Spellbound

Spellbound
Cara Lynn Schultz
320 pages
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Source: NetGalley
★★★☆☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

After a tragic family accident, Emma moves in with her aunt and starts a new school with her younger cousin guiding her through the high school social scene.  At school she meets Brandon and they are instantly attracted to each other, but a family curse has been put on Brandon's family, a curse which is determined to keep Emma away.

What I didn't like: I felt like the author's voice was forced, like she was trying too hard to sound like a teenager and was trying too hard to be witty.  The voices of her adult characters sounded off, too - no one says "dear" that much.  I also felt like the book got off to a slow start, like the real plot didn't start until about halfway through the novel.

What I liked: Spellbound was like a cross between Twilight and Hex Hall, two of my favorite series.  The relationship between Brandon and Emma reminded me a lot of Edward and Bella - fated to be together the fall instantly and heavily in love, only to be kept apart by some evil force.  You can't go wrong with that plot line in YA romance, that's for sure.  I liked that Emma was a witch too, but I also liked that this wasn't a huge plot point because I think the book would have been too cluttered if Emma were trying to harness that in at the same time as dealing with the curse.

The book gets three stars from me because, while it was entertaining and I liked it, I felt like it took too long to get going and wrapped up too quickly and easily after that.