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Spellbent (Jessie Shimmer #1)

by Lucy A. Snyder (Goodreads Author)

3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 · rating details · 718 ratings · 84 reviews

In the heart of Ohio, Jessie Shimmer is caught up in hot, magic-drenched passion with her roguish lover, Cooper Marron, who is teaching her how to tap her supernatural powers. When they try to break a drought by calling down a rainstorm, a hellish portal opens and Cooper is ripped from this world, leaving Jessie fighting for her life against a vicious demon that's been unl...more

Paperback, 368 pages

Published December 29th 2009 by Del Rey (first published December 24th 2009)

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Best Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

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Nov 20, 2011 Shelley aka Gizmo's Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-release, genre-urban-fantasy, borrowed-library

*Rating* 4.0
*Genre* Fantasy/Horror

*Full review coming shortly*

I had such a good time with this book that I actually had to restrain myself from spoiling things with my updates. Jessie Shimmer is a really interesting heroine who doesn't let little things like losing an eye or an arm stop her from rescuing her lover from hell.

I also adore Pal (Palimpseet) Jessie's familiar who goes against the establishment to help Jessie and Cooper from those who stand in their way. Pal is so much more than just...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Beth Cato rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: in, 2011, urban, fantasy

In this urban fantasy tale, Lucy Snyder presents the sassy heroine Jessie Shimmer. Jessie is no stranger to magic. Since she spontaneously set her bedroom on fire as a teenager, she has been a practicing Talent. Her boyfriend, Cooper is a master. As the work together on a contract job to break a drought, the gates of hell burst open and yank Cooper away. If that wasn't bad enough, the local magical bureaucrats not only forbid her from saving him, but do everything possible to soil her reputation...more

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Nov 27, 2012 Whiskey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, caught-in-a-bad-romance, soul-stealing-children, demons, magic, mancy, gut-wrenching-empathy

This book started off with so much to give and ended up not living up to it's own potential. In fact, it seemed to get lost after the beginning sequence, at least until it hit the climax.

Liked:
- Ubiquemancy, or 'babbling' as some more traditional spell-casters would call it, is one of the more unique concepts I've come along. I loved the spur of the moment aspect to the magic. Sometimes things didn't work out as planned and other times things were blown way out of proportion.

- Honestly, one of t...more

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May 14, 2012 Kathy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Phenomenal Dark Urban Fantasy Debut!
Since this book has already been reviewed in-depth, my review will be brief. This book instantly made it to the top of my favorite authors list. Its titillating originality completely stands-out within the vast array of novels, in the urban fantasy genre.

The story and world building were dark, gritty and flowed nicely; the action was intense, magic was plentiful with lots of sinfully twisted humor. I was completely riveted to each page from start to finish.

Whe...more

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Apr 21, 2012 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-5-stars

Plot: 4.5 Stars
My favorite aspect of this story was the different types of magic and how adaptable it was to different situations. Many, many things go wrong in this novel, but every now and then Jessie got a tiny break. I liked that it wasn't one of those "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong" novels, because those are often unrealistic. Since things kinda worked in Jessie's favor a tiny, tiny bit once or twice, it made her goal seem more attainable. My favorite scene was when Jessie goes...more Plot: 4.5 Stars
My favorite aspect of this story was the different types of magic and how adaptable it was to different situations. Many, many things go wrong in this novel, but every now and then Jessie got a tiny break. I liked that it wasn't one of those "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong" novels, because those are often unrealistic. Since things kinda worked in Jessie's favor a tiny, tiny bit once or twice, it made her goal seem more attainable. My favorite scene was when Jessie goes to a large retail store and steals a bunch of stuff by doing a spell that shrunk the items and hiding them in a drink cup. It really made me laugh, but mostly because I work for that company.

Pace: 4 Stars
Although there were a couple of scenes that didn't seem to add much to the plot, overall, it moved along pretty smoothly. Time passed in a relatively believable amount of time, without way too many events crammed into a short period of time. There was a part near the middle where my interest started to wane a tiny bit, but then the plot picked up again. The events leading up to the final conclusion seemed a bit muddled, but I'm hoping some of the events will be elaborated on in the next book.

Characters: 4 Stars
Jessie was a very likable character, even if she wasn't always the most moral. She was a bit younger than your average Urban Fantasy main character, which I liked since I'm twenty-three. I haven't found that many main characters closer to my age that are still in school or just finishing. I liked the little bit of Cooper I got to see, and hope there's more of him in the next novel. Pal was a great asset to the story. He helped guide Jessie through some sticky situations without doing everything for her. There were also a number of smaller characters Jessie crossed paths with that were pretty well developed for their shorter roles.

Cover: 5 Stars
This cover is fabulous and one of the most acurate I've seen. From the dragon-looking creature to the ferret to the shotgun to the wound on the cover model's shoulder, everything on this cover portrayed a part of the story. The orange color palatte fits the tone of the novel and makes you think of hell, which comes into play. The font was really eye-catching. The font itself was very unique, the size grabbed your attention, and the color went well with the cover. All in all, this is a great example of a cover really doing justice to the novel it represents.

Overall: 4.5 Stars

Disclosure: I bought this book for my own enjoyment. (less)

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Apr 08, 2011 Emma Southee rated it 5 of 5 stars

I picked this book up purely because of the name and threw it in the cart without even reading the cover.

I'm glad I did. I loved the way the world worked in this book. From the Familiar connection to the policing force I was hooked. I actually found myself getting mad at Jessie and some of her decisions, but I find that appealing in a book. I love when the author can make me feel for the characters. After I kept reading though it was like ... OOOOohhhh okay I forgive you.

LOVED the way Lucy brou...more

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Jan 12, 2011 Ithlilian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

I'm not sure about Spellbent. On one hand I loved the action, the magic, and the story, but on the other hand some of the characters bothered me, and parts of the plot were strange. Our heroine, Jessie, is strong, tough, and doesn't take crap from anyone. She has a good sense of humor, overcomes adversary quickly, and makes the best of any situation. She is not impervious, she can, and does get hurt, and she isn't cold and unfeeling. In other words she has everything I could want in a heroine, i...more I'm not sure about Spellbent. On one hand I loved the action, the magic, and the story, but on the other hand some of the characters bothered me, and parts of the plot were strange. Our heroine, Jessie, is strong, tough, and doesn't take crap from anyone. She has a good sense of humor, overcomes adversary quickly, and makes the best of any situation. She is not impervious, she can, and does get hurt, and she isn't cold and unfeeling. In other words she has everything I could want in a heroine, including an interesting back story that was only touched on in Spellbent. One of my favorite things about this novel is that it made me laugh out loud a few times. The humor may not appeal to everyone, but I certainly enjoyed it. The magic system was also a plus. Everything was explained really well with no holes, it felt realistic, and it wasn't too easy to cast a spell. The plot was fairly simple, and involved a rescue mission, but I enjoyed everything I read. Some may have been bored by the fairly straightforward one event leads to another storyline, but I wasn't. During the journey from lost to found we meet some interesting characters such as Jessie's familiar, Pal, Warlock, Opal, and some college kids. I'm on the fence as to whether I really like Pal. Part of me thinks the story would have been just as good without him, but part of me liked his conversation with a kitten and his ability to point Jessie in the right direction and help get her out of bad situations. For a few hundred year old being from another realm, he acted a bit airheaded at times, but as he said, he has had a long time to learn human customs, so his character didn't bother me too much. Those who did bother me, however, were Warlock, and Opal. When Warlock was first introduced I expected him to be sophisticated, intelligent, and helpful, not cowardly, burnt out, and immature. His girlfriend Opal was just as unlikable, and Jessie's college roommates were pretty bland. Also, none of the characters were as interesting or as strong as Jessie, even the bad guy was weak. In the end, it doesn't really matter how much I liked Warlock and everyone else, because they may have only been included in this book to serve a purpose. If their presence continues in the series, all I can hope for is that they grow, but personally, I don't think that supporting characters don't have to be as likable as the main characters. My last issue is that the place Jessie visits to rescue her lover is not as scary or dangerous as it should be. The entire thing was just a bit too easy in my opinion. Maybe with a bit more danger, a bit less help, and some better supporting characters, this book could have been a five. Still, Spellbent is an exciting urban fantasy, with no vampires or werewolves, and a likable heroine. I would definitely recommend it. (less)

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Dec 30, 2010 Karissa rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have been wanting to read this book, it sounded right up my alley and I had heard great things about it in the reviews I read. This book is incredibly creative, action packed, and relentlessly paced the whole way through. I read this book in just about one sitting, had trouble putting it down, and loved every second of it! There are going to be at least two more books in this series, Shotgun Sorceress releases tomorrow, and the third book, Switchblade Goddess is slated for release some time in...more I have been wanting to read this book, it sounded right up my alley and I had heard great things about it in the reviews I read. This book is incredibly creative, action packed, and relentlessly paced the whole way through. I read this book in just about one sitting, had trouble putting it down, and loved every second of it! There are going to be at least two more books in this series, Shotgun Sorceress releases tomorrow, and the third book, Switchblade Goddess is slated for release some time in 2011.

Jessie is a witch of sorts who is in a hot relationship with her teacher, (also a wizard) Cooper. When they go to perform an incantation to bring some rain to the area things go horribly wrong. Cooper is pulled into Hell and Jessie is left horribly injured. Jessie will stop at nothing to hunt Cooper down, even when big-wig wizard Benedict makes her anathema to the magic community. Now with next to no resources and awful injuries, Jessie is left with only her familar Palimpsest (a rather mouthy ferret) to help her in her quest to get back her boyfriend.

This book was one awesome ride. It's not a book for those who are squimish at heart, some of the descriptions are pretty gory and detailed...even the sex scenes are down and dirty. It is definitely non-stop action from beginning to end though, and the action scenes are very, very well done. For example in the first 30 pages or so Cooper gets pulled into Hell, Jessie faces off a demon with a dagger and a shotgun, Jessie gets horribly...uh...eaten up, and saves the whole city. That's just the first 30 pages, now imagine what the rest of the book is like.

Jessie is not the most likable character; she doesn't have a lot of respect for the law, her relationship with Cooper is a bit off (that whole student-teacher thing is a kind of wrong), and she is definitely not miss perky. Still you have to admire her; the girl has guts and is darn determined to get what she wants. She will let nothing, not even Hell itself, get between her and her goals. She ends up having so little to work with that I admired her resourcefulness...even if it did border on distasteful at times.

Her sidekick, Palimpsest, is another awesome character. He is an incredibly intelligent familiar that is willing to go out on a limb for Jessie; and he really is a steadfast friend to her. The book is filled with interesting characters that have interesting stories behind them.

The world Snyder has created is an interesting one. There are different ways to do magic and different systems for them; it is a creative and interesting system that I enjoyed learning about and am curious to learn more about in future books.

The book ends on a very satisfying note and does a great job wrapping up the story.

Overall a wonderful urban fantasy series with great characters, loads of action, a creative world, and a well thought out plot. I loved this book and can't wait to read Shotgun Sorceress. If you are a fan of Kate Daniels, Jane Yellowrock, Elemental Assassin, or Jaz Parks check this out. It is a bit more on the gory side than some of the aforementioned books, but very well done.(less)

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Feb 05, 2010 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars

4.5 stars.

It’s just a routine rain spell. Jessie and her teacher and lover, Cooper, head to the city park to call up a storm and make a few bucks. But something goes horribly wrong. By the end of the night, Cooper has been sucked away into a Hell realm, and Jessie has suffered devastating injuries.

Then, things get worse. Benedict Jordan, the leader of the city’s magicians, gives Jessie a choice: either she agrees not to rescue Cooper, or else she becomes anathema. Jessie is definitely not the k...more 4.5 stars.

It’s just a routine rain spell. Jessie and her teacher and lover, Cooper, head to the city park to call up a storm and make a few bucks. But something goes horribly wrong. By the end of the night, Cooper has been sucked away into a Hell realm, and Jessie has suffered devastating injuries.

Then, things get worse. Benedict Jordan, the leader of the city’s magicians, gives Jessie a choice: either she agrees not to rescue Cooper, or else she becomes anathema. Jessie is definitely not the kind of girl who’ll leave her boyfriend to rot in Hell, so she chooses anathema. Jordan proceeds to ruin her life and leave her with nothing. Nothing, that is, except her never-give-up attitude and Palimpsest, an uptight ferret familiar who is described as having the voice of a Canadian librarian. (Not knowing any Canadian librarians, my brain has substituted an unholy cross between Rupert Giles’ voice and C-3PO’s.) Pal provides much of the comic relief in Spellbent.

Together, Jessie and Pal do everything within their power, first to survive, then to save Cooper. Jessie’s tenacity and resourcefulness make every step of her journey compelling. Jessie could be forgiven for wallowing in angst, given what happens to her, but she doesn’t. She never stops moving toward her goals. I read Spellbent in a single afternoon and evening, unable to tear myself away. I had to know what happened next!

It’s a good book even before we get to Hell, and then it’s the Hell scenes that really blew me away. I was expecting the usual flames and pitchforks, but Snyder doesn’t go that conventional route. Cooper’s Hell is an intensely personal one. And wow, is it dark. I think my jaw was on the floor when Jessie (and I) learned about the horrific events that lay at the root of the entire plot.

Spellbent is dark enough that it won’t be for everyone; an Amazon reviewer compared the gore level to that of Ilona Andrews’ first Kate Daniels book, Magic Bites, and that’s a pretty accurate parallel. This comes in part from the horror elements and in part from the magic system that Jessie and Cooper use: ubiquemancy, the art of finding the magic in everything. This sometimes means unsavory ingredients, like bodily fluids. It can get a little gross. But at the same time, it adds a verisimilitude that I can’t help but respect. Ancient and medieval “spell recipes” often called for ingredients that would make most of us squeamish.

A minor aside: There’s an odd little editing glitch in my e-ARC (it may be corrected in the published book). Jessie remarks that she’s “not afraid of some third-string football-player rapist,” which had me rereading earlier pages to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. I hadn’t; we meet the football-playing rapist in the next scene. It has no bearing on the plot, so all it did was make me scratch my head for a few minutes.

Jaded urban fantasy fans should consider giving Spellbent a try. Snyder adds together a determined yet flawed heroine, fun secondary characters, a plot with tons of forward momentum, and one seriously creepy Hell, and the end result is a visceral, powerful modern-day Orpheus myth.(less)

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Jul 28, 2010 Reed rated it 1 of 5 stars

Urgh. Ever read a book just to pass the time until a better book comes along? It's so rare that my "to read" pile gets small, but nothing was calling to me from said pile, so I decided to try Lucy Snyder's "Spellbent" that's been sitting there for quite some time.

I've vague memories of picking it up because it had been compared to Tim Pratt and Jim Butcher--high praise in my mind. When I saw the cover and read the blurb on the back, I had second (third, & fourth) thoughts about reading it, e...more

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Dec 21, 2012 Lunamoth rated it 4 of 5 stars

I started to read this then stopped after the first few chapters because a puppy got hurt, yes call me sentimental and girly but I hate puppies getting hurt! So fast forward to about 8 months later and I decided to give this another try, skipping those first few chapters.

Glad I did!

While not overtly action, spellbent does employ some heart pounding moments, a kick-butt heroine and an awesomely cute ferret sidekick/familiar named Palimpsest (pal) whom we actually get to see a few chapters from...more

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Jan 24, 2010 Katie(babs) rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: gag-worthy-book

Jessie Shimmer lives with a man who excels in magic and uses that supernatural talent to bring in the rent money. Cooper Marron helps Jessie tap into her very unskilled powers as both her mentor and lover. She also has a spirit guide, a familiar ferret named Palimpsest or Pal as she nicknames him, who doesn’t talk to her just yet. Cooper has been having some bad nightmares and she’s concerned. He doesn’t think it’s a big deal and has them working on their next score that will net them easy money...more Jessie Shimmer lives with a man who excels in magic and uses that supernatural talent to bring in the rent money. Cooper Marron helps Jessie tap into her very unskilled powers as both her mentor and lover. She also has a spirit guide, a familiar ferret named Palimpsest or Pal as she nicknames him, who doesn’t talk to her just yet. Cooper has been having some bad nightmares and she’s concerned. He doesn’t think it’s a big deal and has them working on their next score that will net them easy money.

Cooper, along with Jessie as his aid, will bring forth a rainstorm to break a drought that’s causing major problems for the farming community outside of Columbus. As Cooper goes through his typical ritual, something goes very wrong and he ends up opening a portal to Hell. Cooper is pulled in, leaving Jessie alone to fight a demon that has come out of the portal. Suddenly, Jessie's dead aunt calls her on her cell phone, and Pal starts talking to Jessie. It’s up to Jessie to subdue the demon formerly known as Smoky, Cooper’s familiar fox terrier and stop it from causing destruction in the downtown area. But, Jessie is still a novice and barely stops the demon and ends up almost dying and losing an eye and part of her left arm.

Even though it seems things couldn’t get worse for Jessie, they do. The leader of the governing circle of the seven powerful witches and wizards, Benedict Jordan, places a magical gag order on Jessie to stop her from rescuing Cooper. Jessie has to sign a magical binding contract or she will become an outcast leaving no one who can help her. She knows something is off with Jordan, and along with Pal, a ping-pong ball she uses for an eye and the help of Cooper’s brother, Warlock, she’ll channel more magic and power so she’ll be able to walk through the fires of hell to get her man back and find the answers she needs. With enough willpower, she hopes to get her old life back, and hopefully grow back a new eye and arm so she doesn’t look like a freak.

Spellbent should have been another action packed urban fantasy combined with a bit of humor and on the edge of your seat action. Unfortunately, this debut by Lucy A. Snyder was an utter train wreck of unbelievably bad dialogue and badly edited scenes. Half the time I couldn’t figure out what was going on. Also, Pal the ferret, who’s a combination of reason and condescension, brings nothing mentionable to the plot or with helping Jessie. Pal's voice is described as a Canadian Librarian, which for the life of me, I am still trying to figure out what that sounds like and why would we care?

The story is cluttered with descriptions that are so amazingly over the top and not in a good way. I thought it was bad enough when Jessie goes rooting through the garbage can for a used maxi pad for a magic spell, but I was mistaken because it gets worse. When Warlock and his girlfriend, Opal end up making some special creatures due to the combination of Opal’s menstrual period and Warlock’s sperm that was mixed together in a toilet that was it for me. Among other scenes like this, I couldn’t figure out if Snyder was going for a more dark comical fantasy tale, where she tried to succeed in writing something differently that stands out from the normal urban fantasy series being published. If so, she hasn’t accomplished that in any way.

Jessie is annoying and very immature. There is really nothing to recommend her. The villain Jordan makes a very forgettable appearance. Warlock had his moments, but he was written as such a sad sack and as close to a drugged out hippie character as you can get.

The overall plot of Spellbent is in a word- dull. The motions Jessie goes through to find Cooper don’t deliver in any way and has a major lack of focus and the push needed to keep the reader interested. The writing is very much surface writing, as in there is no meat or depth, and by the time I finished reading, I couldn’t remember half of what happened.

Spellbent is a very weak book that strives to be something more and fails in every way.
(less)

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Jan 16, 2010 Pete Allen rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've only recently found any urban fantasy books worth reading - generally I find the genre to be very derivative of fantasy gaming - elves with guns, dwarves running drugs, etc. But since Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden books saved the genre for me, I've been hoping for more.

This first book of a new series promises to keep the bar up for the genre - the heroine is a gutsy practitioner of ubiquemancy, a sort of free-wheeling school that uses the magic present everywhere and in everything, less disci...more

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Jan 29, 2011 Kerry Allen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: donated

This one was hard to rate. Split the difference between 3 and 4 and call it 3-1/2 stars.

Characters with Mysterious Backgrounds: check. Well-conceived and interesting magic: check. Action sufficiently nonstop to compensate for the obligatory "let's stop and explain the fundamentals of magic" passages: check. I always regretted having to put this book down.

But other than the ferret familiar and two minor secondary characters, I disliked the people I was supposed to be rooting for. I was hoping the...more

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Jan 21, 2010 Ann rated it 5 of 5 stars

FYI: I know the author. :-)

Reading this was a bit like being on a roller coaster. You strap yourself in, and away it goes, pretty much from page one and drops you back on the platform, breathless and giddy on the last page.

It's also something different than I've read in a lot of urban fantasy. Yes, there's the kick-ass heroine, Jessie Shimmer. But she never really whines despite the unfairness of the situation she finds herself in... nope, she puts on her big-girl panties and plunges on. Becaus...more

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Jan 21, 2010 Nick Cato rated it 4 of 5 stars

Snyder (author of the great short story collections SPARKS AND SHADOWS and CHIMERIC MACHINES) delivers her first novel. SPELLBENT is another entry in the urban fantasy/sexy occult genre, yet where others lean more on the sex and romance, Snyder's world is more centered around the magic its characters practice as well as the bizarre creatures and situations they face.

Jessie Shimmer is new to the Craft and lives with her mentor/lover, Cooper Marron. When he's hired by local farmers to summon rain...more

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Jan 02, 2010 Michele Lee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009, urban-fantasy, signed-arc, reviewed, favorites

I requested this book from the author.

Jessie Shimmer is an apprentice wizard who wants nothing more than to spend a pleasant afternoon with her lover and Master, Cooper. Instead their spell to summon rain goes wrong and Cooper vanishes, leaving Jessie alone in a park suddenly torn apart by magic. Despite being sealed off and left to die by the other magic users of the city, Jessie defeats the demon that came through the tear that took Cooper, taking severe damage herself.
When she wakes in the...more

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May 15, 2011 Bloody Bones rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

J'ai reçu ce livre après avoir gagné un concours sur le site des Editions Eclipse. J'avais hâte de le lire (la couverture en est la cause) mais de nombreuses critiques négatives m'avaient bien refroidis.
Comme je m'y attendais je n'ai pas du tout aimé...en tous cas au départ ! Les premières pages sont chiantes à en crever ! Je trouvais que Jessie et Cooper étaient des abrutis total. Elle une esclave sexuel et lui un pervers sexuel.
Mais passé les premières pages j'ai complètement changé d'avis !...more

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Jun 06, 2010 Carien rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: uf

I loved this book. Jessie is one kickass heroine and I got sucked into the story right from the start and couldn't put the book down before I finished it. I must say that if you really look closely at the story at times there's not much happening besides Jessie trying to figure out what to do next, but still it feels really fastpaced and action packed which I think is an amazing feat. The one thing I can say against this story is that Cooper disappears quite early in the story, before I could re...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Tracyfood rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, escapism

Started reading a library ebook copy of Switchblade Goddess, quickly decided I wanted to read the series in order, found a paperback copy of this bad girl and started burning through it... pulpy fun!

Let's just say it took an act of will not to finish this all in one day (but it did keep me up until 2 AM) and after that it took another act of will not to dash down to the nearest library that had an available copy of its sequel, Shotgun Sorceress.

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Nov 12, 2010 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-fantasy

I won't go into the story line as it has already been covered by other reviews. This is book one of a new urban fantasy. Heavy on the magic, dark undertones, fast flowing & a gripping page turner. I felt a bit dubious at the beginning, but the story took off & kept me reading to a fantastic satisfying finale. The characterisations are full, some aspects of the magical world new. You have a kickass heroine, an intriguing familiar whose story I want to know more of & a magic political...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Meg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: women-supernatural

The world building was good, I liked the setting and the details for the ways magic works. The characters, on the other hand, were not really that likable for me. I spent a lot of time wanting to smack various characters.

Also, I feel like the author used certain tricks that cheapen the overall story. I'm never a fan of perspective changes and the prologue ruined a lot of suspense and interest in the series instead of leading me deeper, as I'm sure it's intended.

All of this was forgivable for me...more

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Feb 28, 2010 Jenna rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book! It is the story of Jessie, who is magically talented, and the search for her boyfriend, Cooper who was pulled into hell through a portal. The magical powers that be don't want Cooper found and do just about everything to prevent Jessie from rescuing him from getting her fired at her job to not allowing her healing treatments to fix terrible injuries she sustained battling a demon.

The characters are full of life and have a sense of humor, including Jessie's familiar, a ferret n...more

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Apr 03, 2011 Noémie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hum ... Les personnages et le fond de l'histoire sont pas mal mais c'est plutôt la manière d'écrire de l'auteur qui me perturbe, l'héroine résout trop facilement les choses, dès qu'elle a un problème l'auteur fait apparaître des légendes ou des mythes qui font que tout dans le monde qu'elle à créer se mélange et se passe comme si c'était simple...Les accidents de Jessie sont horrible smais on a l'impression que c'est pas grave ça passe tout seul avec la magie, je veux bien le croire mais bon......more

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Mar 27, 2012 Renee Sweet rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

**3.5 stars**

A very enjoyable UF debut with a lot of originality. I felt as though the book's writing got stronger the further along I went and so I'm looking forward to the next installment. Recommended to UF fans looking for a spunky, action-packed read who are tired of the "same old, same old" in today's UF market.

ETA: I won this book in a contest (thanks www.magicandmayhemwriters.com!!) and didn't realize this was a debut in *2009*. The second and third books in the series are already out, w...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Scratch rated it 1 of 5 stars

I really had difficulty deciding on a rating for this book. On the one hand, it is exactly the kind of book I like best, in that it's an urban fantasy featuring a strong female protagonist and a world populated with sentient magical entities. However, the best parts about this novel are the most overdone, cliche elements. The most original parts of this novel irritated me.

A woman with her own powers riding in to rescue her man? Great. Not really a subversion anymore because so many feminist nove...more

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Feb 02, 2012 Anita rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, five-star-favorites

Damn good! (That's actually a bit funny, because she spends time in a hell dimension...never mind.) I really enjoyed this urban fantasy. It has a hint of romance, but that's not the focus at all. I liked the characters and the almost-dorky-but-not-quite moments of humor juxtaposed with moments of horror. And the overall story is great - it sets Jessie up for bigger and badder things, establishes her core group of friends, and hints at an interesting backstory to discover.

The setting is modern d...more

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Feb 01, 2012 Gef rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, horror, urban-fantasy

Usually, the women on the covers of urban fantasy novels look flawless, so when I spied the cover to Lucy Snyder's debut novel and saw her lead character, Jessie Shimmer, bandaged and bloodied, that caught my eye. A nice twist on the familiarity that comes with UF book covers. The artist responsible, Dan Don Santos, can take half the credit for making me buy this book. The other half, of course, goes to Lucy with her enticing premise and cool-sounding character, Jessie.

Jessie Shimmer and her boy...more Usually, the women on the covers of urban fantasy novels look flawless, so when I spied the cover to Lucy Snyder's debut novel and saw her lead character, Jessie Shimmer, bandaged and bloodied, that caught my eye. A nice twist on the familiarity that comes with UF book covers. The artist responsible, Dan Don Santos, can take half the credit for making me buy this book. The other half, of course, goes to Lucy with her enticing premise and cool-sounding character, Jessie.

Jessie Shimmer and her boyfriend, Cooper, are living under the radar in Ohio, so to speak. Cooper is an accomplished magician, but kind of on the outs with the council, so he and Jessie make ends meet by performing spells and other enchantments for the locals who are in the know, while Cooper teaches Jessie to tap into her own supernatural abilities. During what should be a routine rain spell to take care of a drought, Cooper gets sucked into a portal, and Jessie is left behind to contend with closing the portal back up--and killing the demon that came through it.

It's when Jessie resolves to go after Cooper and rescue him from whatever dimension he's trapped in that things really go haywire. The council head, Benedict Jordan, comes down heavy on her, forbidding her from trying to save Cooper, and basically puts her black list. Even her closest friends, what few she and her lover have in the magic community, are ordered to deny her help of any kind, which is made all the worse due to her physical scarring from her run-in with the demon. She does have her familiar, an inter-dimensional entity in the body of a ferret named Pal, to help her muddle through her outcast existence.

Jessie is a pretty cool, pretty flawed character. She seems content acting as her lover's sidekick on magic jobs, learning as she goes, then really has to strike out on her own when he disappears. Her world is turned upside-down, not only on an emotional level, but almost literally as she ostensibly becomes a fugitive. The situations she finds herself in are exciting as she muddles her way from place to place and tries to figure out how to save her lover. There are some moments in the book that strained credulity with me, namely the almost instant prowess she attains with each spell she casts. For a system of magic that seems fairly free of exactness--a pinch of this and a dash of that--Jessie manages to avoid creating catastrophe. The deftness she displays in wielding magical spells, learning them on the fly at times, seemed a bit too convenient, even with her burgeoning innate abilities.

Overall, the book runs at a fast clip, and the lulls are tempered with enough humor and hijinks to keep things interesting. Helping a house full of stoners get an enchanted marijuana plant as a way for Jessie to earn some room and board was particularly entertaining--possibly because I went to school with a couple of those characters. Some of the supporting cast are glossed over, but the ones that really matter (namely Cooper and Jessie's familiar, Pal) are fleshed out really well. Pal even narrates a few chapters, while Jessie is incapacitated.

I'm interested to see where the story goes from here in the second book, Shotgun Sorceress, as stakes are set and some characters are irrevocably changed, including Jessie.(less)

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Jul 07, 2012 Alice rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, urban-fantasy

I'd skipped over this book when it first came out, because it was one of a deluge of urban fantasy titles with an attractive woman with a bare midriff on the cover. It got lost in the shuffle. I picked it up because I heard the most recent installment was really good, and so now I'm building toward that one. It wound up better than I expected, but still uneven in quality. It's Lucy Snyder's first full-length novel, and it does show in places.

In Spellbent, our heroine, Jessie Shimmer, is helping...more I'd skipped over this book when it first came out, because it was one of a deluge of urban fantasy titles with an attractive woman with a bare midriff on the cover. It got lost in the shuffle. I picked it up because I heard the most recent installment was really good, and so now I'm building toward that one. It wound up better than I expected, but still uneven in quality. It's Lucy Snyder's first full-length novel, and it does show in places.

In Spellbent, our heroine, Jessie Shimmer, is helping her boyfriend, an older man and her mentor, summon a rain storm to stop a drought and save some local farms. In addition to the rain, they also call a demon, which sucks Cooper, the boyfriend, into the hell dimension it vacated. Then the city's most powerful wizard puts Jessie on a black list unless she signs an agreement that she won't go looking for her boyfriend, before she's had a chance to recover from her injuries.

The book was well-paced, for the most part. I felt pulled along by the story, and motivated to find out what happens next. But I also felt like the book had a very linear plot. It was like a video game: Jessie has a number of side quests so she can level up and get better weapons and gear, then it's off to fight the final boss. There were few surprises, and those that showed up lacked impact, somehow.

The pacing was also off in that some of the action felt abrupt. Jessie (or her familiar, who got some perspective sections) would announce what had to happen, and then, poof, it was done. I found myself glancing back a few paragraphs a lot to see if I missed something. Additionally, sometimes the action would be paused for Jessie to explain something about magic or the world, and it threw me out of the story a bit. Considering there's very little "down time" within the text, I guess the infodumps had to come in the middle of action scenes, but it still looked sloppy.

Also sloppy was the characterization for the bad guy. He was too evil, too well-connected, and the final confrontation a little too pat. I would've liked to see him fleshed out a bit more, rather than just being a mustache-twirling stereotype.

Lest it sound like I didn't like the book, I did. The world-building is interesting, this is a different enough premise that I don't feel like it's just another cookie-cutter urban fantasy, and I like Jessie as a protagonist. I plan on reading future books in this series. I just hope the pacing and plotting are smoother, is all.(less)

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Dec 13, 2010 Izabela C rated it 5 of 5 stars

Well, now, this book is just BRILLIANT! :D Disgusting, shockingly disturbing, definitely quite gruesome ... but also very very good.

Apart from the writing, which is excellent - seriously, every sentence is clever and / or funny, and you can tell how much thought has gone into it all - and sets the book apart from others in the same genre on its own merits, the story's ACTION PACKED and just stupendously imaginative. It's freaking bat-shit crazy stuff; the kind of plot that has you scratching you...more

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About Lucy A. Snyder

Lucy A. Snyder grew up in the cowboys-and-cactus part of Texas but currently lives in Worthington, Ohio where she writes by day and does tech support by night. Her short work has appeared in publications such as Strange Horizons, Doctor Who Short Trips: Destination Prague, Chiaroscuro, Full Unit Hookup, and Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet.

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Switchblade Goddess (Jessie Shimmer, #3)

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Quotes from Spellbent

“I know I'm immature in some ways, but inside me there's a cranky old lady yelling at the damn kids to get off her lawn. She's been there awhile. I've decided to call her Mabel.” — 10 people liked it

“So, um, where's your broomstick?" he countered, his face turning pink from his effort at not laughing.

"Broomsticks are *sooo* 1695," I replied, rolling my eye. "Modern witches use vibrators and drop acid just like everyone else."

"What?" He frowned, looking confused.

"Yeah, *flying on broomsticks* equals a big-ass euphemism for pagan women getting their freak on with broom handles greased up with morning glory butter," I said. "Sometimes strychnine. Not a good idea, but hey, back in the day they used to think a wolf's testicle wrapped in a greasy rag was a good barrier contraceptive. So, yeah, no broomsticks for me. But thanks *ever* so much for asking about my sex life when we've only just met.” — 7 people liked it

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Spellbent (Jessie Shimmer #1)

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