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The Demon Notebook #2
The Broken Spell
What do you do when a spell goes haywire? Who would ever think magic could be boring? Certainly not Grace, Jenny, Rachel, Adie, and Una, especially after their disastrous first encounter with witchcraft. Now they're stuck learning dusty old theory—until the radiant Ms. Gold comes into town. Before long, she has the coven turning into blond bombshells, creating cute pets out of thin air, and taking fabulous flying lessons! But the daring friends make a magical mistake that drags the past into the present. Suddenly Grace has to work out who she can really trust... Praise for The Demon Notebook : "Funny, a bit scary and surprisingly realistic, preteens will enjoy the easy read, identify with the characters and ask for more."— Kirkus
- GenresFantasyYoung Adult
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 16, 2013
3 people are currently reading
320 people want to read
About the author
Erika McGann
61 books13 followersErika McGann grew up in Drogheda and now lives in Dublin. She has a respectable job, very normal friends and rarely dabbles in witchcraft. She loves writing stories that are autobiographical. Sort of.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 2, 2014
Review by Mia, aged 10
This book is the sequel to the award winning book, The Demon Notebook, which was just awesome. You can read my review and interview with the author here.
Grace and her friends are back for some more witchy adventures. They are taken to a hidden witch supply store by Ms. Lemon. Grace looks into an ancient mirror and sees a creepy creature staring back at her. In the shop, Jenny finds a spell to bring you into the past and writes it down for later. The girls use the spell to look into the past of Ms. Lennon, as well as Mrs. Quinlan and find there was another girl in their group who is now Grace's new teacher, Ms. Gold.
Along with finding out out about the teachers pasts, a new girl joins Grace and her friends as the start learning cool new spells. Also, the MirrorMan, from the shop, starts following Grace, after he comes back with them from the past
I enjoyed this book even more than the first one and can't wait for the third one, The Watching Wood which is due out in September.
This book is the sequel to the award winning book, The Demon Notebook, which was just awesome. You can read my review and interview with the author here.
Grace and her friends are back for some more witchy adventures. They are taken to a hidden witch supply store by Ms. Lemon. Grace looks into an ancient mirror and sees a creepy creature staring back at her. In the shop, Jenny finds a spell to bring you into the past and writes it down for later. The girls use the spell to look into the past of Ms. Lennon, as well as Mrs. Quinlan and find there was another girl in their group who is now Grace's new teacher, Ms. Gold.
Along with finding out out about the teachers pasts, a new girl joins Grace and her friends as the start learning cool new spells. Also, the MirrorMan, from the shop, starts following Grace, after he comes back with them from the past
I enjoyed this book even more than the first one and can't wait for the third one, The Watching Wood which is due out in September.
March 18, 2015
I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway. It's actually the 2nd in a series, but can be read as a stand-alone. It is written for readers ages 10+ but it had a great plot that will keep older readers engaged. If you like magic and spells, you will enjoy it.
October 19, 2013
The Broken Spell is a sequel to The Demon Notebook but is easily strong enough to be read as a stand alone novel.
Grace and her friends are part of a coven of apprentice witches. Their teachers are eager for them for the to learn the theory behind their craft before they begin to cast spells but the girls have other ideas. Saviour comes in the form of the beautiful Miss Gold. She is eager for the girls to learn by doing. To become fearless powerful witches. As strange events start to occur the girls learn that things are not always what they seem.
The combination of poetic spell casting and duels combined with school girl drama means the plot moves along at a near perfect pace and the reader is eagerly lured into each chapter. It's a hard one to put down!
Despite the story being centred around myth and magic the regular school setting allows for an exciting novel steeped in fantasy to be very believable.
Every YA fan will want this appearing on their shelves!
Grace and her friends are part of a coven of apprentice witches. Their teachers are eager for them for the to learn the theory behind their craft before they begin to cast spells but the girls have other ideas. Saviour comes in the form of the beautiful Miss Gold. She is eager for the girls to learn by doing. To become fearless powerful witches. As strange events start to occur the girls learn that things are not always what they seem.
The combination of poetic spell casting and duels combined with school girl drama means the plot moves along at a near perfect pace and the reader is eagerly lured into each chapter. It's a hard one to put down!
Despite the story being centred around myth and magic the regular school setting allows for an exciting novel steeped in fantasy to be very believable.
Every YA fan will want this appearing on their shelves!
Read
June 21, 2019First, let me say that I don't think you need to read Demon Notebook (Book 1) before you read The Broken Spell. There are some references to the magical mishap in that story, but this story is pretty self contained. Readers who like fantasy will enjoy the mystery of trying to find out what happened "way back when." Readers who love mysteries and time travel will find the magic and action enjoyable.
Get the full review and see our concerns about reading this with reluctant readers.
Get the full review and see our concerns about reading this with reluctant readers.
November 20, 2020
I loved the first in the series but, I'm sorry to say, this one was a letdown. There was just not enough development of the characters. the whole plot was kinda confusing especially bearing in mind the target audience and - this is a personal comment - I hate it when authors use time travel as a device, it is almost always LAZINESS, dammed author does not want to take the time to develop a proper plot so, hey, let's use the old time travel.
After all this I am still looking forward to the next as I thing the characters and the setting are good, please do not disapoint.
After all this I am still looking forward to the next as I thing the characters and the setting are good, please do not disapoint.
May 25, 2018
Pretty standard children's fantasy. Nothing to report here. There are perhaps too many characters, and they all start to blend into one another.
January 29, 2019
Ben bu bayan gold da bi hinlik olduğunu anladıydım zaten 😁😁😁
September 7, 2015
Grace, Jenny, Rachel, Adie, and Una are training to become witches. However, they are growing bored with their teachers, Ms. Quinlan and Ms. Lemon, who refuse to teach them anything more than how to identify and use plants and herbs. When their new social studies teacher Ms. Gold arrives, and promises to teach them more practical magic, they secretly begin training with her.
While practicing their new spells, the girls go back in time to when Ms. Quinlan, Ms. Gold and Ms. Lemmon were students at the primer school. They all used to be good friends, but it is obvious in the present that they are not. Grace unfortunately has a side affect from casting the spell and continues to be sucked into the past and the teenage drama of her present magic teachers. After one such trip, she accidentally gets sucked back to the present with a creepy man on her coat tails.
Soon everything is going wrong and Jenny begins acting weird. Plus, the creepy man from the past keeps showing up. Who can Grace trust? and What is Ms. Gold up to?
My Thoughts-
A delightful and fun magical romp that takes middle grade readers on a ride involving trust and friendship. First off, the characters- I really enjoyed the story and the idea of these young girls wanting to become witches. Their reserved older teachers are too prudent, and just like normal kids, Grace's group wants more action. So, just like normal kids, they are led astray by promises of power and fun. It is easy to see why they side with Ms. Gold. Her way gives them all the results upfront. Now, Grace is an exception. She learns to think things through and to trust her instincts. She also tries to put things right when she makes a mistake.
My one comment would be that it was hard to remember who was who as we time traveled back and forth. The teachers are only referred to as Ms. so and so in the present, so when it was the past and they went by their first names, I got thrown off. It took me 3/4 of the book to stop flipping back to find out who was talking.
The plot is great and moves along at a swift enough speed that young readers won't grow bored. The author does a great job with unraveling the plot twists so that the reader is wondering who the good and bad guys are until the final chapters. The story is believable and the setting, a school, age relatable.
I give it 4 stars!
While practicing their new spells, the girls go back in time to when Ms. Quinlan, Ms. Gold and Ms. Lemmon were students at the primer school. They all used to be good friends, but it is obvious in the present that they are not. Grace unfortunately has a side affect from casting the spell and continues to be sucked into the past and the teenage drama of her present magic teachers. After one such trip, she accidentally gets sucked back to the present with a creepy man on her coat tails.
Soon everything is going wrong and Jenny begins acting weird. Plus, the creepy man from the past keeps showing up. Who can Grace trust? and What is Ms. Gold up to?
My Thoughts-
A delightful and fun magical romp that takes middle grade readers on a ride involving trust and friendship. First off, the characters- I really enjoyed the story and the idea of these young girls wanting to become witches. Their reserved older teachers are too prudent, and just like normal kids, Grace's group wants more action. So, just like normal kids, they are led astray by promises of power and fun. It is easy to see why they side with Ms. Gold. Her way gives them all the results upfront. Now, Grace is an exception. She learns to think things through and to trust her instincts. She also tries to put things right when she makes a mistake.
My one comment would be that it was hard to remember who was who as we time traveled back and forth. The teachers are only referred to as Ms. so and so in the present, so when it was the past and they went by their first names, I got thrown off. It took me 3/4 of the book to stop flipping back to find out who was talking.
The plot is great and moves along at a swift enough speed that young readers won't grow bored. The author does a great job with unraveling the plot twists so that the reader is wondering who the good and bad guys are until the final chapters. The story is believable and the setting, a school, age relatable.
I give it 4 stars!
September 26, 2015
I didn't happen to read the first book in the series. I was curious about some references to it, but I was still able to enjoy this book. The author included several different conflicts, but they all worked together. The teachers didn't get along with each other, The Mirrorman, Grace's problems with her friends, and Grace had an internal conflict about her friends and the demon. Two teachers wanted the girls to be responsible with their spells, but Ms. Gold felt that they should be able to explore their powers. This situation troubled Grace. The climax was surprising, as the hero was someone I didn't expect. I recommend the book!
September 24, 2022
This book was a good sequel. It can be read without having read the first book, but the sequel does build on the characters. The story was well paced, introduced a few new characters, and had surprising twists. I’m looking forward to reading book 3.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews