Spellcaster
Author: Claudia Gray
Series: Spellcaster #1
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Summary:
When Nadia’s family moves to Captive’s Sound, she instantly realizes there’s more to the place than meets the eye. Descended from witches, Nadia can sense that a spell has been cast over the tiny Rhode Island town – a sickness infecting everyone and everything in it. The magic at work is darker and more powerful than anything she’s come across and has sunk its claws most deeply into Mateo…her rescuer, her friend, and the guy she yearns to get closer to even as he pushes her away.
Mateo has lived in Captive’s Sound his entire life, shadowed by small-town gossip and his family’s tormented past. Every generation, the local legends say, one member of the family goes mad, claiming to know the future before descending into insanity. When the strange dream Mateo has been having of rescuing a beautiful girl from a car accident actually come true, he knows he’s doomed.
Despite the forces pulling them apart, Nadia and Mateo must work together to break the chains of his terrible family curse, and to prevent a coming disaster that even now threatens the entire town, including Nadia’s family, her newfound friends, and her own life. Shimmering with magic and mystery, New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray’s new novel depicts a dark and unforgettable world of witches, curses, buried secrets, and star-crossed romance.
First Sentence: Before anything else, Nadia felt the chill.
My Review:
I’m a huge fan of Claudia Gray’s standalone, Fateful (I mean, where else could you read about the Titanic and werewolves together?), but not her Evernight series, which focused on vampires. Spellcaster is focused on witches, which you can easily tell from the title alone. I’ll be honest – I would have probably not have read Spellcaster if it wasn’t for its beautiful cover.
The first thing you need to know about Spellcaster is that it’s a slow, but enjoyable read. Why is it slow? Well, there are absolutely no surprises or any form of suspense for the reader throughout the book, although there could easily be some if Claudia Gray wrote the book differently. Spellcaster is told from the third person omniscient point of view, where the narrator knows everyone’s thoughts, but only focuses on one particular person per section. It also didn’t help that the narrator allowed us to know what was also going on from the enemy’s point of view, because by then, we know whose evil, what he/she is up to, why he/she is doing the things they are doing, and what he/she is planning to do next.
Bone through flesh
Something shattered to the sound of a scream
The destruction of a thing beloved (307)
Spellcaster is told from multiple points of views, as you can conclude from what I said above. To be more specific, Spellcaster is told from six different point of views, including one told from a bird’s point of view. (Yes, it’s surprisingly possible.) Unlike most people, I love reading books with multiple point of views because then, I can understand all the characters better and learn why they do the things they do. However, for Spellcaster, all the character’s voices kind of blend together after reading it for awhile. Besides the main characteristic and role that sets all the characters apart, all the characters think in the same way.
Terror so great it paralyzes.
Hope so desperate it aches.
Courage so strong it survives. (43)
I love reading about Claudia Gray’s creative version of witches. Instead of just gathering objects, chanting, and stirring potions, the witches Claudia Gray created depend on their memories. To be more specific, in order to cast a spell, a witch has to call upon their memories and the emotions that emerge from their memories. It can’t be any memory – there are guidelines, like a memory that shows the “loyalty beyond life.” (page 84) And just in case you’re wondering, all the quotes in this review are the required memories Nadia needs to cast a certain spell.
The sight of something wondrous, never before seen.
The breaking of a bond that should never have been broken.
Cold beyond desolation.
Loyalty beyond life. (84)
Spellcaster was strictly a three-star rating book for me…until I reached the end of the book. The ending of Spellcaster was a huge disappointing. Nothing gets resolved, there was just this one epic battle, if you can even call it that, towards the end of the book, and then the book ends with an epilogue that doesn’t really tell you anything new or give you any closure. To make matters worse, Nadia and her friends were worse off than they were originally in the beginning of the book; nothing was solved, except the fact that they know what is wrong with Captive Sound and who is the one responsible for it. I kind of feel cheated for reading Spellcaster, enjoying it, and then only to find out the book ended on such a disappointing note.
Love unbreakable.
Hatred implacable.
Hope eternal. (368)
Overall, Spellcaster was an okay read, but it could have been better overall. I’m not sure if I’m going to read the sequel; I’m afraid that the book would make me invest in it, only to leave me hanging in the worse possible way again. Maybe I’ll continue the rest of the series when all the books in the series comes out, I don’t know.
I tend to like multiple POV’s for the same reason :) A bird’s POV, how original! I also love the sound of these witches. It’s great when an author manages to make a popular subject still exciting and refreshing. But I absolutely HATE books with an open ending. I can’t stand them, so I guess this book is not something I’ll enjoy.
Mel@thedailyprophecy recently posted…Review 153. Jessica Day George – Sun & Moon, Ice & Snow.
Yeah Mel, everything was really good until I got to the ending. It’s like, why end the book this way? Give me something to work with please!
And as for the bird’s point of view, that was sadly just one small section, but I enjoyed reading it, thinking, whoa, this is so creative!
Kelly recently posted…Book Review: Spellcaster – Claudia Gray
I hate, hate, hate is when stand alones don’t have a good ending. Its why I tend to stay away from them. And I am a little sad to hear that Claudia Gray didn’t write a good ending. I love her books and I’m just sad to hear that this book didn’t have a good ending.
I also really like books that have multi POVs for the same reason as you. Its just adds depth to the characters and the plot, but six different POVs is a little much for me. Although it would be fun to read the bird POV.
Great review :D
Kimberly recently posted…Stacking the Shelves (38)
Yeah, the ending really disappointed me. It just left things so unsolved. I wanted to scream at the book: SO I READ ALL THIS FOR NOTHING?! I could have skipped the last two hundred or so pages.
Six point of views is a lot, but the bird POV is short, like 1.2 pages short, so it’s really five different POVs.
Thank you Kimberly! (:
Kelly recently posted…Book Review: Spellcaster – Claudia Gray
Oh oh! Spellcaster is on my TBR list for May and I am not a big fan of multiple POV’s. I don’t have anything against two POVs but 6?! I’m not sure I have the attention span for that. Oh well at least now I know what I’m getting into before I start it next week.
Octavia recently posted…My Anticipated May Releases!
Good luck on paying attention to the book Octavia! Hopefully, it would capture your attention long enough to do so.
And yeah, at least you’re prepared to read it now! ;D
Kelly recently posted…Monthly To Read List: May 2013
Yeah, honestly I have heard nothing good about this book. I took it off of my TBR list a while ago but was still curious to see what you said about it. I’m still interested in reading the Evernight series though. Have you read that?
Yeah, sadly, what other people have said about Spellcaster was true. :l
I’ve read the first book and it was interesting enough, but not enough to make me read the rest of the series. I’ve heard that many people were disappointed with the ending of the Evernight series too. o:
Kelly recently posted…Top Ten Most Intimidating Books
great review!! i have this book wish listed to get..So it would be a 50/50 chance on whether i would like it or not..i dont think i have read any of the authors books but i have some also on my wish list!!!
Thanks Sarah! :D
Yeah, it’s pretty much a 50/50 percent chance on whether you’ll like Spellcaster or not. It’s really a hit or a miss type of book, depending on what you like.
Kelly recently posted…Top Ten Best Books To Read For Halloween
Ohhh I love the cover!! I still I haven’t read any book by Claudia Gray, but Fateful is on my tbr list.
Spellcaster sounds interesting, but I don’t feel like reading it hahahahaha Idk,
I’m not a fan of multiple povs ( Six povs?? No!!! ), and usually, I not finish books that are too slow.
great review!
Fateful is SO good Kassi. I mean, what could be better than werewolves and the Titanic all in one book?
Ha ha, it sadly sounds like Spellcaster is not the book for you, especially if you don’t like slow books. ):
Kelly recently posted…Monthly Wrap Up: September + October 2013
I don’t think I’ll bother with this one unless the series gets better. I am interested in the book you mentioned about the Titanic and werewolves though! :)
I can understand why you don’t really want to give Spellcaster a chance. o:
And YES, you need to read Fateful! It is SO good; I know you’ll love it Susan! ;D
Kelly recently posted…Monthly Wrap Up: September + October 2013
I haven’t been dying to read Spellcaster, but I have been wanting to read it for a while. It’s sounds like a really enjoyable read. I just have gotten around to reading this book, but after you’re review I know that when I do read it, it won’t be bad at all. Though I am a little wary about it’s slow pace at the beginning. Lately when I read books with slow beginnings I kind of get stuck with them for about a week which is horrible, but there’s nothing else I can go about it. I just have to hope it finish it in the upcoming days. Thankfully I haven’t read too many like these. But I guess I’ll read this one when I have the absolute chance :)
I agree that this one was a three star read, but I am interested in the sequel. Their was a uniqueness to the story that captured my interest. My problem was in the pacing. I think that the second book could be something special though. At least, I really hope so!