Book Title: Sweep: Book of Shadows, the Coven, and Blood Witch (Sweep)
Author: Cate Tiernan
Purchase: Amazon
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Description from Goodreads:

The first three Sweep books bound into one gorgeous edition at a fabulous price! Morgan Rowlands never thought she was anything other than a typical sixteen-year-old girl. But when she meets Cal, a captivatingly handsome coven leader, she makes a discover that turns her whole world upside down: she is a witch, descended from an ancient and powerful line. And so is Cal. Their connection is immediate and unbreakable; Cal teases out Morgan's power, her love, her magick. But Morgan discovers too soon that her powers are strong-- almost too powerful to control. And she begins to suspect that Cal may be keeping secrets from her…secrets that could destroy them both.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars 

The Sweep series is one of my all-time faves and I reread it every year during Autumn. It’s all about witches and magic and changing seasons, so the timing feels appropriate. Plus the books begin at the start of the school year, so I like reading about the changing leaves as they’re actually changing for me in New England; it’s sort of my way of ushering in the season.

I love these Sweep compilations, despite their general uniformity. I used to own the original twelve-book series with their ghastly former covers (no offense!) and having the whole set was a bit unwieldy. Each individual book is pretty short, usually around 150 to 200 pages on the long end, so they’re perfect reading chunks.

The set of the first three books is top-tier. The first book introduces Morgan Rowlands, your typical sixteen-year-old girl from central New York state. She lives in a small town called Widow’s Vale with her parents and fourteen-year-old sister, Mary K. Per typical YA, Morgan’s world turns upside down when new kid Cal moves to town and graces the halls of their high school. He’s charismatic, oh-so-sexy, and he practices Wicca. Morgan and a group of classmates are intrigued day one and they begin studying Wicca with Cal as their teacher. Morgan’s eyes are opened to the world of magic, witch craft, and a deeper connection with the Goddess. She’s also crushing pretty hard on Cal.

The second and third books follow Morgan as her relationship with Cal — and Wicca — progresses. She learns she’s a blood witch, capable of wielding true magic and casting spells. Not only that, but she’s strong. She learns Wicca isn’t all beauty and good vibes — there’s a dark side, as well. It becomes imperative for Morgan to learn as much as she can to protect herself from those who would use her for her power.

Morgan isn’t my favorite main character, but I’m constantly impressed by her, and her journey of self-discovery fascinates me. I actually think we’d be friends in real life. She feels an instant connection to Wicca, which forces her to question everything she’s ever known about herself, especially her adherence to Catholicism. Her entire family devoutly practices Catholicism and they’re firmly against Wicca. I appreciate that the Rowlands have such a strong presence in these novels and their struggle with Morgan’s changing identity feels very true to life. It was especially interesting to read as Morgan and Mary K. explored their relationships with religion and its impact on their relationship as sisters.

Morgan’s budding relationship with Cal is exhilarating and magickal — the epitome of young love. Their feelings are all-encompassing and practicing Wicca together brings them even closer. Cal is described beautifully — he’s a fictional character, and yet I find myself obsessing over his caramel eyes and sun-kissed curls. And I noticed on this reread that he’s a great active listener, an unusual trait in YA leading men. I think Cate Tiernan includes this trait intentionally, as Cal is described as a charismatic social chameleon capable of manipulation. That’s one of the things I love about Tiernan’s writing style — she’s succinct, but every single word matters.

It can be frustrating to watch Morgan place her trust in the wrong people, but you know these are the mistakes she needs to make to learn and grow into the woman she’ll become. Her friendships are tested as Morgan’s feelings for Cal grow stronger and she begins spending more time with him. The high school drama is all too familiar and I can’t help but appreciate the realism, like a time machine is bringing me right back to my high school years.

The realism is truly my favorite part of this series…which is funny, considering the, well, magic aspect. For instance, Morgan’s best friends from childhood are Bree Warren and Robbie Gurevitch. The three often hang out at home together, but at school, they tend to diverge into varying social circles. Morgan generally sticks with the brains, and it’s nice to see another side to her and a separate cast of characters. However, once Cal enters the picture, Morgan begins spending more time with their coven, which includes Bree and Robbie, and other classmates like popular couple Jenna and Matt, goth-girls Raven and Beth, the always-stoned Ethan, and beautiful Sharon. It’s so much fun watching this melting pot of high school cliques result in genuine friendship. Morgan’s pre-existing judgements are challenged in this situation, so we get to see her become a more open person.

Overall, this collection is a breeze to get through and it’s the perfect Autumn read. Magic, first love, betrayal, connection with the natural world, coming of age — it checks all the boxes for me. And as the series goes on, there’s a strong focus on female empowerment. Who could say no to that?