House of Ivy & Sorrow by Natalie Whipple

House of Ivy & Sorrow by Natalie Whipple
Series: No
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: April 15th 2014
Source: Edelweiss (Publisher)

Josephine Hemlock has spent the last 10 years hiding from the Curse that killed her mother. But when a mysterious man arrives at her ivy-covered, magic-fortified home, it’s clear her mother’s killer has finally come to destroy the rest of the Hemlock bloodline. Before Jo can even think about fighting back, she must figure out who she’s fighting in the first place.

The more truth Jo uncovers, the deeper she falls into witchcraft darker than she ever imagined. Trapped and running out of time, she begins to wonder if the very Curse that killed her mother is the only way to save everyone she loves.

House of Ivy & Sorrow was a book that I'd been looking forward to for so long - mainly because it's a witch-y book, and I love witches. As soon as I came across a copy on Netgalley I knew I had to download it and I couldn't wait to read it. While it didn't live up to my expectations, I did still enjoy parts of it.

House of Ivy & Sorrow follows our main character Josephine who has spent 10 years hiding from the curse that killer her mother. And then a mysterious man arrives and Jo thinks everything is over for her. But, Jo realises that there's a lot more going on and she must uncover the truth. Jo finds herself surrounded by dark witchcraft and begins to wonder whether the curse is the only way to save the people she loves.

First off, I'm going to say that I did find quite a bit of this book slow-paced and it took me quite a while to get through. Also, there were quite a few times where I found myself extremely confused and wondering what was was going on. .

Jo. What can I say about Jo? There were times when I liked her, and times when I wanted to give her a smack on the head. She was likable enough, but I just didn't form a connection with her. I enjoyed seeing her interactions with her Grandmother and her Father because family and friends are extremely important to Jo. I also really enjoyed seeing Jo remembering her mother and trying to find out more about her.

Jo's grandmother was awesome. She was feisty and protective of Jo, and I really loved how close they were.

I liked Jo's friends, but I did find it odd how quickly Jo's grandmother let them in on all the witchy stuff since it was banned and she'd been saying she was completely against it. But they were good for Jo.

Also, the romance was completely unneeded. Winn was just so boring and the usual, typical guy. There was absolutely nothing that stood out about him and I found myself skipping through the parts with him and Jo. Levi was also completely unneeded and I kind of felt like her was just there to provide a bit of friction between Jo and Winn and possibly to start a love triangle. It just didn't work at all and tbh, I don't remember much about either of them. 

I did enjoy all the witchy stuff though like the potions, the spells and the curse. The spells/potions in House of Ivy & Sorrow required a price and people were yanking out hair, carving out parts of their arms and pulling off fingernails. I was cringing because it was pretty horrible, but I did enjoy it.

I'm trying my hardest to remember what happened in this book, but it honestly didn't leave much of an impression and I completely forgot nearly everything about it as soon as I'd finished. The ending was just... and ending. There wasn't anything great about it. In fact, after all the build up, it was kind of a let down and I was extremely disappointed with it.

Overall, House of Ivy & Sorrow definitely didn't live up to my expectations. It was slow-paced, had unmemorable characters and unneeded romance. I'm super disappointed that I didn't enjoy this one because I was really looking forward to it.