Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Reviews

Book Review: Spell Bound

By Sandy Amazeen Jul 9, 2012, 3:05 GMT

At last, in the novel every Kelley Armstrong fan will need to own, all the major heroines and heroes of Otherworld are united. It\'s been ten years since Bitten, the first novel in Kelley Armstrong\'s New York Times bestselling Otherworld series. In that time hundreds of thousands of fans have ravenously devoured the adventures of Armstrong\'s witches, demons, and werewolves. Now, in Spell Bound, she brings them all ...more

After working on a case that saw a family torn apart, powerful witch Savannah Levine breathed the heartfelt desire to trade her powers for things to have turned out differently for that family. Unbeknownst to Savannah, an entity was listening and granted the wish with lasting repercussions. Savannah soon realizes how very important the powers she always took for granted are, especially as she is the latest target of witch-hunters and unseen enemies threaten the Otherworld.

There aren’t many positive things to say about this follow-up to Waking the Witch which is unfortunate as the story started out with such promise. The identity of the entity that stripped Savannah of her power is never revealed nor is the plotline advanced in any meaningful way as the story meanders along. The relationship between Savannah and love interest Adam doesn’t move one way or the other. Savannah comes off as a self-centered, whiny wimp willing to run away from conflict rather then stand up like an adult and deal with bad situations, many which are of her own making. As promised on the tease, several old friends turn up but mainly for short cameo appearances that leave one wondering why bother with them at all. The middle book of trilogies frequently suffer from abrupt endings and this one is no exception. Fans of the Otherworld series will likely plow through this, shortcomings and all but for those new to Armstrong’s work, try Bitten or another of the earlier Otherworld books instead.