For me, this fell a bit flat. It had moments that I thought, “maybe..” but still it didn’t catch me. Kudos though because I know it takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to put your baby out there for the world to judge.

Unfortunately, this title did not work for me. As much as I was interested in the premise, the writing style and execution did not align with my taste. I was not able to review the book as I only review fully read books on my platforms. Thank you for the consideration, though!

Nope, not for me at all. I really wanted to love this one as it had such an intriguing mix of elements to the story but there were a few things holding me back. First, I felt like this is one that the world and character building were lacking and it was more like being thrust into the deep end without a life jacket. On the other hand I also felt the story dragged and could get a little overly wordy so figure that out, not enough but too much. Then I’m really not a fan of pushing towards a teacher/student relationship so I think I will be skipping any more of the series unfortunately.

I couldn't really get into this book even after several attempts at it. I tried, I really did, but it wasn't keeping my attention. Thank you for the early access though!

I wasn’t able to read this one as I have not been able to download a copy. As I was bot able to read the book, I will still give it a five star review because it was not the author’s fault.

Our main character, Sera, is a really interesting character and I thoroughly enjoyed being on this journey with her. My heart went out to her, numerous times, over the prejudice that is constantly thrown her way. It was at times so sad to read, especially scenes where she is alone in her cramped and neglected room, reflecting on her terrible life is. 


Sera is a seventh born witch in her family and because of this, her mother loses her powers and ultimately dies. Seventh Born witches are seen as an awful thing and frowned upon in society. The author did a spectacular job of conveying this to me, as I was able to connect to Sera on an emotional level.

I loved that this is a story about Witches. Witches are one of my favorite paranormal beings' and so it kind of felt that I was returning to Harry Potter.


The general story was really interesting and had me on my toes. At times though, it did feel slightly bloated and I had to go back, read paragraphs again as I was kind of skimming through it. Whoops.


The romance in the Seventh Born was thankfully very minimal. Which I was thankful as I did not like the idea of a Student/Professor romance. Though Sera is 18, Professor Barrington is 7 years old- it just felt super creepy. I was hoping that the relationship would be platonic and would not develop anything further that. Maybe this is the case in the next book.


This book could have nearly been a strong 5 stars if it weren't from the above and one more important thing.


The world-building. There was none. Zero. Nothing.


It felt that I had been chucked halfway into the story. I didn't know what world I was in. If it was even ours. The year. No names. I was absolutely shocked because the story was really good. In the end, I had to come up with my own idea of where I was (I settled for some Victorian styled world..). This really wasn't good enough. I expected a lot more.


Overall, it was an enjoyable and exciting read but lacked that essential world-building that any good fantasy book needs. It was disappointing, to say the least, so I can only give Seventh Born 3.5 stars out of 5.


Who knows, maybe the second book is different! I am sure to read it though.

Unable to read this proof copy as book was archived before downloading and this was impossible. Neutral rating to show this.

Seventh Born by Monica Sanz is a YA fantasy novel filled with fantasy, suspense and romance. With a unique plot, fast pace, and interesting characters, I'd recommend Seventh Born.

I enjoyed the premise of this book but overall it wasn't for me. I got about halfway through before I decided the writing style was not something I really enjoyed.

Fantastic!

The series starts with Seventh Born in a world where withches are the norm and there is a strong held belief surronding the birth of the seventh born girl of a witch. Let’s me tell you it is all about rainbows and unicorns.

In fact, the books are about one of those unlucky seventh born, thus the title of book one called Sera. It starts off with her being in a with school and of course being the odd one out.

I would say that this is your typical High School drama but with withces, but I do not think that this overly siplified statement would do it justice. There are classic tropes in the plot, but at the same time it isn’t as clear. It actually goes to the next level and there are quite a number of twists and turns that kept me really hooked.

The leading male character is Barry, and he is also very complex, I mean Monica brought together 2 people with extremely difficult back stories together and IMHO, it was extremely well done!

Though none of us live in a world where witches are the norm, it was very easy to feel part of this world and care about the 2 main leads. Between both books, the timeline is quite good, though at times I wanted things to go a little faster.

But, you know me beloved readers, I am an impatient one!

I am writing this and to be honest, I cannot wait to have my hands on book 3 and it makes me wonder on the size of the series, Mirror Bound opened up a lot of plot points, and I do not think that it will take just one more book to resolve. Frankly, I would be happy with another 3 volumes or more if that is the case because there is so much to explore.

As I was reading, I realised books around witches are not usually one of my common reads, and the one series on the topic that I am most obsessed with is the series called The Day 12 Witches Burned by Grace M. DeLeesie and I do enjoy in a more fun tone Annette Marie’s The Guild Codex series. We can safely say that this series is joining these other 2 I just mentioned in my Witch related themed favorites.

Though it is slower paced than my liking, the books are very well written and captivating, I am going to be very highly recommending them to you all. I do suggest to start with book 2 as it sets up everything you need to enjoy Mirror Bound.

I do hope you love it as much as I did!

Seventh Born by Monica Sanz is an exciting book that takes us on a ride following a seventh born witch. In a time where they aren't prosecuted but aren't wanted. During our time with these characters, we discover a mystery and the consequences of knowing the said mystery.

Can Seraphina protect the ones that need to be protected?

Seraphina Dovetail
Seraphina Dovetail is said seventh born witch, but the problem is that she doesn't know much about her life before a specific period. She isn't like most seventh borns though. Sera has led quite a strange life, especially in the academy where she is learning how to control her magic. Well, up to a point where the professor's care about her well being. She is a pretty interesting character since she isn't much like the other seventh borns or into caring what is politically correct for her to do as a female. Sera wants to be an inspector so that she can find her family and be able to help a lot of other people.

Nikolai Barrington
Nikolai Barrington is both a professor at the Academy and an inspector. He wants Seraphina as his assistant so that it would to help with his workload and help her control her magic in a way that the academy can't help her. Nik is a great guy who only wants what is best for Seraphina, which is the first in a very long time. Nik needs her help with a current case that isn't an easy one.

Mystery
The mystery is the case that both Nikolai and Seraphina have been working on throughout the whole book. They are trying to determine why som many witches are using necromancy just to be burned beyond recognition. That though is a crucial plot point so; I won't get into it. You will have to read the book. Let's say that poor Seraphina has lost a lot.

Four Stars
Seventh Born by Monica Sanz is an excellent book that kept me entertained. I am giving Seventh Born by Monica Sanz, a four-star rating and recommending it to every single Young Adult Fantasy reader out there.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the author. 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 Seventh Born by Monica Sanz.

Anyways, until next time,
Karen the Baroness

If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.

Wow, I enjoyed reading these books so much! Sera was really easy to relate to, even if her exact circumstances being a seventh born which meant her existence killed her mom, isn't the most common. But the anger and frustration that she felt, oh, boy was that relatable!

I really enjoyed the magic system in this book, with the different focuses like air or earth. And the whole, if you have seven girls, then the 7th one kills the mom. Yeah. I enjoyed learning alongside Sera about her magic, as she learns control over her magic and her fiery temper.

I did read the synopsis of the 2nd book before I read the first book. So knowing that she'd be attracted to him, I really devoured their interactions, and they were so much fun to read! It was like, are they really interacting like that? It was epic!

Both of these books had pretty interesting mysteries. Both are mixed in with the magic, because that's the world. Sera is 18, and with the nature of the crimes, I would categorize this series into upper YA, and depending on the length of this series, NA. It's not totally dark, but it could be pretty intense!

Yeah, these books were such great reads, I really enjoyed them!

I loved, loved, loved the book. This was everything I love in a book. There was magic, there was an amnesiac witch who wanted to be an inspektor, a kind and intelligent professor who mentored her, a belief about the seventh born, and a murder investigation.

My first book by author Monica Sanz, and believe me, I savored the book. Each word was a haunting melody that spoke to my soul. I love my thrillers and this too was as enthralling, if not more.

The writing was superfluous which spoke of a greater command of the storytelling. The author has enriched the prose with subtext and nuances. The mystery of the seventh born dogged my steps as I kept reading.

The magic and the spells filled me with a sense of breathlessness so deep that I could just submerge myself in it. This was a murder investigation at its core. Someone was using the great magical power of the seventh born to raise the dead and get to the secrets of dark magic.

Professor Barrington was investigating it, and Sera, the seventh born witch studying at the Wichling Academy, was asked to be his assistant. Sera remembered nothing of her life before joining the academy. Her memories of her family and childhood were locked.

The seventh born were considers an abomination meant to be shunned, even though they had vast reserves of magic. This book did not explain much about the world they lived in or why the seventh born were hated, but it captivated me from the first page.

The characters were just breaking out of their mold in this book, slowly spreading their wings showing me who they really were. I loved Sera, a hot tempered witch who was broken by a sadistic abuser, but her anger and the professor slowly healed her. Anger is a great power if used aptly.

For me, this book had the power to heal my mind. I was captured by this story from the very beginning, the strands of the author's rich storytelling pulling me into the book with each page. A haunting read!!

This was fun to read! It's a good book with quite a few elements that one would appreciate like a slow burn romance and necromancy or other aspects that you often find in books with witches. But it lacked in many places that could've otherwise made this one of my favorites. The world in this story is set in is a mix of fantasy and paranormal settings but the information available is so limited that it's almost impossible, at times, to figure out what is a particular backdrop for a scene. This often led me away from many scenes that I might've liked. This book felt a lot like a latter installment in a series that already had an introductory book to give the readers a glimpse of the characters because there wasn't even a good enough character building. How could I have liked any of them? Though, some characters and the overall story was enjoyable enough to win an average rating.

I tried for months to get into this book, but I just...can't. It's atmospheric, and I kind of like the characters, but honestly, they weren't that different from any other YA fantasy. We don't know *why* seventhborns are awful. It's a nice enough debut, though.

This book was....not good. Sorry it just wasnt. It needed editing and some plot work. The characters were shallow and poorly constructed. Disappointed as hell.

Highly enjoyable, looking forward to more from the series / author
Full review in this video: http://www.thebookrat.com/2018/10/witchy-reads.html

I didn't have any expectations going into Seventh Born by Monica Sanza because it was the first book in a new series and was written an author I was unfamiliar with, but I actually found it really enjoyable. I'm a sucker for anything witchy, and this book definitely had that. I found the magic system too be quite interesting, and the idea that It was a fun mix of fantasy, mystery, and historical fiction that truly look me by surprise. The main character, Sera, is stubborn, strong, survivor. She's a seventh born in a world all seventh borns are frowned upon. She's so fun and feisty and doesn't take shit from anyone. Professor Barrington is definitely book boyfriend material. At first I was afraid of the possible teacher/student relationship, but luckily it was not as bad as I though it would be. I really enjoyed the slow-burn romance between the two--definitely one of my new favorites. I really enjoyed the wonderful world Sanz created, and was truly impressed with the amount of details she packed into the pages. I honestly cannot wait for the next book in the series, and I highly recommend Seventh Born to anyone who's a an of murder mysteries, fantasy, and historical fiction.

This novel was partly a good surprise: I expected to see romance in it, but after so many YA books where said romance is just rushed in, let’s say that I’ve become pretty jaded… and fortunately, here, the romance was of the slow-building type, and not the be all-end all it too often is. Mostly the story focuses on Sera’s life at the Academy and on her collaboration with Barrington in his investigating gruesome witches’ murders—in other words, it was more about the mystery than about the usual ‘true love’ stuff that (just as usually) detracts from the fantasy plot. This definitely endeared me to it.

Getting into it was a bit of a strange process: the novel puts the reader in medias res when it comes to both world-building and characters. It’s something I tend to appreciate, rather than having to contend with history lessons/typical fantasy prologues, and I quickly found my marks. As for the characters, while the main chars were alright (with a sort of Rochester/Jane Eyre dynamic, e.g. Barrington’s way of infuriating people), the secondary ones really felt more on the cookie-cutter side: the bully, the teachers who generally blame Sera just because she’s a seventhborn, the best friend obsessed with boys, the cute and wealthy love interest, etc. So I didn’t care much for them; some more development was needed here, especially regarding two of them, since they become more important in the second half of the story.

The love relationships have their problematic sides, too, whether the boy who’s in love with Sera and keeps pushing (including stealing a kiss a couple of times when obviously Sera isn’t interested), or the potential student/teacher relationship (granted, she’s 18 and soon out of school, buuuut… it’s a YA novel, after all). On the other hand, it could also have been much worse, whether it came to the boy or to the ‘forbidden romance’ (that one, at least, moved slowly enough as to be believable, and they didn’t just fall into each other’s arms out of the blue by the end of the first third).

I would also have liked more details about the magic system and the world itself, particularly when it came to seventhborns. We know they are disliked because when they come into this world, their mothers lose their powers and die, and that they were linked to a plague, so people disliked them and still do… However, I can’t help but wonder: why do people in that world keep having seven children, since the (well-known) outcome is so bad for the families? Why don’t they stop at four or five: because they can’t? Or because they don’t want to? Couldn’t a witch use her powers to prevent herself from even conceiving this seventh child? This is the kind of ‘curse’ that could be easily avoided in a world with magic, so I have no clue why these kids are still born, and… that is a major plot hole here.

This said, I did enjoy the mystery/investigation part. Its direct impact is solved by the end of the book, so we get some resolution, but at the same time, there are still mysteries lingering in the characters’ backgrounds, that would make good material in a next book.

Conclusion: 2.5 stars. This novel has its problematic sides, but others I did like nonetheless. I might pick the second volume at some point to see if there’s more world-building there.

If you love adventure/mystery/magic, then you will enjoy this title. I loved the main character, Sera, from the beginning and journeying through the high's and low's with her was fun. Everything you'd want in a novel is portrayed in Seventh Born. Intense evil, hidden love, a forceful magic and of course adventure and mystery. If you enjoy any type of Fantasy/Magical book, then you'll enjoy this one.