Book: Spellbound
Author: Cara Lynn Shultz
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Year: 2011
Reason I read this book: I had to choose a supernatural book for my class and I needed to read and review this galley copy.
My grade: A
What's a girl to do when meeting The One means she's cursed to die a horrible death?
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.
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.
My Review
My head is reeling from this book!
Ok, here’s a little back story on my reading of this book. I requested it from netgalley because it sounded like it might be interesting. Nothing that got me super excited, but I figured it would be pretty decent.
Then, I got the assignment of 25+ books for my YA lit class. And the textbook. And the other class that I’m taking. So, all of my galleys had to go to the back burner. I missed posting for one that released during the first part of June and I felt REALLY bad about that.
So, I noticed that this book was releasing this week. Now, I get to read one supernatural book. I started feeling really guilty about not getting this book read in time to review it by its release date. So, needless to say, I decided that I would just go ahead and make it the supernatural book that I needed to read for my class.
Holy Mary! Thank goodness I decided to that! This book is captivating. I hate to say it, but it really kept me, well, spellbound!
Now, the whole idea of soul mates and love at first sight and that sort of mushy stuff is not new to YA books. Oh no! It’s the sort of stuff that some of these books are made of! And, I hate to admit it, I have been sort of getting tired of it. Just a little. So I was not thrilled when this book started heading in that direction.
But Cara Lynn Shultz does anything but make that storyline typical! I love the twists and turns she adds to that plot and the legends and curses and everything! This book was so much fun!
The characters were great. I loved the female protagonist, Emma. She was spunky and she stood up for herself and lived by her own rules. Of course, Brendan was dreamy, but he was also a great guy. For reals. The secondary characters were great and the mean girls were REALLY mean!
But the way that she built this background story is what pulled me in to this novel. It was original and imaginative and mind-blowing.
The other nice thing about this book is that it wrapped up at the end. There are no sequels! Hooray!
Finally, there was some cool stuff at the end. There’s an excerpt from the POV of a different character in the book at the end, and there’s also a playlist! In fact, you can access and purchase the playlist on iTunes at this address:
I am so glad that I decided to make this galley my supernatural read. It was spectacular. My grade is an A.
Thanks to netgalley.com and Harlequin Teen for allowing me the opportunity to read this.
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