I thought you were a progressive, sir. Don’t you believe in equal rights for everyone?”

“For all men.” Merriweather paces, his footsteps muffled against the dirt floor. “The common men are the best thinkers of our age. The philosophers and writers, those standing up to fight against—”

“Because you’re seldom arrested for it!” I interrupt, temper boiling over. “Women step one toe out of line and we’re accused of being witches and thrown into Harwood. More often than not, the women there can’t do a lick of magic. It’s punishment for wanting more than the cages of wife and mother and daughter that the Brothers would put us in.”

Now that we’ve teased you a bit, Erin’s got her review for you to check out!

Erin’s Thoughts

Sisters’ Fate by Jessica Spotswood

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sisters’ Fate is the final book of The Cahill Witch Chronicles trilogy and Jessica Spotswood brings this series to a wonderful close. This review is based on the ARC that the lovely Stacee (@book_junkee) loaned to me so please note that some things may (or may not) change from the published version.

Please also note, I will do my best to not include any spoilers here but I can’t guarantee it.

First, if you recall how book two ended, you will know that the second I was able to get my hands on this book and dig into it I did so. You will also recall that I despised Maura at the end of that book. Rest assured nothing she does in this book really redeems herself in my eyes. She completely betrayed Cate (and eventually Tess) because she was jealous and wanted to feel important. Yes, she justified by saying she did all of the things she did because she was protecting the sisterhood but I never believed her.

I couldn’t pick just one image to reflect my feelings so apologies for using so many…I did narrow it down a bit.

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Ok…moving on. Cate is obviously struggling with a number of things. Not only does she have to come to terms with the fact that Finn no longer remembers anything about her and their relationship, but she has to figure out what to do about her sisters, the sisterhood, and the prophecy that one of the Cahill sisters is destined to kill another. She knows that Tess is the oracle and is doing what she can to protect her but unfortunately; Maura now knows this too and shares that information with Inez (another betrayal) who uses the information against them.

As Inez takes over leading the sisterhood, she starts to take them on a path that Cate and a number of the others don’t agree with. Now that the Brotherhood was attacked, they are now just sending any accused of being witches or recaptured, straight to the gallows and the combination of that danger with the decisions that Inez is making only puts the witches in more danger.

Along with that problem, the fact that the fever is attacking everyone in New London, the witches are in danger. As a healer, Cate can’t really help anyone without giving herself away. She does what she can but it doesn’t make enough of a difference…until she finds out that the Brotherhood is hoarding a cure that they are only giving to those of the upper classes.

There are a number of things going on throughout this story but it is the characters that continue to make me love this story. Cate is still a strong and independent woman. She is loyal and wants to protect her sisters but Maura has made things extremely difficult. I have to admit, I was happy when she finally stood up to Maura and didn’t let her get away with everything. It probably isn’t right for me to be happy when she injures her but it finally helped me see her as more than just someone who would allow her sister to walk all over her. With all of that, Cate stands up for what she believes in and does whatever she can to help those around her and I truly love that about her.

Tess is coming to terms with her role as the oracle and she is struggling with it. To her credit, others are manipulating things and impacting her abilities. Had that not happened things would have gone much more smoothly for her but I was saddened a bit when she started to pull away from Cate. As a young girl I understood that she wanted to show everyone that she was strong enough to handle the responsibility but by distancing herself from Cate, she pulls herself away from someone who would have been able to help her through some of the things that were happening.

Finn is still my favorite. Yes, he is missing a whole bunch of information but he still senses that something is off and is still drawn right back to Cate. As he and Cate begin to build their relationship back to something more than the acquaintances he believes them to be, he begins to see just how much Cate is struggling. When she finally tells him everything, he doesn’t bat an eyelash. He only asks her for time to get back to where they used to be….no questions that it will happen, just that he needs some time to get back there. He is also still swoony so at least Maura didn’t erase that part of him.

I liked the secondary characters in this book as well. Rory, Rilla, Mei, and Elena are back. All add something to the story and definitely have a role to play. In addition to these returning characters, we are introduced to some new ones Prue and her brother Alistair Merriweather. I loved the banter between Rilla and Alistair and the addition of Alistair gave the group an opportunity to spread the news of what was really happening.

I did like seeing the change in the relationship that Cate had with Elena. Based on how the story ends, I know she is going to need her going forward and Elena is also going to need Cate.

Spotswood does a wonderful job of creating the world these characters live in as well as developing some wonderful (and not so wonderful) characters throughout the entire series. It has some swoony parts, some action, and will keep you engaged right up to the very end so if you like how that sounds definitely check this series out if you haven’t had a chance to yet.

Dear Jessica Spotswood –