EARLY REVIEW: SPELLCASTER (SPELLBOUND #2) by Cara Lynn Shultz

Spellcaster (Spellbound book 2)

Author: Cara Lynn Shultz

Publisher: Harlequin

Imprint: HarlequinTEEN

Publication Date: March 27, 2012

Source: Netgalley

Finding your eternal soulmate - easy.

Stopping a true-love-hungry evil - not so much…

After breaking a centuries-old romantic curse, Emma Connor is (almost) glad to get back to normal problems. Although...it's not easy dealing with the jealous cliques and gossip that rule her exclusive Upper East Side prep, even for a sixteen-year-old newbie witch. Having the most-wanted boy in school as her eternal soul mate sure helps ease the pain-especially since wealthy, rocker-hot Brendan Salinger is very good at staying irresistibly close....

But something dark and hungry is using Emma and Brendan's deepest fears to reveal damaging secrets and destroy their trust in each other. And Emma's crash course in über-spells may not be enough to keep them safe…or to stop an inhuman force bent on making their unsuspected power its own.

Review:

This is a great sequel! For starters, Emma’s strength really shows and develops, and she becomes such a strong female character that I almost have to put her up on a little pedestal.  Sure, she has her flaws and insecurities, but they just make her that much more real. That being said, Brendan finally has to get over his hero complex. Not that it’s a bad thing, but he’s forced to acknowledge and give in to Emma’s strong and valiant nature. Her protectiveness.  And that protectiveness kicks in when Brendan’s past comes back to bite them both in the butt. There were little hints given in Spellbound that really flourish and develop into serious, and again life threatening, issues for the soul mates.

One thing I really liked about Spellcaster was that it was darker than Spellbound. While Anthony’s motivations were hateful and vengeful in Spellbound, the intentions of the new threat are truly evil, and this time, the evil has magic on its side. The dark magic and intensely vengeful witch is one thing Brendan can’t protect Emma from. She has to protect herself. She has to find the strength and power within herself to protect them both. And her witchy powers are finally developing. There’s a lot of spell casting (hence the title), and some interesting results. And since the evil witch has help from someone inside Vince A, Emma needs all the help she can get. With possession, dark magic, evil curses, and knife wielding attackers, the stakes are higher than ever.

As much as I love Brendan and Emma, my favorite character by far is Angelique. And I got a VERY happy surprise in Spellcaster. Two, yep two, sections from Angelique’s POV! This had me very excited, because her personality is so different from Emma’s, and I loved seeing her reaction toward Brendan first hand. The relationship between the two is so interesting, and the scenes that involved just the two of them were intense and revealing. It was definitely one of my favorite, if not the favorite, parts of Spellcaster.

So, overall, an excellent read! If you haven’t read Spellbound yet, you can read my review and find buy links HERE to get ready for Spellcaster’s release on March 27^th.

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Review- Halfway to the Grave by Jeanine Frost

*THIS IS AN ADULT READ. I REPEAT, THIS IS A STEAMY, ADULT READ* (Tasteful kind of steamy ;) )

Hallo readers, you can view the synopsis for Halfway to the Grave (Book 1 in The Night Huntress Series) by Jeanine Frost by clicking the title (via Goodreads).

 *Whistles the very beginning of this tune* (Just the very beginning) Bones… Bones, Dem’ Bones.

I tell ya, Karen (@teamsheltie, blogger of For What It’sWorth), Janette (@jderucki) and Jen (@jenduffey, blogger of What’s on theBookshelf) weren’t lying when they said I’d swoon over Bones and this awesome book. It was a story full of vengeance, love, and sacrifices.

Cat was different- had abilities no other human had. She was half dead and a bastard child of a vampire who had raped her mortal mother. She seeked retribution on her dead-beat (pun intented) father and her distaste for vampires; hence the reason she became a vampire hunter. This chick was kick-ass and I loved her feisty attitude.

On Cat’s mission, she tried to pick up on the wrong vamp. This one had a mysterious factor to him. Before she could stake him, she was captured by him and forced to make a deal. She hadn’t suspected she’d fall for him during the process.

Oh Bones… how you make me squirm, you… you, you chiseled, fierce, luminous, intoxicating, brow-arching bloke. And your filth talk, have mercy on my soul! Just, just… whew lawdy, dem’ Bones. He was English, and the author, Jeanine Frost had his accent and dialogue spot on. I couldn’t help but read his voice out loud in my best English accent.

The connection that Cat and Bones shared totally buzzed me. It was like a plug to a socket; so much electricity. So much passion. Their bickering gave me the giggles, but this line I totally digged- “Still, I had loved and been loved in return, and there was nothing greater than that.”

With a great, sexy, thrilling story line, perfect characters, and paranormal settings, Halfway to the Grave made an awesome adult read. I give it a balance between 4 and 5 stars… 4.5 brow-arching stars.

Kimberly