About the Book
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Author:
- Claudia Gray
Cover Story: Silver Hair
BFF Charms: You’re In Danger x 2, Let Me Love You, Caution, Hell No
Talky Talk: Flashback Montage
Bonus Factors: Awesome Dads, Journalism
Anti-Bonus Factors: Sexual Assault, Cosmic Imbalance
Relationship Status: Outgrown
(Caution: This review contains spoilers for Spellcaster (Spellcaster #1)).
Cover Story: Silver Hair
I know Verlaine’s gray hair was caused by dark magic and/or trauma, but it’s still awfully pretty. Her outfits in the book are much more colourful, but I can see how that would clash with the spooky, mysterious look they’re going for.
The Deal:
Nadia Caldani and her friends thought they’d defeated the sorceress Elizabeth for good when they stopped her from destroying their hometown. But not only is Elizabeth still alive, she wants to make Nadia her apprentice – at any cost. Nadia has no interest in learning from the woman who cursed her boyfriend Mateo with visions, made their friend Verlaine an outcast, and tormented the whole town since colonial times. But Elizabeth’s master, the “One Beneath”, has plans for Nadia’s half-trained magical power, and the sorceress will stop at nothing to see them fulfilled.
BFF Charms: You’re In Danger x 2, Let Me Love You, Caution, Hell No
Nadia and Mateo are in way over their heads, trying to fight a 400-year-old force of evil without even an adult to ask for advice. To be fair, Elizabeth drove every other witch out of town, and what non-magical adult would believe them?
Verlaine lives under a curse that makes her overlooked by everyone around her. Her love interest Asa says it best: “No one reads what you write, and yet you write. No one looks at you, and yet you dress yourself like a goddess every single day. Nobody wants you, and yet you keep wanting. (…) You never give up.”
Asa is a demon, enslaved by the One Beneath and conjured by Elizabeth to help her with her work. He’s surprisingly kind for a demon, but that’s not saying much. Even when he’s giving Verlaine a confidence boost or Mateo and Nadia secret intel, it’s not clear if he can be trusted.
This charm would suit Elizabeth even if she hadn’t literally sold her soul to the devil. See “Sexual Assault” below.
Swoonworthy Scale: 6
Nadia and Mateo are struggling with the power imbalance in their relationship. As her Steadfast, he makes her magic stronger. In return, he gets the ability to see magic, but not use it, which makes him the more vulnerable of the two. He’s afraid he needs her more than she needs him, and Asa the demon has no problem exploiting those fears. Not that Asa always has his mind on the job, however. He’s more and more distracted by Verlaine, who can see through his manipulations – and whack him with a file binder in response. Unlike some enemies-to-lovers stories, Verlaine is smart enough not to be Asa’s lover until she can be sure he’s not her enemy. That doesn’t mean she can’t enjoy some of his superhuman body heat on a cold autumn day.
Talky Talk: Flashback Montage
The magic system in this series is unique in that the spells are made out of memories. Whenever Nadia or Elizabeth work magic, they concentrate on moments of strong emotion in their lives. This not only gives us insight into their past (although in Elizabeth’s case, it’s more than I wanted to know), but makes for short, vivid paragraphs that grab you by the heartstrings.
Bonus Factor: Awesome Dads
Nadia and Mateo’s single fathers (divorced and widowed, respectively) do their best for their children, even in an atmosphere full of dark magic they can’t perceive even when it’s affecting them. Verlaine lives with her uncles, who still love her despite the curse of indifference she’s under.
Bonus Factor: Journalism
Verlaine works as an intern for the local newspaper. She takes her job very seriously, even if no one else does. Her search for the truth about her hometown is how she broke through her curse enough to befriend Nadia and Mateo in the first place. She just keeps asking questions until she gets an answer.
Anti-Bonus Factor: Sexual Assault
Elizabeth casts “spells of desire” to make herself almost irresistible to men she wants to control.
Anti-Bonus Factor: Cosmic Imbalance
Gray’s worldbuilding includes a devil, but no God. This series is set in a small New England town settled by Puritans. Nadia identifies her family’s religious background as Chaldean Catholic. Mateo refers casually to “[his] priest”. Still, no one ever considers that there might be a “One Above” as well as a “One Beneath”.
Relationship Status: Outgrown
This book feels very 2010’s-style paranormal. My younger self would have loved it. My current self, not so much. I will keep reading, though, if only for Verlaine. That girl deserves a happily-ever-after.
Literary Matchmaking:
Literary Matchmaking
Spellcaster (Spellcaster #1) by Claudia Gray is the prequel to this story.
Toil & Trouble is an anthology of stories about witches from diverse cultures and time periods.
Brooms by Jasmine Walls and Tea DuVall is a story in which, for once, the adults can actually help their teens with magical problems.
(FYA Disclaimer: I received an ARC via Netgalley from the publisher. I got no compensation for this review.)
