About the Book
-
Author:
- Kelley Armstrong
- Genres:
- Mystery
- Paranormal
- Voices:
- Cis Girl
- White (Non-Specified)
Cover Story: Charmed, I’m Sure
BFF Charm: Yay
Talky Talk: TNT
Bonus Factors: Prophecy, Detectives
Relationship Status: They Tried To Make Me Go To Rehab…
Cover Story: Charmed, I’m Sure
No, I really mean, like Charmed, the show. The cover is beyond embarrassing, which makes this guilty pleasure all the more guilty, because you have to hide it from the public. I mean, are we supposed to be spellbound by her belly button? Not only is that face obviously computer-generated in that un-natural-looking way, but did I miss something? Are cropped-tops in style again? Please let the answer to that question be ‘no’.
The Deal
Things are just wrapping up for Savannah from her last case, but now there’s a new big bad in town, and it’s mobilizing young magicals to stand up for their rights to expose themselves (er, their magical abilities) and essentially take over the world.
Oh, and someone’s stolen her powers.
BFF Charm: Yay
If I had any reservations about having Savannah as a BFF before, (which I didn’t) this book would have sealed the deal. Girl does a lot of growing up — from recognizing how heavily she leaned on her powers to owning her mistakes — and I was really proud of her in this book. But since she doesn’t have her powers in this book, and therefore wouldn’t be able to protect me with a knock back spell, I might have offered to stay behind on this one — you know, to help with research.
Swoonworthy Scale: 5
Savannah has several wake up calls in this book, and one of them is about how to be a better friend to Adam — to better deserve his respect and possible affections. There are many nice tingly almost moments to build the suspense, and the payoff is perfect.
Talky Talk: TNT
I used this label for the previous book in the series (click link above to read my review) and it still holds true. Is this premise ridiculous? Yes. Is it a story about supernatural detectives? Yes. Is it a deliciously chilling mystery with pulse-quickening suspense? Yes. And the story seems to flow so effortlessly that I never once questioned why or what I was reading. Armstrong excels at the detective serial, giving each book its own plot, but weaving larger plotpoints throughout the series, so that at the end of each I am satisfied, yet craving more.
Bonus Factor: Prophecy
Prophecies are SO much fun! And I LOVE when they are touted by fakes and liars! Spell Bound has its very own fun little cult, all playing Simon Says and believing in the (cue dramatic music) prophecy…
Bonus Factor: Detectives
Man, did I want to be a detective when I was a kid. I mean, somewhere between jockey and trapeze artist, private detective was probably the longest-running career fantasy of my youth. Of course, I thought all PI’s drove Ferraris and flew in Screamin’ Mimis and had doctors who hung around helping them out, but still. This book ignites the long-diminished PI fire in my loins.
Relationship Status: They Tried To Make Me Go To Rehab…
Listen. I like a little recreational supernatural detective novel every once in a while. So what? I’m not hurting anybody. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to hang around. Whatever. I’m totally in control of it, and I’m having fun, so GET OFF MY BACK!!!!
FTC Full Disclosure: I received a review copy from Dutton. I received neither money nor cocktails for this review (damnit!). Spell Bound is available now.
