Book Review: Magick by Trish Milburn

Title: Magick (Coven #3)
Author: Trish Milburn
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Release Date: 09/27/2012
ISBN: 1611941784





I'm going to be very, very honest about this and say that despite how negative this review might occasionally come across, I did greatly like this book. It's just that the biggest flaw of this was that it was far too condensed and would have been greatly improved by stretching it out for at least another 100 pages, if not another book entirely.

The covens are coming for her. But is she a White Witch or a Dark Witch? 

In a war for control of the witch world, the answer will save-or doom-everyone she loves. In White Witch, Jax gained friends she'd die for and a staggering power that threatens them all. In Bane, Jax did the unthinkable and killed a supernatural hunter to protect her friends. She found herself lost in darkness and prisoner to the Bane, a secret society of witches sworn to prevent the use of the dark magic. 

Now, in Magick, the powers of Jax and her friend Egan have been magically bound by the Bane. She must convince the Bane she can learn to control her power and become a White Witch in truth. She's their only hope now that the dark covens have called a Conclave with one purpose-to kill this generation's White Witch and anyone who has ever stood with her. If Jax can't amass an army of her own, rebuild the trust of her friends and boyfriend, and find the White Witch's elusive weapon against the dark, it may be too late.

OK. Here's the skinny on the book: it's very skinny. As in everything happens far too quickly. There are some excellent ideas in here and the plot is fantastic. So fantastic that it really needed more time to unfurl and let things happen at a slower pace. There's such a rich story line, from ancient evils to white magic, to predictions for the future that I couldn't help but feel slightly cheated that this book was only 166 pages. Milburn does a decent enough job to where you won't pitch the books afterwards, but you will sigh and wish that she'd gone for a 300 page work instead.

That aside, there is still a lot that Milburn can do with this series and she leaves it open for further books if she were to choose to do so. And I'd really like for her to continue on. The world here (what we can see of it) is fairly rich with history and descriptions of various magics. Jax is likable for the most part, which means that readers will be able to commiserate with her pretty easily and her relationship with Kellan is sweet.

It's just that throughout this I couldn't forget that this progressed far too quickly and even with the consideration that this book was written for younger readers, it's still hampered by a far too quickly moving plot line. It's like putting size four shoes on a track runner that wears a size eight, then asking them to sprint. They still perform, but not nearly as much as they would otherwise. I do recommend it and I can say that I'll re-read this in the future, but this could've been so much more.

3.4 out of 5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)