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KIRKUS REVIEW

Las Vegas witches face off against a diabolical and powerful being in this YA paranormal novel.
Isis Rivera is only 9 years old when she discovers incredible abilities like telekinesis. These powers so terrify her foster parents that they try exorcising her. But she’s also tapping into a “universal energy” that leads Sebastian Santell right to her. He’s a sympathetic witch who takes her to his coven, though he describes it as a family. By 15, Isis belongs to “The Witches of Vegas” along with Sebastian, two sister witches, and a 500-year-old vampire. They use supernatural skills to pull off seemingly impossible feats (disguised as illusions), making them the hottest act on the strip. They’ve practically wiped out the competition save for “The Amazing Herb Galloway Show.” Yet adept teen magician Zack Galloway and his Uncle Herb barely scrape by. So when a brash reporter named Victoria Hunter comes to them with her plan to expose The Witches of Vegas, the boy and his uncle reluctantly agree. She has a crazy notion that the performers are bona fide witches and a vampire, something young Isis might admit if Zack warms up to her. Once he gets close to selfless, softhearted Isis, Zack has second thoughts about the scheme. Unfortunately, it may be too late, as someone kidnaps Isis. Zack turns to Sebastian and his coven for help, but their new enemy—the mysterious and vengeance-minded Valeria—wields more power than they can imagine. To stand a chance of defeating her, they’ll need strength, determination, and even a few tricks up Zack’s sleeve.
In this kinetic series opener, Rosendorf offers solid character development. Isis, for example, struggles to master her abilities and, as readers learn, may be capable of much more. But she’s also a girl who begins the novel without a family—an absence Sebastian’s coven fills. Sebastian adopts the role of her dad, and vampire Luther acts as Isis’ perpetually cranky, centuries-old grandfather. While the narrative runs full tilt, glimpses into characters’ pasts enrich the present-day setting. Most notably, Valeria’s history with a coven member, during which she suffered a particularly horrid experience, fuels her revenge. Her battles with Sebastian, Zack, and the others spark entertaining action scenes: “A chair rose out from the row and flew at Valeria. With a flick of her hand, she changed the chair’s trajectory so it slammed against the wall. She did the same with the second chair that hurdled her way. The third, she sent back at Sebastian, who dove to the floor, barely escaping its attack.” Notwithstanding all the extraordinary abilities on display, the story showcases players who display nonsupernatural talents as well. Vegas witch Selena Quinn, for example, has enough medical know-how to tend to someone’s broken arm. Zack is especially impressive, cleverly turning his brand of magic against Valeria and dropping the occasional one-liner in the face of danger. Sadly, not everyone makes it to the end, but with such an appealing cast, readers will surely follow the characters to the sequel.
A fast-paced, engaging, and unexpectedly heartfelt supernatural tale.

 

FROM AMAZON:


Liliyana

5.0 out of 5 stars Characters with depth and a captivating story
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2021
If I'm being completely honest, I was a little nervous about reading this. Young adult is pretty hit-and-miss for me, and I'm very picky about witches. But I was completely blown away. The beginning grabs you, and gets your heart racing. Move forward and while your heart slows, the tension transforms, and you quickly fall in love with the characters. Everything seems so believable that it's not hard to imagine magic being real, and witches performing in Vegas as magicians. The villain(ess) makes you uneasy from the start and is easy to dislike. Overall, complex characters in a story you can get lost for hours in.


Cranky TBC

5.0 out of 5 stars Start to finish this book was AWESOME
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2021
5 Cranky Stars

This book gets a 5 out of 5 Cranky Stars from me. My interest was held from beginning to end. From being alone and scared and different to being part of a family and being loved. Finding new friends and learning to accept new ones. Learning to OVERCOME and learning to control your powers and emotions to save one another. Learning new tricks from the “old ways”. Put it all together and this book gives it all.

Isis is a witch that will eventually become powerful but she will need the help and guidance of her family and new friend Zach. They battle a witch that is also a vampire (Valeria) which makes it hard to defeat her at first but working together always helps. While defeating her they sort of reveal themselves but spin it as a sneak peak of their Vegas Magic show and encourage the onlookers to get tickets to see them. Start to finish this book is awesome.

Avanti Gothic Las Vegas
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2020
Verified Purchase
I ordered the "Witches of Vegas", initially because the title grabbed me. As a child I remember watching the television show, "Bewitched." The character of Samantha and her mother Endora intrigued me as they related to the mortal world in which the average person lives. The story, "The Witches of Vegas" satisfied my curiosity in that the witch characters do directly intermingle with the average human being, by highlighting their witchcraft through the guise of a magic show. The author describes each magic trick quite visually. During her stage debut, Isis the main character appears to fly through a hoop, then takes a nosedive towards the audience. I was able to "see" the tricks happen before my eyes. Many of the magic shows throughout the novel were described succinctly and energetically. Zach, a mortal magician , later becomes part of the witches life. He learns to respect and believe in what appears to the average person as unbelievable, that witches and vampires can really exist. In reality there are people of all races, nationalities ,sexual orientations and religions that we know little or nothing about. When encountering those outside our natural experiences, we make choices either to accept or reject that person. In a much more extreme case the witches accept Zach and vice versa. It takes time for both parties to feel comfortable, but nonetheless the transformation solidifies over time. This subtext drew me further into the characters and the plot. I recommend this story for those looking for character growth as well as unexpected twists and turns in the story line.

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