Title: Spellbound
Author: Cara Lynn Shultz
Publisher: Harlequin Teen (June 28, 2011)
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 Conner, 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.
Spellbound was a great debut novel from Cara Lynn Shultz, and I loved it! While it had potential to become one of those sappy, cheesy love stories, it didn't turn out that way (thankfully)
I have something for dark-haired, green-eyed hotties in books. Don’t ask me why. But I was definitely a goner when Brendan stood up for Emma the first time they met, against Kristin, your typical spoilt and bitchy drama queen. The fact that the Queen Bee wants him and he despises her earns him major brownie points! In front of other people, he was a tough, bad-boy, don’t-mess-with-me guy, but with her? He’s so gentle and sweet! Love that guy! Brendan and Emma's romantic chemistry throughout the book was just sizzling and dizzying. Whenever they had one of those eye-contact moments, I just wanted to curl up in a ball, fight off the goosebumps, and swoon.
I’m usually sceptical of the” starcrossed lovers” kind of thing, but one thing that made the story work for me was how believable the characters were. They were portrayed in a realistic light. You don’t know how relieved I am that the teenagers acted like teenagers, especially when there’s a love story dealing with fated lovers and destiny. Brendan behaved mostly like a normal teenaged boy, with the exception of some corny lines and his family’s limo, rather than some Victorian era kind of guy who waxed cheesy poetry, urgh! And Emma? Her love-struck, obsessive teenaged girl behaviour kind of reminded me of myself when I was crushing hard (LOL.) She was likeable as a protagonist because she had insecurities about herself and well, which girl doesn't have insecurities!?
Secondary characters were well-developed as well. Ashley, her fourteen-year-old cousin, may seem slightly airheaded and ditzy at times but she also had a good heart and wisdom past her young age. Angelique, her new friend who believes in witches, was quirky, unique and different. When she said “Your energy works for me” to Emma the first time they met, it was just priceless. Luna from Harry Potter, anyone? There was also Cisco, whom I wish I had as a friend too!
The author did a great job in building suspense. I wasn’t sure what to expect next, I just had this ominous feeling that something was going to happen and I practically couldn’t take my eyes off the story for fear I would miss out some clue or plot twist. I just wanted to know how everything was going to be resolved and the suspense was totally killing me!
While the ending might be wrapped up a bit too nicely, it felt complete and left me feeling satisfied. Fans of romance, supernatural twists and high school drama should pick up this book ASAP!
(Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the free galley!)
I have something for dark-haired, green-eyed hotties in books. Don’t ask me why. But I was definitely a goner when Brendan stood up for Emma the first time they met, against Kristin, your typical spoilt and bitchy drama queen. The fact that the Queen Bee wants him and he despises her earns him major brownie points! In front of other people, he was a tough, bad-boy, don’t-mess-with-me guy, but with her? He’s so gentle and sweet! Love that guy! Brendan and Emma's romantic chemistry throughout the book was just sizzling and dizzying. Whenever they had one of those eye-contact moments, I just wanted to curl up in a ball, fight off the goosebumps, and swoon.
I’m usually sceptical of the” starcrossed lovers” kind of thing, but one thing that made the story work for me was how believable the characters were. They were portrayed in a realistic light. You don’t know how relieved I am that the teenagers acted like teenagers, especially when there’s a love story dealing with fated lovers and destiny. Brendan behaved mostly like a normal teenaged boy, with the exception of some corny lines and his family’s limo, rather than some Victorian era kind of guy who waxed cheesy poetry, urgh! And Emma? Her love-struck, obsessive teenaged girl behaviour kind of reminded me of myself when I was crushing hard (LOL.) She was likeable as a protagonist because she had insecurities about herself and well, which girl doesn't have insecurities!?
Secondary characters were well-developed as well. Ashley, her fourteen-year-old cousin, may seem slightly airheaded and ditzy at times but she also had a good heart and wisdom past her young age. Angelique, her new friend who believes in witches, was quirky, unique and different. When she said “Your energy works for me” to Emma the first time they met, it was just priceless. Luna from Harry Potter, anyone? There was also Cisco, whom I wish I had as a friend too!
The author did a great job in building suspense. I wasn’t sure what to expect next, I just had this ominous feeling that something was going to happen and I practically couldn’t take my eyes off the story for fear I would miss out some clue or plot twist. I just wanted to know how everything was going to be resolved and the suspense was totally killing me!
While the ending might be wrapped up a bit too nicely, it felt complete and left me feeling satisfied. Fans of romance, supernatural twists and high school drama should pick up this book ASAP!
(Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the free galley!)
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5 comments:
Although I loved the story, the characters, and how they were written, were what did it for me for this one. The teenagers were definitely teenagers - something that might seem redundant, but is difficult to capture.
Thanks for sharing. This sounds like a great book.
@kaye: Totally! In some books, the teenagers either sounded like kids or overly mature. Characters in this one were just nice :D
Celawerdblog: Yes it is!:)
Great review- I really want to read this!
I want it! This book looks so damn awesome
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