(Review & Giveaway) This Wicked Game by Michelle Zink ~Blog Tour~

Release Date:  November 14, 2013
Published By:  Dial
Length:  368 pages
Review Copy:  ARC, for tour in exchange for honest review

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Claire Kincaid’s family has been in business for over fifty years.

The voodoo business.

Part of the International Guild of High Priests and Priestesses, a secret society that have practiced voodoo for generations, the Kincaid’s run an underground supply house for authentic voodoo supplies. Claire plays along, filling orders for powders, oils and other bizarre ingredients in the family store, but she has a secret.

She doesn’t believe.

Struggling to reconcile her modern sensibilities with a completely unscientific craft based on suspicion, Claire can’t wait to escape New Orleans – and voodoo – when she goes to college, a desire that creates almost constant conflict in her secret affair with Xander Toussaint, son of the Guild’s powerful founding family.

But when a mysterious customer places an order for a deadly ingredient, Claire begins to realize that there’s more to voodoo – and the families that make up the Guild – than meets the eye.

Including her own.

As she bands together with the other firstborns of the Guild, she comes face to face with a deadly enemy – and the disbelief that may very well kill her.

  This was something new and intriguing to me.  Zink has never let me down when creating worlds and characters that capture me and I was not let down with my expectations of this one in the slightest.  There is a part of me that has always wanted to see New Orleans and knowing that part will never be satisfied any time soon, I live it through books.  The bonus with this read was that not only did Zink create a place I could visualize easily but instead of filling it with vampires or something else supernatural, she used the supernatural that was accepted to have been there originally.  I'm not vamp bashing or generalizing by any means but it was good to see someone take hold of this area and place it somewhere into a general area of its roots.

  What the description doesn't mention is that not only is Claire a non believer being raised in a voodoo community but she is a descendent of one of the most well know Voodoo Priestess ever.  This was a little fact that I found interesting because hey how do you not believe when so many believed in a member of your family?  Here also lays the problem, that despite all the power her blood should hold, she wants nothing to do with it.  That is until everything seems to give her no other choice but to believe.  Because of this there was a consistent pacing and no real down time where the story plateaued.  Everything took off in the start and gradually became more from there.  There was twists and turns along the way but nothing was horribly unbelievable and I was happily along for the ride.

  I really liked Claire.  Sometimes her logical mind was unreasonable despite the fact she had good reasoning.  However, on that note I would like to point out that this is also a quality that I appreciated about her.  She stuck to HER beliefs no matter what was expected of her and did not sway until basically her entire world started flipping over.  Even then it was not an immediate acceptance but a gradually/possible belief.  It was not like a light turning on but more like an ember that was getting enough air to finally become a flame.  Her connection to the world she denied was actually quite undeniable but I was relieved she didn't do the insta believe thing.  She was also willing to stand on her own.  She did not rely on anyone to do things for her and once her mind was set, she did not let go until she had accomplished what she wanted.  This is actually kind of what took her onto the believer side of things.  I loved watching the change and seeing the growth and though she was no kick ass fighter, turns out she had something else kick ass on her side.

  Now, triangle haters everywhere rejoice!  There is only one guy for Claire.  No indecision, no second possibility and no other guy getting in the way of her a Xander being perfect.  Xander is the son of one of the most prominent families and is not the "bad boy" but he is awesome in so many other ways.  He is willing to sneak around with Claire and not because that is what he wants but because it is what she wants.  He obviously cares very deeply for her and wants her but she is hesitant because he believes and though this does kind of hurt him, he holds out for her.  He also tries to protect her but with all strong female leads for the most part she wants nothing to do with it.  I really liked Xander, he was not typical of any book boyfriend out there, he was truly unique.

  This review could go one because there were actually a few other notable characters in this book but then I think you would loose the impact of the main ones.  There is just so much to enjoy in this one that I   I love this modern world Zink has pulled together and yet kept some of the older history woven throughout it.  I will admit it was different than what I was used to when it came to Michelle but it was a really good different.  I highly recommend picking you this book if you are looking for a quick and fresh read!!

  He kissed her, his mouth conforming perfectly to hers.  She never stopped being surprised at the feeling that arose between them.  They'd known each other their whole lives and had been dating in secret for over a year, but somehow the rush of desire she felt in his arms hadn't dimmed even a little.

  Clare watched people pass by on the other side of the window.  She thought about Xander, about the tangled wed that was their relationship, and the Guild and her lack of conviction next to his steadfast belief.

  Whatever Sasha said, it wasn't as simple as she made it sound.

  True love didn't always conquer all.

  "You're in trouble." she said.  "We all are."

  "We?" 

  "The firstborns," Allegra clarified.  Her eyes seemed to cloud over, her voice growing distant.  "I can't see the threat clearly, but it's out there."

  It is all I can do, and I can only hope as I prepare to leave this world for the next that you find enough peace in your heart to suspend this wicked game.

                                                                       Marie Leveau

Her mother would have been ecstatic that Claire had shown any interest in the craft, let alone actually tried a spell for her own purposes.

  Claire didn't want to give her the satisfaction.

  She looked down at it, catching a whiff of aloeswood.  It was a small thing, wearing the gris-gris for Xander.  And maybe it wasn't just for him.  For the first time, she had a legitimate reason to question her disbelief.

A HUGE thank you to Michelle for providing this awesome prize pack <3  

It is open to US/CAN and I want to wish you all GOOD LUCK!!

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