"Spellbound" by Cara Lynn Shultz

NOTE: I received the ARC of this book from MIRA INK.

Where to begin, where to begin... The cover was very pretty, with these shiny glass-like particles suspended around.

But the story wasn't the best I've read so far. Umm, sad to say, it was rather in the middle of the rating scale, which is too bad because I had great expectations for it.

The writing style was good, though there were places (especially in the first half of the book) where I found it difficult to concentrate on the story. The story itself was well built, but it wasn't anything original. The soul mate concept was far too stretched, and I just couldn't find it believable or realistic. Sure, I believe in love at first sight, but this just felt sort of forced.

The paranormal element wasn't all that intriguing either. It was sort of pushed in the background, though it had the potential to play a major role. I think I would've enjoyed the story more, if the witchy part of it was expanded a bit more.

The characters... well, there wasn't anything special about them, to be honest. We have a girl and a boy, who fall head over heals for each other; we have the silent observers, and the antagonists. And nothing even remotely out of the norm.

Emma was the POV girl, lead female. She had experienced some drama back in the day, of which we're only told. She seems to have a hard time talking about her past, especially about her dead brother. I thought there'd be some terrible reason why that was, but I guess it wasn't important to mention. Also, Emma seemed more upset about the loss of her brother than that of her mom. It just seems a bit unrealistic to me. She's described as brave, because she defended her cousin in front of the whole school, but the way she did it was stupid. I mean, if you're a 5'5" tall girl, would you go messing with a guy who's like twice your size and could make you into a pavement stamp? Um.. no. To be honest, I didn't get the impression that the Emma was thinking much. She was rash and naive more than anything else.

Brendan was this super hot, super rich guy, who falls head over heals for Emma. He's very protective of her one moment, and very cold to her the next. He explained it as being confused. Whatever, I get it, guys are like that. But then, once he gains the courage to confess his feelings, well... the Brendan from the past is totally gone, and he only has eyes and ears for Emma. That's cool, which is why I liked the guy. But with all the weird things that surround the couple, you'd think he'd be more careful around her. Which is not the case.

Ashley was Emma's cousin. She was naive and unreasonable, and preferred not to listen to Emma's advice, which is why she got in trouble with the wrong guy.

Anthony, the antagonist, wasn't developed right, I think. I mean, his reasoning was sort of off. Sure, he was mean and a player, and a rich dude at that. But, I just couldn't feel all that disgusted with him. I was rather neutral, and that's not something I want to feel toward the 'bad' guy.

I don't think there were other prominent characters worth mentioning. I'm just really sorry that this book didn't get to me. I wish I had enjoyed it.

Still though, I believe that there will be at least 70% of the readers who will find it an enjoyable read.

My rating is