This is a sort of YA take on the world I’m familiar with from Deborah Harkness’ Discovery of Witches series, in the sense that it centers on a supernatural community with various subsets all coexisting in Oxford. But this story focuses on a main character who is a vampire hunter.
It was a fun world and an enjoyable read, especially as a debut novel.

This was slow to start, however once it did pick up I found I couldn’t put it down, after this it was really interesting once it got going

Fun and fast paced YA vampire read. It was nice to see another fantasy novel set in Oxford and the choice of MC was interesting. I’m all for a socially awkward non conventional hero. Enjoyed this a lot.

This book was good don't think I would purchase it though just wasn't my type of read nothing wrong with it it was just a little boring to me.

It took me awhile to get into this book but once I did I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed the story and world building. I also liked the characters.

I loved the world-building. It was surely a fun read. I haven't read many supernatural books but I really enjoyed this one. The characters were so genuine and funny.

Nate is on the verge of becoming a full-fledged vampire hunter when a series of attacks around Oxford put him between his calling and his family.

I really wanted to like this book, but I felt like I was missing giant chunks of the story. The constant vague references to things that happened in the past kept pulling me out of the main plot and there were too many characters to keep track of. I was mostly confused about events during my reading, which made it difficult to stick with. As always, your mileage may vary.

While I rarely read books mainly focused on a male main character this was refreshing for me to read. The author was able to bring in not only the fantasy of the hunter, vampire, witch, and shift worlds but also real personal problems such as family obligations and school/life balance as a teenager turning 18. The setting of the story is in the UK but as a North American reader it wasn’t full with slang or over the top British-isms that me out of the book sometimes. I appreciated that the story wasn’t just about Nathan trying to be what his family wants but what he wants to do for good in the world while also just being an awkward teenager. This is a good book to show that it’s okay not to believe what your family believes and sometimes your own path is the road you must take. For the first book in the series it really roped me in and I can’t wait for the story to continue and more of the world to unfold. As someone that reads a lot of vampire focused book this one is a unique book that I will think back on. The relationship blooming between Nathan and Cynthia is sweet and innocent as they trying to navigate the supernatural and the real world.

My only thing that I’ll nitpick is for a space between the text messages and the rest of the writing since I think so get lost sometimes but that’s just personal preference.

Can’t wait for the second book!

This story tells us about a vampire hunter Nathan, who is almost graduated. His best friend is a witch, his uncle is a vampire, and he has crush on a girl, who is probably the supernatural being as well. Add to that problems with social life and grades. So, as you can see, Nathan's life isn't really simple.

It was hard for me to get into this story, because I constantly felt like I was reading the second book in the series. We didn't have a proper introduction into the world, into the characters, their personalities and relationships. Maybe that's why I had problem with caring about all those characters. As for me, they were shallow, not properly described and lacked emotions and feelings.

Overall, some YA fantasy lovers with probably love this book, but, unfortunately, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

It was an enjoyable and funny book. I liked the world of witches, vampires, hunters and shifters. But more than anything, I liked charactrers, their friendship and loyalty to each other. The romance was sweet. Nathan was a good main character. I loved that he accepted his uncle, Adrian, as his family and friend, considring that Adrian was a vampire. I highly recomend this book!

What a fun read! I read this in one day because I kept picking it back up wanting to know what happens next. While I'll admit that it's fairly easy to guess where the plot and characters are going, it doesn't make it any less fun or exciting to keep reading. de Klerk has created an engaging world where the supernatural works right underneath the noses of those that aren't as familiar with it.

Nathan is a vampire hunter in training and from a long line of vampire hunters. His heart might not be completely in it though as his friends also consist of a witch, a vampire, and a supernatural making his decision all the more difficult. While he's training for his initiation into vampire hunting, a group of dark witches comes into town and puts him and his friends in danger. Add the stress of school and family on top of that, and Nathan is one stressed out person.

Being in high school and in the middle of training to be a Hunter is not all its cracked up to be. Nathan has a lot to juggle, and unfortunately he is not managing so well. With the help of some witch friends and his vampire uncle, Nathan sets out to find out what is going on in Oxford. His parents, however, are unhappy with the company that he is keeping.
Opinion
To sum my opinion up in one word, I'd say "epic." This book has all of the promise that the first HP book had: a young hero, action, a magical word and good friends. I think my students who find themselves consumed by books will fly through this one. I have high hopes for this series and cannot wait to get my hands on the next book.
Many thanks to Net Galley and Margot de Klerk for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.
I enjoyed this one! Initially, it felt a little slow to get going and it was almost as though I was dropping into the story partway started if that makes sense. I felt as though I had missed some things as the book began, or some characters, but things cleared up the longer I read. I liked the mix of supernatural elements and the different take of witches, vampires, and hunters in a precarious balance. it was an engaging book that kept me wanting to know what would happen next.

Actual rating: 2.5/5

With his initiation only months away, Nate decides to risk it all and delve into Oxford's supernatural intrigue in Wicked Magic by Margot de Klerk

Nate was an intriguing main character. At 17, he's trying to juggle going to human school and hunter training, and failing at it, while hiding most of his association with the supernatural from his strict guardians, and even stricter parents. But he's also a teenage boy, with many of the stereotypical straits that implies, though he mainly doesn't understand girls—a fact he doesn't hesitate to remind us of very often throughout the book. Though he truly shines as a character when he starts to uncover the wider conspiracy behind the deaths in Oxford.

Though I wasn't particularly interested by her character, Cynthia is a good pairing for Nick and their budding romance was sweet. De Klerk emphasises the importance of communication and consent that I thought was delightful, and only softened Nick's character further.

However, it's de Klerk's secondary characters that steal the show. As a hunter turned vampire Adrian struggles with his immortality at times, while Monica puts on an excellent façade as a witch on the verge of magical burnout. Even Lily, who doesn't appear as often, grabbed my attention more than the main pair, while I'd have loved to see more of the vampire hierarchical structure.

De Klerk's supernatural world is made up of a three part council that governs its denizens, the witches, the vampires and the hunters, from a historic seat at Oxford, though we come to find out there are other supernatural creatures out there. De Klerk does an overall decent job of worldbuilding, the supernatural blends well into the historic parts of the city, while the powers and limitations of each species are well defined, especially in the latter half of the book.

Where Wicked Magic suffers the most is its pacing. The first half of the book concentrates mainly on Nick, his developing relationship with Cynthia and his dilemma with the initiation, while there is very little of the actual plot that appears in the second half. The book becomes fast paced and much more engaging, with earlier scenes suddenly making sense, and the characters coming together to actually further the story. Unfortunately, it was also over too fast, though I did like how the book ended.

Overall Wicked Magic by Margot de Klerk left me ambivalent. There is so much potential in it but it's dragged down by a need to set up the characters just so, which includes reading about Nick's inability to understand girls often enough that I could see the line coming. De Klerk has the dynamic and engaging writing style needed to get better, so I'll still be keeping an eye out for her books in the future.

Wicked Magic is Margot de Klerk debut novel, it was an incredible good starts for a fantasy series aimed at young people, but it can be appreciate at every age because it's written really well.

Nathan is a vampire hunter trainee, his graduation day is fast approaching but he begins to doubt on the hunters methods. When he runs into some troubles that threaten his friends Nate decides to help them going against every principle his family tought him. Will he save everyone keeping his family n the dark?

I've enjoyed to follow Nate in his search of himself, I liked his personality and his heart of gold. I empathized with him and I felt as lost as him at times because the pressure on him was too much. I'm glad he has such an eclectic and loyal group of friends who help him.

I would have like to have some more of the back stories of the supporting characters, I hope to read about their past in a spin-off kind of book...maybe.

I recommend it, I kept thinking at this story and these characters every time I put down the book because real life needed my attention.

A surprisingly refreshing ya paranormal novel, Wicked Magic follows the life of vampire hunter-in-training Nathan as he prepares for his initiation and navigates life in Oxford as a teenage hunter. There was a lot I enjoyed about this book and the number one thing was that Nathan already knew that supernatural creatures aren't evil. We didn't have to watch Nathan go through the realization that vampires aren't monsters etc. etc. The book did deal with him reckoning with the fact that hunters can be monsters too, but he was already questioning whether he wanted to be a hunter from before the books events, so we got to skip the cliche parts of a paranormal/vampire book. And there was no hunter/vampire romance either! de Klerk manages to skip these tired tropes/cliches and has created a book that is solidly rooted in the relationships between the characters. A really solid debut from de Klerk, which I think will be an excellent YA series.

Wicked Magic is a young adult fantasy book set in Oxford, Nathan Delacroix, our protagonist, is training to become a vampire hunter, its a family tradition because the Delacroix family is one of the oldest vampire-hunting families, but he is doubting how moral and ethical what they are doing is, especially because he is best friends with a witch called Monica and has a very strong relationship with his uncle Adrian who was once a vampire hunter but was turned into a vampire, he also has other vampire friends like Lily, also the girl he likes is a shape-shifter so its all very complicated. I found the world the story was set in very interesting because It is controlled by a council containing 3 witches, 3 vampires,s and 3 hunters who make sure everything is fair but they are not doing a very good job at it, I would also have liked more world-building because what I read was captivating and I wished I had seen more. Ad Nathan's 18 birthday approaches so does, his initiation as a hunter but as I mentioned before he is doubting how much he wants to become a hunter, at the same time trouble is starting in Oxford. Wicked magic was a solid read and the characters were very relatable with Nathan being an awkward teenage boy, there was also a clear development in all of the characters, not just the main ones. All in all, I found this book a pretty enjoyable read and very pleasant to read.

I didn't expect to like this quite as much as I did. I enjoyed the paranormal aspect of the story and the main character questioning his way of life. Definitely will be watching out for the next book in the series.

Nathan, a vampire hunter in training, has a lot of hard choices to make when he realizes that his beliefs don’t exactly line up with the hunter ideology. But before he can make any sense of what he wants to do with his life unusual attacks start popping up around Nathan and his group of supernatural friends. Can this rag-tag bunch get to the bottom of the encroaching threat? Let’s find out.

Read if you like: YA paranormal romance, teen romance, found family, questioning the status quo, teen characters that don’t have it all figured out.

Nathan is so close to becoming a Hunter. Nathan is also a mess. His grades are awful. He’s friends with a witch and a couple of vampires and there’s something not quite human about his crush. How can he continue on this path when half of the people he cares about most are enemies in his family’s eyes? Nathan soon finds out that asking the ‘wrong’ questions leads to answers he doesn’t expect. His unique social position affords him inside information and the group quickly finds themselves in the middle of a political plot driven by dark mages who want to steal magic… and kill to take it.

I kept calling this book cute. It’s not ‘cute.’ It’s not ‘sweet.’ The teen romance is cute and sweet. The young and realistic characters are cute and sweet. But Wicked Blood has action and mystery and it’s all wrapped up around a wavering teen who boy is learning that ‘that’s the way it is’ doesn’t mean that it’s the way it should be. It is geared toward a younger teen reader. Or at least the characters seem more like actual teens unlike some YA that has overly capable and overly rational teen leads. So, maybe that’s why I kept calling it cute… because awkward teens are cute in their social flailing and illogical leaps of reason.

I really enjoyed having this book from Nathan’s perspective. It gave it a different feel from other teen/YA paranormal romance books. It could have easily been from Cynthia’s POV and we would have had yet another teen girl unknowingly caught up in a supernatural world dragging us along as she skeptically pieces together all the new info shoved her way. BUT… we don’t! (I mean Cynthia does do that, but she’s just the love interest. Ha!) We instead, have a kind, knowledgeable, and fun group of friends to help us navigate our story. It was a refreshing change of pace. It was a great YA read for those who love a teen story and I can’t wait to see what happens to our new friends next in Wicked Blood.

Thank you to NetGalley and Margo de Klerk for a copy of this fun book!

I received an arc in exchange for an honest review ***

I enjoyed how easy this book was to follow, the world building was very straightforward and the characters were memorable. I got the feeling as it progressed however that this wasn't the first book in the series, but it is! It referenced past events, so that was confusing to follow at first, but it did get better. There could have been more character development, but that can be hard to do without overwhelming the audience, which the author managed to avoid in their world building.

I liked how the main character had two sides to his personality, the teenage boy and the hunter who is just trying to get by.  There was a mix of action and character development, especially for the characters close to Nathan. Overall, a worth while read to be sure.