Other Reviewers: Goodreads
This is an advance reader copy given to me by the author for an honest review. As with all of my review, these are my own opinions.
Basic Plot:
Mason Blackmoor is a Warlock — who has difficulty with his magic. His lack of skill is a family joke and Mason feels powerless. Now there seems to be a new evil in town, and Mason feels even more powerless.
Drake Carpenter is new into town. He and Mason have immediate chemistry — but is it hate or passion? As they fight the evil, will their love be allowed to catch fire?
Background:
I have previously reviewed a Jacob Z. Flores novel, Please Remember Me. However, Spell Bound is the first book in a new series by the author called The Warlock Brothers of Havenbridge.
This book reminds me of the male/male sub-genre wizard of series under 200 pages. These are series that focus on a group of individuals, with lots of insta-mate sex scenes, groups fighting within the society, a big evil that is defeated right at the end, and character development that is plot driven. Some series are: A Wizard’s Touch (Amber Kell), The Aloysius Tales (Tara Lain), Dominion (Lissa Kasey), Triad (Poppy Dennison), and Superpowered Love (Katey Hawthorne).
Because of the abbreviated nature of this sub-genre, I do not expect a lot of character development or world building. I expected that there would be a large portion of this novel that was plot powered and more “tell me” than “show me”.
Mason Blackmoor:
The introduction of our main character, Mason Blackmoor leads the reader to immediately dislike him.
“Can’t, Busy,” I mumbled as I walked by, and I wasn’t even lying this time. This was going to be a crazy, magical weekend, and my family had a lot to do. And even if we weren’t all gathering for an important ritual, Laura and her slutty friends weren’t for me.
My type tended to have lean muscles, a firm bubble butt, and a nice cock. Now someone like that would have my complete and undivided attention.
This description is supposed to make the reader immediately understand that Mason is gay and he is somehow in a magical world as opposed to the muggle. But I read this as saying that Mason is a hypocritically critical of Laura’s sexual promiscuity, yet Mason likes fit boys and is a size queen.
If I had not had to read this for an advanced reader’s copy, I probably would have not finished this because of our character introduction.
Drake Carpenter:
Because this is first person (this seems to be the preferred method of the author), we do not learn much about Drake’s perspective. We know that he has some some emotional trauma with the death of his family and that he is southern. We know he is southern because all of his dialogue is written abbreviated with a plethora of ” ‘”s:
“Well, it’s always been my experience that when someone’s starin’ out as far as they can see, they’re missin’ somethin’. They don’t always realize that.” He paused for a few moments before repeating his question.
“So what are you looking’ for?”
You know how I would be able to tell that this character was from Texas? If Mason just asked him where he is from. There was no need to continuously abbreviate all of his words, it was distracting.
Theme Summary:
When I began this book I thought that there would be no way the author could establish a theme. However, I was pleasantly surprised:
“See what you started?” Edith asked me. “All I’m saying is we shouldn’t blindly follow tradition. It’s not who we are. Our race is a result of humans challenging the laws of the universe. Without them, we wouldn’t be here.”
And then:
“I know I am, but I don’t think you see it that way anymore. I think you now realize that being a warlock isn’t a reputation, it just is. Our magic doesn’t define us. We define it, and when you look at it that way, it makes it easier to manipulate.”
I see the first quote as a comment on conservative traditional philosophy with sexuality. They are often so focused on how sinful and “wrong” homosexuality is, that they do not consider how much we have changed as a society from our ancestors. What was “wrong” a hundred or more years ago is now acceptable.
The second quote I can also see as a comment about our sexuality. We hear those labels all the time: Bi, straight, gay, pan, etc. But what do they mean? If I tell you that I am bi, does that tell you everything about me? Am I a good cook? Am I a good wife? A good worker?
Strong Points:
After the rough start, I was concerned there would be no depth with only a tropey plot. Yet I found a buffet of thought-provoking theme. I finished reading this book and dreamed all day about writing a blog post. I can not tell you the last time I eagerly yearned to write a blog post.
As a side note, the cover is gorgeous!
What could be better?
The start of the book did not feel well written. It was a rough start: the characters were two-dimensional and the writing was difficult to get through all of the tropey writing.
I would have given this a 4 star review due to the theme, if we had a better beginning and more character development. If the author had spent some more time with a longer book (say 300-400 pages), then I believe the author would have had time to develop the story more.
Also, the notes say that this is a 216 page book, but the book ended on page 194. This is a bit misleading.
Conclusions:
I am glad that I stuck through with Spell Bound. While the beginning was a little difficult to get through, I enjoyed the theme and the plot was pretty page turning. I appreciated the metaphors within the novel comparing the magical classes to our current social biases. I will certainly check out the second book in this series, Blood Tied.
Bea
