Cara Lynn Shultz
Description from goodreads.com: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.
My thoughts on the book:
I am happy to report that I totally loved this book! I've been putting off reading it because I'm usually not one for witch books. They tend to move slowly, and the beginning of this book did drag a bit. However, by Chapter 3, I was totally engrossed in the world Shultz created. Emma is a terrific character. She's funny, kind, and loyal. You can't help but relate to her on some level and feel sympathy for the bad hand she's been dealt. Her life has been rough, but she's strong, and she prevails. She finds her own happiness, and she fights to keep it.
Brendan is another fantastic character. At first, I didn't know what to think of him, but the further I got into the book, the more I liked him. By the end, he had completely won me over. He's just terrific. I also enjoyed Ashley. She was funny and she really stood by Emma, even when it would have been easier to shun her. Angelique is a unique character and added to the complexity of the story. Aunt Christine was there for almost the whole book, and she's a terrific aunt. I really loved her character as well. She's so good to Emma. Of course I hated Anthony and Kristin, but who wouldn't? They were created to be hated. Hey, that rhymed! Anyway, none of the characters were static, filler characters. They all had their unique personalities with their own quirks. I love the detail that Shultz put into the characters. For instance, Brendan never stood up straight. He always leaned against something. Little things like that really make the characters come alive.
The plot was intriguing and very different from most paranormal books. There wasn't a ton of magic in the book, so it didn't rely on supernatural elements to drive the story. After reading that in reviews, I was afraid I wouldn't enjoy the book that much because I do love the supernatural elements of a story. The entire story does revolve around a curse, though, but most of the characters don't actually perform magic. Still, the story held my interest until the very last page. There was quite a bit of action, lots of romance, and tons of suspense.
The pacing of this book was pretty well done. As I stated, the beginning was a bit slow, but that happens when you're introducing a new world to your readers. Shultz explained everything, and it all flowed rather nicely. For the most part, the explanations didn't slow down the pacing at all, and toward the end, the pacing picked up to lightning speed. The ending didn't feel rushed, though. No elements were left out. It just went by really quickly.
The ending of the book wrapped things up nicely, but there is room for a sequel, which is a good thing since Spellcaster will be out soon. I cannot wait for that book! The writing was phenomenal as well. Shultz has a terrific voice, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her. I really enjoyed this novel, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys paranormal and YA romance.
Buy Spellbound
You wouldn't believe how confused I was the other day! I was reading a review of Spellcaster and didn't understand any of what the reviewer was saying, because they only mentioned once that the first book was Spellcaster, but it was in a very weird place of the review... and I thought it sounded like a terrible first book, so I'm glad I found this review because now I want to read the series!
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