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Spell Bound
by
Kelley Armstrong
urban fantasy in a hardcover edition that was published by Orbit on August 4, 2011 and has 352 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Broken, Personal Demon , Living with the Dead, Men of the Otherworld, Tales of the Otherworld, Frostbitten, Dates from Hell, Exit Strategy, Made to Be Broken, The Reckoning, The Gathering, The Awakening, "Hidden", The Calling, Aftertaste, Kisses from Hell, The Rising, Omens, Wild Justice, Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions, Visions, Deceptions, The Masked Truth, City of the Lost, Empire of Night, Forest of Ruin, Betrayals, A Darkness Absolute, Indigo, Rituals, The Unquiet Past, This Fallen Prey, Stolen, Rough Justice, Dime Store Magic, Industrial Magic, Haunted, Broken, Waking the Witch, Portents, Missing, Alone in the Wild, Watcher in the Woods, Otherworld Secrets, Wherever She Goes, "The Case of the Half-Demon Spy", "Escape", Otherworld Chills, A Stranger in Town, "Bargain", Hex on the Beach, "Recruit", "Checkmate", "Framed", Cursed Luck, High Jinx, Bitten, Driven, "Forsaken", The Deepest of Secrets, "Dead Letter Days", Men of the Otherworld, The Boy Who Cried Bear
Twelfth of the Women of the Otherworld urban fantasy, young adult series starring Savannah Levine that starts in Columbus, Washington and ends in New Orleans, Louisiana.
My Take
I’m not impressed with this story. Not much drama or tension and Armstrong portrays Savannah as such a childish, selfish person although she does provide Savannah several opportunities to take a second look at herself and grow up a bit.
I guess you could say that Spell Bound sees Savannah grow up and realize how often she’s fluffed off, intending to rely upon her magic. She certainly does have plenty of opportunities to regret all the educational opportunities through which she daydreamed.
The Story
Savannah is still suffering from the poison injected into her by Leah O’Donnell in Waking the Witch and it seems the witch hunter is still after her. Then something goes wrong when Savannah expresses the wish that she could offer up her powers so Kayla can go back to her grandmother and her grandmother would not be in jail. For something is watching and gladly takes Savannah up on her offer.
It’s a good thing that Adam is there with her in Columbus. Someone to, hopefully, ride check on the crazy ideas Savannah gets. Someone who will know where she’s going. Hopefully, someone to be sure Savannah gets to Paige and Lucas to help her regain her powers. Because Savannah is fighting the embarrassment of telling her guardians just what she’s been up to since she has been spewing information right and left to a witch-hunter. A witch-hunter who scammed her and now everyone she knows is vulnerable to kidnapping by the Supernatural Liberation Movement.
The Characters
Pretty much everybody shows up in this story: Savannah, naturally; Adam Vasic, an Exustio half-demon; Paige Winterbourne and Lucas Cortez, Savannah’s guardians; Benicio Cortez, Lucas’ dad; Troy, Benicio’s bodyguard and pretty much an old friend by now; Sean and Bryce Nash; Savannah’s parents have a slip-on part; Jaime (a popular necromancer), Jeremy (alpha of the Stonehaven Pack), Clay and Elena; a pregnant Hope Adams (the daughter of Lucifer and an Expisco half-demon of chaos) and Karl Marsten (a werewolf in Jeremy’s Stonehaven Pack); Jasper Haig has a brief appearance in which he harasses Hope; two-year-old Larsen, a young clairvoyant in whom the Nash Cabal is interested, is kidnapped; and, Cassandra DuCharme, a 300-year-old vampire.
One character whom I don’t recall showing up before is Balaam, an upper demon who just happens to be Savannah’s grandfather, on her mother’s side, don’t’cha know. Balaam is very supportive of the Supernatural Liberation Movement.
This story’s characters seem particularly interested in achieving immortality: Gilles de Rais is a character from history; Althea, a.k.a., Anita Barrington; Sierra and Severin are twins and seem to be demons with a penchant for torture and a desire to betray; and, Veronica “Roni” who sets Savannah up—I sure hope she gets hers soon!
The Cover and Title
The cover depicts Savannah all in black: jeans and a midriff-baring tank top with her necklace. The background is a combination of flames and a deeply red, cloudy sky with two different old buildings framing Savannah.
The title, Spell Bound, is certainly appropriate since Savannah’s powers are bound.
