Early Book Review: Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz

Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz is a young adult novel released on March 27 2012. This is the sequel to Spellbound, in which Emma and Brandon found out they were eternal soul mates, breaking a curse that would have doomed Emma to an early death, and managed to fend of scheming classmates that would have killed them. You would have thought that Spellcaster would be more about the happy ever after since they had conquered all the hard stuff, right? Wrong. Emma is working to channel and understand her innate powers of witchcraft and deal with the snobby class warfare that permeates the halls of Vincent Academy. Having the most sought after boy in town as her devoted boyfriend makes things easier, and harder. However, there is still someone out there that is not appreciating their sought after happiness, and is doing everything they can to destroy their love, and harness the power of true love for themselves. Can Emma, Brendan, and their close friends get through another close encounter with evil?

Spellcaster had the same feel as Spellbound; it was easy to read, fun, and I cared about the characters. The mistakes in Brendan's past are wrapped up in the individual behind the current danger, and his romantic appeal seems to be the cause of it all. Thankfully, we only get a minimum of Emma's wondering about her own self-worth, she is a strong-minded individual that seems to value her strength and independence. Angelika and the other supporting characters are more fleshed out in this novel, giving Emma a broader support system and more options. Although Aunt Christine and the family that should be take care of the intrepid teens seem to be a little distant, which is helpful for the plot line but not for my piece of mind. The ending was satisfying and seemed to wrap everything up pretty neatly.

I recommend Spellcaster for readers that enjoyed Spellbound. I do not recommend skipping Spellbound before diving into the sequel. See my review for Spellbound, which I really enjoyed, here. I enjoyed this read as well, but think I must have had my fill of sequels for a while. Couldn't the kids just live happily ever after, just once? If you enjoy young adult urban fantasy, it would be worth checking out both books from your local library and reading.