Family Magic by Patti Larsen - Review

Family Magic (The Hayle Coven novels, #1)  
by Patti Larsen
Genre: YA Paranormal
Published: October 2011

Sixteen-year-old Sydlynn Hayle is the daughter of a powerful witch and a demon lord of the seventh plane. The trouble is, she just wants to be ordinary. Syd struggles to survive the minefield of her new high school while being torn between her attraction to football hero Brad Peters and the darkly mysterious Quaid Moromond. When her coven comes under attack, Syd is forced to face the fact only her power can save her family’s magic.

 Read a teaser that I posted.

My review:
Sydlynn's mom is the coven leader, her dad is a demon, her grandmother lost her mind while defending the family, her uncle is a vampire who lives in the basement and sleeps in a cupboard, her pet is a demon in a cat body, and her little sister has to disguise her appearance (because she has horns) when she goes out in public. And that is just in a "normal" day. Syd doesn't want to be a part of it anymore and is just waiting for the day when she turns 18 and can get out. However, she soon realizes it isn't that easy. When her family is attacked, Syd must stop being passive about her magic and learn how to use it. She must also learn how to control the demon side of her or risk having it take over.

This book has a little of everything. Magic, witches, demons, vampires, young love, family conflicts, teen angst. The initial thought may be that there is just way too much going on in one story. However, the focus is clearly on the magic and on Syd being half witch/half demon. The other things are more secondary to the main elements, and they just come into play to effectively support and add interest to the story.

I think Syd is one of my all-time favorite characters. She is funny and snarky but has a fierce love for her family. (You can read more about Syd in Patti Larsen's guest post, Just Who is Sydlynn Hayle?) I am ready to follow Syd's journey through this series. Patti Larsen is clearly a brilliant author who does an outstanding job of drawing in her readers. She describes her characters and the settings beautifully. You can picture a demon raising even if you haven't ever been to one. I was hooked from the first paragraph. I thoroughly enjoyed Family Magic, and I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys paranormal novels.

Provided by the author for review.

About the author:
Patti Larsen is a middle grade, young adult and adult author with a passion for the paranormal. Her YA thriller series, The Hunted, is available now. The first four books of The Hayle Coven series, Family Magic, Witch Hunt, Demon Child and The Wild are out now. Her YA paranormal novel, Best Friends Forever, and steampunk series, Blood and Gold, are due early in 2012. She is a full time writer and a part time teacher of her Get Your Book Done program. Patti lives on the East Coast of Canada with her very patient husband and four massive cats.

You can find Patti Larsen on her site, Twitter, and Facebook.