Firespell (Dark Elite, #1)

by Chloe Neill

[Angie]

Firespell is fun! It's not original, at all. In fact, it contains just about every YA Urban Fantasy trope and cliche, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Lily's parents are leaving on a sabbatical in Germany, and instead of taking her with them, they ship her off to boarding school. St. Sophia's is the last place Lily expected to end up, but she's willing to make the most of it. But then the headmistress says something suspicious about her parents' work and one of Lily's roommates disappears for hours in the middle of the night. What is really going on here?

I really liked Lily! She's spunky and not one to wallow in self-pity. She may not be happy to have relocated hundreds of miles, being separated from her friends and family, but she's not skulking about it either. Firespell doesn't have any instalove, instead it has instafriend! Lily immediately befriends her strange roommate, Scout. It's kind of like how in Kindergarten you just walk up to someone, ask to be their best friend, and BOOM, friends for life. That's Lily and Scout. They just click, and Scout lets her in on the secret workings of the "dark elite."

Of course, Scout is part of a secret group of teens with magic and Lily gets caught in the crossfire of their battle with the evil ones of their kind. Lily is just a normal human, or so she thought. Yep, she's something special, and never knew it, but that's not really surprising, is it? Anyway, I did like how the magical community was presented and how magic works. There's different types of magic users, but their powers are only temporary. If they want to keep them into adulthood, they become something else. Something evil. Dun dun dun!

I thought Firespell was a lot of fun. It's a quick read, and I just really love school settings. The beginning focuses a lot on Lily settling into her new home and school, but I enjoyed it. There's a clique of typical mean girls who try to recruit her, but she chooses to hang out with the "rejects." The plot is pretty light, but if you're looking for something quick, fun, and magical, this is it.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.