Spellbound - Review

Spellbound (Spellbound #1)
by Cara Lynn Shultz
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Published: June 28, 2011
Rating: 4/5

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Life hasn't been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Connor, 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.

Spellbound is an awesome paranormal-type book. Actually, I would call the genre modern fairy tale, because it really did have a fairy tale-is feel. I've never read anything like it, which is great. I love discovering new genres and crossovers!

Emma moves from her crazy stepfather to her rich aunt in New York, where she gets to attend an expensive private school. And she doesn't really feel that she fits in with all the other snobby students. But then she meets a boy called Brendan, who she instantly feels drawn too. When I was reading the beginning I thought "oh no, not one of these books again" And with that I mean the paranormal romance books in which a girl falls in love with a vampire/angel/warewolf/whatever and their love is impossible.

But I was wrong. Spellbound isn't one of those books. This book was so much more.Spellbound is twisted, extraordinary and not at all what I expected. It was a very interesting read.

And the ending? The last few chapters were so intense. I was holding my breath and didn't do anything than read. I needed to know how everything would end!

Spellbound is a great debut that paranormal romance and fairy tale fans will love. I'm a  bit confused about this being a series though. According to Goodreads, the next book will be released next year. But I think this book would've suited perfectly as a standalone and can't really figure out how a sequel would be written. I'm very interested in seeing what Shultz does with that!