Spellbound (Spellbound #1)
By Cara Lynn Shultz
Published June 21st, 2011 by Harlequin Teen
341 pages
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.
Ok so it's like 1 in the morning over here and I just finished Spellbound! And I would usually wait till the afternoon to write a review but I'm just so excited about this book that I had to tell someone! I really didn't know if I was going to like this book or not, I mean the summary sounded pretty good and interesting but I wasn't quite sure. I have to say that I was hooked from the beginning! Spellbound is different and well...just different. In a good way of course.
The story is told in Emma's voice and I really enjoyed her as a character. She was normal and just a really cool girl that I could relate with.
Emma has just moved to New York to live with her aunt and cousin, her only family left. She is hoping to start over with a clean slate and leave the her terrible past behind. But she knows it won't be easy to go to high end prep school that is hard to get into if you don't have the money. She does have her 14 year old cousin Ashley who she adores so Emma is willing to try. And throughout the first few weeks Emma makes some friends but she also makes some pretty dangerous enemies. Oh and she also develops a pretty huge crush on one of the hottest guys at school, Brendan Salinger, who is hot and cold with his emotions towards her. And if that wasn't enough now Emma is having strange dreams of herself in past lives which always end up with her dying. Plus she's being warned by a spirit in her dreams and on the streets of New York when streetlamps mysteriously start exploding whenever she's around. What is she being warned of? To stay away from Brendan because if she doesn't something very terrible could happen. But no matter how hard Emma tries she can't resist the feelings she has toward Brendan once they start hanging out. Will Emma be able to escape her terrible fate and her own enemies? And just who will be there to save her when its time?
Wow I just really fell in love with these characters, except for a select few. Like I was saying before I just loved Emma. She was a normal teenage girl with problems any teenage girl would have. But of course as the story goes on she finds out that she's not as normal as she thought she was. I liked how Emma was herself and didn't try to change herself for anyone. And even though her past was terrible she didn't let it control her. Another character I loved? Brendan of course! Once you got to know him, he was just really nice and kind. Plus he's pretty great looking :). And I loved the relationship that went on between Emma and him, it was really sweet. Of course some might think that they became drawn to each other pretty quick but it really makes sense once you uncover the secrets in the book. Some other characters that were great were Ashley and Angelique. Ashley is a spunky and pretty cool cousin. I really enjoyed her lines in the book. Angelique is a pretty unusual girl because she is into magic or witchcraft I guess. She is a witch and is great friend to Emma. She isn't afraid to be herself and is pretty supportive, I know I'd like a friend like her. But anyways I loved seeing the characters grow in their relationships with each other.
And in case you haven't guessed Spellbound includes fantasy. The neat thing about this story is that it has witches in it and other magic but it shows it in a subtle way almost. I mean it just makes it more believable I guess. Despite that fact that there is a curse of course. But everything just flowed together and was really interesting. I really enjoyed the fantasy part of it and just all the new ideas that you haven't seen too much in YA. I hope I'm making sense, the excited feeling is starting to wear off. Spellbound was a great book, it was different and kept me reading through the night. It had me laughing out loud and even crying a bit and when a book is able to make me do this then I know its a pretty darn great book. So pick it up and see for yourself, I hope you feel the same way. And I can't wait to get my hands on the second book, Spellcaster, which is already out!
Vanessa
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