The premise of the story starts well enough. The MacKinnon witch family has been cursed by Ambrose MacDonald. But his reason is that the McKinnon family kept him from his true love centuries ago - you guessed it, a MacKinnon witch, Lenora. I liked the epigraphs at the beginning of the book which give the reader a sense of what is to come as the story develops. The author also does a really good job of showing the reader the personality of the main protagonist, Doreen. As we get to know Doreen, we also get more acquainted with her cousin and best friend, Margot. Both ladies are wonderful characters any reader will come to admire.
I suppose I am ambivalent about Doreen’s Aunts, Stella and Kayleen. At first, Stella seems the protector for both her daughter, Margot, and her niece, Doreen. As the story progresses, it seems Stella and Kayleen have a really cruel streak, leaving me as a reader unsure of what to think.
The story is both captivating and confusing - exactly how many curses are there between the MacKinnons and the MacDonalds (have to toss Ada in there as well). Yes, I do see what’s what as the story winds down, but the added subplots (curses and trials galore) don’t necessarily add to making this a better tale. I was constantly speculating on what would be Ambrose’s and Doreen’s next steps. If that is the author’s intent - bravo.
As the story begins to wind down, the ending seems rushed. The cause behind the curses is revealed, but at least one set of trials is left open-ended. Did our brave protagonists, Doreen and Ambrose, just decide not to pursue the trials of the gods? As a work of paranormal fiction, the author has creative license to create whatever reality her heart desires, but this inquiring mind wants to know.
Spice level = nil Anticipation of spice = somewhat
A witch generationally cursed to never find true love sets out to break the spell cast on her family, and must team up with the last person who wants to help her – the witch who set the curse in the first place.
Doreen MacKinnon is doomed to die of a broken heart - if she can’t break the centuries old curse placed on her family.
Three hundred years ago, Ambrose MacDonald, a powerful male witch, fell in love with a MacKinnon. And when the MacKinnon witches forbade him from seeing his love, by secretly hiding her away, he retaliated by cursing the family and its future generations to never find love. But it wasn’t without a cost. Now, Ambrose is imprisoned by those same witches, trapped in a tempest and doomed to outlive everyone he has ever loved.
But Doreen isn’t like the other MacKinnon witches. As the 13th generation of the MacKinnon line, Doreen is one of the most powerful witches in centuries… and one of the loneliest. So when she discovers where Ambrose has been trapped, she releases him to help her break the curse, once and for all. Ambrose agrees to help, but with his own motive: vengeance. He plans to use her as bait to enact his revenge on her family.
Together, they enter a series of trials, which take them to a castle in Scotland, off a cliff, and into a world beyond their wildest dreams. As they work together, sparks start to fly, but soon Doreen must choose how far she is willing to go to break the curse, and what she's willing to sacrifice.
Paige Crutcher's A Circle of Uncommon Witches is a story of adventure, romance, and destiny, that asks: is true love worth the cost?
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