Spellbinding by Maya Gold

MGoldSpellbindingI admit, I’m a sucker for novels about witches (and well, vampires, too…if done right but I digress as sadly, no vamps here) and when I saw Spellbinding by Maya Gold…months ago…up for review on Netgalley, I couldn’t resist making that request.  I’m happy I did, even though I had to wait like 6 months to hear back on my request.  The wait was, mostly, worth it.  Spellbinding was a great read and my biggest question now…is there a sequel?

It is during a routine school project that Abby Silva–sixteen and nearly friendless–makes a startling discovery: She is descended from women who were accused of witchcraft back in 1600s Salem. And when Abby visits nearby Salem, strange, inexplicable events start to unfold. Objects move when she wills them to. Candles burst into sudden flame. And an ancient spellbook somehow winds up in her possession.

Trying to harness her newfound power, Abby concocts a love potion to win over her longtime crush–and exact revenge upon his cruel, bullying girlfriend. But old magic is not to be trifled with. Soon, Abby is thrust headlong into a world of hexes, secrets, and danger. And then there’s Rem Anders, the beautiful, mysterious Salem boy who seems to know more about Abby than he first lets on.

A reckoning is coming, and Abby will have to make sense of her history–and her heart–before she can face the powerful truth.

I liked Abby. She was your typical teen girl…she had a crush on a guy who seemed to not know she existed, she wanted a car and was looking for a job to pay for said car.  I think all us gals can easily relate.  Most of us have been there…or depending on your age, are going through that currently.  What made Abby your not-so-girl next door, though, was what happens when she and her BFF take a nice drive over to Salem.  Then BOOM, all the sudden Abby’s inner witch is woken up.  From there, well, Spellbinding wouldn’t be much fun if things didn’t go downhill and it was up to Abby to figure it all out and save the day, now would it ;)?

Gold’s writing was easy to follow and kept a good pace throughout.  There were parts when I felt things could have more action or just…well, more “oomph” to it.  But, if you follow my reviews, you know I can get kinda bored pretty easily, so this boredom isn’t really Gold’s fault or some flaw in her writing.  It’s more of a “me” thing.  It takes a LOT sometimes to keep my interest level at 100% page after page.  Not many authors manage to do that.

To me, Spellbinding, felt like a standalone novel.  I’m not sure if it’s Gold’s debut or if we’ll get a sequel.  If she’s a debut author or even new to YA, kudos to her on a job well done.  I know I’ll certainly pick up other works by her and I’m really hoping we’ll get a sequel to Spellbinding.  

About Nicole 146 Articles
Attorney by day, Publicist for Barclay Publicity and reviewer/LE (assistant) editor by night. I'm a huge book nerd and love to read. I have 2 dogs, both Labrador retriever mixed breeds, who are very rotten and think they run the house. Let's not lie, they totally do, I just can't them know it ha ha! My usual genre is romance or urban fantasy. I love all things having to do with paranormal, with the occasional good contemp/BDSM/erotica thrown in to spice it all up.