Spellbound (Spellbound, #1)

by Cara Lynn Shultz

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.

• ISBN10: 1459207777
• ISBN13: 9781459207776
• Publish Date: 1 July 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Harlequin Teen
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Spellbound was really fun! I love witches and reincarnation, so I enjoyed this one, even if it was quite predictable. Emma has just moved in with her aunt after her stepfather nearly killed her. She’s starting at a prestigious private school, so of course she has to get on the wrong side of the resident mean girl on her very first day. But it’s not her fault that super hottie, Brendan, has his eye on her. And it has something to do with the necklace that Emma’s brother gave her before he died. She just doesn’t know what.

Spellbound did start off kind of slow. It read more like a contemporary rather than a paranormal romance, but one without any direction. Emma was just going about her life: making friends, hanging out with her cousin, homework, etc. It isn’t until about a third in that the supernatural aspects started to emerge. I really liked Emma’s new friend Angelique, who is a witch! She totally plays up her religion at school to mess with the popular kids, but she really is a witch and helps Emma learn about her necklace and her odd connection with Brendan. From there, it’s obvious where the plot is going, but it was a fun ride! The ending turned a bit crazy and I loved that!

In the end Spellbound was a fun read! The paranormal aspects aren’t too in your face, since it is more about an ancient curse and reincarnation than witches running around and casting spells and fighting darkness. I really like reincarnation and I’m always happy to find books that feature it! There is a happy ending, and it could totally work as a standalone, but of course I had to find out what comes next!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[wyvernfriend]

There were times when this didn't quite work but overall this was a good read. Emma Conner has had a hard life, her mother in the last year leaving her with her drunk of a stepfather who almost killed her in a car crash. Now she's living with her aunt in New York and going to an exclusive Upper East Side prep school, it's a chance at a new start.

She's drawn to Brendan Salinger, a rich boy who is very handsome and with whom she feels a connection. She's having strange dreams and lights are going off when she walks by, there's something strange going on but can she work out what's happening and stay alive?

It was fairly typical of it's type but well done for all that, it lost some points over page 270 where he, in one page, gave her a Claddagh/Clauddagh/Claddaugh ring. It's CLADDAGH, it's a place in Galway, there is no excuse for getting it right first time and then goofing within 4 paragraphs. Just Google It.

Having said that, this was the only break in the suspension of disbelief for me so I'm happy enough overall with the story.

[elysium]

It started good but after Emma meets Brendan, her whole life revolves around him.

[liz089]

Read more about this review and others at my blog ! Freyja Eats Books

SPOILER ALERT

Because my friend liked reading this one I was curious about it, the story seemed kind of original in it’s own way. It reminded me a little about the Archers of Avalon, but I loved that series much more than this one. It’s not that I didn’t like it, because I did, but it just wasn’t that special or great.

The characters are okay, but even though I read this book about a week ago, I can’t even remember their names. They weren’t that special you know. So Emma (yes I looked it up), I liked her, when one of the mean girls is being nasty she stands up to her (what later on, doesn’t actually works in her favor but well..) and when one of the popular guys hits on her she blows him off. She is also very protective of her niece, even confronts her bully though he is much stronger and bigger than she is ! She lost a lot in the past, and moves in with her aunt after having no other place to go.

The instant she lays eyes on Brendan (also looked up his name) she falls hard for him. In the beginning he stays out of her way, but later on they are the happy couple. (No big surprise there) Though of course they have their problems.. like a centuries old curse that will mean their love is doomed. They love each other too much and can’t stay away from each other. This puts Emma in danger, so they try to find out how to stop it.
I liked that one, they do the research, with help of a witch (yes nice a witch!) and try to find out how to break the curse.

What I enjoyed was the tale of the curse, how it came to be and how the family of Brendan is the offspring of the original man who activated the curse. But I do think she could have done more here, okay the series continue, but I feel it had more potential to really make something of it. I prefer original stories, and this was one of those, so some bonus point for that, but it just missed something.

Oh yeah, and Emma sees ghosts/has visions of the past. Oh and she’s a witch too ! Because of that last part she has a chance at beating the curse or so. Even though there were some clues and one or two spells, I disliked how little the witch part was evolving.

But what I disliked more was Brendan as a person… He was just too damn perfect. And you know what that means ? BOOOOORING. The love interest should be more of a mystery and sexy.. I just didn’t feel it with him. He was too nice, too much chivalry, too boring. He has a major Prince Charming complex and it is not attractive. I also felt his personality was kind of shallow, it didn’t go very deep…
Do not get me wrong though, the whole Prince Charming complex has it perks, but I think it gives the wrong impression about the real life man in this world. There are exceptions, but most men would react completely different that Brendan did.

Though what I disliked the most was Alexander, no ehm, Anthony? Yes Anthony. WTF ? He goes all psycho out of nowhere ! Someone has MAJOR issues here, but there is no explanation at all why he gets all freaky and tries to murder her ! Yes okay he get’s kicked out of school (which is his own fault really) and then blames her for it. Not her fault! I did get the main idea of him becoming a creepy murderer, but I feel there should have been more to it. It makes it kind of unrealistic to me. Is that just me, or what ?

Last, I have to make a comment about Emma’s stupidity to go in the basement when is asked by mean girl. Come on ! If a person who does not like you, hell even hates you, asks you to go all alone into a dark and creepy basement what do you say ? YOU SAY NO !!! You do not, I repeat, DO NOT go into that basement and act all stupid and surprised when it goes wrong !! Of course it goes wrong !!!
Emma was so smart and steady during the book, why did you ruin that ?

I feel like this book could've been amazing. It wasn't bad, I did enjoy it but it had a lot of potential to be more original and unique. That being said it stands out from the rest of the paranormal romance books out there. For one, weeks after reading I still remember the basic plot. The plot drew me in and I could stomach the romance - I found it relatively believable or at least the author adequately made me believe it. Overall worth the read. I'll even pick up the next one.

[Amber]

This didn't offer anything new, and the main character was OBSESSED with the idiotic love interest. No thank you.

------

I didn't end up enjoying this one in the slightest. I'm struggling to write a decent review on it, so I'm just going to split this one up into bullet points and hope that it gets my point across. Have any of you read this book? I heard such good things about it, but it turned out to be... not so good.


Cliché story telling, making it very predictable.


No likeable characters, including the secondary ones. I didn't feel connected to any one of them, and Emma was one of the most annoying teenage girls I have ever read about. She's a bit of a Bella Swan, unfortunately, in that she's 'plain' and yet everyone loves her, the most mysterious/hottest guy in school falls for her, etc.


Emma's life revolved around the Brendan - the popular, most good looking guy in school, of course - and when he refused to talk to her she wouldn't stop thinking about him. It was borderline obsessive and I didn't like it at all. At one point he stops talking to her for one reason or another, and she is STILL constantly thinking about him. I would have got a restraining order if I was him. Independent girls/women are so much better than those who worship the ground these guys walk on. Does that really need to be said? It certainly shouldn't have to be.


I would insert the usual rant about insta-love here, but I think most people know how I feel - and how everyone else feels - about that by now. No thank you.


Emma's back-story seemed kind of pointless. We were told that her mum died in a car accident, her step dad was a drunk, yadda yadda yadda, but none of this seemed to have an impact on the present day story.


I thought the writing was fairly decent, but it was pretty unremarkable. The dialogue was a little boring, though. There were no funny moments, and the way the characters said things just didn't show any emotion.

So. I don't recommend this book at all. I think it's unoriginal, boring and the characters are all idiots. This is like Twilight with witches, and yet it still lacks the draw that Stephenie Meyer managed to accomplish.

Originally posted at Miss Book Reviews.

------------

The opening line made me smile:

"It's always embarrassing to have someone take you to school. Your dad, your mum, someone with hair rollers in."

Then this line came a paragraph later and it made me chuckle:

".. I knew that juniors did not hang out with the lower classes [freshman]. It was like hanging out with a bunch of vegetarians and wearing a bacon necklace."

Then this line, a few paragraphs away, made me laugh out loud:

"...leaving me with Henry, my step-father whose blood alcohol content hovered somewhere between "wasted'" and "How is he even alive?"."

I must have a warped sense of humour if I laughed at the last line. Obviously I was not laughing at the content, but more at the way it was worded and came across.

The first page was written with this dry sense of humour, and a dry sense of humour is exactly what I have. So after the first page I was really hoping that I would enjoy this book. It felt like the writing was going to be quirky and interesting.

When I read the summary of this book it sounded to me like a predictable love story. But it also sounded like a story that had a lot of potential. Unfortunately for me in the end I found this plot to be rather predictable and easy to figure out. I was hoping for a twist that I wasn't expecting to happen near the end. The only thing is, I didn't find a twist ever happening. If there was one then it didn't really stick in my memory. I felt like this was why the book was so predictable.

On a whole this plot idea sounded like it had a lot more potential than came to be but I did enjoy it. Less than I thought I would but still, at the end of the day, I did enjoy it.

I found Emma to be... predictable and a little boring. Although I was very glad she wasn't extremely stubborn, that on top would have annoyed me a lot more. There was really nothing about her that I thought was very special though. Nothing that made me really like her. She was polite to her aunt whom took her in, I was grateful that she was polite and wasn't rude and selfish. She was surprisingly yet also a little annoyingly up front and extroverted, even though she was trying to stay low and not let anyone find out why she had transferred schools. But I didn't quite gel with her. Or perhaps I just never really connected with her. I never felt for her, I never got [emotionally] attached to her while reading this book. I just simply 'liked' her.

Brendan sounded like one sexy guy. He was constantly described as good looking, handsome and sexy. I found him to be more interesting than Emma, but I also never found myself really caring for him. I liked him. I thought he was pretty cool at times. But I never felt for him. I liked that he was protective over Emma and I don't think that ever strayed to the 'Okay dude, time to back off now' vibe, which was veryyy good. I liked that he wasn't obviously 'in like' with Emma from that start, it drives me up the wall when that happens. I like to see a struggle with romances otherwise it's too easy and it feels like it drags on and gets boring because you're wondering why they haven't hooked up yet since they obviously like each other and have acted towards each other as such.

So I did like these characters. But I found myself not really getting attached to them or finding myself investing in them. I simply read them, read about them and that was it.

The writing was quirky the whole way through, but after the first chapter to be honest it started to get on my nerves a little. I started rolling my eyes and feeling like the dry humour was being forced more than anything. It started to make Emma sound more like a child rather than a quirky young adult.

That didn't stop this book from being an easy read though. Everything flowed, connected and made sense in the writing sense I think. I didn't stumble over sentences, I found there to be enough description to see the image in my head, what was even better was I found I wasn't thinking about the descriptions at all, the pictures just formed in my head without me figuring it out. I was simply just enjoying what I was reading.

The way this book was written worked well.

Soo the romance. This was a huge plot line of the story, well it was the main plot line, which I usually get bored with since there's nothing else driving the book.

It wasn't quite insta-love but I did find it annoying that Emma couldn't stop thinking about Brendan before she had even talked to him. I guess I wanted more of an interaction to happen so there was a logical reason Emma couldn't stop thinking about Brendan, even though there was a sound reason that she couldn't stop thinking about him. It still annoyed me.

After the beginning stages, after all the awkwardness and the 'Does he like me?' thoughts, it got pretty good. There was chemistry and attraction there that I think Shultz was able to portray well in the writing, meaning it wasn't cliché nor was it boring or overbearing. I do wish that the beginning or the relationship had been more solid though.

This book was nice to read, it was an interesting idea but I also find myself not that bothered with it. I don't really have a strong opinion over it; which I think isn't a good thing. A strong opinion, whether it be good or bad is really better than a nonchalant feeling about anything really. I mean at least you know what you think. With this book I really don't know how I feel about it. It's like I've barely registered that I've read it. This could come down to the mood I was in when I was reading it though, although, my mood was a good one, it just wasn't very enthusiastic and this book didn't change that non-enthusiasm.

Overall I came away from this book feeling indifferent from before I started to read it. I had really wanted to like this book more, I was really hoping to get butterflies for the love interest, to be pulled in and unable to stop reading, to really care what Emma went through and to what was happening in the book. Instead I read the book, took note of what was happening, finished the book and then found that I really didn't engage with anything I had just read.

I liked that there was a lot of chemistry and attraction between Emma and Brendan. I liked that it was easily readable. I liked that Shultz has obviously done her research so she knew exactly what she was writing about because the most annoying thing is reading a book that is vague on the main topic that it is supposed to be about. I liked things about this book.

So this book wasn't what I had been hoping but it was a little of what I had expected. I guess it didn't quite meet my expectations for the idea I had formed in my head from the summary. But it was still an entertaining book at times.

What are your thoughts?

Miss J
x 

[lizarodz]

Original review found here: http://readingwithabc.blogspot.com/2011/08/review-spellbound-by-cara-lynn-shultz.html

Spellbound was an enjoyable read for me. The plot was somewhat predictable, but I still liked the story.

Emma is a character that I liked after reading about a quarter of the book. She is insecure, but is quite understandable due to her past, a lot of things had happened to her in her short life. Emma learned a lot about herself (I bet more that she bargained for!) so in a sense this was a book about self-discovery. I am glad that Emma did indeed grow into accepting who (and what) she is. To me the characters (except for Emma) felt a little one-dimensional. I wish we could have got to spend more time with both Brendan and Emma’s best friend Angelique. Brendan is in one word perfect (except for the ignoring Emma part); he is handsome, rich, strong, and the thing I like most, very loving and protective of Emma. (I know, I know, what can I say? I’m a sucker for romance). I loved Emma’s cousin Ashley, she was so happy and bubbly that was almost contagious. And I also liked Francisco and the tasteful, down to earth way that he was portrait.

The plot was a little predictable. The insecure female character, the hurtful unjustified gossip, the mean beautiful girl, the bully, the handsome ‘perfect’ male character, were all present in Spellbound. The unique things that make me like the story were the introduction of a paranormal twist, in the way of past lives, witchcraft and even ghosts. That part was quite interesting and justified the instant attraction between Emma and Brendan. The writing was easy to read, and the flow effortless.

If you like the combination of romance, paranormal, and destined lovers, this is the book for you.

About the cover: I like the cover a lot. Both the shattering glass and the dark are important parts of the story. I like the way she (Emma) seems to be floating on space (time) and I like the font and the placement of the title. One thing I didn’t like was the synopsis of the novel; I think it was a little misleading.

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

I was excited about this book from the moment I first heard about it. Hi, totally drawn to just about anything of the paranormal and mystical spellbound variety, add in a bit of an historical feel to it and you've definitely got my interest piqued. There's a forbidden sense of wonder in something dark and mysterious, lush and exciting, that gets my blood pulsing accompanied with a built in gravitational force drawing me to it.

Spellbound, was exciting, engaging, and entertaining from the moment I started reading. Although, I had my qualms about how the paranormal element would fit in with the flow of the story being told, I still found myself very enthralled with the story itself and didn't mind the subtle underlying hints of paranormal elements until it really came to the forefront towards the end of the novel and left the reader (me gasping for) wanting more. I found myself searching for hidden pages, long after the last one had been turned. I was curious, I admit, and I wanted to see what was going to happen next.

I am anxiously and eagerly awaiting the next book in the series, as I have a feeling that it's going to be just as entertaining and exciting as this one was, if not more-so.

This novel combines so many elements that make it a wonderful book, like well developed strong characters that are relatable, very likeable, and have unique qualities about them that set them apart from others. There is also a great romance that will leave the reader just as just as spellbound as the novel reads itself. For Emma and Brendan, it seems as if they are doomed even before they really begin and there seemed to be this back and forth "can we be together ;; no, we can't really" dilemma going on between them.

Despite that, I was very pleased with how well Shultz was able to depict them in such a realistic way. There wasn't an epic all encompassing insta-love vibe present in the novel at all. It was just more of a natural gradual attraction on both parts, that turned out to be mutal and very realistically portrayed. All of their actions, how they related to one another, the way they acted when they were in and outside of school grounds, and in or out around social scenes were very believable. It was refreshing to see this, as there have been a number of YA novels where insta-love has happened and the reader is expected to just go along with it.

The secondary character's seemed to possess their very own special brand of flavor, which contributed to their unique attributes and gave them a vast array of characteristics. Angelique and Cisco were so much fun and Ashley (Emma's cousin) was pretty much adorable and an amazing support system for Emma as well, after everything that she'd been through and the circumstances that brought her to NYC and Vince A. I do wish we could have gotten to know Kristen a little better, because I wanted to believe there's more to her than just the fact that she hates Emma and she's the resident mean girl. I have a way of loving complicated characters like her, who are mean and I don't want to believe she's that way just for the sake of being mean.

I have really come to adore books that deal with soulmate(s), past lives, and reincarnation if handled properly and written in such a way that it all comes together seamlessly and effortless and this novel did that and so much more. It intricately wove together an ancient family curse through witchcraft, mythology, and the broken heart of a man who loved one woman so much that he would do anything for a chance to spend happiness with her.

Over-all, I truly enjoyed the hint of historical attributes combined with the paranormal, all coming together to form a novel that I will want to read and again and again and again. It's not hard at all for me to give this a full five stars. There wasn't anything that I didn't enjoy about this book or the author.

{Small Note: This book was received as an E-ARC through Harlequin Teen viaNetgalley, in exchange for an honest review which I have provided. No money exchanged hands, I review books for fun because I love to read. I am not interested in monetary gain.}

[Cocktails and Books]

When I started reading this book, I thought “ok, this is starting out like 3 other YA books that I’ve read”. Teenage girl with a somewhat traumatic life, shipped off to another school where she meets a boy who has her mesmerized. Even though I was tempted to stop reading this, thinking this was going to be like the others, I’m glad I stuck with it.

Emma’s living with her Aunt, after escaping a death at the hands of her drunken step father. She’s enrolled it a very posh private school, where her aunt is on the board and her younger cousin is her only ally amongst the student body. When she meets Brendan Salinger, she doesn’t expect her reaction.

“He turned and looks at me for a brief second - any my pulse sped. I didn’t expect my response. I’d been around good looking guys before -- but this guy looked like a rock star. Long black lashes framed his green eyes - twinkling green eyes that locked with mine.”

I like that Emma had issues fitting in at the new school. She didn’t fit into any of the pre-established “cliques” and didn’t really try, figuring out what the dynamics were at the school pretty quickly. She did manage to make friends with the “outcast” Angelique, when no one else would because she was a scholarship student. I also like the fact that even though Emma felt drawn to Brendan, she wasn’t overly obsessive about him (which could have very easily happened).

Brendan was one of those male characters that we all wished we had as our first (and true) love in high school. Once he stopped running from what he was feeling, he was the boyfriend that made his girlfriend feel like a princess. He was protective, but not in the “I’m going to put you in a bubble” sense. Even when he knew that the two of them being together could be disastrous for Emma, he admitted he wasn’t willing to let her go.

The story did have it’s villans and they were spectacular in a high school kind of way. Kristin was the ultimate bitch and made sure to make Emma’s life a living hell. How dare she snag the hot guy! And we can’t forget about Anthony. He was evil, in every sense of the word.

Sprinkle in a little magic, some century old curses and plain old high school woes and you’ve got yourself quite an enjoyable read. I recommend this one.