Always A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

Title: Always A Witch	Loved it	Graded
Author: Carolyn MacCullough
Genre: Paranormal
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Elements: Time travel
Series: Book 2 of the Witch series

The adventures of Tam and Gabriel continue with more time travel, Talents, spy work, and of course, the evil Knights. Since the gripping conclusion of Once A Witch, Tamsin Greene has been haunted by her grandmother's prophecy that she will soon be forced to make a crucial decision—one so terrible that it could harm her family forever.

When she discovers that her enemy, Alistair Knight, went back in time to Victorian-era New York in order to destroy her family, Tamsin is forced to follow him into the past. Stranded all alone in the nineteenth century, Tamsin soon finds herself disguised as a lady's maid in the terrifying mansion of the evil Knight family, avoiding the watchful eye of the vicious matron, La Spider, and fending off the advances of Liam Knight.

As time runs out, both families square off in a thrilling display of magic. And to her horror, Tamsin finally understands the nature of her fateful choice.

I came into this book with lowered expectations, and boy, were they exceeded! There's more of time-travel in in ALWAYS A WITCH, bringing us to one of my favourite parts in the book: Victorian-era New York, where Tamsin, along with Gabriel, goes undercover to find out more about Knight's mission and her family.

This is a book that focuses more on family and familial expectations more than anything else. I've already pointed out more of the cons of having such a close family in the previous review, and this book sets out to show the pros, and in showing that sometimes your parents (or grandparents) do know what's best for you.

I love the moral, and the ending left me all teary.

This series is a case of the whole being stronger than its part. Alone, there are some weaknesses that can be improved on, for example the baddie factor and the execution of the scenes. It's only when you put them together that you realise how each book depends on the other to keep the series strong and sensible, and overall heartwarming in its conclusion.