Spellbound (Spellbound, #1) in And So It Begins Reading Challenge

Apr 22, 2011 Ezmirelda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, arc, 5-stars, 2011, fantasy, must-read

I was completely spellbounded by Spellbound. It was one of those really rare books that clicked with me right from the beginning. After having a taste of what the author's voice was like I had a feeling that I was going to love this book. The male lead Brendan is on top of my list for swoon-worthy YA chracters. He has this mix of being perfect and completely normal at the same time. And I really liked Emma who was brave, quirky, and smart throughout the story. Out of all the other books I’ve rea ...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Carrie Ardoin rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, posted-on-blog, i-own-this, witches

Sixteen year old Emma Connor has just been relocated to New York City after having had a rough life so far. Her mom got sick and died, and then she lost her twin brother. The last straw was when she got into a near-fatal accident in a car her drunken stepfather was driving. Emma finally gets a chance at a better life when she moves in with her Aunt Christine, who sends her to start her junior year at a ritzy, tiny private school.

It doesn't take Emma long to make friends--or enemies. When she cat Sixteen year old Emma Connor has just been relocated to New York City after having had a rough life so far. Her mom got sick and died, and then she lost her twin brother. The last straw was when she got into a near-fatal accident in a car her drunken stepfather was driving. Emma finally gets a chance at a better life when she moves in with her Aunt Christine, who sends her to start her junior year at a ritzy, tiny private school.

It doesn't take Emma long to make friends--or enemies. When she catches the eye of the hottest, most unattainable guy at school, Brendan Salinger, this definitely does not help in her quest to go unnoticed. But just as things seem to be heating up with Brendan, they suddenly go cold again. What is the problem?

As she soon discovers, the problem is something way bigger than both of them. Sure, Emma and Brendan have an instant, fiery connection...but could they really be a pair of reincarnated, cursed lovers? And if they are, how do a couple of teenagers get around that?

I quite enjoyed this book even from the very beginning. Emma is a great narrator, and I loved her voice. She speaks and thinks in much the same way I (and I would imagine many other young women) would. Even though she has been through a lot of tragedy in a very short period of time, she is not mopey or depressed. She is a very easy girl to relate to.

Brendan wasn't that bad, but I'm a little tired of the two cliches that he had about him: The hot, rebellious, messy bad boy who can have anyone he wants but doesn't choose any of them, until the new girl come to town; and the fact that after he knew things were getting heavy between them, he disappeared "for her own good." Yeah, I've definitely seen these tropes before.

The villains in this book were great ones, and believable for the world that the characters are in. After all, they are in high school; high school kids realistically only have other high school kids to worry about.

The plot kept me reading quickly, even though there were a few things I saw coming. However, my favorite part of this book was the story-within-a-story aspect. The author is talented and imaginative when it comes to spinning fairy tales.

I loved this book enough to be excited to read the next installment! ...more

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Apr 18, 2011 Nicole rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, past-lives

You can check out this review and many others on my blog, The Reader's Antidote

Four stars is definitely being generous. I liked it and it had it's moments, but it was nothing that special to me.

What I liked: I love books about soul mates lost through time that have to keep re-living their pain. There's something sick and masochistic about it, but, hey, we're not the ones living it. We simply enjoy and try to relate to their pain. Emma and Brendan were cute. Even though it was predictable, he ign You can check out this review and many others on my blog, The Reader's Antidote

Four stars is definitely being generous. I liked it and it had it's moments, but it was nothing that special to me.

What I liked: I love books about soul mates lost through time that have to keep re-living their pain. There's something sick and masochistic about it, but, hey, we're not the ones living it. We simply enjoy and try to relate to their pain. Emma and Brendan were cute. Even though it was predictable, he ignored her like a good guy despite the fact that it made her think he hated her. They have this uncontrollable connection and we don't know why. All I can say is, without Angelique, they would have never figured out why they were destined to be together... and then split apart. Their romance was like that of a true fairytale. A twisted one, but a fairytale none the less. I'm really intrigued, like Angelique, to see if those other stories in the book were true.

I also liked how Emma was the one that had "powers", instead of the guy being the only one. When a girl is totally helpless in a novel because only her guy can truly defeat the bad guys, I ask myself why the author made her female protagonist so weak. Emma was not weak. She was a little girly and goofy at times, but she stood up for herself and the people she loved. That girl had some fight in her.

The story based on their love was wonderfully crafted. I never got bored; who doesn't love a tragic love story? And again, it had the element of a past love lost, hoping to be found again, which is always heartbreaking. But it's also a love that's doomed. Need I say more?

What I didn't like: I'm always interested in past lives involving romance and soul mates. A lot of times, though, these books are simply not well-done. The characters (especially the love interest) have to be likeable and ideally three-dimensional. The story has to be interesting and make sense, and grab my attention. And, as with all novels, the dialogue has to be decent. I suppose one out of three isn't so bad. The characters were developed, but unmemorable. I liked Brendan, but I didn't fall in love with him like Emma did. I also wasn't so impressed with Emma herself. Sometimes her dialogue had me asking, "really?". I say some of that stuff, but authors have to choose what would sound good in a novel and what should stay off the pages.

I don't know why, but I like a little more mystery with the guy. I guess that's why I like trilogies. A lot of times either a relationship faces more hardships than can be delved into in a single book, or their lack of relationship is spelled out better in horrible events that just bring them closer together when one or the other is trying to stay away. Brendan and Emma were too easy for me. To be fair, I LOVED the kissing scenes they had (you can tell they're good when your own stomach twists into knots) but sadly I need something more than kissing.

One last thing, I expected the villain to be more... villainous... supernatural, I guess. But no novel is perfect.

I'm left with one question: Is there a sequel to this? I want more, and it was left a little open, but I get the feeling Spellbound was a one-time thing. ...more

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Jul 12, 2011 Lisa ILJ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, ebooks-i-own

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for writing an honest review.

Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz is the story of Emma Connor, recently relocated to the Upper East Side of New York City after the deaths of both her mother and brother. I really enjoyed this book.

There were a lot of elements that really made this book work for me. The first one and to me always the most important were the characters. The two main characters Emma and Brendan were exactly what I want out of a good book. I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for writing an honest review.

Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz is the story of Emma Connor, recently relocated to the Upper East Side of New York City after the deaths of both her mother and brother. I really enjoyed this book.

There were a lot of elements that really made this book work for me. The first one and to me always the most important were the characters. The two main characters Emma and Brendan were exactly what I want out of a good book. I wanted to be friends with Emma and I wanted to date Brendan. Emma has had some really bad things happen in her lifetime and yet she never plays the victim. She has a pragmatic and realistic view on life and what she can expect from it. I really enjoyed how her personality traits and habits were all had reasons behind them. While reading the story, there were things about the character that I didn’t even think twice about, I just felt like they were devices used to make me the reader more familiar with the character. In the end, it was great to see that each and every one of them served a purpose, a credit to Shultz for brining that all together. Brendan was a great character as well. He was by no means perfect, but at the same time he was perfect for Emma. I loved that there were some flaws, but never enough to question why Emma wanted to be with him. I think Shultz also did a great job of making the secondary characters well rounded. I really felt like I knew them all.

The next thing I liked was the whole combining a fairy tale with paranormal. I thought this was a unique approach to the story, and I totally bought into the whole idea behind it. It does make it hard to classify this one. Is it a paranormal story or a fairy tale? Does it really matter? Probably not.

I really enjoyed Shultz’s style of writing. The writing flowed really smoothly, and the pace of the book was very quick. There was the perfect amount of action and downtime so that I was no exhausted by the end.

My final verdict is twofold.
1. You should pick this one up particularly if you are looking for a enjoyable and quick read.
2. I can’t wait to read the next one!
...more

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