Review of "Spellcaster" by Cara Lynn Schultz

Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Schultz

Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Source: Netgalley

Publication Date: March 27, 2012

Description from Goodreads:

Finding your eternal soul mate -- easy.

Stopping a true-love-hungry evil -- not so much...

After breaking a centuries-old romantic curse, Emma Connor is (almost) glad to get back to normal problems. Although...it’s not easy dealing with the jealous cliques and gossip that rule her exclusive Upper East Side prep, even for a sixteen-year-old newbie witch. Having the most-wanted boy in school as her eternal soul mate sure helps ease the pain—especially since wealthy, rocker-hot Brendan Salinger is very good at staying irresistibly close....

But something dark and hungry is using Emma’s and Brendan’s deepest fears to reveal damaging secrets and destroy their trust in each other. And Emma’s crash course in überspells may not be enough to keep them safe...or to stop an inhuman force bent on making their unsuspected power its own.

She’s found true love...but can she keep it?

Colleen's Thoughts: What a plot!  A lot more magic this time - some very cool, but very gruesome scenes.  I really liked how Brendan is the perfect Knight in Shining Armor.  He protects her, he rescues her, he is intensely devoted to and in love with her.... the list goes on.  We women melt at that kind of behavior.  But, I also liked how Emma learned not only to stick up for others (she's done that throughout both of the books), but how she learned to stick up for herself - a skill many women, especially teenage girls, need to hone. So, in that respect, this book has a lot to teach YA readers.  However, it is full of offensive swearing, violence, sex, etc.  One thing I really appreciated though, Brendan never tried to coerce Emma into any compromising situations.  Although things happened that I would never want my teenagers to be involved in before marriage, and despite Brendan's previous relationships, he and Emma never participated in premarital sex.  I was grateful that the author wrote their relationship that way.