The Line

Witching Savannah, Book 1

By: J. D. Horn

Narrated by: Shannon McManus

Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Savannah is considered a Southern treasure, a city of beauty with a rich, colorful past. Some might even call it magical....

To the uninitiated, Savannah shows only her bright face and genteel manner. Those who know her well, though, can see beyond her colonial trappings and small-city charm to a world where witchcraft is respected, Hoodoo is feared, and spirits linger. Mercy Taylor is all too familiar with the supernatural side of Savannah, being a member of the most powerful family of witches in the South.

Despite being powerless herself, of course.

Having grown up without magic of her own, in the shadow of her talented and charismatic twin sister, Mercy has always thought herself content. But when a series of mishaps - culminating in the death of the Taylor matriarch - leaves a vacuum in the mystical underpinnings of Savannah, she finds herself thrust into a mystery that could shake her family apart...and unleash a darkness the line of Taylor witches has been keeping at bay for generations.

In The Line, the first book of the Witching Savannah series, J. D. Horn weaves magic, romance, and betrayal into a captivating Southern Gothic fantasy with a contemporary flair.

©2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.; 2014 J. D. Horn

Good First Effort

This was a fairly strong debut. The series has promise. It seemed slightly disorganized at the beginning, as if the author thought the reader already had quite a bit of background knowledge. But eventually it made sense. Then the climax got a little jumbled. But while it seemed pretty obvious that Mercy's sister wasn't was saintly as we were led to believe, the author did surprise me with the other villain. If there were a lot of clues, I missed them. And some of his actions prior to the big reveal didn't make much sense in hindsight. But the fact that I was surprised at the big reveal, shows the author has some promise. I am not dying to get my hands on the next book in the series. But I will definitely read it. And I expect it to be an even better experience. The narration was kind of a non-issue and that is a good thing. It didn't overpower the book.

Good book

This was a good story. Narration was great for characters. I'd like to say it was a five star, but it dragged at times. I have ordered book two because it was worth following the story . I'm not biting at the bit for story two, but I'm sure I'll at least enjoy seeing where the author goes with it. Witches, ghosts, voodoo with a backdrop of southern coastal mysticism.

Love a good Witch story...

Couldn't stop listening to this one! Was a good find and can't wait to listen to book 2! Going to start it now!

I enjoyed this book!

The narrator did a great job. Now on to the second book, hope it is as good.

Nice story, but the main character didn't really do anything to further the story

The story was good, interesting characters and dialog. I was disappointed with the main character's part. She was basically a victim who lucked out in the end. She really didn't have much influence on events.

Surprisingly good!

I was really hesitant to read this book, but it kept popping up on my recommendations, so I finally gave in. It ended up being really good. The story is interesting, always kept me wanting to hear more. I would definitely recommend it.

Savannah.

Fantastic. Funny, mysterious, witchcraft, shadows and golems. A little bit of romance and murder. I loved it.

Great story of witches

Witchy little tale... very well done! Narrator did an excellent job with all of her characters!

Wow

l the story was amazing and the narrator's voice of the way she can differentiate between the accent and different people's voice you could tell that she have been working on this for a long time I really enjoyed it

Savannah is perfect for witches and hoodoo

J.D. Horn introduces us to the addicting series 'Witching Savannah' with 'The Line.' This book is set in Savannah, Georgia and the magic that lives there. Mercy is the daughter of a powerful family of society witches, but Savannah is also home to hoodoo root doctors and a bevy of ghosts. Residents are used to the unexpected and unexplainable.

Mercy has a fraternal twin, Maizy. When they were born their mother died bringing Mercy into the world. Mercy barely survived and was born powerless but her beautiful, loving twin was born with an extraordinary amount. While Mercy felt the sting of neglect she also had freedom. Mercy was openly called 'The Disappointment,' and Maizy was showered with attention but also expectation. It would have been easy for Mercy to be jealous but she found all the love she needed in her twin.

Minor romance drama leads Mercy to reach out to a dangerous, disdained, Root Doctor named Mother Jilo. Mercy has fallen in love with Maizy's boyfriend, but she is not looking for Jilo to have him fall in love with her. She wants Jilo to cast a spell on Mercy to fall in love with her best friend who she knows would make her happy. Jilo explains the basics of magic and power, something her family never bothered to do. Jilo can cast this but only with sacrifice...not guilt. Mercy sees the mistake but Jilo won't turn back warning her family and her trust in them is misplaced. The intrigue begins.

The next day her evil Aunt Ginny dies. More accurately, she is murdered. Mercy had been summoned to Ginny, the families seat of power and anchor to The Line. As Mercy enters the room she sees her Aunt has just had her severed. Like a normal human, she doesn't call the police she screams drawing her family to the scene. The search for the culprit begins and opens doors to many family secrets and questions. Mercy learns her Aunt was an Anchor to The Line, a magical barrier created by thirteen witch families and held in place by thirteen witches to protect the world from demons. Demons that would enslave us. Ginny's seat of power is empty and the vacuum must be filled. The families descend.

Horn has given us good YA fiction. It's loosely YA, as Mercy is twenty, but it is coming of age. The romance is minimal and secondary to learning to deal with your family as adults, and finding purpose and a place in the world. It just takes place in a beautiful gothic construction of Savannah with witches. It passes the Bechdel test, and it's a good mystery. I listened to an audible version narrated by Shannon McMannus. She has a beautiful southern accent that made me feel like I was in Savannah. She also did well with character differentiation. If you enjoy audible books this is a good series to listen to. It is lighter fare but well worth your time. I've picked up the second in the series.