Spells (Aprilynne Pike ) (Wings, #2)

by Aprilynne Pike

Summoned to study at The Academy of Avalon, sixteen-year-old Laurel learns about the town with friend Tamani, while honing her long-forgotten skills as a Fall faerie in order to protect her human family and Avalon from trolls.

• ISBN10: 0061668060
• ISBN13: 9780061668067
• Publish Date: 4 May 2010 (first published 29 April 2010)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

1,5 stars

"Anger was so much easier than sadness, hurt."

Spells opens up with Laurel going to an faerie academy in Avalon so that she can learn how to be a Fall faerie. Avalon is beautiful and fascinating, but I skimmed through the copious descriptions. There's just too much describing. Although, the faerie hierarchical structure interesting.

The rest of Spells focuses on Laurel's feelings towards Tamani and David. Her conflicting feelings towards Tamani and David gives me whiplash. When she's with Tamani, she either completely forgets about David, feels guilty for not thinking of David or starts thinking about David and vice-versa. She also leads both boys on, but because she's beautiful and compassionate and has a bunch of other Mary-Sue qualities, it's totally okay. SO NOT COOL! I feel like Laurel needs to do some introspective soul-searching and figure out who she is and what she wants before looking for a boyfriend.

There's also a small part of Spells that focuses on the trolls plot from Wings, but it's a small and insignificant part - almost like it was an afterthought.

The annoying love triangle seeped through every part of Spells and ruined my reading experience.

"I am the lamest faerie ever." (Laurel Sewell)

[emruth13]

I love that in this book we get to see more Faerie things. We see Avalon for the first time. We get more Tamani! Honestly, for me, I love Tamani WAY more than David. But then I always prefer the supernatural being over the human boy. But I just love this book.

[nightingalereads]

2.5 stars

[Baroness Book Trove]

Spells is a fantastically great book that Aprilynne Pike had written. Laurel feels like she has to decide between her two separate worlds and she doesn’t know which one she wants more. Especially when it comes to David or Tamani. She has to deal with that and her fear of the trolls coming back for her. She also has to deal with keeping her secret and doing other things. This book is a really good one and I think it’s actually better than the first one.

Laurel is a great character even if I don’t really care about her love triangle between David and Tamani. I mean in my head she needs to choose one or the other and she does just not the one I would have thought she should have chosen. Aprilynne is a great author especially on her knowledge of faeries. I am giving this book a five butterflies since it’s an awesome book and I am loving the lives of Laurel, David, Tamani, and the other people in these books.

If anyone asks me about a recommendation on this book it would be the same as the first one which is a yes. This book is a good one and I love it. I can’t wait to read the next book and the last book in this series. I am quite glad that I found this book and this author.

Anyways until next time enjoy this book review brought to you by

Baroness’ Book Trove.

To see more of my reviews please go visit my blog at baronessbooktrove.com

[Kim Deister]

Spells begins about six months after Wings ends.  The interesting mythology that I so loved about the first books continues in this one.  Some of it is blended with more traditional mythology and some of it is blended with reality as we know it and that makes the entire premise of the book that much more believable.  One of the key parts of that was the Academy.  I liked that the Academy, despite the fact that it is an institution of faerie learning, was very much like a live-in school in the human world.  That brought a level of understanding that bridged the gap between the human world and the faerie world.  Reading the titles of her newly acquired textbooks was a lot like reading those in the Harry Potter books.  Another new bit of mythology was Shakespeare and his part in it all.  There were a lot of references to Shakespeare and his written work, weaving him into the mythology of Avalon that is unique to this story.  According to this mythology, Shakespeare’s work is a human retelling of faerie lore.  The play shown at the Festival of Samhain was based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 

I love that no matter what happens to Laurel or how much she learns about her true self, she remains very human.  It is clear that much of the faerie world sees humans as rather inferior.  No matter how much she learned about her heritage, she never lost her humanity.  She, despite her faerie nature, seems to be more human than faerie, flaws and all.  And that more human than fae feeling was made pretty clear throughout much of the book.  I didn’t like that at times she was almost judgmental about that which she didn’t understand about the faerie world and their ways.  This is obviously because of her human upbringing, but it sometimes came off as obnoxious.  There was often a tone of superiority when she questioned various aspects of faerie ways or beliefs.  Her biggest problem with faerie ways seemed to be the class system of seasonal faeries and how they were viewed within faerie society.  Winters, being the rarest, were seen as the top level.  Falls, as Mixers, were next, followed by Summers and then Springs.  Because Tamani was Spring, she hated how the rest of faerie society treated them.  Her heart was in the right place from a human standpoint, but she tended to judge the faerie from within that framework which just doesn’t translate.  But all of this fit the story because it showed her struggle to live in two worlds.  The love triangle between David, Tamani, and Laurel also grew more complex and probably helped Laurel’s character to change.  Conflicting feelings, along with her struggles in her new world, changed her a lot during this book.  While her character did grow, there were times when Laurel just didn’t handle things well and that made her character much more believable and likeable.  Balancing her two worlds was often next to impossible and she often failed miserably at it.

There were several different themes in this book.  One was about balance and maintaining it through life-changing times.  Balancing her faerie heritage with her human life was often immensely difficult for Laurel, and one she was often unable to maintain without hurting either David or Tamani.  There were a lot choices to be made in this book, many that can’t help but result in pain and heartbreak for someone, no good choices.  I like that these choices were presented in a real way, without trying to tie them up neatly in impossible ways.  

Things to love about Wings...

   --The mythology.  Just like the first book, I loved the blend of mythologies, as well as the blending of mythology with reality.
   --The messages.  The theme of acceptance is all the way through these books, as is the concept of social class.  I loved that there was no sugar coating those subjects.

Things I wanted more or less of...

   --A little more acceptance by Mom.  I really did not like Sarah, Laurel's mom.  Her attitude irritated me to no end.  When she finally started to come around, it was in a moment of fear rather than with love and understanding.
   --A little more of Chelsea.  She turned out to be so much more than I ever imagined.

Some quotastic goodness...

   --Getting involved with Tamani was like playing in a roaring river. Take one step too far and the current would never let you go (1).
   --As crazy as the truth actually turned out to be—that Laurel was a changeling, a faerie child left in their care to inherit sacred fae land—they had accepted it with remarkable ease, at least at first. Her dad’s attitude hadn’t changed, but over the last few months her mom had grown more and more freaked out by the idea that Laurel wasn’t human. She’d stopped talking about it, then refused to even hear about it, and things had finally come to a head last month when Laurel got the invitation (5).
   --“That’s silly,” Rowen said dismissively. “How could a faerie be a human? Humans are strange. And scary,” she added after a short pause. Then she whispered conspiratorially, “They’re animals (60).”
   --“When you told us you were a faerie, it was weird and unbelievable, but more than that, it made me feel completely useless. You were this amazing thing and had spent your whole life having all these faerie…guards, or whatever, watching out for you. You didn’t need me (348-349)."

My recommendation:  One of my favorite fae-themed books that I have read.  I definately recommend this one, but only after reading Wings.

[lizarodz]

This is the first audio book that I have tried. I told myself that it was a good idea to try it since I spend about one hour in my car commuting to work. How was the experience you ask? I think I like it enough that I will be checking another audio book from my library soon. The pros - I was able to 'read' another book (it took me about two weeks to finish it) and the actor that read the book was really good. The cons - since this is a book about fairies, it was hard to follow certain parts and the name of the characters (I still don't know how they're spelled!) Also you have to place close attention to the book, so if you like to plan or think as you drive, then don't listen to an audio book while driving.

The book starts about six months after the end of 'Wings'. You really have to read the fist book to understand 'Spells'. I was a little disappointed with the novel. There was not a lot of action (only two scenes,) as this book concentrated more around Laurel's struggle to balance her human and fairy lives. I found the love story between David and Laurel very well developed, but while I like David, I like Tamani even more. The last scene of the book was quite heartbreaking. I don't understand what Laurel is supposed to do when it is obvious to every human that she will not age, I think it would be easier to transition to her fairy life sooner rather than later (but that is just my opinion.)
The descriptions of Avalon where very well done, although I cannot help but share Laurel's opinion about the obvious class division and discrimination that all fairies take for granted. I hope that 'Illussions' turns out better than Spells.

About the cover: I am not impressed with the cover. I understand why there is a flower on the cover, but the dark colors don't reflect the mood of the story at all.

[sstaley]

I finished "Spells", the second book in the Young Adult Fantasy series of four books, that started with "Wings". Before I read this book, I had heard and read many other opinions about this second book. Many comments centered around how it wasn't as good as the first, to it was better than the first. Some were unhappy that Laurel didn't spend as much time in Avalon as they wanted. Then others complained that the time spent in Avalon was boring. The complaints seemed to go on and on.

I really liked Aprilynne's first book, "Wings". It was a new, fresh look at faeries. I had high hopes for "Spells". By now, I should know not to judge a book until I have read it. The things I like in a book can vary greatly from what others may like. I have such a great love for a variety of genres of books, that I usually give most books a great deal of leeway, where others may not let themselves get past the first or second chapter.

So...I picked up "Spells" and read it quickly. Aprilynne has a very smooth writing style, that adults and teens like. I was happily surprised about the chapters centered around her stay in Avalon. There is a lot written about Laurel's studies at the Academy of Avalon. She had to make up for lost time in learning how to be a "Fall Faerie" and what her future job would be. I found all of the information interesting, where others said it was "Boring". I enjoyed learning about the Faerie World's dynamics and how the society was structured. World building is a hard job. I have heard some complaints about this end of Aprilynne's storytelling. I say to these people, this is not high-fantasy where world building is crucial. This is a teen romance, set in the real world, with a dose of fantasy world on the side. I think Aprilynne did a good job in describing this world and keeping it low- key enough as she wrote for her main audience of teens.

The love triangle in this book rears it ugly head to extremes. Laurel, in her own unintentional way, is leading both young men along. She wants both of them, but knows that this can't be. I picked which team I was on in the first book. David is her human boyfriend and Tamani is her boyfriend from the Faerie World. I think we as readers know which man would be best for her in the long run, Tamani. I really like him and what he stands for. He also has the same life span as Laurel where David, being human, will be dead and gone before Laurel even starts to look old.

**sigh** Young love is such a bummer. It is so easy to look back and figure out what you should have done as a teen and what really happened. I will warn parents here, there is much more kissing in this book and some references to sex. It is nothing that you would find in an adult book, but you probably want to read through it first, depending on the age of your future reader.

The book ends with a cliff hanger that makes you excited for the third book. In a series of four books, the second is usually filler information and you do find a lot of that in "Spells". Over all, this book was a fun, fast and enjoyable read. If you liked "Wings", you will enjoy reading "Spells" and will look forward to reading the rest of the series.