Seventh Born
by Monica Sanz
Pub Date: Sept 4, 2018
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Genre: YA Paranormal/Mystery & Suspense
Abomination. Curse. Murderer. All names hurled at eighteen-year-old Seraphina Dovetail. As the seventh-born daughter to a witch, she’s the cause of her mother losing her powers and, in turn, her life.
Abandoned as a child, Sera dreams of becoming an inspector and finding her family. To do that, she must be referred into the Advanced Studies Program at the Aetherium’s Witchling Academy. Her birth order, quick temper, and tendency to set things on fire, however, have left her an outcast with failing marks…and just what Professor Nikolai Barrington is looking for.
The tall, brooding, yet exceedingly handsome young professor makes her a proposition: become his assistant and he’ll give her the referral she needs. Sera is quickly thrust into a world where witches are being kidnapped, bodies are raised from the dead, and someone is burning seventhborns alive. As Sera and Barrington grow ever closer, she’ll discover that some secrets are best left buried…and fire isn’t the only thing that makes a witch burn.
I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
4.5 STARS
Seventh Born was everything I was hoping for and more. The depth of the mystery of the case that Sera & Barrington investigate went far beyond what I was expecting. I really enjoyed the twists and turns of the story but keeping track of the Brotherhood and Sisterhood and their convoluted history was confusing a couple of times. It didn't take away from my reading experience though.
Sera was a very likable and relatable character. She is kind of impulsive and has this act-first-think-second attitude.
Breaking things was much easier than fixing them.
I honestly don't blame her though. She is heavily scorned just for things that are beyond her control. Being a seventh born has made her a social pariah. Seventh Borns steal their mothers' lives. Seventh Borns aren't allowed to make mistakes. Basically Seventh Borns are told to "keep a low profile & be happy you are alive." That doesn't work out well for Sera. She is outspoken and takes up for herself when she is bullied, which happens a lot. And when a school administrator intervenes, Sera is always the one who is punished; never the actual bully.
It's during one of these "interventions" that we first encounter Barrington. Nikolai Barrington to be exact. He's the youngest professor at Sera's school and has the weight of family scandal on his shoulders. He is also ostracized by a lot of the faculty because of his late father & brother's actions. He has been asked to secretly investigate the mysterious and horrific murders of witches and proposes a deal with Sera to get her to work with him. In exchange for working as his assistant, he will write her recommendation letter for the Aetherium entrance exam which is key to Sera fulfilling her dreams of becoming an inspector (basically a magical detective/police official). There's also a specific reason why he sought out Sera instead of any of the other students at her school: Seventh Borns have the ability to see death.
In order for Sera to assist Barrington efficiently, he begins to train her how to harness her magic, which has always been difficult for her to control. Sera has a bit of a temper on her and it makes her difficult to utilize her magic to the best of her ability. I can't blame her for having a temper after everything she has been through. She is bullied and shunned by her peers, plus she was tortured for an extended period of time, at least over a year, by a warlock. She has a fear of unfamiliar touch and has turned her feelings inward, letting them fester...which leads to her erratic magic.
"Because your magic has always been your shield, it is tightly bound to your emotions, which in turn leads to...well, mishaps."
Now let's get to my favorite part of the story: Nikolai Barrington. *swoon* He's broody, handsome, mysterious, a bit sarcastic, and almost annoying confident.
"I'm not only smart and charming but quiet strong as well."
I loved the amount of respect and patience he had for Sera. He could tell from early on that she had a lot of pain in her past and did everything he could to put her at ease and express to her that she was safe when she was with him. He never pushed her to face her fears but rather taught her skills that she could use to defend her self and encouraged her to be brave in her own time. The very slow budding relationship between Barrington and Sera was entertaining and frustrating (not to mention completely unattainable). Sera couldn't make sense of her feelings for him at first. She liked him one minute and then despised him the next.
...when he looked at her, it was as if she'd fastened her corset too tight.
"He's a gloomy, annoying, humid night where it won't stop raining and your hair frizzes."
...he was more of an angel, fallen and hurting and so devastatingly beautiful.
They were more alike than she cared to admit, and his pain affected her more than she wished it did.
The story focused heavily on the magic aspects and solving the murder, but I constantly sat on edge waiting for these little gems of interaction between Sera and Barrington that didn't have to do with the case.
"Nothing about you is small and worthless - on the contrary, you are a brilliant witch."
"I would rather lose a chance than lose you, Miss Dovetail."
"Be a little mad and trust me, Miss Dovetail."
At 400 pages, you would think I ended reading this book satisfied, but I didn't. I want more. So much more. I need to stop reading new releases because then I have forever to wait until the next book comes out. I'll just go curl up on my couch and wallow in self-pity until book 2 comes out.
Monica Sanz has been writing from the moment she could string together a sentence. Her stories have come a long way from mysterious portals opening in the school cafeteria, transporting classmates to distant worlds. A classic by the name Wuthering Heights is responsible for that. She's been lost to dark romances and brooding fictional men ever sense. Now she writes about grumpy professors, cursed ringmaster, tortured soul collectors, and the girls they fall in love with. Monica’s books have received many accolades on the social writing website Wattpad. She’s accumulated over six million reads, eighty thousand votes, and fifteen thousand comments since posting her books on the website. She is also a member of the Wattpad4, a group of writers who host weekly Twitter chats on the subjects of writing and publishing.
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