Finally we get to something without vampires! Don’t get me wrong, I loved the first two Night World books, but it’s always fun to read about something other than vampires. (It was true when this book came out too. There were lots of vampire and teen serial killer stories. Not so much with the werethings and witches.)
The third book in the Night World series shifts to the Harmons, the witch family related by a blood bond to the Redferns (the family of vampires from the first two books). Blaise and Thea are witches preparing to face their future (a life of witchcraftery and high adult expectations since their Grandmother is The Crone, the head of all the witches in the world.) But they’re still trying to out live their past. Both are orphans, and both have been expelled from their last four high schools.
It’s not Thea, though, it’s Blaise, who takes the human view of wicked witches to heart and blatantly and heartlessly practices her power over humans (mostly boys) for fun and personal profit. I remember what Spellbinder was about, but I forgot just how selfish and evil Blaise was. She puts the ick in Wicked.
When Thea saves the life a boy in their new school (and just happens to find out he’s her soulmate) Blaise becomes determined to break the pair’s fascination with each other by any means necessary, magic, threatening, maybe even killing him to save her cousin from being put to death for breaking Night World Law.
Then Thea seeks out help from her ancestor spirits (via a forbidden spell, and of course Blaise has been using forbidden magic all along, but never gets caught), only to have the spell botch and raise the vengeful spirit of a witch whose family was tortured and killed in the Inquisition. With Halloween approaching the most important witches in the world are coming to visit, the murderous ghost is still on the loose and Thea’s still struggling with a way to save Eric from death at the hands of her family.
Thea is such a sweet character, maybe made more so by Blaise’s villain-ness. Also, this is the first book in the series that outright shows (not just has the characters talking about) how dark and dangerous the Night World can be. Smith does a good job of making her leads believable, but also making the danger to humans from the more evil denizens of the dark real as well.
Again the characters make the story one to enjoy. The Night World books, so far, are fast, well mixed tales that I still find fun reads.