Review: Spellbinding by Maya Gold

Spellbinding
Author: Maya Gold
Genre: YA Paranormal
Release Date: April 1, 2013
Publisher: Scholastic

Description:

There's more than one way to be powerful . . .

It is during a routine school project that Abby Silva--sixteen and nearly friendless--makes a startling discovery: She is descended from women who were accused of witchcraft back in 1600s Salem. And when Abby visits nearby Salem, strange, inexplicable events start to unfold. Objects move when she wills them to. Candles burst into sudden flame. And an ancient spellbook somehow winds up in her possession.

Trying to harness her newfound power, Abby concocts a love potion to win over her longtime crush--and exact revenge upon his cruel, bullying girlfriend. But old magic is not to be trifled with. Soon, Abby is thrust headlong into a world of hexes, secrets, and danger. And then there's Rem Anders, the beautiful, mysterious Salem boy who seems to know more about Abby than he first lets on.

A reckoning is coming, and Abby will have to make sense of her history--and her heart--before she can face the powerful truth.

Spellbinding is a young adult paranormal novel that follows main character Abigail "Abby" Silva as she discovers that she is descended from accused witches from the Salem Witch Trials. While exploring her lineage in Salem, Abby begins to notice strange things happening - she can seemingly move objects with her mind, strange coincidence keep popping up, and she has the strangest feeling that she knows this gorgeous guy named Rem, although Abby's sure they've never met before. As Abby's new witchy powers begin to grow, she discovers that there's a lot more happening than she could have ever imagined, and now she must decide between her human side and her witchy powers - before it's too late.

This was a really fun and enthralling novel that had me in its grasp within the first page. Although the book was rather short, the plot was told with great description and detail. The characters were all well done, if a bit stereotypical at times - especially Abby. I was able to immediately connect with her as the main character, and she experiences growth and maturity in the story even though it's not that long. The plot wasn't anything completely original, but it was told in a fun and intriguing way. I loved all the historical references to the Salem Witch Trials as well as the witchy things that Abby experienced. I'm a huge fan of fiction that deals with witches and witchcraft, so this novel was definitely right up my alley. The writing was well done and had great flow, although I really wish that it would've been longer. There was definitely opportunity to extend the plot and the characters if they had been given the time to develop. Definitely recommended for fans of YA paranormal fiction!