Book Review: Spellbound

Spellbound

by Cara Lynn Shultz

Series: Spellbound #1
Release date: 21st June, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 324 (ARC through NetGalley and paperback copy bought by me)

Summary from Goodreads:

Life hasn't been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Connor, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she's irresistibly drawn to—Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight.

But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can't stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma's been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives—visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.

Review By Alaiel Kreuz:

After her stepdad almost gets her killed Emma finally accepts her aunt's offer to move to New York with her and be enrolled into a fancy school along with her younger and cute cousin. There she invents a whole more-posh background so she won't feel completely different.
But in a place like Vincent Academy she is bound to find friends and foes. And she certainly does.

First we have Cisco who is gay (but no one knows), popular and friendly. He soon becomes one of her best friends.
Then we have Emma's lab partner, Angelique, who turns out to be a witch. She soon too becomes a marvelous friend and a fountain of information. These two characters will make the dialogues fun and snarky.
Her cousin Ashley, despite being a little superficial, is sweet and naive. But Emma watches over her and protects her from creeps like Anthony. Why does she need protection from him? Well, he is the personification of the big bad wolf... and a very bad one.
And then we have Kristin, the popular and mind-blowing rich girl that tries to make Emma's life a nightmare.
Finally Brendan, the rich-gorgeous-hot bad guy that makes Emma blush and feel... different. Like she can trust him, like he is important somehow.

True to be told he is important and their future is so tangled that, if they want to stay alive they will have to find a way to fight an old curse that keeps them reincarnating only to suffer again.

And in between they will find a few dramas to solve and some misunderstandings to talk about while deciding if the warnings from Emma's dead twin brother are so important that they have to stay away from each other.

Personal opinion:
The first thing that I liked about this book was the cover. Yep, as soon as I spotted it in NetGalley I requested it and then, despite not having the time to read it yet, bought it too. Now that I've finished it I can say that I liked it a lot.
The plot is maybe a little bit obvious sometimes but Cara Lynn managed to make very believable characters with personalities that made them interesting and originals.

And I found Emma's loyalty to her little cousin very refreshing. No spoilers, you know me, but I enjoyed that part a lot^^ I was cheering and smiling and nervous about what happened which was fun.

The love between Brendan and Emma was maybe a little too fast but hey, that kind of relationships really happen in real life too so is not that weird.

What I'm really curious about is the second book, Spellcaster. Why? Well, I thought Spellbound was an only book and it did had a proper finish so it was a surprise when I found out about it but Spellcaster will sure have a spot in my pile very soon.

Alaiel's Rating:

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