The Coven: Special Edition (Coven of Bones, 1) Hardcover – Special Edition, August 6, 2024

Harper L. Woods’ fantastical storytelling is so on point in The Coven. I was drawn into this witchy world from the first page, although, the last 3-4 chapters were phenomenal! The cliffhanger at the end… Chef’s kiss! I will be reading the next book as soon as I can because I need to know what happens!!! The world-building is amazing and I wanna live there! The characters are just extraordinary and Woods works magic through them in their development. I absolutely am here for the banter between Willow and Gray. The fact that Gray tells Willow that he can’t love her in this form but then acts and shows her nothing but love is so stunning! I fall for the “touch her and die” every single time, and this one is no different! There are quite a few minor characters that definitely add to the mystery and enchantment of this story and I’m so sad about the ending of this storyline for them… I want to just crawl through the pages and hug them tight. I just want y’all to know, I came for the spice and stayed for the plot. I almost wish I had waited until October to read this, but I believe that every month is spooky month, which makes this a perfect read for anytime! This is a fast-paced, easy read and I enjoyed every single second of it! I hated that I came to the end and will absolutely be reading-reading this book in the future!

So I went into this completely blind. Only thing I have ever heard was that this book was basically just about doing the deed. And while yes, I can see why some may think that…that is not the case at all. And maybe I was just listening to the wrong reviewers…who knows!But here’s my honest opinion…— The plot was great honestly! I loved that Willow held the power of both a Green witch and a Necromancer. I could never think of a logical reason why the bones were SO important other than it was an ancestor of hers. And why yes that is important, Willow NEVER questioned her father further on why he pushed her so hard. Like ma’am you never thought there was a deeper reason other than it was his sister? I also knew that Thorne could not be the good guy no matter how bad any of you readers wanted him to be. There was ALWAYS clear communication he had no heart. But for whatever reason Willow being this badass FMC made the grave mistake thinking maybe she was capable of him actually having feelings for her.— The magic system was great, I loved the different types of witches and how they harness their powers. That was 10/10— Characters in this were all great tbh. I didn’t think that the side characters ever took away from Thorne or Willow but held just as much importance in key roles. I would be interested to see if the second book mentions Iban more but I doubt. I honestly feel like that would have been nice to read a little more depth into that relationship. Thorne did a really good job deceiving the heck out of you. Though looking back at certain parts I can see where Harper hinted he was something old and sinister. Like saying he was older than anyone there and that he has seen it all. And when Willow asked his true name and that was a semi tense moment for them…he never revealed it. I mean really…Lucifer? That was good Harper. That was good.— The “romance” or whatever you want to call it that bloomed between Willow and Thorne was believable. Though the one scene where he took her virtue really threw me for a curve ball lol. I read the trigger warnings but it still got me. Harper wrote that scene where it wasn’t meaning to seem disgusting but more of a “binding” moment and with Thorne being a “vampire”/vessel whatever you want to call it at the end of the day…it made sense why he is attracted to blood. But goodness did everything click into place at the very end. Even with all the clear warning signs about WHY he was doing what he was doing I still didn’t see the ending coming.Only reason I didn’t give this a full five stars is because this type of dark romance always makes me a little unsure? Blood play is a trope I’m not sure I’ll ever get behind entirely. It’s definitely not a bad book, especially if you are into witches and magic. Just please read the trigger warnings before diving right in, and well, maybe even some in depth reviews. 😉

This book was awesome with a spice level of 4/4.5. Im so curious to see what happens next!! The plot odd amazing and the descriptions in this book really make you feel like you can see it.

When I first started this book I was so extremely irritated by the way the author wrote. It seemed off I guess. Some sentences didn't make sense and some of it just ran together which made it difficult to want to continue reading.However the story line of this is incredible. I loved the story so I wanted to continue reading.I don't know when it changed, maybe half way or 3/4 through the book but suddenly the writing was better. I felt more excited about what was coming next.For a book that is only a little over 200 pages it took me awhile to read. As I said before the writing in the beginning really killed me.The story follows Willow who is both an earth witch and a necromancer. She is the last of both the Madizza bloodline and the Hecate bloodline. She is forced to go into a school for witches where she meets her had master Gray (not really his name but that's what she calls him pretty much throughout.)She proves to be incredibly strong and smart and she is there on a mission from her father. In this realm male witches choose whether they wish to have children and give up their powers or keep their powers and bear no children. Since witches are few and far between now most males choose to give up their powers in order to have children to continue bloodlines.Willows father was a Hecate, her mother a Madizza both taught her early on what she was meant to do. Her mother teaching her that you must always give back that which you take with magic. So when you use earth magic a sacrifice must be given back. Her father who no longer has magic teaches her how to fight, to be cunning, to lie and do what she must in order to get the mission completed. He is a terrible person.But going in and knowing what she must do she doesn't expect to fall for the man she's meant to deceive.Gray is a vessel, a demon trapped inside a body that was made for him. Charlotte Hecate created them in order to stop demons from possessing humans. And semi control what they could do. As a Hecate she can unmake that which her ancestor made.Vessels are really just vampires except without the rules. They can walk in daylight but solely feed on witches to gain power from the witch. It is a pact made between both vessels and witches. Witches hate vessels and vessels hate witches.But everything is not as it seems. And Willow was not prepared for what follows.I rated this 3 solely because the writing style in the beginning murdered me to the point I almost DNF'd. But I'm glad I pushed through I'm glad that I gave the author a chance to redeem herself and continued on. As now I want to read book 2.This is my opinion, as with all my ratings read this books for yourself and decide if you love it or hate it. That's the joy of reading!