Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz
- Pub. Date: June 21, 2011
- Publisher: Harlequin Teen
- Pages: 352
- Series: Spellbound #1
- Amazon/Goodreads
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.
First Line: It's always embarrassing to have someone take you to school.
Review: I finally picked Spellbound up, I was kind of swayed away from reading it before because of all the cliches that this book followed but I caved in and bought it because I really do love books that have to do with reincarnation, curses and star-crossed lovers. And true this book has a ton of cliche but somehow the author made it work. Spellbound I found to actually be a very fast paced read and actually somewhat of a page turner.
Emma's had a pretty messed up life, brother died and then her mom soon after. Her step-father is a drunk who practically killed her in an accident, so she sets off to live with her extremely wealthy aunt in New York. She has all the lies planned out so no one will figure out who she is since her story is posted all over the internet. She ends up going to some exclusive private school where she makes friends and enemies. What she didn't expect was Brendan to walk into her life and the insane instant attraction she had towards him.
Okay first off if you are a follower of my blog you know how much I hate any kind of insta-attraction/love it bugs the crap out of me, and I was ready to shove this book aside but I kept reading and I can't believe I'm going to say this but the curse that was put on them well the insta-attraction was justified, it made sense. I think this the only book I can say that about so far.
As far as the characters Emma was the star of the book. She went through a lot of tragic events but yet she is still coming out strong and growing. And I loved how she stood up to the bullies at her new school. As for Brendan he was sweet, but he was just...too perfect. The secondary characters were okay not as fleshed out as I would have liked them to be.
The best part about the whole book for me was the curse and learning about the background history of it and how it all came to be. Overall this was a fun read.
