Title: Spellbinding
Author: Maya Gold
Genre: YA/Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Scholastic Point
Number of Pages: 322
Source: Netgalley
Release Date: April 1st 2013
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.
Even though this book was totally predictable and had so many cliches in it that I lost count, I enjoyed it. Sometimes you need a book that is a light, fun read and this fit the bill perfectly for the mood I was in. Abby is a junior, and has one friend (cliche #1) who will be graduating soon. Her best friend from forever moved away, and Abby has been a little lost ever since. However, she still has one thing she can count on: her crush on the most popular boy in school. His girlfriend however, has always picked on Abby, but she just ignores her because how can she win against the most popular girl in school? (cliche #2) In one of her classes though Abby is assigned to do a project on her family tree. She knows all about her dads side of the family, but almost nothing about her mom's side. She can't ask her mom, because she died when she was 11. (cliche #3-why is there almost always a dead parent in teen books??) However, she does know her mom's maiden name and through some researching discovers that she is
To find out more about her family, she goes to Salem to do some research. She drives to Salem with her one friend after she passes her drivers test. Once in Salem, she sees a boy outside a coffee shop sweeping and realizes that he's the guy she's been dreaming about lately. (cliche #4) She finds out that he works in the coffee shop, and is startled at his fast reflexes when he almost dropped a cup of coffee on her. It was like he caught the coffee in mid-air. It reminded her of (wait for it) an hour earlier when she was at her drivers test and was able to make a cone move so she could pass it the first time. (cliche #5-discovering unknown powers) There are more cliches, and a love triangle, but you get the point. This is like every other teen book out there, only what I loved most about it was the Salem setting. The ending was over the top and a bit unbelievable, but I liked how it had an ending and wasn't a cliffhanger, but at the same time there was room for another book if this becomes a series.
Despite everything, I enjoyed it because sometimes predictability and cliches can be fun.
Colette's Note: I wasn't going to publish until closer to the release date, but I hit the wrong key and it published without me realizing it!
