Review: Spellcaster by Claudia Gray

Spellcaster (Spellcaster #1)

Author: Claudia Gray
Genre: YA Paranormal
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen

Description:

When Nadia’s family moves to Captive’s Sound, she instantly realizes there’s more to it than meets the eye. Descended from witches, Nadia senses a dark and powerful magic at work in her new town. Mateo has lived in Captive’s Sound his entire life, trying to dodge the local legend that his family is cursed - and that curse will cause him to believe he’s seeing the future … until it drives him mad. When the strange dreams Mateo has been having of rescuing a beautiful girl—Nadia—from a car accident 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 family’s terrible curse, and to prevent a disaster that threatens the lives of everyone around them. Shimmering with magic and mystery, New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray’s new novel is sure to draw fans of the Hex Hall and Caster Chronicles series, and fans of the hit CW TV show The Secret Circle.  

Spellcaster is the first book in a captivating new young adult paranormal series that follows teenage heroine and witch, Nadia. Nadia and her family, which consists of her father and her younger brother, have moved to the small town of Captive's Sound. As soon as she crosses the town line, Nadia feels the presence of another witch in the area. She also notices the strange darkness that surrounds the town, all the way down to the very trees and streets. After being rescued by the gorgeous outcast Mateo, Nadia is determined to find out what magic has been cast on this town and the people in it. Mateo's family has been cursed for generations, causing them to be driven to madness with visions of the future. Mateo's secret is that he's started having the visions - and they almost all contain Nadia. Nadia and Mateo team up with fellow outsider Verlaine to dig deep into the town's history and discover what secrets have been hidden.

I need to start this review off with the confession that I am a huge sucker for anything about or containing witches and witchcraft. After reading the description, I knew I needed to check it out. This was an enchanting first book the series and definitely lived up to my expectations. The plot was really interesting and dealt intricately with witches and witchcraft - it went into detail about the spells that were cast along with the history of witches and their laws. I was really fascinated by the back story along with the details about witches that were in the story and I'm really hoping that the author delves even deeper with the next book. The characters were well rounded and I liked the trio that contained the main characters. Nadia was an awesome leading lady - smart, strong, brave, loyal, and willing to stand up for what she believes in - and even fight for what she knows is right. I loved Mateo as well, even though he was a bit stereotypical at first glance - the mysterious yet gorgeous outcast/bad boy. Underneath, he was a fierce and loyal friend and son, a hard worker, and someone who was also willing to fight for what he believed in. Verlaine was a great character for comic relief - I liked her witty remarks and somewhat snarky attitude, but she was a great friend and brave too. The plot was original and definitely had twists and turns that I didn't see coming. I was desperately reading as fast as I could to see what would happen next. There were parts of the book that seemed a bit slow, so it felt like things were being drug out. That's the main reason that this book didn't get a 5 star rating from me. The writing (other than what I just mentioned) was very well done with great attention to detail and vivid descriptions that enabled me to join the characters inside the world the author created. It was a really fast-paced book that had a great flow. The ending definitely left questions unanswered and lots of "OMG - WHAT?!" moments for me, so I'm already dying to read the next book to see what will happen next. I highly recommend this book for fans of YA paranormal, especially those who share in the love for witches with me.

Claudia Gray is not my real name. I didn't choose a pseudonym because my real name is unpleasant (it isn't), because I'd always dreamed of calling myself this (I haven't) or even because I'm hiding from the remnants of that international diamond-smuggling cartel I smashed in 2003 (Interpol has taken care of them). In short, I took a pseudonym for no real reason whatsoever. Sometimes this is actually the best reason to do things.

I live in New Orleans. So far, in life, I've been a disc jockey, a lawyer, a journalist and an extremely bad waitress, just to name a few. I especially like to spend time traveling, hiking, reading and listening to music. More than anything else, I enjoy writing.  (Taken from Goodreads)

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