Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for giving me this eARC to review.

I was not fond of this book when I read it and will probably never try and read it again. This doesn't mean it was a bad book! I just struggle with some fantasy books and ended up not finishing this one.

While I was really anticipating the story based on the synopsis and I really liked the main character, there wasn't much development for other major characters and the plot kind of fell apart for me as the book went on.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love this story line. I think Miriam Khan brought a unique twist on the whole witches trope.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

Title: Birthspell
Author: Miriam Khan
Pub. Date: March 23, 2020
Rating: 1.5

This will be a short review – there may be some light spoilers but nothing story ruining. Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review. I requested this months ago, when I was on a witch kick, and I figured I would enjoy it.

I’ve been reading and reviewing for so long now, that it really doesn’t take much time for me to figure out if I’m going to like a book or not. Unfortunately, in the case of this book, I knew about 10% in. I usually try to give books until at least 30% before I DNF, but I’m making an exception.
Just within the first 3-4 chapters of this book, I have so many complaints.

1. The MC goes through a complete personality change in a matter of pages.
2. The arrival of the long-lost Great Aunt.
3. The beyond obvious love triangle. If it’s not done right, I don’t want it.
4. The MC’s insistence on her name, only to then introduce herself by something else entirely. (This was a whole thing at the beginning of the book).
5. So much telling. No showing.
6. Obvious continuity errors – she puts converse on, and two pages later she’s wearing sandals. (Even if this is an ARC, there’s no excuse).
7. It’s incredibly cheesy, but not in the feel-good way. But in the “I’m cringing way”.
8. The MC’s eye for high fashion and her ability to buy the latest designer stuff at thrift stores. Uh-huh, sure.
9. The MC working to establish her own life, only to leave it all behind to go to South Carolina. (Again, she had a life plan, and now it doesn’t matter).

Anything dealing with the MC – Crystalla “Crystal” “Crys” Valdez is weird. She’s an orphan whose parents died. Then she was taken in by an aunt, who died and now she’s got this surprise Great Aunt who’s cagey af. Crystal goes from moody, brooding, apprehensive orphan to this bright shiny “I suddenly flirt with guys even though it’s not my usual personality” person in a span of like, no time at all. It’s jarring.

Possibly because I’m choosing to not finish this book, but all the character motivations – well, lack of motivations – make me not care. I got almost 15% in and I have no reason why I should care about anything happening, or anyone. Crystal isn’t likeable enough to just blindly back her. The love interests are your typical incredibly attractive bad boys, and one is significantly more charming and the other is more protective and keeps her at arm’s length.

I mean, it’s all just so blatantly obvious and relies too much on tropes to feel original. I only read 13% and I can tell you exactly what book it reminds me of.
It’s like, if you were to gender bend Beautiful Creatures – or tell it from the girls POV instead of the guys. But it also doesn’t have the level of craft that book had.

I wanted to like this book. I’d hoped to like it. Unfortunately it wasn’t for me and left a lot to be desired.

This book was a bit of a struggle for me. The world building was the overarching theme of the story. I didn’t really connect with the actual story arc.

ARC from NetGalley

1.5 stars

Well, I mean it was sort of interesting in a baffling kind of way. Nothing really happens. We follow an orphan's move to the home of long lost family and then we sort of meander around for a while until it's over. Nothing overtly magical occurs. There is brief mention of fantasy creatures towards the end. There is some allusion. There is a whole lot of confusing fucking dialogue, holy fuck.

I shall paste my notes:
21% and I need to start marking down the shit that doesn't make sense.

"There was a gaudy fence behind it, painted a lubricious black, with a barrage of tiny bubbles that were salient on my hands to feel like barbed wire."

Was this written with google translate? Am I high right now?

"Her golden hair shone as if it had been spun from pure tulle or silk." Tulle like the really tacky foofty tutu shit? Can you spin fabric into thread? I don't think that's how spinning works.

"She had a voice not to be trusted. I sensed that the moment I'd seen her; the way she watched Cray with a calamity and dispensable joy." Wat?

"You're quite the resolve."

"We were all sitting around the table in our usual places, except Marselle was beside Dru, which left me farthest from the others, listening to her jabber on and on about her visit to the Sahara Desert and the many strange things that happened when she probably just forgot to take her Valium." Yes, I often hallucinate when I forget to take a sedative.. >>.>>

Okay so Seb is turned off by the chicken but had a burger with her days ago?

"Isobel was no better, just a bias accomplice to his sapid ways." Dafuq am I reading.

"...what with the widow's peak in his corn silk hair and plume symmetrical features standing out to demand your attention."

""I think he's..." He stopped rifling through his bag to think. "Uncontrollable," He said with a passionate detest."" A passionate detest?

"His tone was too weak to be atoned as accurate." This author has a word-a-day calendar, and it has been used for evil.

What the fuck? "My body zinged with a longing that trilled in my veins, flooding me with a need to be distinguished, kept above the harness of a crazed desire to be held."

"Whatever he felt for me with little degree or worth, it couldn't be forced, pushed or exceeded to my advantage." I feel like I'm reading mad libs.

"She could have cured a donkey of the jitters or a windsurfer of heights."

"He wasn't looking at me, and there was no please attached, but I wasn't expecting miracles, so I took it like a kitten being tempted by a sky rocket." Jesus christ on a cracker.

"And as difficult as it was to digest, I accepted it with a satisfaction that guaranteed a ramification of further doubts." Oh yeah?

Okay I might need to adopt this term: "Still I couldn't help look at Cray's reaction to every provocative move that she made to lure him into her crabby clench."

"It intrigued me to learn how not only his eyes, but mine too, were the focus of one's attention, that they changed, that neither of us were responsible for the reaction it impaired them to become."

I cannot count how many times I stopped, shook my head and said "what the fuck" while I read this book. The above is only a smattering. Truly it was partially the wtfery that kept me reading. It was almost comical. Scratch that, it was comical. So yeah, there you have it.

I volunteered to read this book, through netgalley in exchange, for an honest review. This is a well written book and the characters are described well. I enjoyed the pacing of this story. It keeps your attention from the first page. I absolutely love the characters. This book is on Amazon.com now for 3.99 (USD). I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

Sorry,I didn't much like this book. Initially, I thought it was going to go somewhere. But then it settled down and really became rather boring. The characters were wooden and unremarkable. But, the author should keep trying and perhaps start working on another book altogether.

3.5/5

I recieved this ebook from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! All opinions are my own.

It’s a really interesting story. This first book in the series goes a bit slow but I enjoyed it a lot. I’m officially hooked to the mystery! I’ll read the rest of these books because I read this one pretty fast and I’m intrigued.

Crystal doesn’t know a lot about her past or her family. She’s an orphan and when a mysterious great aunt appears to tell her about her side of the family that she’s never met, she’s intrigued and agrees to go with her to meet the rest of them. She then tries to discover more about her parents while trying to get to know these people.

I have so many questions and very few answers after reading this book. But that only makes me want to read the next one soon.

The mystery in here develops a bit slow and doesn’t tell you much. But the writing and the characters are great. I’d wish there were more fantastic elements or more explanations for them but as a first book I think it’s okay.

I selected this as the premise sounded so good, but I found it quite slow to start and It seemed to struggle to find its pace. It did improve as it progressed, but I think by that point I had lost heart. I was disappointed in this and just wasn’t what I was hoping for sadly.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This book has you on the edge of your seat the whole time. I didn't want to put the book down once I picked it up. Each chapter will have you questioning everything but you will get answers to some while others won't be answered. Or if one of your questions gets answered seven more will come with it. The cliffhangers in this book will make you want to come back for more. It has supernatural elements, romance, enemies, etc. The author has beautiful and amazing writing. The way they right has me hooked on each page. They have characters you'll love, love to hate, and just hate. They have a love triangle and makes it impossible to pick which one you want at the end of the day. I can't wait to read the next book. I'm definitely going to be recommending this to my book loving friends.

I really enjoyed the book. It was easy to find in to the story. The writing was good written and the plot seemed to be something nex for me. The plot was throughout the story traceable and the characters good described and authentic.

The story is about a young girl Crystal who has grown up in a group home after her parents died at a young age. She then is found by a mysterious and rich Aunt because she had her photo in the paper, She ends up moving to the town and odd things start to happen to her and she discovers a shocking secret about her heritage.

At times the book feels a bit hard going and the has a few confusing moments, but on the whole I enjoyed it!
I like a conclusion to my books this is obviously an ongoing story i will look out for future books.
I had a copy of this book from netgalley.co.uk for an honest review.

I didn't know how many start to give to this book to be honest, but I decided to give a 4 stars review to encourage the author to keep going.
So, first of all, what made me want to read this book, was the synopsis and the cover, really pretty cover and very intriguing. I love paranormal books and that's why I wanted to read it.

I love Craven, he's a mystery, you want to learn more about and you want to discover his secret and why he is the way he is !! Each pages I was turning, I was hoping for a little hint about who he really was, but nothing LOL, so that mean, I'll have to read the next books to discover more about him.
Then, there is Crystalla, but she prefer to be called Crystal !! I really like her name, she didn't have a chance in life, and when she found out that she has a great aunt by marriage, I was hoping for her, to be happy with this new family, but I kind of new, something would be behind it, and with this book, we honestly don't learn a lot of it.
Because her aunt is really mysterious about her past, and when Crystal, wants to know more about her parents, Isobel don't give her a lot of answers, and that was really frustrating while reading.
Crystal keeps people at a distance, and sometimes, she can be harsh when talking to them, I can totally understand why she does that, probably she's scared to lose them as she lost her parents and be alone again.

Then there are Galahan and Drusilla, Drusilla was there for a little bit with Crystal, and then she kind of disappeared and from to time, she was back again !!
Then Galahan, outside dinners he was like a ghost to me, I didn't even know at first, why he was in the book..
This family is hiding something, but honestly, nothing interesting was learned in this first book.
Then the plot, honestly the author had wrote an interesting plot, but I think it need to be more developped, because chapter by chapter, a few scenes, were very repetitive, and at some point, I was a little bit bored about it, because nothing very interesting was happening, but it's probably due to the fact that, it's the first book, and the story need to take place.

Seb is also a mystery to me, but I definitely know that he'll be bad news for Crystal, he knows something about her, and at some point, I think he'll do something, and Crystal won't see it coming.


Honestly, this is a good book, and obviously, I want to know more about the story and the characters, so I'll definitely read the rest of the series, because it end with a cliffhanger, and I didn't see anything about it, I'm not a huge fan of cliffhanger, especially since thing where started to get interesting, it was the end of the book !!

Birthspell
Miriam Khan
The Lebrus Stone Series
Fantasy Young Adult


Crystal Valdez is an orphan who has a dark past that is shrouded in mystery. She lost both her parents and an aunt at a young age and feels alone in the world. Then a woman appears claiming to be her great aunt and invites her home to the ancestral home. When Crystal arrives things begin to happen around her, weird unexplainable things. On top of that Crystal finds herself feeling attracted to not one, but two very different guys. One seems perfect, but for some reason she finds herself drawn to the other boy more. The boy she dreams about almost every night. What is the mystery surrounding Crystal and is someone out to harm crystal or is she going crazy?
I really enjoyed this story.It is a bit slow in spots but if you just keep reading it is worth it. I loved Crystal. She has been alone for so long that she is a very strong independent person.even while seeing ghosts and having horrific nightmares she doesn’t fall apart and run away. Instead she stands her ground to find out what is happening and to find out more about who she is. Her “family” is an interesting blend of characters that make the story seem more real. You have the mother who is sophisticated, but strange at the same time. One minute she is sickly sweet and the next she is terrifying. Next is the older brother who is just a huge jerk. Then you have the little sister who is so sweet and bubbly and the only one who seems to be truly happy to have Crystal in their home. Lastly is the first love interest Craven who is the town hotty and bad boy. He’s the type of guy we are all told is trouble and to stay away from, but we find ourselves wanting anyway. The rest of the characters in this story are also unique which is nice to not have cookie cutter characters who all just blend together so you can’t remember who was who.
I loved the concept behind this story of a long ago curse. The supernatural aspects of this story were also intriguing. I loved how there were a variety of different creatures in this story, not just one type.
Unfortunately there were a few things that were hard for me with this story. I felt like at times the author bounced from one thing to another and it took me a few minutes to figure out what happened. I also felt like there were still a lot of questions at the end. I would have liked to know more about the curse and the powers that were referenced in the description of the book.
I did enjoy this story and will continue with the rest of the story. I recommend this to those who love the supernatural. I also recommend that those who read this are the patient type since you will need it since this story slowly gives you answers and leaves you with more.

I received a free ecopy of this book from Netgalley for my honest opinion.

This book is clearly the start of a much larger series, giving you lots of hints and clues throughout, but not yet building the full picture yet.

Crystal is an independent girl who has bounced around in the system after losing her only known relative (after losing her parents). With little by way of family knowledge, she is as shocked as anyone when a seemingly rich mysterious relative shows up to connect with her. Though not related by blood (and only by marriage - that's important to not get skeeved out later on), they develop an off camera relationship that lends itself to Crystal spending some time with her at her "manor." It's there that she meets a very random assortment of characters, most notably the "bad boy" Cray.

Crystal has clearly got some baggage and it's only made worse by her new family, some crazy overbearing actions, mysteries, nightmares, creepy attics, ghosts, and a crush on Cray. Oh, and there's a random kid in the woods that she also might crush on when she's not being pulled by the weirdness and bizarre behavior that makes up Cray. Characters keep popping up all over the place in this seemingly small town, and I can tell that we are building to something... but we don't get there. Should I be rooting for Crystal to discover more about her family? Should I be rooting for her friend to hook up with the aggressively mean housemate? I was utterly conflicted and found it hard to get on a team to pull me through this book. I hope that there are better and more concrete things for Crystal in the future.

I was drawn by the cover and the description...i mean who can pass a mystery mixed with paranormal and love triangle.It was a pleasant and intriguing read.
It was going a little slower for my taste in the beginning but it gradually improved as it went forward.Loved the plot but it felt that it needed to be exlored more in depth and everything would be perfect.
I can say that Craven was my favorite character in comparison with the second love interests in the triangle, which was a little boring but still a good addition.
The writing was used spot on with the description and making an atmosphere for the reader without unnecessary overwhelming.
I am definitely intrigued and will continue with the other books in the series.

ARC was graciously given to me by Netgalley.

Birth Spell by Miriam Khan

I found the premise of this story very intriguing and I was keen to start reading it. However I found the going a bit slow and a bit predictable at the beginning. I just wasn’t drawn in by the characters. But the more that I read the more I enjoyed it!

The story is about a young girl who has grown up in a group home after her parents died at a young age. She then is found by a mysterious and rich Aunt because she had her photo in the paper, She ends up moving to the town and meeting the family she didn’t know about and odd things start to happen to her and she discovers a shocking secret about her heritage.

At times the book feels a bit drawn out, and the has a few confusing moments, but on the whole I enjoyed it!

I would recommend this book for anyone interested in the younger end of YA fantasy/paranormal genre.

3/5 ⭐️

The book cover atracted me and I did liked the story in the beginning, it sucked me right in.
The plot is interesting and intriguing, though it needs to be explorer more in depth. The writing is beautiful, it creates a visual without being overwhelming.

Interesting read, not as good as I had anticipated. I’m unsure what it is but something was missing from this book.
Feel a little disappointed with this read.