Review: The Witches of Echo Park by Amber Benson

Witches of Echo Park

Author: Amber Benson

Release Date: January 6, 2015

Publisher: Ace Trade

The Witches of Echo Park Book #1

ISBN:   0425268675

ISBN13: 9780425268674

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Review Copy Source:Publisher

Unbeknownst to most of humankind, a powerful network of witches thrives within the shadows of society, using their magic to keep the world in balance. But they are being eliminated—and we will all pay if their power falls…

When Elyse MacAllister’s great-aunt Eleanora, the woman who raised her, becomes deathly ill, Lyse puts her comfortable life in Georgia on hold to rush back to Los Angeles. And once she returns to Echo Park, Lyse discovers her great-aunt has been keeping secrets—extraordinary secrets—from her.

Not only is Lyse heir to Eleanora’s Victorian estate; she is also expected to take her great-aunt’s place in the Echo Park coven of witches. But to accept her destiny means to place herself in deadly peril—for the world of magic is under siege, and the battle the witches now fight may be their last…

Elyse heads home when she finds out her great-aunt is dying. She has no idea, but she is about to inherit the coven of witches her aunt has been the head of for years. As she's thrust into a new world, she also is forced to figure out what's stalking her new friends.

I really enjoyed the mystery surrounding THE WITCHES OF ECHO PARK. I was really surprised when some big secrets were revealed. I had a few things totally wrong in my head. I would have liked to see more revealed between Elyse and Weir. It was made clear that they are meant for each other and then things were kind of pushed to the background for them. Hopefully we will get more in book 2. There are some interesting characters in the coven and I look forward to learning more about them.

WITCHES OF ECHO PARK is the first book I have read from author Amber Benson and I enjoyed it. I found the beginning to be a little slow while they were setting up the characters, but once it passed that point I enjoyed the pace, storyline and mystery that was presented. It was an interesting start to her new series and I will be reading more.

I gave it 3.5/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.