Amanda McKeon

Every so often a really great story comes along and gets stuck in your mind and even after days, weeks or months go by and certain scenes and scenario's fade from your mind the story still stays with you (at least until you reread it and get to experience it all over again bringing it back to the forefront of your brain). They stand out from the rest of the many stories you've read and attain that place in the back of your mind where all your favorite books you've ever read reside and never truly ever leave you. Morrigan and Blue Moon Rising are those types of stories. Amanda McKeon is a superb writer, her words flow in such a way that you forget you're even reading a book. You just become part of the experience. Her characters have a true depth to them and just like real people convey so many emotions and each has their own quirks and strengths of character along with weaknesses: again just like real people. And then there's the Irish culture, from the scenery to the accents and language. You're steeped in a rich and diverse culture from the first pages of the book and it is a nice bonus to what is already a great story. Of course I'm a huge sucker for accents so I'm pretty much in love with Morrigan, Caitlin and even Sinead :)

Morrigan: Blue Moon Rising picks up directly where Morrigan: Tale of a Teenage Witch leaves off. Morrigan is dealing with the fallout from events that took place in the first book and I was wondering after reading it if Mo had finally found peace or not. It seemed so by the end but once you start in on Blue Moon you realize that things had happened so fast that she really didn't have the time to process everything properly and now that it's all over her anger well and truly sets in. To me it felt like a natural thing and pretty much how any normal person would react. Of course Mo's not normal, she's a witch and a very powerful one who hasn't fully learned the extent of her powers nor how to control them properly. Mix in being able to hear everyone's thoughts and feel their emotions and you've got a volatile situation just waiting to happen. In the first part of this book Mo is angry, very angry and allows that anger to fester and grow and we all know the dangers of anger. How it can control you, make you say and do things you really don't mean, making you a prisoner in a never ending cycle of anger and self loathing.

Mo has some serious issues she needs to deal with and after a tragic event she finds herself in a strange land: the Faery Realm and with the help of some new friends she will set out on a path of self discovery and learning. The Earth along with the Faery realm is in danger and an old evil, an evil that only Morrigan can face is behind it all but will she be able to learn from her mistakes and become the Witch she was born to be or will she allow the darkness and anger to fester, condemning both realms to an evil she has yet to escape? You'll just have to read to find out.

Much like the first book there is a lot of wisdom in this one. So many passages would fit right at home in the pages of the Tao Te Ching. I have so many of them saved to my clippings and they are all as true about my life and world as they are about Mo and the world she inhabits. Little snippets of wisdom about anger, fear and greed which the readers can apply to their own lives and look to for inspiration. Again just like the first book the one word that comes to my mind when I think about Blue Moon Rising is "mature" and even though that's not quite the right word it's the closest I can come to describing how the book felt to me. I truly cannot wait for the third one or pretty much any other books Amanda McKeon may decide to write, it doesn't matter the genre, I will be along for the journey. Her writing is just that good. Her characters are as unique and real as her stories are and after that little sneak peak for the third book I'm literally on the edge of my seat with worry and wanting to know what happens next. Do yourself a favor and read Blue Moon Rising if you enjoyed Morrigan: Tale of a Teenage Witch. If you haven't read the first one yet then do so. I'm not normally a big fan of witches and haven't enjoyed a story about one so much since Anne Rice's The Mayfair Witches. Just an excellent story who's characters refuse to leave my mind. I finished the book two days ago and I'm still thinking about them and I imagine I will be for quite some time, possibly forever.… (mehr)

Wow, it's not often that a witch story really impresses me. I think the last one was the Mayfair Witches by Anne Rice. I'm just not really a big witch fan, I like the fae, vampires are great, werewolves can be fun but witches just don't usually do it for me unless they're very well written and have a unique quality to them. I'm very happy to say that not only was Morrigan: Tale of a Teenage Witch very well written and unique but the storyline was great. I simply could not put it down and I absolutely loved the Irish culture in this book. There were just certain phrases or the way Morrigan uses the word Mum instead of Mom that just made it feel so quaint. The witchcraft in the book is the kind I really prefer: very old, celtic and not all powerful even though obviously Morrigan has a lot of power she will eventually learn to use. Morrigan is wonderfully written and the chapters fly by in no time at all, I did not see a single error anywhere (I'm not saying there isn't one, just saying I didn't notice anything at all) which is always super nice. I know this is probably classified as a YA but honestly the whole book just felt very mature to me. I'm not sure I'm describing it properly but that's how it felt to me.

I really liked Morrigan. She's not perfect yet she's good, she makes mistakes, some very big mistakes but to give her credit it was an honest mistake. She had no way of knowing certain things like that could happen. She's nice but can have a mean streak when done wrong, she's attractive yet not vain. She's brave but not stupid. Honestly in another life she would be a pretty average girl which is what I really liked about her. Mo is having to deal with some major issues and guilt all while discovering who she is and what she is. It was fun to watch her grow in confidence as a person and a witch while learning about her powers. The town she lives in is not a very good places for witches: think the Salem Witch Trials and you'll be on the right track which adds another whole layer of intrigue and tension to the story. The characters were all top notch and felt real, even the one's that I hated. The setting was beautiful. I simply loved the descriptions of Ireland and the dialect was just icing on the cake. I could literally hear the characters accents in my head and I'm a huge sucker for accents, especially in women and let's face it Irish accents are awesome. They're right up there with French and Italian in my opinion.

All in all a really great book and I've already bought the second one. I got it about the time I was halfway through with this one. I could already tell I was going to want to read more. If you want a nice deep storyline with multiple layers to it then give this book a try, the characters are solid, the storytelling superb and if you're into witch stories then this will definitely be a great one for you. Even if you're not into witches give it a shot. A good story is a good story no matter the subject matter and this was one heck of a good story. Well, I'm off to read the second one. Just writing this review has been torture and I just can't put it off any longer. Happy Reading :)… (mehr)

I read Morrigan: Tale of a Teenage Witch a few months ago, and I have been looking forward to reading the sequel ever since - I bought it as soon as it went live on Amazon, and it did not disappoint.

The book deals with Mo and her journey of self discovery. She is going through a very difficult time and is trying to come to terms with who she is, but she is scared, and is on the brink of self destruction when she finds herself in serious trouble and is rescued by a faery and taken into the faery realm. It is here where she finally accepts the help she needs. She meets some very interesting characters who help to understand what she needs to do, in order to be who she is meant to be. It is not easy and the task she has to undertake to ensure the safety of the realm and the outside world will test her abilities to the limit.

This is a great story with really great characters, and like the Tale of the Teenage Witch, it is beautifully written.… (mehr)

I loved this book, it was perfect in every way.

The author tells the story of Morrigan, a teenager who loses her parents in the worst way possible and who, while grieving for her parents, learns that she is the descendant of a long line of witches and that she, too, is a witch.

It is a lovely story of a young girl finding herself and learning how to cope with her gift/curse, while those around her shun her because of what they suspect her to be.

The story is beautifully told, with strong characters and a strong storyline which takes the reader through the stunningly beautiful landscape of rural Ireland, along with some of the local dialect thrown in for good measure – fantastic.

It is not often that I get to the end of a book and think ‘noooooo, not yet, I want more’.

This is a really good book. I highly recommend it and look forward to the next book – impatiently .........… (mehr)