Review of Ellen Dugan’s Secret of the Rose

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by Adam Sartwell

Secret of the Rose by Ellen Dugan was darker then her first novel, Legacy of Magick. Family secrets, new ghosts, new family members, and hexing poppets combine to make this book more intense than the first. Autumn, the main character, has to come to terms with changes in the way she sees her family as secrets come out. Her family is in shock from some of the revelations that come to light throughout the book.

I enjoyed how the characters grew and changed. Autumn seemed to grow in her abilities and come to understand Duncan, her love interest from her magical family’s rival family, a bit more. Aunt Gwen, the matriarch of her magical family, educates the rest of the family about a hidden scandal after Autumn stumbles onto the truth with the help of the family familiar and a ghost. Bran, the magical biker and relative, gets a love interest and his own legacy is uncovered.

The cheerleading squad and even the teen twin cousins, Ivy and Holly, are under attack by mysterious poppets used to injure them. The mystery of how someone could be using them with no training and “teen drama” motives baffles the protagonists. In the end they have a surprising benefactor who helps them bring the culprit to heel, but not before one of the family of witches shows her very lethal power over an elemental force.

One of the things I liked about this book was the powers of the witches seemed to expand to elemental magic. The first book kept to casting spells and psychic powers as the only powers. The second book takes us further into fantasy by showing the family as having some control over elemental forces. The blood moon grimorie seems to have a magic all its own. Keeping with the magic of the first book, Duncan and Autumn begin to have a telepathic bond with each other.

Secret of the Rose is an enjoyable read. With the next installment in the series slated for release in December 2015, you should hurry up and read it so you will be ready for the next book.

Adam Sartwell is a natural intuitive, professional tarot reader, healer, and diviner. He is an ordained minister and founder of the Temple of Witchcraft. Adam is the author of Twenty-one Days of Reiki from Copper Cauldron Publishing and has been published in anthologies such as The Green Lovers, Ancestors of the Craft, and Foundations of the Temple. He is a Reiki master and psychic healer offering both healing sessions and instruction.

Temple of Witchcraft