TW: harm to animals, death to animals both on and off the page, vivid descriptions of gore.

*Thank you to the publisher for sending me a free digital galley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and do not reflect that of the publisher or author.

Mark of the Wicked is an incredibly dark, gristly contemporary fantasy that dances precariously on the line between fantasy and horror. Mark of the Wicked is relentless in it’s eerie atmosphere and violent scenes. Best described as Practical Magic by way of Stephen King, I could not stop turning the pages of Bower’s phenomenal debut.

Matilda is a witch. All her life she has been told that she should only use her magic for good. Consequently, whenever she uses her magic to harm another, the name of her victim is carved into her skin. While she has a spell to cover up the marks, she lives with the pain as a reminder of what she’s done.

When the novel opens, Matilda sets out to get a classmate back for mistreating her when they were friends. But things get complicated when her magic is witnessed by new kid Oliver, who is new to magic and fascinated by Matilda and what she can do.

When Matilda starts experiencing blackouts, feeling as if she is losing her magic, and witnessing horrible visions of death and carnage she knows something is terribly wrong. I was a bit annoyed at this point that Matilda never communicated with her family until the last act about what was going on. But it’s a minor complaint considering.

Mark of the Wicked is not for the faint of heart (see trigger warnings above), but it was for me. As an avid horror reader I appreciated how edgy and unrestrained Bowers’ novel felt. It was what hooked me from the very first few pages.

There is a slow burn romance that throughout the novel felt a little forced to me, but having finished the book, I think that was what the author intended Oliver is an interesting and complex character, just like Matilda and I was happy with his character arc, even if I did predict where things were headed pretty early in the story.

Thenatically, Mark of the Wicked touches on issues of generational trauma, belong in a world where you feel like you are too different, and female friendship. I loved the generational magic, the concept of covens as a wider and important community and how Matilda’s thoughts change on this topic during the course of the story.

Overall, I gave Mark of the Wicked 5🌟. I absolutely adored it from start to finish and would recommend it to anyone who loves books about witches, grittier fantasy novels like Elana K. Arnold and Erin A. Craig.

I really enjoyed the whole story and plots, even though I had guessed everything really quickly. The characters evolution during the whole books is very interesting and I really loved all the characters. This whole magic, scars and Halloween/Spooky vibes were a delight! I highly recommend you to read it if you like Halloween (I personnaly don’t, and still enjoyed it!).

This was an enjoyable fall/Halloween read! It made me really want it to be fall now because of how strong the vibes were in the book. Matilda is an interesting character who isn’t exactly likeable and has a lot of flaws. She is very vengeful and doesn’t seem like the best person to be around. She also has an extreme hatred for her mom and doesn’t seem to act great to her grandmother most of the time as well. However at times, she also seems a little too trusting (see: Oliver).

The storyline was good but the plot didn’t live up for me. I was able to see the kind of big twist that appears around half way very early on in the book and was hoping that it wasn’t going to turn out the way it did. The storyline had a lot of promise to it but I did feel like some things fell short and were never fully addressed as well as they should have been. About half way I did feel myself starting to lose interest and the second half of the book just wasn't it for me.

The thing I liked most about this novel was definitely the setting and Bowers’ ability to create a world I could visualize so easy. At first I was a little confused about when this took place as it seemed to be maybe 1950s-80s at first (mainly the the name Matilda and just the first chapter gave that impression) but as it went on, there were lots of mentions of phones that made it obvious it was contemporary. I think the 1950s or so vibe would have been really cool. But besides that, I enjoyed the setting and wish I could see the Witching Well Festival and the cottage in person as I could really see them.

Overall, enjoyable for a debut.

Matilda, a teenage witch, is trying to figure out who is framing her for performing dark magic in Mark of the Wicked, a frightening, atmospheric book.

Mark of the Wicked is one of those books you either find terribly boring or really interesting. My opinion falls in the middle.

I liked Matilda’s magical system and how she evolved throughout the novel as she explored how magic should be used. Throughout the novel, Georgia Bowers creates an uncomfortable atmosphere, and there are some truly spooky set-pieces.

I found it to be a little slower-paced than I would have wanted, so I became bored at times, but there was always something going on with Matilda that kept me interested, even if I figured out the riddle before it was officially disclosed. The discussion of witchcraft in this book, as well as the rules and history around it in this town and in Matilda’s genealogy, was quite interesting to me. While I enjoyed following Matilda, I didn’t feel as emotionally invested in her or her narrative as I would have hoped. As I previously stated, this will give you all the witchy Halloween emotions, and I strongly advise you to pick it up during the spooky season!

Thank you to TBRandBeyond Tours, Cynthia Lliguichuzhca, and Fierce Reads for sending me a finished copy for this tour!

Enjoyable witchy read! Would make a lovely addition to your Halloween TBR!

I'd like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

For a debut book, Mark of the Wicked is a stunning novel. Although, it is the same cliched story of a young witch living with her mother and grandmother, navigating through the whole magical process, it is in some aspects, very unique and entertaining to read. Georgia Bowers is not afraid to make her characters unlikable and filled with flaws. The book is slow to medium paced but the characters and creepy voodoo spells definitely make up for it. It definitely didn’t live up to my expectations, but it wasn’t very disappointing either.

I recommend this book to anyone who is a huge fan of morally gray characters, lots of witchiness, amazing character developments, plot twists, and doesn’t mind a somewhat slow-pace and mild “telling-instead-of-showing.”

3.5 STARS!

Oh, another book I signed up to read purely based on the cover and a little snippet of the blurb. I was sold at "creepy YA fantasy" as I am a total sucker for this kind of book.

I actually think this book was pretty good in the end. I was unsure of it during the first maybe 50% as I just found the characters hard to like, you know?

The writing style is nice and easy to read and it is so quick to get through. I actually read the first half of the book in one evening even though I wasn't enjoying it all that much at first.

In summary the book is about a young/teenage witch named Matilda (I really hate the name to be honest but that is probably just me). Matilda has a bit of a dark side, her dad left her and her mom and she is a bit of a mess really.

She uses magic to be pretty horrible to people and is left with scars on her face with the names of those she has hurt. She would look pretty monstrous actually were it not for the fact that her family grimoire contains a spell to cover up those scars so no one knows that they are there. This only encourages her to do more nasty things to her classmates as she feels that there are no real repercussions for her actions.

So based on that and her all around shitty attitude I didn't like Matilda.

As the story progresses however weird things start to happen, she starts to suffer from random blackouts, animals are found dead and then one of her classmates... all with her name written all over them. What!?

So this had me intrigued enough to continue and find out what was going on. Matilda meets a boy called Oliver, they really hit it off but to me the relationship felt a bit stale and forced and I didn't like the way he seemed to encourage Matilda and tell her she was basically right to punish people the way she does.

The "twist" was a bit obvious in the end but fairly well written.

I really enjoyed the ending and the way it felt like Matilda redeemed herself and took on the killer.

I would have loved to see more of Nana May and a bit more magic to be honest. For a book about witches I was surprised by how little magic/casting there actually was.

The pace was really fast and overall it was a fun read that had some spooky vibes and I think most fans of YA fantasy who are maybe looking for something quick to read would enjoy this.

DNF at 31%

The premise of this was very intriguing- I love a witchy, morally gray character a lot of the time. Unfortunately this heroine is petty, selfish, whiny, naive, and does some incomprehensibly stupid things. And yes, teenagers can be all of those things from time to time, but it's not particularly enjoyable to read about them for me. I was hoping for something less petty and more vicious with understandable motivations. This is witchy mean girl for no good reason, maybe getting her comeuppance, which makes it hard to root for her. She's a jerk to her mom, her former friends, and uses magic to do some pretty reprehensible things.

I was pretty sure I knew who the villain was right away and reviews seem to be confirming that. Also there is a lot of animal cruelty and death, which reviews are indicating only gets worse. I can stomach that if it feels earned in a story, but this just feels senseless. Others might enjoy this more than I did, but I'm passing on continuing. I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Readers cannot fail but fall under the spell of Georgia Bowers’ enthralling debut fantasy novel, Mark of the Wicked.

Matilda has spent most of her life being told that her magic should only be used when necessary. For as long as she can remember, it’s been drummed into her that she needs to be a good witch and not to use her magic for her own ends, yet Matilda is being tempted over to the dark side. She doesn’t care about being good but wants to be popular and lead a carefree life where she isn’t burdened by the scars that dark magic leaves upon her face as a reminder of her past misdeeds.

When a spell goes awry and Matilda is caught in the act by the new boy at school, she thinks that the game’s up, however, Oliver is aware of her magic and wants to learn more. Yet, the closer the two of them become, the more things start going wrong. Animals start showing up with their throats slashed and with odd marks carved upon their body. But that all pales into insignificance when a young girl dies in mysterious circumstances and the finger of suspicion begins to point squarely at Matilda. Everybody is blaming Matilda, however, she has no recollection of having committing this heinous crime.

As Matilda’s magic begins to spin out of control, Matilda must work fast in order to clear her name – before more bodies are found!

Georgia Bowers blends magic, action and suspense in her creepy debut, Mark of the Wicked. A chilling YA fantasy that draws readers into a dark and exciting world, Mark of the Wicked tells the story of a flawed, resourceful and resilient young heroine as she goes on a terrifying quest that will keep readers eagerly turning the pages.

Georgia Bowers’ Mark of the Wicked is a magical YA debut fantasy fans will be charmed by.

I like that more and more YA books are getting into the morally grey dark side of human personas. Mark of the Wicked is an interesting mix of witchy, ritualistic, mystery and murder. I have to applaud the author for the way witches are portrayed in this one. It didn’t seem as fantastical as some reads and leaned more towards magical realism mixed in with a contemporary mystery novel. The atmosphere is heavy on the shady side in more ways than one and tip-toes along the line of sinister and malevolent.

Matilda was not the greatest character for me but considering she is supposed to be the type of character some love to hate or hate to love, well, I gotta admit that she totally fit the bill. I found her petty, childish and basically naïve through a lot of the book. The magic system is probably my favorite aspect. There is a lot of depth in the history and lineage of the MC that I found creative. I struggled a bit with the animal death/cruelty though not to the point that it affected my rating, there is a good bit of it though. Just something that may need to be mentioned for other readers. I was getting sluggish more times than I care to admit due to lengthy and repetitive portions. However, for a debut I can see the promise of even better novels to come, definitely atmospheric talent in the prose.

I enjoyed my first step into Bowers writing and look forward to more of her work. There is a small part of me that is secretly begging for a novella for Nana May, holy heck did I adore her character! Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Fierce Reads and NetGalley for the gifted digital copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All thoughts are my own.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Mark of the Wicked

Author: Georgia Bowers

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: witches, young adult readers, fantasy, magical realism, horror, paranormal

Publication Date: August 10, 2021

Genre: YA Magical Realism

Recommended Age: 16+ (Animal Death, Violence, Gore, Romance, Scars TW)

Explanation of CWs: Animal Death plays a huge role in this book and it did upset me. There is also romance, which plays a big role in the book, and the MC has scars on her from spells, but please be weary if that’s a trigger of yours.

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Pages: 352

Synopsis: Magic always leaves its mark.

All her life, Matilda has been told one thing about her magic: You use only when necessary. But Matilda isn't interested in being a good witch. She wants revenge and popularity, and to live her life free of consequences, free of the scars that dark magic leaves on her face as a reminder of her misdeeds.

When a spell goes awry and the new boy at school catches her in the act, Matilda thinks her secret might be out. But far from being afraid, Oliver already knows about her magic - and he wants to learn more. As Oliver and Matilda grow closer, bizarre things begin to happen: Animals show up with their throats slashed and odd markings carved into their bodies, a young girl dies mysteriously, and everyone blames Matilda. But she isn't responsible -- at least, not that she can remember. As her magic begins to spin out of control, Matilda must decide for herself what makes a good witch, and discover the truth...before anyone else turns up dead.

Review: For the most part I thought this book was ok. I loved the idea behind it and I thought that the book had a great idea behind it. The plot was fairly solid and the world building was good. I also really liked how dark it was.

However, this book was so so slow and I struggled so hard to get through it because of how slow it was. I think, if sped up, the book would probably be about 150 pages, so I’d love to see more written. I also thought the characters were not well developed and kind of flat on the page. I also did not appreciate the dead animals.

Verdict: It’s good, just not for me.

𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 is about a young witch tries to unravel the mystery of who is framing her for dark magic.
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🌟 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪
"Magic always leaves its mark.”
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Its cover caught my attention soon after I saw it. FYI, I really love red color in the cover. 😉
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I like Nanna May, Matilda's grandmother. Her silence makes her so mysterious. I also see so many characters development in the story.
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My favorite part of the book was when Matilda realized true story about her parents and all explanations of witches & witchcraft. It has a plot twist there even though I have expected but I still enjoy the story.
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Overall, this book has creepy story and perfect for fans of witchy mystery story. If you're looking forward for a story about family bonding, witchy, mystery, and spooky vibes, you can try to read 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙.
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I gave 3.5⭐ for this book.

The cover is sooo beautifully creepy! The description of the book promises a deliciously dark tale and it has definitely delivered.

Set in a small town infamously known for a witch they murdered in the past, the protagonist, Matilda, is an angry teen. Her father left, her mother distant, she lost her best friend, she has nothing left but petty vengeance. For this she employs her magic even if it also threatens to destroy her & her future. Until one day when a boy catches her in the act and expresses his interest in magic.

I found Matilda really hard to like but then again, I usually struggle with angry protagonists. And then I've also a suspicious nature so from quite early on, I knew that someone is just being too nice so I can't say that I'm surprised with the way things turned out. However, I do love the ending which was so very both dark and empowering.

Despite my struggle with the anger permeating through the story, this was a very fast read. It feels a bit like a psychological thriller with paranormal bent. Mark of the Wicked is a story of redemption; of facing the truth, accepting consequences of your actions, and finally of reaching for the courage to change.

My thanks to Xpresso Book Tours for having me on this tour and  copy of ebook in exchange of honest review

3.5 stars

The plot of this book was really interesting! Strange things are happening in Matilda’s town leading up to Halloween, and everyone thinks it is Matilda’s fault. The only person she can talk to about it is her new friend, Oliver. Throughout the book, Matilda tries to find out who is behind all of the killings, and Oliver and Matilda’s relationship develops.

The book was more mysterious than scary, and some parts gave me the heebie-jeebies! There are some situations the story that could be triggering to some people, so please look into that before picking up this book! Overall, I really liked the plot, but I do wish that the murder mystery was more of a main piece of the story; I sometimes felt like Oliver and Matilda’s relationship took over the majority of the storyline.

The character development in Mark of the Wicked is okay. Matilda has a very strained relationship with her mother, and the reason why isn’t very deep, but it did add some variety in character dynamics. I also appreciated that Matilda wasn’t perfect by any means; she is morally grey, and acts like a real teenager. On the other hand, I didn’t like the relationship between Oliver and Matilda. I don’t think it had enough on page development, so in the end it felt forced.

My favorite part of the book was the magic system. I LOVE books about witches, and when it came to that, this story didn’t disappoint. I thought the way Matilda’s magic worked was really unique, and it was fun to read about how she used her magic in different scenarios, and how other people used magic, too. It reminded me a lot of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and I was here for it!

3.5 stars

Mark of the Wicked has all of the things that you want out of a fall read: witches, a small town, lots of hot drinks, and plenty of autumnal imagery. It made me want to fast forward to October when I can wear a sweater and walk through the falling leaves.

The story itself starts out incredibly strong with an very different kind of heroine that readers might be used to. The mystery moves along nicely until the big reveal comes at the halfway point. I was actually pretty stoked to learn how the villain was at that point because I thought that the tension and drama would get ratcheted up.

Spoiler alert: It really didn't. The next 30% or so of the book was Matilda moping about her love life and letting the villain continue to torture her. It felt like a completely different heroine and honestly, a completely different novel. The final 20% delivered more of the tension and drama that I was looking for, but it just felt a little too late. I still enjoyed it, but I was a little disappointed with the potential not being completely reached.

Thank you to NetGalley and Swoon Reads for a fair and honest review!

Dark and sinister, Mark of the Wicked is a story of a teenage witch who is in a desperate need of getting a second chance in life, although she herself isn't aware of it.

If you like books in the paranormal genre, you know how the female characters tend to be either hapless beginners who have just discovered their special powers, or tough, independent fighters (with a penchant for wearing dark colours) against all the injustice in the world. They are Inherently Good, otherwise what example would they set? Right? Well, Matilda from Mark of the Wicked doesn't fall into either category. She is quite unlikeable with her petty revenges and self-cetredness. It's just that she can get away with them. For now...

Matilda comes from a powerful bloodline of witches and has been taught by her grandmother and her mother that magic should be used for good and there is a balance in nature. When magic is used to hurt someone, the victim's name is carved on the face of the witch. Everything changes when Matilda's father teaches her a painful, but powerful spell for concealing the traces of her wrongdoing (originally created to protect the witchfolk from being persecuted). Why work hard on using magic to help people without getting any thanks, let alone a personal reward, if you can have fun watching them gets scared or confused?

You can guess that it is going to go either the Dorian Gray way or…something really bad is going to happen and shake Matilda into questioning her own decisions. In this case, Oliver, a new boy at Matilda's school becomes interested in her magic, and, all the wicked, inexplicable things that start happening in their small town seem to point at Matilda.

I like stories where the main character develops and discovers that everyone makes mistakes in life. You have to face the consequences, but you're not alone, there are people who will see you as more than just a sum of your errors and will be there for you when you need help.


Mark of the Wicked is a dark and atmosheric read -the events take place around Halloween, so a certain amount of creepiness is only to be expected. It was really interesting to read about the magic system and Matilda's family history. There are some fascinating secondary characters, including Nana May.

The pace is a bit slower in the first part of the book, but it is understandable, as we need to establish the setting and the moral ambiguity of the main character.

Overall, this is a promising debut from Georgia Bowers and I will be looking forward to reading more of her unusual, atmospheric stories.

For a majority of this book I really liked the dark magic, revenge-y take on witches and them not always using their magic for good. I loved the creepy aspects of this book and the kind of "bad witch" feel that it started out on. But then all of a sudden, the "bad magic" wasn't Matilda's fault and she was being framed and it got a little predictable for me, the romance felt a little flat and I didn't love it as much as anticipated.

First and foremost, do NOT go into this book thinking that you are going to be rooting for the main character of this story. Matilda is vengeful and brat that happens to have magical powers, and she needs a lesson in curving her reckless behaviour BADLY.

Like all witches, magic comes with rules otherwise you pay the price (no personal gain, right?). Well, Matilda doesn't give a damn about the rules. Matilda is determined to get revenge on all of those who have wronged her because she found a work around when it comes to that whole magic for personal gain thing...until it stops working. When Matilda and her new friend Oliver start to get in over their heads, Matilda must face the music so to speak before her magic racks up a body count.

I'm always impressed when authors can write characters that get under my skin to the point that I want to come through the pages and throw the book at them in order for them to see the error of their ways. That's exactly what happens here with Matilda. That being said, I am a sucker for morally grey characters, so I felt drawn to Matilda's character and thoroughly enjoyed her arc throughout the book. While I don't agree with all of the decisions that she made, I think it made her a much more relatable character especially as a teenager.

I really enjoyed the examination of witchcraft in this story. These witches felt more normalized versus the pomp and circumstance that you see surrounding a lot of stories where witches are involved. The author does a fantastic job of really digging into the details to make this an immersive and atmospheric read. If you're a mood or seasonal reader, I highly recommend this one for spooky season since these events transpire around that time.

Overall, this was a really fantastic horror/mystery debut from Bowers with no shortage of magic and spookiness!

Thank you to Fierce Reads for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

Mark of the Wicked follows Matilda, whose secret as a witch might be out when the new at school catches her using magic. Oliver already knew, however, and wants to learn more about her magic. But when animals and a young girl mysterious girl turn up dead, everyone blames Matilda. And while Matilda believes she’s not the culprit, she must control her magic and discover the truth, before more people turn up dead.

I have to admit, I was unsure how to feel about Mark of the Wicked when I first picked it up. While the setting and atmosphere of this book are absolutely amazing throughout, I wasn’t exactly hooked right away. The first half ran a bit slow with a lot of story setup with little character development. However, this book completely changes in the second half – and I devoured that second half in one sitting.

What’s interesting to me about Mark of the Wicked is that we’re following a main character who actually isn’t very nice. We don’t know why right away, but we start by seeing some of her questionable actions. I like this deviation because we can anticipate some character growth throughout the story. There’s this balance of not approving of a lot of her actions, but at the same time, still rooting for her growth as a reader.

Ultimately, I think that the second quarter of this book dragged a little too long, even though there’s some important context for the story set up here. But once you get to that second half, the pieces start coming together and things get really interesting. There’s a lot more that we learn about each of the characters and how that’s driven their actions. I think the twist of this book is going to be a bit predictable for some, but for those that won’t predict it, it will be a good one.

I’m struggling with how to rate this one due to my experiences between the first and second half. The first half was okay, but the second half was addictive for me. And I think one of the most fun aspects of the second half for me was the lead-up to Halloween and the atmosphere involved with that. I also really enjoyed the exploration of witchcraft and magick in the second half. I’m essentially ready for Fall to be here any minute now after reading this, so if you’re looking for that kind of feeling, you may enjoy this one.

Welcome to the world of what it means to be a teenage witch!

Matilda is a lineage witch, and she’s no good girl either. She’s perfectly morally grey, and has the scars to prove it, even if you can’t see them. But strange things start happening around Gravewick, things that keep pointing towards Matilda. And who can you trust when you’re a witch, right?

Mark of the Wicked starts off as a medium paced story, getting readers familiar with this interesting take on witchcraft and who Matilda is- and maybe how petty she is too, before turning into a full on, fast paced witchy mystery with death, horrific visions that will absolutely leave you on the edge of your seat wanting more.

The story follows Matilda and has a wicked build up to Halloween, when you just know something big is going to go down, I mean the anticipation was brutal! There are a handful of characters (some you don’t get to know until the end) and I wanted to love them, but I was so leery of their motives and how they were involved in what was happening. (And let me just brag and say my fictional character gut instinct was spot on, if I do say so myself.)

Mark of the Wicked is one intense mystery, and some of those visions Matilda was having are definitely creepy and slightly gory. I loved it honestly!

And of course there’s a feel-good ending with just the right amount of character anxiety for the future. I assume this is a standalone, but I wouldn’t be mad if a sequel popped up. If you like YA Horror, witches and dark magic, and can handle the content warnings of death/animal harm/body horror- this is a read you don’t want to miss!