Spellbound

Cara Lynn Shultz

Hi, I’m Emma.  I’m basically an orphan and my life sounds like a Lifetime Original Movie.  My dad left when I was six.  My twin brother died when I was fourteen.  My mom got sick soon after that, and died when I was fifteen.  I lose everyone I love.  And this past June, my stepfather wrapped a car around a telephone pole with us in it.  So now, I live with my aunt, I have no friends except for my cousin anymore, thanks to my jerk stepfather, and I still keep a journal with all my hopes and fears in it.  Also, my favorite color is purple and I think baby animals are cute.

Emma Connor has not had it easy recently.  First, her twin brother Ethan died.  Shortly after that, her mother died.  Then, her step-father was driving drunk and got into an accident with her in the car and nearly killed her.  Now, she moved to New York City to live with her Aunt Christine and enrolled in Vincent Academy where she will finish her junior year of high school.  Not only is she the new kid in school, but she is also starting after the semester had already begun.  Her cousin, Ashley also attends the school and is her guide on the first day.   At school is where she meets a whole slew of friends and makes enemies.  This is where she meets Brendan Salinger, who she likes and is ever-present in her thoughts.  In addition to the normal high school drama, Emma and Brendan have more things to worry about.  For starters, the curse that has been around for centuries, how to deal with the “enemies” that Emma has made at the school, figuring out who/what she really is and most importantly, how to keep Emma safe.

I’d always heard the phrase “mentally undressing someone with your eyes” but never had I actually seen it in action.  This dude’s eyes could perform a freakin’ CAT scan, they were so thorough. 

Goodreads synopsis:

What's a girl to do when meeting The One means she's cursed to die a horrible death?

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.

What must I have looked like, standing near my musty basement locker like a gremlin?  “My precious,” I snickered in an awestruck, strangulated Gollum-like way.

I laughed so many times while I was reading this book.  There were parts in the book where I had to stop reading because I was laughing so hard.  I love to quote books and this book had about twenty quotes that I had to choose from for this review, making it really difficult to narrow down.  That being said, I really liked this book.  I appreciated how Shultz relayed about drinking and partying, not only amongst the high-school students, but also with Emma’s stepfather. Even though this was a little part in the book, it made the experiences seem more realistic and helped you to better understand Emma and her reactions to certain situations.  The relationship between Emma and Brendan is a roller coaster.  At times, you would think that you wouldn’t understand what was going on (and neither did Emma for that matter) and then something else would happen that would put it all into context for you.

“That’s because girls are evil,” I muttered.  “High school girls are demons, seriously."

“Emma, don’t even compare yourself to them.  It’s like comparing a diamond to…I don’t know…a booger,” he said, and I burst out laughing.