Review: Tethered by Brandi Leigh Hall

 

Title: Tethered by Brandi Leigh Hall
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Release Date: December 29, 2013
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Drama
Medium: Paperback, Received for Review via Author (Thanks Brandi!)

Action-packed, dramatic, and full of magic, Tethered is a surprisingly unique novel of magic and witches. Definitely an author to watch, Brandi Leigh Hall crafts a novel of epic proportions.

No matter how you try to fight it—destiny has a mind of its own! Since foreseeing the imminent death of her parents six years earlier, Chloe has lived a simple, not-so-charmed-life away from her remaining Wiccan family. Zero magic. No close friendships. While struggling to bench-press more guilt than any nineteen-year-old ever should.

But fate intervenes and forces Chloe to return home. As if being an in-the-closet-Seer wasn’t bad enough, now she has to spend summer break with the snarky sister who hates her—and the magical birthright she was hell-bent on denying for all eternity.

Luckily, meeting Mr. Perfect takes the edge off her endless family drama. Hunter’s twenty-five, sometimes old-fashioned in a Jane Austen hero sort of way, and more delicious than molten-lava cake. But the more she tries to hide her family’s magical secrets from this ever-present stranger, the more quickly she realizes he’s hiding a few doozies of his own.

Will the lies and betrayal destroy their relationship before it really begins? Or will learning of their tethered future create an unbreakable bond neither can deny? Either way, their hearts will be forever entwined by destiny. -Amazon.com

The plot of this novel is surprisingly unique and original. Magical witches are not usually my favorite kinds of fantasy by far, and there hasn't been many books about witches that I have enjoyed since the age of Harry Potter. This novel has changed both of these statements, however. This plot is quite an attention grabber. It's full of depth, dramatic family ties and relationships, and an enriching plot full of plot twists and interesting characters. This all makes for a creative novel that constantly leaves you wanting more. Shrouded in mystery and magic, Tethered is a novel with a perfect amount if romance, drama, and fantasy, and a series sure to captivate readers.

The characters were terrific. Chloe is a girl full of surprises and humor. In the beginning, Chloe constantly finds the good in every situation and person and never let's a moment to without making a joke. Although, you do see a lot of character development going on here as she slowly transforms into a more serious person by the end of the novel. She matures and grows into her destiny 100%. Hunter was also very interesting. He was loyal, brave, and a total romantic. I grew very fond of his character over time. Every character in this novel, lead or supporting, plays a huge part in the prophecy. Every character is crucial to the plot and each one is unique.

The writing in this novel is also quite nice. Hall describes a complicated world in very descriptive yet simple means, and writes a story that is easy to follow and even easier to get lost in. Her writing is very clean cut and simple, full of nicely timed humor and drama. Although the dialogue sometimes comes off as fake and a little more than scripted, it doesn't all the time. Some of the character's lengthy responses sound very fake and definitely not the way a regular person would respond. However, it isn't majorly noticeable, and didn't really affect the reading experience for me. Overall, I was rather pleased.

Overall, Tethered is a uniquely magical book that is sure to please readers. It's interesting, nicely written, and full of great plot twists and drama. A very nice read.