matwithonet

4.5 Review (no spoilers): From the intriguing opening to the final showdown, this book was a thrilling ride with a guessing game that kept me sorting through the possibilities to figure out what was happening. Braden’s gift is unique – unless he wears heavily tinted sunglasses to focus his attention, he sees through all the layers of the world around him, resulting in sensory overload, nosebleed, and heavy migraines. The perks? He can work out and unravel any spell, unveil the memories attached to a place, widen his gaze to encompass whole cities and even see the dominant forces that make up the character of a person. Basically, there are few limitations to what he could do and the full scope of his gift is unknown as of yet. For Jason Thorpe and Catherine Lansing, the two most powerful witches in the town of Belle Dam and sworn enemies, he is the perfect weapon to tip the scales in their conflict. As soon as Braden arrives in town, still clueless about the feud he has just stumbled into, everyone he meets keeps their own secrets and everyone has an agenda. While Braden struggles with the revelation that Jason Thorpe is his father and that his best friend Jade and his love interest, Trey, have turned out to be Catherine Lansing’s children, he also discovers that there is something foul going on in Belle Dam that no one else seems to be fully aware of. Witch Eyes was a thrill-ride of plot twists and unique magic combined with the coming-of-age story of a boy who still has to master his powers and grow comfortable in his skin. Belle Dam is Braden’s first experience of highschool (he was homeschooled by his uncle in a remote area) and I enjoyed seeing him try to keep up with his normal life while trying to retain his independence as both his father and his new friends and their mother, Catherine, try to get him on their side of the feud. Does he tell his maybe-boyfriend the truth about his father and risk losing him? Or does he continue the lie and risk being exposed anyway? Also, there is an ancestor of the Lansings who apparently had the same gift Braden does. Just what did she do to the town, and what does Lucien Fallon, Thorpe’s lawyer, have to do with all the goings-on? In a town where everyone is picking sides, can Braden pursue his own goals or has he been someone’s pawn all along? If you’re looking for a paranormal read that is different and has an edge, as well as great writing and well-drawn characters driven by a plot full of intrigues, Witch Eyes should definitely go on your shelf! I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for Trey and Braden in the sequel, Demon Eyes, which will be released on October 8. You can find the whole review including my spoilery more personal thoughts on my blog.

2022-12-07 23:20