Book Review: Spellbound

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 Conner, 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.

 **ARC Courtesy of NetGalley

Goodreads: 3.5/5 stars

Spellbound is one of those stories that’s like a car wreck—you just can’t stop looking. Okay, bad analogies aside, it took me about seventy pages before I could immerse myself in the story. Nothing really happens up until that point, except that the main characters are introduced. We have Emma, the new girl who just moved to town because her stepfather is an alcoholic and was drunk when he picked her up from school one day, then wrecked the vehicle they were in, almost killing them. So, now Emma lives with her aunt in New York, where she attends Vincent Academy, a private school for the rich.

You want to know why this book was like a car wreck? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s not the fact that this book was written well; it’s the fact that I literally laughed out loud consistently. I honestly don’t remember the last time I’ve read a book that made me do this (which is sad, people!).

There was an instant, love-at-first-sight connection between Emma and the hottest guy at school, Brendan Salinger, which made me go “bleeechhh,” roll my eyes and almost barf on myself. HOWEVER, the reason for this is explained later on. I wish the romance aspect and why they’re destined to be together would’ve been explained earlier, because I almost dropped this book based on the relationship. Luckily, the plot redeems itself.

The reason I didn’t round this up to 4 stars is because Brendan doesn’t sound like Brendan as the relationship progresses. He gets sappier and sappier. I wanted him to keep his bad-boy persona, but he just loses it. Like, I’m pretty sure he flushed his personality down the toilet. Or, he’s a totally different person in disguise. Because, let me tell you, he frustrated me to no end with constant I’llalwaysbethereforyous. OKAY! We get it. Jeez. I heard you the first 100 times. If he were my boyfriend, I would’ve slapped him with my pimp hand, just to bring him back to reality.

The other reason I didn’t give this 4 stars was because the villain is predictable. We know who he is and we know what he’ll do after a certain incident involving *spoiler* the principal’s office and expulsion. I did find myself tense, however, during the climax. I wasn’t sure if Emma and/or Brendan would actually make it, so that was good to see.

Overall, I enjoyed this book; it kept me laughing and the storyline was different than most books out there.