Review: Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz

THANK YOU TO NET GALLEY AND HARLEQUIN FOR ALLOWING ME TO REVIEW THIS BOOK AND GIVE MY HONEST OPINION


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Synopsis:
Finding your eternal soulmate - easy.

Stopping a true-love-hungry evil - not so much…

After breaking a centuries-old romantic curse, Emma Connor is (almost) glad to get back to normal problems. Although...it's not easy dealing with the jealous cliques and gossip that rule her exclusive Upper East Side prep, even for a sixteen-year-old newbie witch. Having the most-wanted boy in school as her eternal soul mate sure helps ease the pain-especially since wealthy, rocker-hot Brendan Salinger is very good at staying irresistibly close....

But something dark and hungry is using Emma and Brendan's deepest fears to reveal damaging secrets and destroy their trust in each other. And Emma's crash course in über-spells may not be enough to keep them safe…or to stop an inhuman force bent on making their unsuspected power its own.

Review:
When I read Spellbound I only gave it a 3 out of 5. I think I should have given it a 4. Firstly what struck me overall about this book is that the premise of the story is incredibly simple. Once we figure out who the evil witch is, most of it is plain sailing from there. There aren't that many twists and turns, but the writing is beautifully done and the romance between Emma and Brendan is wonderful, pure (they are soul mates after all), and a delight to read. There is no bickering, or the arrival of another teasing male to form a triangle, its exactly what a gorgeous romance should be. And neither characters deviate from their feelings which, again, in the YA age of unpredictability is a good role to teach teens.

In this episode of the series we get a lot more 'witchy' which (!) I loved. We have more Angelique and her great cousin Randi (both witches). But the witchyness isn't OTT. And Angelique and Brendan bury the hatchet and actually get nice with each other.

The main character, Emma, left me disappointed in the previous book. I just felt she was lacking and a tiny little bit wussy whereas here we get a much different and more grown up version. I liked her a great deal more and by the end I thought she was amazing.

This is a great follow-on from Spellbound. If you had any misgivings towards the first book then this one will capture you in.

Expected publication: March 27th 2012 by Harlequin Teen

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