Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

2012/330 pgs

Give this book to fans of A Great and Terrible Beauty and The Prophecy of the Sisters.

Cate and her two sisters are witches-but no one can know their secret. The brotherhood is hunting witches and if they found out about Cate and her sisters, they would be shipped of to a mental instituion (if lucky) or killed. As the oldest, Cate is coming to the time where she will need to declare her intention-marry or join the sisterhood. Her father has hired a governess to teach her younger sisters and help introduce the girls in society, since they have stayed away from town since their mother passed away three years earlier. But Cate is afraid to let anyone else near them-she can't afford to have their secret out in the open and her sister's aren't always the best about controlling their magic.

When Cate learns of a prophecy that suggests three witch sisters will come to power, Cate has to save her sisters before it's too late. Should she marry her next door neighbor and secure a place in society for her and her sisters? But what about the new gardner her father has hired-why can't she keep her mind off of him? Or should she forget it all and join the sisterhood? And what of her sisters-how will she keep them safe?

The story is set in an alternative history New England. There are some things that are predictable and the plot gets a little over the top by the end. There's a cliffhanger to keep you wanting more and book two will follow next year.