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    House of Ivy & Sorrow
    House of Ivy & Sorrow
    House of Ivy & Sorrow
    Audiobook8 hours

    House of Ivy & Sorrow

    Written by Natalie Whipple

    Narrated by Brittany Pressley

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    They say a witch lives in the old house under the bridge. . . .

    What the residents of Willow's End don't know is that there are two witches living in the crumbling old house draped in ivy. Ancient, toothless Dorothea Hemlock . . . and her seventeen-year-old granddaughter, Josephine.

    Jo has always managed to keep her magical life separate from her normal one. But now the mysterious Curse that killed her mother—and so many Hemlock witches before her—has returned. Soon Jo realizes that the life she's fought to keep hidden could destroy the one she's worked so hard to protect.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateApr 15, 2014
    ISBN9780062299932
    Author

    Natalie Whipple

    Natalie Whipple loves testing new concoctions in the kitchen, and sometimes pretends she's actually mixing potions instead. Her food has yet to curse anyone, which she supposes is a good thing. Along with cooking, Natalie loves anime, kdrama, drawing, and exercising (so she can eat more food). She lives in Utah with her three kids and husband.

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    Reviews for House of Ivy & Sorrow

    4/5

    21 ratings11 reviews

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    • 2/5
      House of Ivy & Sorrow had a beautiful cover and it was a stand-alone book to boot. Those two thing was what first drew me to add it to my reading list. It's kind of a change of pace to just read one book and be done. And that beautiful cover drew me in.

      Sadly, those were all that was good about this book. I was not totally drawn in by the story but at the same time it didn't bore me too much. I kept listening hoping for things to get better. House of Ivy & Sorrow did have the beginnings of an interesting story as a positive for it to but unfortunately it went no where.

      The story was set in a Matriarchal society of witches. Only females are born witches, not males. But someone did something very bad to change that status quo. Sounds interesting but no so much with such flat and uninspiring characters that seem confused themselves about what their personality and motivations are.

      Didn't get the excitement I expected from this story as I would have hoped for. Being a single book I expected something more thrilling and characters that would make me wish it were a series so I can spend more time with them. Instead I felt disconnected from both the story and the characters.

      Audiobook Review
      Even though I didn't connect with the narrator much I didn't think it affected my feelings for the story at all. However, I do believe it being an audiobook the reason I was able to get through it in the end. Not sure I would have been able to keep reading.

      Overall I think the story lacked character development and world building and that little needed zing to make it more exciting.
    • 4/5
      I really did enjoy this book. It is a good look at friendship and unusual family. The magic is not a dark magic, but I really enjoyed the story line on this and the story behind it.
    • 4/5
      I received this from first reads for an honest review. I've seen such mixed reviews for this book but I really enjoyed it. The cover is just as gorgeous in person. I was expecting more of a Gothic house with a magical weasley esq clock to tell you where everyone is , secret rooms , pictures that talk. Or maybe I just expect a magical house to be Harry Potter quality amazing. I was frustrated with the huge emphasis on Winn and wanted to focus more on the magic and everything that was going on. I was more interested towards the end of the book but I wanted more of a epic bad magic vs good magic throw down.
    • 4/5
      They say a witch lives in the old house under the bridge. They're right. Josephine Hemlock and her grandmother are the last in a long line of powerful witches, but they have equally powerful enemies. Jo's mother died of a mysterious curse, and when Jo's father arrives in town unexpectedly, the same dark forces are trailing along behind him. Jo and her grandmother must figure out who their enemies are and how the curse works, before it destroys everything they love.I thought this book was good, but I'm finding it not particularly memorable. Writing this review now, just a few days after reading, the details have gone fuzzy in my head. (Or is that the cold medicine speaking?) From the cover and title, I expected a story with a much darker tone, more mysterious and fantastical, whereas the tone in this book is generally upbeat with touches of humor and sarcasm even in the direst of situations. Not that I'm lamenting a dearth of angst, mind you, but it's not exactly what I was expecting! All in all, a pleasant enough story, but not one I'll particularly want to revisit.
    • 4/5
      3.5 It had the potential to be much darker and have more substance. It seemed that the darker aspects of the story, which were, for me, what made the story compelling, were kind of sugarcoated. For example, the characters were much too cheerful when yanking out fingernails or barely surviving a killing curse. The lighthearted tone and of the characters didn't exactly fit the darker tone of the plot. However, despite this, I still ended up really enjoying this book. Full review soon.
    • 2/5
      Title: House of Ivy and SorrowAuthor: Natalie WhippleRelease Date: April 15, 2014Publisher: HarperTeenSource: Edelweis DRCGenre(s): YA FantasyReview Spoilers: ModerateAs an honorary Southerner I appreciate this slowly growing fad of Southern and gothic Southern settings for young adult novels. We’re seeing it more and more with the sort of paranormal books especially and I’m totally down with that. Beautiful Creatures wasn’t so bad (okay, so, I’ve only seen the movie) but it seemed a bit, I don’t know, unnecessarily stereotypical. House of Ivy and Sorrow was not. So it gets some points there right off the bat. Plus it doesn’t rely simply on the setting to add a sense of mystery or anything.This book reallyy had a lot of potential.Whipple began to develop a very interesting system of magic and witches. But unfortunately the House of Ivy and Sorrow is one of those books where the world building starts to overpower the rest of the book. Now, don’t get me wrong. I liked the book well enough. But the House of Ivy and Sorrow sets up a much broader magical world that just isn’t expanded upon enough. At times I felt like the author copped out with her explanations and while the whole only-women-can-have-magic thing was interesting… it just wasn’t very well expounded upon. She started to introduce certain types of exceptions to the rule but I just didn’t find her explanations compelling.I don’t know. I wanted to like this book more than I did, I think.House of Ivy and Sorrow follows the story of Josephine Hemlock, a teenage witch from a prestigious family of magic users. In this world, only women can be born magic users and so Josephine – named for her father – has grown up surrounded by the women of her family and their closest friends. Unfortunately, the Hemlock line is dwindling and except for her grandmother Josephine is the last of them. A terrible curse has befallen her family and after striking down her mother ten years ago it’s come back after her family again.The thing is that we only focus on this half of the plot occasionally. I liked that Josephine grew up in a normal town with a normal life and normal friends but the book is almost too normal at times. Whipple created this fantastic history and backstory and series of rules for magic but then she tries too hard to make Josephine seem like just an ordinary person. The rest focuses on Josephine’s uninteresting sort of potential-but-not-really love triangle between her, Winn, and some mysterious guy named Levi or her relationship with her friends. Josephine and her friends are kind of interesting and I enjoyed their relationship but the way they acted all the time was just unrealistic and I really didn’t get why every difficult or stressful thing warranted going home to eat pudding.I’m just like: FOCUS. People are dying and at risk of dying. Get it together.Ultimately, I struggled to finish this book only because I didn’t find it that interesting. But I think it might just not have been my cup of tea so to speak. I think that for fans of Beautiful Creatures and other similar books it would be just fine. I came into this one a bit critical and had just hoped for more. That said, don’t let it discourage you from checking it out because it’s definitely a book that genre fans would appreciate.Final Thoughts: House of Ivy and Sorrow suffered from an underdeveloped and poorly explained – though initially quite interesting – secret, magical world. There was a lot of potential but uninteresting romantic plots and unrealistic portrayals in the face of death and danger hurt the overall story. Still, paranormal fans will probably find quite a bit to like about this one.
    • 4/5
      Thanks to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for allowing me access to this title.

      Modern witches - with a history.

      I liked that the MC had a "normal" life, with school, friends, and dating. But she also had another part, her family history and legacy as a powerful witch family. I thought the depth of the world the author built was great. You can understand why they are witches, where there power comes from, and how they interact with other witch families, but it's written in a way that isn't off-putting. The relationships between family members and friends was well-defined and was realistic. Overall a good read for those who enjoy a realistic tale of withches and magic.
    • 4/5
      HOUSE OF IVY & SORROW was an excellent story about magic, love, and friendship. Jo Hemlock is the only surviving Hemlock witch besides her grandmother. She lost her mother to a Curse that has been killing witches for generations. When her grandmother is Cursed, Jo has to do all she can to find a way to break the Curse. Assisting her are her best friends, non-witches, Beth and Kat. She is also aided by a mysterious boy named Levi that she really can't trust and by her boyfriend Winn who is also keeping secrets from her.I loved the combination of everyday teenage life with the well-developed system of witchcraft that Ms. Whipple developed. In this theory, all magic is potentially black magic and the only difference is in the witch. Will she control the magic or be consumed by it? And only women have magic. It is passed down from mother to daughter. Witches don't marry. And all magic has costs. When Jo's father finds her grandmother and her, Jo begins to learn about her mother's relationship with him. Of course, he was sent by the evil magician who wants to kill all the Hemlocks and drink their magic. This story was engaging and the characters were well-drawn. Fans of magic, friendship, and romance will really enjoy this title.
    • 4/5
      Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: This was a refreshing YA paranormal read with great characters, cute romance, and a fun plot. This is a perfect read for fans of the Paranormalcy series by Kiersten White.Opening Sentence: They say a witch lives in the old house under the interstate bridge.The Review:Josephine Hemlock is a witch, and she comes from a long line of witches. Magic is passed down from daughter to daughter and kept a secret from all outsiders. Only females can be born with magic, so witches only procreate girls to carry on their lines. They draw their magic from the earth and in certain areas it is much more abundant. If a spot is found that contains magic it is claimed by a witching family and bound to stay in that line forever, or until the line dies out. Jo’s family has lived in the same house for generations and it generates tons of magic. Many witching families would love to be able to claim it as their own, but first the Hemlock line will have to be destroyed.Jo’s mother was killed by a dark curse when she was a little girl. So now there is only Jo and her grandmother left in the Hemlock line. They never found the person that cursed her mother and it seems that after all this time they have returned to finish off the rest of the family. While trying to save her family Jo must juggle her normal life as well. Keeping secrets from her best friends has just been a part of her life, but it has never been easy. Not to mention she has finally has her very first boyfriend. Trying to figure out the whole girlfriend thing is hard enough, now she has to protect Winn and all her friends from an unknown enemy that would do anything to take everything away from Jo. Will she be strong enough to save everyone she loves or will she share her mothers fate?Josephine is just one of those girls you can’t help but love. Full of compassion for others and just a super sweet person. But she also has spunk and attitude, so she was in no way a boring character. It was fun to watch her fall in love for the first time and all that comes with that. She is actually a pretty diverse character since she has to juggle her two worlds and keep so many secrets from some of her best friends. I found her easy to connect with and I loved being inside her head.Thinking about Winn just makes me smile. He is one of those guys that is just a genuine sweetheart. He treats everyone with respect and even though he is devastatingly gorgeous he doesn’t use that as an excuse to be a jerk. He has a humble personality and was someone that I could easily like. One of the things that made me relate to him was that he grew up as a farm boy and had worked hard his whole life. I grew up in Idaho so he reminded me a lot of some of the boys I knew when I was younger. He was the perfect love interest for Jo and I thought their romance was sweet.House of Ivy and Sorrow is a wonderful paranormal story. It is a really easy read and I breezed right through it. The magic and setting were unique and drew me in. The characters were cute and easy to relate to. There is just something lite and refreshing about Whipple’s writing. She has a way of making things fun and entertaining without overdoing it. Her writing reminds me a lot of Kiersten White in the way that her stories are simple, yet so engaging. So far I have completed adored everything Whipple has written and will be picking up whatever she comes out with next. I would highly recommend this to anyone that is looking for a great clean YA paranormal read.Notable Scene:My dad goes limp, but the battle has just begun. I stand, my legs brittle like raven bones, and concentrate on pushing the darkness away from me. It jumps back, but it’s strong and persistent. I’m not sure I’ll have enough magic to get rid of it all. And worse, I swear it knows me. I don’t know what that means but I don’t like it. Without a noise, it tells me how badly it wants me.It wants to consume.It wants to hear me scream.It will enjoy every second it tortures me.No. Scare tactics won’t work on me. I’m the one with the power here. Taking deep breaths, I draw on the magic in the tree and force the black away from my body. Slowly, slowly, it retreats. I can see my father on the ground, the soft swinging of the willow branches, the light peeking through the vines. The darkness swirls in front of me, like a storm cloud twisted up on itself.FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of House of Ivy & Sorrow. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
    • 4/5
      3.5 It had the potential to be much darker and have more substance. It seemed that the darker aspects of the story, which were, for me, what made the story compelling, were kind of sugarcoated. For example, the characters were much too cheerful when yanking out fingernails or barely surviving a killing curse. The lighthearted tone and of the characters didn't exactly fit the darker tone of the plot. However, despite this, I still ended up really enjoying this book. Full review soon.
    • 4/5
      Believable, fascinating witches in an original and compelling story. Josephine lives with her grandmother in a small town in Iowa, mourning the mysterious death of her mother and learning witchcraft while keeping up a normal facade to her two best friends and nearly-almost boyfriend.

      Then a stranger comes to town, and it all falls into darkness. Jo must weave the long history of her family with new ideas in order to protect the ones she loves, and decide in the end what price to pay, because all magic comes at a cost.