3.5 hearts

Residue is the first book in a series, besides the beautiful cover, it has a plot that was engaging. Jocelyn is a young girl that has had her world turned upside down, packed up and shipped off to live with family that she really doesn’t know. That’s not all that happens to her though, she is being told that she is a witch. Something she certainly want to believe. Jocelyn was head strong girl that’s for sure, and I really did like her spunk.

Jameson is every young girl wants from a love interest. He was caring and sweet, and forbidden romance is the themes for this one, Jocelyn is a Weatherford and Jameson is a Caldwell. These families have been in a feud for generations, but they share a connection that was sweet and I enjoyed watching them get to know each other and look past their families pasts.

The world building was engaging, with ritual, and spells being cast. There wasn’t really dull moment, but with the need to be the most powerful come conflict, you never know who can trust. Which Jocelyn and Jameson soon find out. But there are those who do not want these two together, and stop at nothing to put a stop to this relationship. The pace is fast and with magic and voodoo at every turn, it made for a great start to a series and I look forward to continuing the rest of this series.
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Jocelyn Weatherford is exactly like her classmates: she is a member of a privileged family; she attends a private preparatory academy and; only sees her mother on school holidays. For Jocelyn every day is the same: get up, go to class, do her homework, break some rules with her friends. This is the life Jocelyn knows and is accustomed too; unfortunately, it is a complete and utter lie.

Everything, and I do mean everything, changes for Jocelyn the day she looks down and discovers a horrifying scar on her arm. WTH?? Jocelyn is never, and I do mean never sick or hurt so the presence of such a wound is as shocking as it is painful. Though she has never been to the nurse’s office, Jocelyn heads there in order to have the scar attended too. Next thing Jocelyn knows, she’s packing her clothes and on a plane, with the nurse, to New Orleans where she will take up residence with her extended family. What? She has family other than her mother?? Oh, and by the way: you are a witch, your entire extended family constitutes a long, long line of powerful witches and; your family would be the mortal enemies of the Caldwell family another long, long line of powerful witches. Yeah, like Jocelyn is going to believe all that crap!

Some people just take a little convincing and Jocelyn’s journey to belief begins the moment she touches down in New Orleans. She is greeted by her aunt Lizzy, mother to Jocelyn’s five(!) cousins and a surly and rather creepily intuitive maid by the name of Mabelle who hands her a shopping list of supplies she will need for her first day of school. Unable to sleep despite her exhaustion, Jocelyn sets out to acquire her supplies and immediately runs into Jameson, arguably the most beautiful boy she has ever encountered. After briefly introducing themselves and deducing they have similar shopping lists, the two decide to shop together as Jameson is far more familiar with the city than Jocelyn. With the exception of a few minor missteps, being declared fated lovers by the universe (that’s a fun scene!), and discovering the boy she is interested in is none other than a crappin’ Caldwell, the day goes pretty well.

Not completely understanding the rules of the game, Jocelyn approaches Jameson on their first day of school much to everyone’s horror! It becomes clear to Jocelyn that the whole mortal enemy thing is real and her cousins and the Caldwell’s are all kinds of serious about keeping her and Jameson separated. Both sides begin casting spells aimed at annoying and hurting the others despite knowing their world is meant to be kept a secret from those non-magical (hee hee, Muggles!) beings around them. Adding insult to injury or fuel to the fire (whichever you prefer), Jocelyn is placed among the Caldwell’s and completely isolated from the protection of her cousins at their weekly magical lessons. It is at one of these lessons that everyone discovers the lengths to which Jameson is willing to go to protect Jocelyn. From this moment forward everything in Jocelyn and Jameson’s world is irrevocably altered.
Though Jocelyn and Jameson are powerfully drawn to one another, they are hindered at every turn by their families and their family’s history with one another. For the most part, Jocelyn and Jameson have to sneak around when they can in order to see one another. Jocelyn is learning to tap into her own power, the very rare art of healing, and with Jameson, she can enhance and amplify her power thus allowing her to heal more people and for longer periods of time. One night Jameson takes Jocelyn to a remote village where her skills are put to the test and she comes face-to-face with the dark side of the world she now occupies. She also discovers her powers may run deeper than anyone initially suspected.

After the night on the bayou Jocelyn and Jameson’s story begins to take so many twists and turns that it will keep you turning pages like a fiend. There are interactions with one another both negative and positive, interactions with their respective families both positive and negative, and a near-constant stream of secret-revealing. (OH! I love secret-revealing!) Both try to hold on for the ride as best they can but there is a long and powerful history meant to keep them apart. That history is one of the most interesting secrets revealed and is a strong enough bit of information that it even draws Jocelyn’s mother to town! Now she is a mighty and powerful surprise and what she has to tell everyone will knock your socks off!!

The Bottom Line: Holy balls this book is good and there are several things that contribute to this outburst. Foremost on the list of awesome are the characters: Jocelyn and Jameson are both solid and compassionate characters who are drawn into a world of madness, lies, witchcraft, and voodoo. They are torn between their attraction to one another and their loyalties to their respective families. Backing these two are a whole slew of other characters I sincerely hope get more press time in future installments of the series; there are some wicked fun personalities among the Caldwell’s and the Weatherford’s and they need to be allowed to come out and play 
The plot line also makes me squeak a little: though I like the idea of fated lovers I like it a whole hell of a lot more that Faulty has kept this aspect of the plot subdued for the time being. I know Jocelyn and Jameson are meant to be together and eventually they will be but Falter has wisely chosen to allow these two time to get to know one another rather than falling into the now way over-used insta-love trap. By doing this, Falter has also allowed the deeper and richer plot line of the on-going (or is it?) Caldwell/Weatherford feud to take center stage. This is how it should be!! It is made clear in several instances how long this feud has been raging and the toll it has taken on both families so it therefore makes sense that Falter should (and does!) dedicate the bulk of the book to this topic. Appropriately, Jocelyn and Jameson are woven into and not allowed to overshadow the larger plot line. Well done Laury Falter, well done.
Essentially what you get with Residue is a well-written and well-planned novel that reads smoothly and easily from cover to cover. I am comfortable recommending this title to all YA+ readers. ( )