Munira @ In Vogue with Books

The plot is not bad, really. As I said, it has potentials. The main theme is witch and witchcraft, talking about the witches' powers and their world where they fight against the demons to protect them as well as the human kind. Penelope, the female lead, is also a witch. Here the storyline takes quite a similar turn as Harry Potter in the sense that Penelope's parents are also murdered by a demon in her childhood and she is left with no witch powers of her own. She is a 'Static' witch, having lost her witch powers like that.That must be kept a secret because otherwise, pretty obviously, she'll be banished from their world for being one. Interestingly, she is able to to use her magical powers even if she is a Static whenever she is near her family. Now, I feel as a lead, Penelope lacks the weight at times and there are moments when all I wanted to do is smack her in the head or at least give a mild punch to her face. Sometimes she seemed so over-obsessed with herself! I'm not being a misogynist, but I don't know why it's so hard for me to like the heroines of a book in general. Well, I definitely have a list of heroins I can fangirl all day about, but seriously, that list is like, one-fifth compared to the one I have for my favorite kickass heroes:( She's really enthusiastic to be an Enforcer (the witches who fight the demons) but her over-enthusiasm often leaves her prone to situations, and sometimes she clearly lacks the providence needed for a heroine. Also, I could have liked her a little bit more if she hadn't shown her sense of humor at all, because I understand, some people are not good at some things :p

Then there was Carter, who could have been a swoon-worthy hero if he wasn't shown as being predictable at times. I have a thing for fictional heroes you see:D So no matter how cool or hot, how good guy or  badass or rockstar-ish or geeky they are, I seem to love them anyway. For Carter, I really wish I could connect to him on that level. He was not a bad character after all, but needed a little more development.

The thing I liked about these two main characters is there chemistry. I mean, though it was really very predictable and not very unique, I did enjoy their banter most often (excluding Penelope's attempts at humor). Another thing that makes the two interesting together is Penelope's ability to use her powers around Carter. Overall, they are a nice couple together, but there were rooms for making them even nicer I believe.

Another thing that disappointed me was the supporting characters. I always believe that a good story is made of good characters, meaning successful character portrayals. So when reading a book, I look forward to knowing the supporting characters with the same amount of interest. For this book, the supporting characters are vague, not having developed properly. Even Penelope's best friend Ric, a character I might have liked, looks less like a best friend and more like a neighbor or some friendly classmate of Penelope. Best friends are supposed to have more limelight right? They should be in your ups and downs, and most, if not all, chapters should have some references to them (without making in repetitive and boring) And apart from that, all other characters seem to have no standing ground of their own. It's like they were introduced, they appeared and soon forgotten.

The one part I really liked though was the action. The action element of the book is what kept me going. Then there is the ending, which actually made me wait for the second book. So even though it's not on my must-read list, I may still wait and give the second book a try, hoping for further developments and changes in the storyline.