Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen (May 4, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 978061665067
ISBN-13: 978-0061668067
Source: Purchased from Books-A-Million
Cover: The simple beauty of this cover really draws me in. This novel is all about plants and flowers so I feel like this fits so well. There is something about that combo of green and pink that I love and I like the font the title is in!
First Sentence: "Laurel stood in front of the cabin, scanning the tree line, her throat constricting in a rush of nerves."
Mini-Review: Spells is every bit as enchanting as the first installment and will have you turning the pages like magic.
Book Summary:
Six months have passed since Laurel saved the gateway to the faerie realm of Avalon. Now she must spend her summer there, honing her skills as a Fall faerie. But her human family and friends are still in mortal danger--and the gateway to Avalon is more compromised than ever.
When it comes time to protect those she loves, will she depend on David, her human boyfriend, for help? Or will she turn to Tamani, the electrifying faerie with whom her connection is undeniable?Book Review:
Spells picks up where Wings left off, working to expand the world it created in the first one. Our favorite characters are back with an entire new plot and a head full of lessons they learned from the first novel. This time around Laurel knows who she is but what she doesn't know is how her future is going to play out.
Laurel spent most of Wings figuring out what she is and finding ways to cope with it in the human world. In this newest installment, she is learning about what her place in the faerie world really means. As a Fall, she is a higher class than Tamani and on a trip to Avalon she realizes what that actually entails. I loved learning about the faerie culture and found it to be one of the most interesting parts of the novel. It really helped me to feel for Tamani more than I did and worked to solidify Laurel's feelings for him.
Laurel is so much more her own person in this novel. She makes choices and has to live with these consequences, no matter how painful. I was really glad that she was pretty honest with her parents and had learned her lesson in the last novel. She was intelligent and I connected with her more in this novel. I also really loved that the Tamani and David love triangle was amped up. As a reader, I always felt Laurel made the wrong choice in the first book and I was glad to see her giving thought to the other option. Tamani played a perfect distraction to David's solid boyfriend role and I couldn't help but root for him. It's funny though because I feel really torn for Laurel. She doesn't seem right without either of them.
The beginning of the novel, while full of fascinating descriptions did read a little slow. I kept waiting for the plot to pick up and it actually didn't. It was odd after so much action in the first to see this one as a quieter version but once I realized that is what is was going to be, I was okay with it. Though Spells is written in third person, Ms. Pike is able to allow the reader connect with all the characters and I felt invested in their feelings. The writing was smooth and allowed for easy visualization without taking away from what was going on.
If Wings was about exploration, than Spells was definitely about expanding. Following Spells characters further down their path as they make choices they can't take back was a pleasure. Like Laurel takes in sunlight, I absorbed this novel and can't wait to see where this series is going to take me next.
As a side note, I always think it's exceptionally good character building when you can make me fall in love with the other guy. I'm the very a-typical reader/viewer who wants the girl to end up with her first love so when I'm willing to change sides... that says something. Based on this novel, I am firmly for Tamani and his happiness, no matter where that leads the other characters!
Are you like me and love Tamani or are you as loyal to David as Laurel?
Lovely review, as always, Amber! I just read Wings this week and I enjoyed it very much. It was a rather cute book and I really want to read the next two books now.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, I can't honestly which one of the two boys I loved the most. When Tamani first showed up, I was like 'Noooo! She has to be with David!'. But as the story progressed, I could not choose between the two of them... It was rather frustrating actually!
(Secretly, I think she's going to end up with Tamani though...)