Spellbinding
Author: Maya Gold
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Synopsis: There's more than one way to be powerful
. . .
It is during a routine school project that Abby Silva--sixteen and nearly friendless--makes a startling discovery: She is descended from women who were accused of witchcraft back in 1600s Salem. And when Abby visits nearby Salem, strange, inexplicable events start to unfold. Objects move when she wills them to. Candles burst into sudden flame. And an ancient spellbook somehow winds up in her possession.
Trying to harness her newfound power, Abby concocts a love potion to win over her longtime crush--and exact revenge upon his cruel, bullying girlfriend. But old magic is not to be trifled with. Soon, Abby is thrust headlong into a world of hexes, secrets, and danger. And then there's Rem Anders, the beautiful, mysterious Salem boy who seems to know more about Abby than he first lets on.
A reckoning is coming, and Abby will have to make sense of her history--and her heart--before she can face the powerful truth.
It is during a routine school project that Abby Silva--sixteen and nearly friendless--makes a startling discovery: She is descended from women who were accused of witchcraft back in 1600s Salem. And when Abby visits nearby Salem, strange, inexplicable events start to unfold. Objects move when she wills them to. Candles burst into sudden flame. And an ancient spellbook somehow winds up in her possession.
Trying to harness her newfound power, Abby concocts a love potion to win over her longtime crush--and exact revenge upon his cruel, bullying girlfriend. But old magic is not to be trifled with. Soon, Abby is thrust headlong into a world of hexes, secrets, and danger. And then there's Rem Anders, the beautiful, mysterious Salem boy who seems to know more about Abby than he first lets on.
A reckoning is coming, and Abby will have to make sense of her history--and her heart--before she can face the powerful truth.
Brought to you by TeamNerd Reviewer Annabell Cadiz
Warning: There are some spoilers.
Side Note: I received this book from
Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Review: There aren’t many books that leave me thinking my time
would have been better spent slamming my head against a wall repeatedly instead
of reading that darn book, but Spellbinding
sure did make me want to! If there was ever a book completely made of clichés that
you’re brain hurts from the lack of originality, this book would be it.
There is not ONE
SINGLE ELEMENT to this book that separates it from the countless of YA,
paranormal romance novels that plague the bookshelves like a nasty virus.
Abigail (Abby)
Silva is an average looking girl who is invisible both at school and at home
and only has one real friend named Rachel (who just so happens to be good at
everything). Abby has been having nightmares ever since she can remember about
women being accused of witchcraft and being killed. She also has a crush on the
major hunk and all-American jock in the school, Travis, who happens to be
dating the mean girl, Megan. Abby’s history teacher assigns the students with
the task of looking into their family tree and presenting it to the class. Abby
discovers her family is related to Sarah Good, one of the women accused during
the Salem Witch Trials (Did I mention Abby lives in Ohio, close to Salem?). She
decides she needs to have real proof before fully accepting the possibility of
being a witch, so she heads off to a library in Salem where she finds this
mysterious book of spells that JUST SO HAPPENS to be in her purse when she
leaves even though she placed the book back on the shelf. She decides to
practice one of the spells at home where conveniently enough thunder and rain
show up as soon as she pops it open and realizes all the weird things she can
do is because she really is a witch!
*gasps* So shocking!
Does any of this
sound familiar to anyone? Is your brain already connecting the dots to a number
of other books with the SAME EXACT PLOTLINE?
Every overrated and
overly used plot device was covered in this book. “The Chosen One” just so
happens to be the girl who has no friends, a dead mother, a father who pays
more attention to his jock son and a love triangle (er, well, a sort of love
triangle). A best friend who is great at everything and a trio of mean girls
who happen to be the popular girls in the school. The main “heroine” suddenly
gets noticed by not only everyone in school but also by the popular, hunky jock
when she gets a new makeover thanks to her new powers.
By the third
page, I knew where this book was going. I knew EXACTLY what was going to
happen. But I was hoping beyond hope the book would offer me SOMETHING
different or unique or refreshing or a new twist, even a LITTLE something to
keep me from nearly going into a comatose state from reading.
But there were
only two elements that kept me going as long as I did: the well-written, very
detailed world building and the premise of the Salem Witch Trials.
Outside of that
though, nothing else stood out. The characterization was nonexistent. Abby is
selfish, inept, petty, shallow, and lacked common sense. Travis—the hot jock—is
just that. Megan is the queenbe of mean girls and her two sidekicks are as stereotypical
as her from their wardrobe right down to their dialogue. Rem is a hot witch but
reads one dimensional and Abby’s dad played no real part in the story. He’s
just there. I didn’t understand why Abby never demanded her father’s attention,
why she was so okay with him constantly ignoring her.
There’s also the
moment where Abby decides to get back at Megan for embarrassing her in the
bathroom at school by casting a love potion on Travis so he’ll want to be with
her. Now, I get that Abby is sixteen and has just discovered she has magical
powers and has spent the majority of her life feeling overlooked, so it makes
sense she would relish in the attention she’s getting thanks to her little
makeover. But why would she want a guy who isn’t really in love with her?? She
labels Megan as the mean girl without a soul but Abby is just as bad as she is
in her judgmental attitude and forcing Travis to love her.
And that’s where
the sort of love triangle comes in. Rem—the hot witch who talks to Abby with
his mind and helps her discover who she is—Abby crushes on instantly, but can’t
let go of wanting Travis, hence the love potion. So she juggles these two guys,
all the while her feelings seem surface-like toward both of them. There isn’t
any REAL emotion. The romance, as the characterization, falls flat. Rem also declares he's Abby's soulmate even though he knows about Abby's love potion on Travis. Apparently, he doesn't have a problem with the love of his life betraying him and using magic to get another guy until she finally figures out she belongs with Rem . . . What guy wouldn't have an issue with that??
The ending was
predictable and anticlimactic. It was a shrug type of ending. I did skim
through the entire second half of this book and through various parts of the
first half because Abby’s narrating just kept going on and on at times, but
from what I gathered from the ending I wasn't surprised by any of it.
I think for
readers who have just started venturing into the YA Paranormal Romance world
would be able to enjoy this book far more or if you're a middle schooler perhaps since this book is directed for 12 year old readers. But for seasoned readers of the genre, Spellbinding offers nothing new to the
table.
About the Author: Maya Gold grew up in New Jersey, a few towns north of Diana’s home in Weehawken. Now she lives in upstate New York with her fashion–forward teenage daughter and a very friendly dog. Maya writes books and magazine articles, and in her spare time, she coaches a high school drama club. Cinderella Cleaners is her first series for young readers.
Where to Find the Author
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