YA story of a flesh-eating curse that inflicts a boy, his twin sister must learn hoodoo magic in order to cure him. Stereotyped tropes do not make up for the poor characterization, even the main character does not have much going for her. There was not enough about hoodoo practices and way too much of the main character mooning after Cooper,
I picked this up at a library book sale and I think I will take it down to the Little Free Library,
read 11/28/2023 ( )

Full Review on my blog!

*a copy was provided by NetGalley*

Conjure intrigued me beyond my expectations. I enjoyed it. Conjure is a unique read that you won’t want to miss. It’s enchanting and entertaining with history weaving its way through the curses. The cover is beautiful and this book is fun, adventure, and magic all rolled up into one!

Conjure is the first book in The Hoodoo Apprentice series by Lea Nolan. This is a very adventurous book told from Emma’s point of view. Her, and her twin brother Jack, are staying with their dad in South Carolina for the summer. Their friend Cooper lives here, and together the 3 of them find an ancient bottle that leads to horrendous curses. Emma must learn hoodoo magic to save her brother’s life, and the soul of Cooper – her crush.

There were a lot of twists and turns and the mystery was written in a way that kept me guessing up until the end. I’m looking forward to the sequel, especially since it ended on a cliffhanger. I highly recommend it!

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Emma and her twin brother Jack spend Summers on the beach in the South Carolina Lowcountry with their father, and there they reunite with best friend, (and Emma's crush), and scion of the Beaumont family, Cooper. On a typical day they meet the gorgeous Maggie and find a message in a bottle and decide to follow that map to pirate treasure. Only it's less pirate treasure and more eighteenth-century curse, and all of a sudden Jack could die. Maggie sends them to local hoodoo root doctor, Miss Delia, for help, and suddenly everything depends on Emma. While researching the curse--"The Creep"--Emma and Miss Delia learn that it was cast by a slave woman and queen, Sabine, and that she cast another curse on all the Beaumont men. Not only is Jack in danger, so is Cooper.

I'm starting to think that after all the books about hoodoo I've been reading lately I really need to research it. I know it's a combination of Native American, African American, and European folk magics. Based only on the author's copious references I'm assuming she did her research and it feels as if she's treating it respectfully. I was afraid Miss Delia would be a "magical negro" but Emma formed a close relationship with her and we got some information about Miss Delia on her own. I'd like to see more development of her, even though she's the adult in this young adult book.

This book had a definite sense of urgency and danger. I was surprised when Jack broke off the tip of his skeletal finger, leaving him with permanent damage. I expected everything to be tidily fixed and it wasn't. It really couldn't be after all they'd learned about the history of their town and its people. ( )

As a blend of haunting magic and rich, realistic detail, Conjure is a book I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys YA fantasy, ghost stories, or mysteries. Between the beautifully engaging characters, the touches of humor and romance, and the horror spread around at various turns, this book is hard to put down and easy to visualize. I don't know when I last read a YA work that I enjoyed so much, and I can't wait to read the sequels. This one is going to remain a favorite, and I won't forget the characters any time soon.

Absolutely recommended. ( )

NOTE: I received this book for review from Entangled Publishing.

I hoped that Conjure would turn out to be a book I love, and I wasn't wrong. It was a very unique read that got me engulfed from the very first page and kept me going on and on until I reached the end. And now I just want MORE!!! Can't wait for the second book to come out!!! It was so engrossing, I finished it in barely two days!

I loved the story, not only because it was unique, but also because it wasn't at all connected to voo-doo of any sort. It had to do with healing, while having faith in the Lord. Now that was something that came to me very unexpected, but I liked it! I don't think I would've loved the story had it been about the voo-doo type of practices.

Anyways, the story revolved around a couple of ancient curses, a girl and two guys who got in the middle of it all, and an old Gullah Grannie (hoo-doo doctor) who had the knowledge and power to help. There are no love triangles here, and that was something I really liked. (I'm tired of the love triangle concept, to be honest. Can't there be just one girl to one guy attractions anymore????) I really liked how the plot developed and escalated until the very end when it turned into a sucking-your-attention hurricane of emotions. Loved it, loved it, LOVED IT!!!

But, there were a couple of times when the characters seemed to act a bit unnatural and unrealistic, and that's why I just can't give it all those stars.

So, that leads us to the characters themselves. In this story, they aren't too many. Just over half a dozen I think.

*Emmaline was the POV character. She was brave and ready to risk her own life and happiness for the better of the people she loved and cared about. She even became a hoo-doo apprentice, fought demon dogs and a bunch of other things so she could save her brother and best friend. I liked how Emma grew from just an ordinary girl to this very devoted young woman.

*Jack, Emma's brother was such a brat almost all the time, I honestly wanted to take a stick and beat him with it. He annoyed the wits out of me with his stupid bratty attitude. He behaved like he was some king or something, and everyone else had to do his bidding. SO ANNOYING!!!! And no, what happened to him cannot soften my opinion at all. He totally deserved it.

*Connor, Jack and Emma's best friend, and Emma's unrequited love, was a real sweetheart. Though sometimes he was just waaaaaay too goody two shoes. I mean, seriously, who hesitates to do whatever is necessary when their life and their friend's life is at stake? Well, this guy did. And yeah, sometimes he had a point, but at others his attitude just annoyed me. Guys are supposed to have less scruples in such situations, aren't they?

*Maggie... well I think I knew who she was from the very beginning. I just couldn't make up my mind whether she's one of the good guys, or one of the bad.

*Miss Delia was such a clever, open-hearted grannie, I couldn't just not love her. You know what I mean. She gave everything she was capable of to help Emma and the boys, even when things seemed a little too out of line.

Well, if you want to know more about this novel, you're gonna have to check it out yourself. :) I totally recommend it, and I believe you won't be disappointed. ( )