Review: The Connelly Boys

The Connelly Boys by Lily Velez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Scarlet lost her mother to cancer a few months earlier and now she has moved to Ireland to live with the father she barely knows.  She seems pulled to the four Connelly brothers, especially the oldest, Jack.  There are rumors about the Connelly family; that they are descended from a witch who was burned and that Jack has his own curse.  When Scarlet somehow banishes a demon that was attacking Jack, she begins to discover that she may have some magical powers of her own.  After her father is attacked … Scarlet and the Connelly boys must team up and try to save him.  What magical truths will Scarlet uncover through these trials?  Will she be able to learn enough to save her father?

The Connelly Boys is the first book in the Celtic Witches series.  This first book kept making me remember parts of The Raven Cycle, yet it wasn’t the same.  Readers will learn about some folklore and traditions while uncovering truths about the characters.  There is the fantasy aspect throughout, yet readers will also feel the adventure that fills in the rest of the story.  Velez has crafted characters that are multifaceted and easy to root for.  Not all of the answers have been given in this first book and readers will want to find the second book, The Connelly Curse, soon after finishing this novel.

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