Officially published 23rd of March 2020.****Now re-edited*NO. 1 WATTPAD HOTTIE OF 2019~~CREATURES OF THE NIGHT AWARD WINNERFalling for monsters is forbidden, but rules were made to be broken.Eighteen-year-old Crystal’s life is improving. She’s left the group home in Salt Lake City for her very own room in a manor, in a small cute town, and with a family she never knew existed.But the Lockes are … in a manor, in a small cute town, and with a family she never knew existed.
But the Lockes are hiding a secret. Her visions of leering shadows and soul draining creatures begin to merge into reality.
It isn’t long before Crystal learns of an age old curse and how she is to be in the center of it. What she doesn’t know is that one boy must initiate the deadly spell.
They’ve been bound to each other since birth. Too many fates count on their every decision.
But what’s worse? The pact in place to avenge Crystal, or giving her heart to the one who has been sent to destroy her?
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A single kiss from a monster disguised as The One will initiate a vengeful spell.
But what if monsters can love back? What if darkness can be tamed?
Eighteen-year-old Crystal Valdez is surprised to find she has a family she never knew existed. Eager to learn more about her parents and heritage, she leaves for the desolate, small town of Blacksville, West Virginia.
Only her great aunt becomes all the more erratic and her three teenage children have mixed reactions to her visit. Namely Craven Locke. Her none blood related cousin who is as handsome as he is menacing.
When she finds solace in the housekeeper and gardener and even a cute drifter named Sebastian, she uncovers the many secrets that have been long buried. The kind involving doomed lovers, a war between hidden worlds and witchcraft.
One thing finally becomes clear. Crystal was brought to Blacksville for more than just a reunion.
Can she uncover the mystery surrounding her ancestors before it’s too late?
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Mercilessly and hopelessly enthralled, and I loved every second of it!
**Presented with an ARC from the author via StoryOrigin in exchange for an honest review.**
There’s so much to Birthspell that I’m not quite sure where to begin. It is a book that holds you from the first page, a mystery that unravels slowly and yet keeps pace so eloquently that you’re not quite sure if you’re following the clues or if the clues are following you.
A long lost family of cousins living in a small town steeped in generational mysteries in a house that seems both haunted and alive in its own right. You’re kept on the edge of your seat and guessing until the very end. This is definitely a book that I know I will be reading again!
With a voice similar to Kendare Blake, Gayle Forman, and Brittni Chenelle, if you’ve enjoyed Anna Dressed in Blood, Girl of Nightmares, If I Stay, or The Gifted Fae Academy Collection, you will love this book!
I really enjoyed reading. This is book 1 of the A Lebrus Stone Series. This is a great start for the series. The story has an interesting plot with a great flow. Very well written with great character work. I would recommend reading.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Birthspell by Miriam Khan is a different approach to explain why a kid is an orphan.
What is happening to Crystal at Thorncrest Manor?
Crystal Valdez
Crystal Valdez is our main character and the one we follow on this crazy journey. She seemed like a good character at the beginning when she was at the orphanage. Still, once Crystal accepted the invitation to Thorncrest five months later, Crystal is an entirely different person. I don’t know how to explain it, but she goes from being a decent character that wants to get away from the place she was put into and living on her own. After she meets her long lost great aunt and goes to check out her heritage, Crystal changes from being a decent character to being a boy-crazy person. Once again, I don’t know how to explain, but she didn’t seem like someone that grew with the story.
Sebastian
Sebastian, Seb, is the first boy that Crystal meets at Thorncrest Manor. He isn’t someone that say her great aunt or her kids usually hang out with, but he is someone that Crys normally would. Seb is new in town and is living on his own. He likes Crystal and Seb seems to be a decent guy even if he goes away a lot. I don’t get what he’s connection is to Crystal. Seb didn’t grow either, I don’t think.
Craven Locke
Craven, Cray, Locke, is Crystal’s aunt’s middle child. He is weird. I don’t know how to explain to this guy as he doesn’t talk to Crystal much, but she’s kind of obsessed about him. Cray is in Crystal’s dreams, which is the only time he seems to speak to her. Except it’s weird. I don’t know how to explain this whole thing.
Three Stars
I am giving Birthspell by Miriam Khan three stars. My whole problem with this book is that the plot summary doesn’t match what we are given in this story. At the end of the book, I’m left with more questions than answers and still haven’t fully wrapped my head around it. Ms. Khan, I think, needs to go back and maybe try to figure out this story a bit better. I didn’t think many plot points got resolved, or I think even some of them got reworked. It’s just a very confusing story.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the YA Bound Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Birthspell by Miriam Khan.
Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.
*I received this book from YA Bound Tours for my honest review*
The premise of this book was really interesting and I enjoyed the world-building and mystery of it all. It gave off The Covenant vibes, if anyone remembers that movies, mixed with Sabrina. I really enjoyed the build-up and am interested in learning more of what happens to Crystal and this town.
The only problem I had with the book was that it was sort of your typical, he’s a bad-boy and treats me like dirt, but I love him anyway type story. While I agree that does happen, so I’m not saying it’s realistic, I felt it was a little forced on the character and didn’t quite make sense with everything she had been through.
All in all, if you like mystery, YA, supernatural, and paranormal fantasy, I definitely recommend this book. I read it all in one sitting as I kept wanting to learn more!
Crystal who has lost her parents and has been left to the state to raise cant wait to leave get and apartment and start college but all those plans get disrupted she has family in Virginia and what a strange family they are. This story has some intriguing turns with Crystal trying to navigate her feelings for two boys and her every worrisome fears strange dreams and a underlying evil just waiting to capture her when she’s not looking. This story has allot of secrets its got that creepy feel were you wonder can Crystal trust anyone and her family may not be so caring after all. So I find this book interesting it dose have some slow parts and places were one scene dosen’t transition well into the next but the basic mystery of what’s going on still leaves me wanting to read more.
I was allowed to read and advance copy of this book via Booksprout and this is my honest review.
This is book 1 of a series that mixed suspense and magic together to keep me guessing as small bits of information are unearthed as the story unfolds. The suspense was spot on. In this first book, we meet Crystal as she moves to a new home where she starts to learn secrets about her families past. Crystal meets a range of interesting characters and it was entertaining to learn how they all might fit together. I liked the bits of mystery that kept me guessing. Just an interesting story idea.
Birthspell – A Lebrus Stone Series – Book One by Miriam Khan is a wonderful story that I have read. This is book number one in this wonderful start to a brand new series written by a brand new author for me to read and I am hooked on this series and can not wait to read the next book in this wonderful series. I loved reading about Crystals life as it is being told. I highly recommend this story to everyone who loves reading about paranormal romance.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I wasn’t to sure when I started the first book, it made you wonder what was going on and why, glad I did not stop reading as I enjoyed the second and third book. Lots of twist and turns in this book with a few surprises along the way. Supernatural Happenings with a few scares thrown in for good measure. I would recommend this bookset.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and the views and opinions are my own.
Birthspell is a little outside of my wheelhouse, but I was excited none the less to read it. The description had me so intrigued, but I unfortunately my hopes were set a little too high. I went into the book expecting a page turner, and the first couple chapters were exactly that, but after that things got a little confusing. The storyline bounced from one thing to another, and the main thing that drew me in (the curse) isn’t mentioned much and there’s so many unanswered questions.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand this is the first book in a series and I obviously wasn’t going to get all the details in this book, but it still felt incomplete. I needed a little more fluff/detail about what was going on and it would’ve been so much better for me.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This series is about Crystal. She’s on a path to finding out what lies in her families past. This is a delicately paced set. Each book has to be savoured like a glass of fine wine. Crystal is slowly growing up and uncovering lies and deceit. There’s romance and Crystal needs to make some hard choices. This is a slow reading book series. Takes you a bit of time to really get into the storyline but worth the effort.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received this book free and I am voluntarily doing a review. First off I love the cover! The blurb has you on edge of your seat ready to read it. I love the characters,storyline and plot but it goes on a little too much on one things when other things needed more detail. I cant wait to read more from this author I think you really enjoy reading this paranormal romance/YA book