Reviewed by Marieke
TITLE: Spell Bound
SERIES: The Warlock Brothers of Havenbridge book 1
AUTHOR: Jacob Z. Flores
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 218 pages
BLURB:
Mason Blackmoor just can’t compete with his brothers, much less his father. They represent the epitome of black magic, strong, dark, and wicked, and though Mason tries to live up to his respected lineage, most of the spells he casts go awry. To make matters worse, his active power has yet to kick in. While his brothers wield lightning and harness the cold, Mason sits on the sidelines, waiting for the moment when he can finally enter the magical game.
When a dead body is discovered on the football field of his high school, Mason meets Drake Carpenter, the new kid in town. Drake’s confident demeanor and quick wit rub Mason the wrong way. Drake is far too self-assured for someone without an ounce of magical blood in his body, and Mason aims to teach him a lesson—like turn him into a roach. And if he’s lucky, maybe this time Mason won’t be the one turned into an insect.
Not surprisingly, the dislike is mutual, and Drake does nothing to dispel Mason’s suspicion that the sexy boy with a southern drawl is somehow connected to the murder.
If only Mason didn’t find himself inexplicably spell bound whenever they are together, they might actually find out what danger hides in the shadows.
REVIEW:
Mason is the youngest son in a family full of amazing warlocks. They’re kind of a typical family with three brothers who can’t stand each other, but can’t live without one another. But the difference is that they can do magic––except for Mason, because his magic sucks. Mason’s magic power just won’t come, and all of his spells backfire, making his life pretty darn annoying.
His brothers and father have active powers that are mostly handy when it comes to brute force and they like to boast about that. They also think that Mason is just lazy and not practicing enough.
At school Mason is feared, but the ‘humans’ don’t know why. He has a few badass friends, who adore him but aren’t really bright. There are other paranormals in school, but they keep to themselves. Their families don’t mix, with a logical reason as for why, but still Mason doesn’t see why they have to hate each other so.
When murders start to happen and a new boy arrives at school, Mason is put to the test. He’s very much attracted to this boy, but at the same time they can’t stand each other. They’re both arrogant and think they’re always right. (That was lovely to read by the way, so familiar for everyone who once was young and had a crush.)
After some very exciting events Mason is ordered to shadow Drake.
When they start to get to know each other, the shit really hits the fan. Someone or something is trying to either murder Drake or Mason, making it hard for the boys to start a relationship and trust each other.
This book was packed with action, but never at the expense of the romance and relationship part. I loved Mason, he had a touch exterior but on the inside he’s caring and would walk through fire to protect the ones he loves. Or even the ones he hates, but are threatened. Mr. Flores shows he knows how teenagers act and think, yet makes his characters lovable and fun. We all know teenagers can be super annoying, but in this story you’ll kind of like that about them.
The brothers are dickheads, but you can’t help but love them the way Mason does. The other families, who are all very involved in the murder investigations made me uncomfortable. Not the kids, but the adults I wanted to smack upside the head. Making someone feel that way is pretty awesome, you have to be a good writer and Jacob proves he is here.
What I liked and disliked at the same time, is that this is a series. A lot of the mysteries are yet unsolved and now we have to wait for the next book(s) for answers. I might have to track the author down and threaten with bodily harm, so he’ll write faster. (KIDDING)
To me this was a five star novel, with big fat golden stars…or red hearts in this case.
RATING: 
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