hollie reads it all's Reviews > Never Been Witched

Listen, I’m a massive Molly Harper fan, and am probably going to be bias in any and all of my reviews of her work. That being said, I absolutely loved “Never Been Witched” (total shock, I know).

Admittedly, I didn’t *love* Alice in the first two books. Not that I disliked her, however, I just didn’t connect with her as much as Riley and Caroline. This meant I cam into “Never Been Witched” excited because I love the world of Starfall Point, but a little less enthused that Alice was the main character. OH HOW WRONG I WAS.

I loved this book, as mentioned previously. I loved Alice’s growth, the exploration of female relationships, the exploration of what family really means (both blood family and the family you choose), the ways platonic and romantic relationships develop, UGH I JUST LOVED IT ALL OK?

Alice underwent a major transformation, as a character, and really came into her own - as did Collin. I loved the parallels between their stories, while also being starkly different characters/people, from very different backgrounds. There were a lot of complicated relationships for Alice to work through, and the way Molly Harper built that framework, and then masterfully navigated? Ugh, *chef’s kiss,* brilliant.

One thing I really love about Harper’s writing is that there is plot, there’s drama, things “go wrong,” but it’s never drawn out unnecessarily. Some authors fall into the trap of trying to make things too exciting, and they get stuck in the convoluted drama they create. Harper is too masterful to fall for that. Her pacing and ability to create tension and conflict for her characters, but to keep the story moving towards meaningful resolution should be lauded from the rooftops. As a reader, I want to feel the feelings of the characters, have the anxiety of “will this get resolved???,” and be on the edge of my seat, but I don’t want to drown in it and lose the plot. That never happens in Harper’s books. They are always purposeful, paced well, and perfect (the 3 P’s!).

I really can’t believe this was the end of the trilogy. I want to keep returning to Starfall Point (maybe with the new sea-witch series????), over and over again. I want to see what happens to Josh and Mina, I want to watch the relationships grow and mature, I want to know what happens to Shadow House (AND THE GHOST BEHIND THE RED LOCK - THAT ENDING??? COME ON!), all of it. I want to know all of it. AND THAT ENDING. Talk about a cliff hanger. If you read this book, then you KNOW what I’m talking about. AND PLOVER’S CHAPTER. Utterly destroyed me. This is the perfect fall/Halloween read. Do yourself a favor and PLEASE read it. The audiobook narrators, Amanda Ronconi and Teddy Hamilton are truly brilliant.