2015 Witches and Witchcraft Reading Challenge: Master List

I've always had a thing for witches. The Salem Witch Hunts was one of my favourite topics in History. Whether they have black cats, broomsticks or potions, set in the medieval times or in our modern day world I'll read it!

So when I saw that Melissa at Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf was hosting the 2015 Witches and Witchcraft Reading Challenge I immediately knew I was going to sign up. As I'm over committed to other reading challenges I'm only aiming for the Initiate Level, which is read 1 - 5 Witchy Books. I'm going to aim to read five.

Here's my tentative list (the official blurbs are all from Goodreads):

Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini (The Worldwalker Trilogy 1)

Love burns. Worlds collide. Magic reigns.

This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying many of the experiences that other teenagers take for granted...which is why she is determined to enjoy her first (and perhaps only) high-school party. But Lily's life never goes according to plan, and after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class Lily wishes she could just disappear.

Suddenly Lily is in a different Salem - one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruellest of all the Crucibles is Lillian . . . Lily's identical other self in this alternate universe. This new version of her world is terrifyingly sensual, and Lily is soon overwhelmed by new experiences.

Lily realizes that what makes her weak at home is exactly what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. It also puts her life in danger. Thrown into a world she doesn't understand, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can't hope to shoulder alone, and a love she never expected.

But how can Lily be the saviour of this world when she is literally her own worst enemy?

As someone with several life threatening allergies I love the idea that it means I could secretly have witch powers!

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (All Souls Trilogy 1)

When Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript, it's an intrusion of magic into her life. Though she is a witch of impeccable lineage, the death of her parents while she was a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than witchcraft. Now Diana has exposed herself to a world she's kept at bay for years.

I started reading this one in September while I was on a class trip to Japan and didn't get a chance to pick it up when I came home due to end of year exams. With only about a third of the book left I've got to finish it!

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood (The Cahill Witch Chronicles 1)

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

I get the impression of Jane Austen with witches from this blurb. How could I resist??

Steadfast by Claudia  Gray (Spellcaster 2)

Nadia, Mateo, and Verlaine have saved Captive's Sound from the dark Sorceress Elizabeth...or so they thought. Despite their best efforts, a crack opened and a new, greater evil seeped through. With Mateo as her Steadfast, Nadia's magic is magnified and she is more powerful than ever. But there is still so much she doesn't know about the craft, leaving her open and vulnerable to a darker magic...which has begun to call Nadia's name.

I love characters' struggling to choose between good and evil! It fascinates me.

Half Bad by Sally Green (The Half Bad Trilogy 1)

Sixteen-year-old Nathan lives in a cage: beaten, shackled, trained to kill. In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world's most terrifying and violent witch, Marcus. Nathan's only hope for survival is to escape his captors, track down Marcus, and receive the three gifts that will bring him into his own magical powers—before it's too late. But how can Nathan find his father when there is no one safe to trust, not even family, not even the girl he loves?

Half Bad is an international sensation and the start of a brilliant trilogy: a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive.

I like that the witch in this case is a guy. The civil war element is intriguing. 

Have you read any good books about witches?