Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Matilda is born into a witch family but instead of being a good little witch like her mother, she's using magic for nefarious means, mostly pranks on students who are nasty toward her. However, darker magic is appearing and it seems to be centered around Matilda, problem is, Matilda has no idea where it's coming from because it's definitely not from her. She'll give hair loss to a bossy cheerleader, not kill cows. Matilda's determined to solve the mystery before it gets worse.

First off, I really hated how the main character's name is Matilda. It's super petty I know, but it didn't really make sense to give her that name when she's self-centered and mean as heck. I know she "punishes" those who are mean toward her but she goes WAY overboard on her curses and it just comes across as her having a temper tantrum.

Secondly, it was super predictable, even for me. I usually stink at mysteries but this one was super obvious to me.

Thirdly, the predictable villain was really annoying. It was even more annoying how Matilda kept buying into their predictability. Didn't she just curse someone for looking at her weird for a millisecond? Why is she so threatened by a loser villain?

I will say that the writing style is good and interesting, I just didn't like how the story and the protagonist panned out in the long run.

Mark of the Wicked instantly caught my attention. Especially the gorgeous book cover. I loved the dark theme and I was super excited to receive an early copy. I love reading anything dealing with magic and especially witches. Mark of the Wicked did not disappoint me at all. I read the whole book in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. I loved Matilda our main character. I loved the fact that she wasn’t your typical heroine character. Matilda had a dark side with many many flaws. She had a lot of internal conflicts dealing with her father who recently left her and her mother. Matilda has no relationship with her mother and blames her and her coven for her father leaving. Her grandmother doesn’t speak and that causes Matilda to become a complex character. Matilda has no friends at school and she’s constantly hurting others for revenge at a great cause. There was a twist in the book that actually sadden me and broke my heart. But overall, the book was an amazing read. Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an amazing book. I can’t wait to have a physical copy in my collection.

Matilda is pretty hard to like. Even a little. I was happy to see growth from her through the book though. Matilda is a witch and she's not afraid of doing bad magic. She has names carved into her face of everyone she's hurt, but she has a spell that can cover them up. Because of this, I think it makes it easier to hurt people with little thought ahead of time. She's always used love spells for a relationship, but doesn't have to with the new boy, Oliver. Not only does he like her, but he reveals quickly that he's a witch, too. Just not from lineage like Matilda. He's a learned witch. They are able to bond quickly over this. Animals start showing up dead with Matilda's name carved into them. Then a person ends up dead. Matilda and Oliver start looking into things to see who would want to frame her and why. There are a lot of people Matilda has hurt over the years, so it could be anyone wanting revenge.

I was able to figure out the who and why quickly, but it didn't take away from the book. I didn't like Matilda at all. I adored Erin though. She was a bright spot for me in this book.

Huge warnings for animal torture and death. There is a lot of it and it was very hard for me to read. The book is a pretty quick paced read though.

I gave this book 4 stars. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my earc.

Other warnings for parental issues, dark magic, sort of bullying, and revenge. Also, blood and fire.

Mark of the Wicked is overall a fantastic debut. I loved the complex characters and the compelling dynamics between characters. the world and the magic were fascinating to me and felt completely natural and believable. The writing was also amazing for a debut author. I enjoyed the plot overall, though I felt like one of the plot twists was a little too obvious before the reveal. Still, on the whole it is a good, solid story. I’d recommend Mark of the Wicked to any urban fantasy fans, or anyone that wants a book about morally grey witches.

3.5 stars
This was the perfect Halloween read with witchy vibes and I would recommend it for any fans of witchcraft this coming fall season. We follow Matilda in the days leading up to Halloween as there are mysterious and gruesome events seeming to be tied to her and the only person she can confide in is the new boy at school. This (as in horror or mystery novels) isn't usually my cup of tea, but MARK OF THE WICKED was interesting and intriguing and not too scary, more just mysterious. I found it to be a bit slower paced than I would have liked so I did grow bored at times, but there was always something happening to Matilda that kept me curious, though I did solve the mystery before it was officially revealed. I really liked the talk of witchcraft in this book and the rules and history behind it in this specific town and in Matilda's lineage. Matilda was a morally gray main character and while I did enjoy following her, I didn't feel as connected to her and her story line as I would have liked. Like I said, this will give you all the witchy Halloween vibes and I recommend picking it up during the spooky season!

.We follow a young witch Matilda that is rebelling against tradition. Sinister events seem to be her dark ways catching up to her and she’s got some major choices to make. Mark of the Wicked was like all my favorite witchy movies wrapped up in a YA novel. Even with being a YA book, it managed to have a lot of grit and some pretty gruesome, witchy scenes. Legends, lore and loyalty are the main themes of this wonderful witchy book.

This book was awesome ! Thank you to tbr and beyond tours for an arc of this book ! It has witches , drama and so much more ! Go read it

Mark of the Wicked is definitely one of those dark and witchy kinds of reads PERFECT for spooky season. The vibes, the setting and the atmosphere was very easy to visualize and feel and I couldn’t help but get excited for Autumn while reading this book. But besides the atmospheric vibes and tons of witchy references, this wasn’t my favorite read of the year!

I had a very hard time connecting with the main character and didn’t start caring about her or really any of the characters until almost the end. Erin definitely by far was my favorite character and I didn’t see a lot from her until the last half.

But besides not caring for the main character, I had no problems with finishing this book and actually didn’t see the twist coming.. somehow? I also think this ended quite perfectly and I loved the Ivy lore that was entangled with this story!

Overall, I enjoyed it and recommend for the Halloween and witchy vibes!

I was so excited to get an advance copy of Mark of the Wicked by Georgia Bowers. The premise sounded so good. The reality, however, was much different. I hated the lead character, Matilda. She was bratty and immature. She never seemed to grow as a person. This just really fell flat for me. Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Mark of the Wicked is a great young adult witchy tale about a 16 year old girl named Matilda. Matilda gets into plenty of trouble, doesn’t fit in, and finds the easy way out of everything. Once she meets Oliver, her little self-made bubble is burst, and some quite awful things start happening to her. The question is, what will she do to fix everything? Or will she even bother too? Overall I give the book 3/5 stars. Here’s why:

What I loved:
- everything witchy about this book was just great. I was so intrigued the whole time
- I love the whole “what goes around comes around” story line this book goes through. You’ll see it in quite a few different ways throughout the story.
- Matilda is well, awful, but she does go on a journey of self-discovery and growth that I really liked

What I didn’t love as much:
- when I say Matilda is awful, I mean really terrible. She behaves like a brat, has no redeeming qualities about her, and I just wanted to slap her constantly. She is the epitome of a petty teenager with too much power. She also acts like she’s the only witch in existence, which is just ridiculous
- I didn’t like how willing she was to open up to Oliver about being a witch. She sucks at hiding it, and she would tell the whole world if given the proper chance
- I don’t like how predictable the story was. With that being said, I did find it pretty enjoyable overall.

Content warnings: animal abuse/mutilation, bullying

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for providing me with an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Mark of the Wicked comes out August 10, 2021.

Mark of the Wicked is a creepy, atmospheric book about Matilda, a young witch trying to figure out who is framing her for using dark magic.

I really liked the magical system and how Matilda developed through the course of the book, exploring how magic should be used. Georgia Bowers develops an unsettling mood throughout the book, and there are some stunningly spooky set pieces.

A fantastic debut!

"Death in magic is a dark path, one you can easily get lost on."

DNF @ 40%

Mark of the Wicked was a book that instantly caught my attention. If you haven't realized, I love books that deal with Witches and Witchcraft. Then I saw the cover and was sold. I knew that this was a book that I needed to read. And wow, did that backfire. I shouldn't let my witchiness get in the way of me deciding what I want to read. I should learn my lesson but I haven't.

This started off slow and never picked up. I tried to talk myself into reading more but I just couldn't torture myself any longer. The story was bland right along with the stiff characters. I felt as if robots were traveling their way through this book. It wasn't entertaining. It wasn't scary. It sure as hell wasn't a debut that I would brag about.

Let's start off with the worst main character ever. Matilda. Who the hell names their main character Matilda? Do we not remember that horrible movie with the same name? (Yes, there's a grudge I hold because of what the lead actress said about people from South Philly) There were zero redeeming qualities about her. She was an overly petty and selfish teenager who cried and cast horrible spells on people she didn't like. What a pathetic excuse for a Witch! Her Witch card has been revoked!

And then Oliver showed up and I thought this is where everything changes. *rubs hands together* Who doesn't love a male witch!? Ugh! He was terrible too. He actually allowed Matilda to be an awful human. Gross!

Okay, there was a lot that I didn't like but there were a few things that I did enjoy. I loved the silent and creepiness of Matilda's Grandma. What a character! She had a lot more going for her than Matilda and she rarely talked. There was something about her that caught my attention. Can we have a story about her instead? And I also enjoyed the random murders/killings. They were creepy and ritualistic. Talk about weekend fun!

Mark of the Wicked was not for me and it was boring. I like my characters to have a lot more spunk and Matilda had nothing. Well, she was a whiny b**ch but that's not fun. If you're going to be a B, own it. Don't whine about it. Let's hear what the goat has to say.....

For Matilda Hollowell, magic has left its lasting mark. Like all witches, doing harm has left the names of her many victims etched into the skin of her face and neck. Able to hide the marks on her skin, Matilda has her sight set on popularity and revenge. Enter Oliver. When Matilda tries to cast a love spell on her handsome new schoolmate, he catches her. Oliver is a witch himself and the closer they get, the more weird things that happen. Animals dead, carved with her name, weird visions and a dead classmate who everyone believes she killed. With her magic dimming, Matilda must find out who is framing her for dark magic and just how far she’ll go to clear her name.

Year of the witch continues in Georgia Bower’s YA fantasy debut. The book has a great plot concept: magic leaves lasting marks when enacted at the expense of another. That said, while I understand that this is a fictional world and reality, the continued push of covens over individual practice and the perceived importance of lineage witches over learned really bothered me as someone who is a witch. The concept and practice of magick in the book was good, with herbal and crystal correspondences. But solitary witchcraft is just as valid as being part of a coven and no matter the path to the Craft, any witch can be powerful. Pushing a narrative that says otherwise invalidates a lot of practitioners, even in a fictional setting.

Matilda as a character is hard to like. Immature, selfish, quick to pass fault on her choices to everyone around her. She develops quite a bit as a character, but still not enough to be likeable. Her perceived importance as a lineage witch over the learned witches was irritating and I don’t think she grew up enough to earn her ending path. As for Oliver, I had him pegged by his third appearance. I wish there had been more build up to his reveal.

There were a lot of side plot lines that didn’t make sense. Matilda and Lottie’s friction, which was never fully addressed or resolved in a satisfying way. Lottie’s pregnancy. Nanna May’s curse didn’t get enough attention. Matilda’s father was addressed frequently and still didn’t feel fully developed and resolved. I wanted less side plot, more focus on the main plot.

This was an ambitious debut that just didn’t live up to expectation.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3/5 stars

In Mark of the Wicked, magic done for revenge or magic that harms others leaves a permanent mark on the witch after the spell is done. Matilda has a lot of her 'victim's' names carved into her face. She spells people into being her friend or boyfriend and spells anyone who is mean to her, betrays her, or she just flat out doesn't like. Then Oliver comes around - a learned witch who seems the perfect match for Matlida. But everything isn't perfect. Animals are dying around town with her name carved on their sides and now her classmates are dying too.

There is a decent amount of animal death/cruelty/etc. which made this hard for me to read. I had to skim over one chapter in particular that seemed like it was going to be heavy in that area. That was really what made this hard to read for me. It was a unique twist on magic and the villian and there are definitely some creepy moments.

Dark, twisty, haunting, and the perfect witchy read!

When witches harm another, the name of their victim is carved on their body. Matilda can cover her marks with a family spell. Which is good, because since her father left, she’s been using her magic to be popular and to get whatever she wants. But when animals are slaughtered and she starts blacking out, Matilda must find out who or what is causing it. A new witch and romantic interest, Oliver is helping her.

I loved the unique magical system inside of a contemporary world. The character development was top notch; for me, Matilda went from unlikeable, to someone I could cheer for. I loved how she mended relationships with friends and family. And oh, the twists were better than a witch flying loop-de-loops on a broomstick. Positive queer rep/relationship.

I love books about witches, especially when the magic system has a negative affect on the user. The protagnoist is morally grey and looks out for herself. I found her to be kind of boring and immature unfortunately. She falls all over a guy as soon as he shows an interest in her. I saw the twist coming a mile away. This book was definitely a cover read for me. Unfortunately it didn't hold up.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

BEFORE YOU READ: trigger warning for animal cruelty/death throughout the novel

"Mark of the Wicked" is a deliciously creepy YA fantasy debut from Georgia Bowers. Matilda isn't interested in being a good witch and uses her magic for revenge. But when bad things start happening that aren't because of her, such as a girl dying, she has to try to figure out what's going on before she loses control of her magic.

I LOVED Matilda. She's a "mean girl" instead of the typical YA heroine. She has a good heart, but is definitely morally grey, which I love in my heroines. I think it makes them so much more interesting. And there's a really good twist about 50% in that changes the entire book. I was enjoying it up until that point but even more so after!! I did kinda had a gut feeling about what would happen, though, (like a what if moment) so I'll take credit for predicting that plot twist.

I also really really loved the emphasis on female relationships, especially that of Matilda and her mother and grandmother, and Matilda and her female friends. Even though they started off as rocky as first, the development into a kinder relationship was heartwarming and made me smile. Even though there were romantic elements throughout the book, the emphasis was on different types of platonic love, which was great. Romance isn't everything and I loved the emphasis on how important friendships and families are!

The only thing I didn't love was the amount of animal cruelty and death. That's what knocked this book down a star for me. There weren't any trigger warnings so I was really caught off guard. I understand why the abuse was necessary for the narrative and it really made me hate the villain, but I would have appreciated a warning beforehand. I think there should definitely be a trigger warning at the beginning of the book, or at least somewhere, if possible.

Overall, a solid debut I really enjoyed! 4 stars.

What a stunning debut!
Bowers manages to mix Halloween cosiness with creeps and thrills throughout-and don’t forget the love story at the heart of it! I loved the realistic protagonist (who wouldn’t use magic for what they wanted now and again?) and thought this drew parallels with Sabrina.
I’m really looking forward to more from this author and can’t wait to read again during spooky season!

This book impressed me! I have been burned by similar covers with similar dark themes (horrid, wilder girls) so I was definitely hesitant when it came to this book. However, it turned out to be really good!

Synopsis:
Matilda is a young witch who has a bit of a dark side. It’s not entirely her fault, her dad left and she blamed her mother and the coven for running him off. She doesn’t make friends easily and has to rely on her magic for friendship, relationships, and even payback. However, each time Matilda hurts someone else, their name appears on her face, cut into her. She carried that pain of their name forever after. However, weird things start to happen to Matilda, she blacks out, random animals suddenly appear dead with her name cut into them, and a school girl ends up dead. Now Matilda needs to figure out what is happening to her before it’s too late.

What I liked:
- I love the morally grey protagonist! I think we need more of these types of characters in YA novels!
- Tge portrayal of witches in this book makes it seem so naturally and not supernatural in the least. I mean it doesn’t read like a fantasy novel but rather a dark realistic fiction one.
- I actually didn’t see the twist coming and even though it saddened me, I though it was great!

What I Disliked:
- The mother daughter relationship in this book is overplayed in many YA books
- some of the descriptions were a little too much and it dragged on at times.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to YA mystery lovers!

*Thank you to Swoon Reads, Georgia Bowers and Netgalley for providing me with an EARC of "Mark of The Wicked" in exchange for an honest review.*

This was a excellent spooky read with a morally grey protagonist (which we really need more of on YA). I really like how the magic was set up as well.