Spellbound

Written by Sylvia Day

Narrated by Tanya Eby

Max Westin. Sex incarnate. She could smell it, feel it with his proximity. Everything about him was a little rough, a little gritty. A primitive creature. Just like she was.

He held her hand a little too long, his thickly-lashed gaze clearly stating his intentions to have her. To tame her . . .

"Victoria."

Her name, just one word, but spoken with such possession she could almost feel the collar around her neck.

"It's in your nature," he murmured. "The desire to be taken."

In this game of cat and mouse, everything is an illusion but the passion is as real as it gets . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Dec 3, 2013
• ISBN: 9780062306807

Sylvia Day

Sylvia Day is the #1 New York Times and #1 international bestselling author of over 20 award-winning novels sold in more than 40 countries. She is a #1 bestselling author in 23 countries, with tens of millions of copies of her books in print. Her Crossfire series has been optioned for television by Lionsgate.

Reviews for Spellbound

[aronfish · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While some of the themes of this book were typical "coming into his own by finding out the truth of difficult origins", the struggles of this young adult with magical dyslexia were original and felt emotionally true. The storyline becomes a little rushed at the end of the book and the new attachments and changing allegiances not quite believable. I enjoyed it enough that I do think I'll read a sequel if it comes out.

[arconna_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Blake Charlton's debut novel, Spellwright, is a mixed bag, with some particularly strong points to be found in its characterization and its heavy, almost hard fantasy focus on an often ridiculed method of producing magic: language. While the novel is not without flaws, Charlton makes up for it with strong action sequences that often result in a little of the gosh-wow that many have argued is sorely missing from fantasy's cousin, science fiction.Spellwright follows Nicodemus Weal, a wizard in training at an academy. He was once considered to be the Halcyon, a mythical figure prophesied to return to stop the Disjunction--a battle against the demons of the old world from across the ocean. The only problem is that Nicodemus is a cacographer, whose dangerous misspells of common languages makes him potentially dangerous to any other magic user. His cacography makes him anything but the "one." When a grand wizard at the academy is killed by a powerful misspell, Nicodemus and his teacher, Shannon, are the prime suspects. And as politics and prejudice play out in the academy, something with intimate ties to the forgotten, blasphemous magical languages from the old world sets a plan in motion that could destroy the academy and bring about the Disjunction, an event the Nicodemus will be a part of, whether he wants to be or not.What sets Charlton's novel apart from other fantasy works is its magic system. Firmly rooted in the author's dyslexic past, the magic system ofSpellwright avoids spoken language and instead places all of the power in the written word. Spells have to literally be written within the body and then passed down through the arms to be cast. Likewise, you have to know the language(s) to be able to use them effectively (and there are many languages). The great part about this is that it creates a lot of fantastic limitations: particularly large and powerful spells take a long time to cast, not knowing how to spell properly can be unintentionally deadly, as is the case with Nicodemus, and magical languages become protected entities from other groups, because without knowing a particular language, you can't see or cast against it.Taking a detour from the magic, I think it's important to note that the characterization in Spellwright, while not as well-developed as I would have liked, does show a lot of promise. The fact that the main character and Charlton share a common origin shouldn't be misconstrued as a kind of Mary Sue (or Gary Stu, since Charlton is a man), but instead seen for what it is: an intimate portrayal of a character with a mental disability who must battle against a world that views him not as a person with some value, but as kind of disease. Nicodemus is not difficult to like. His struggles, motivations, and outbursts all make sense. I suspect that many will identify with Nicodemus, even if they have no disabilities (for lack of a better word) themselves; we can empathize with people who have been ostracized for one reason or another. To be critical for a moment, I do think that the characterization that exploded in the last third of the novel should have come more gradually throughout. The ending does feel somewhat rushed in terms of the characters, and it would make more sense for them to develop less abruptly.The action, however, will likely be seen as the novel's strongest point. It becomes clear early on that Charlton has thought through how his wizards will fight. A standard wizardly slug match where users just toss fireballs and the like at one another won't do, namely because spells that can do the most damage can't generally be put together on the fly (though some can). We see only a glimpse of the potential in Charlton's magic as a combat system, because the novel itself is not set within the Disjunction, but in a somewhat peaceful time. That glimpse is enough, though. The fights are exciting, the magic equally so, and all the creations that come as a result make for a very fast-paced book.The novel's weaknesses seem to be more within the realm of continuity and genre trappings than anythingels. The magic system, while unique and quite intriguing, often isn't set in stone. For example, it's mentioned numerous times that characters cannotspellwright within the walls of the academy, and yet we see numerous characters do just that. Either I missed something, or the author didn't make it clear enough that he meant only certain characters (or something else).Finally, while I understand that fantasy is often repetitive, I have to wonder when we're going to see enough of this prophesy business. I like Charlton's novel, but the prophesy subplot plays a crucial role in the overall story, and I feel as though this takes away from the potential of the novel. Here is a book that has a great magic system, an interesting past, and interesting "races," yet it finds itself stuck using the all-too-familiar furniture of a genre burdened with familiar furniture. Prophesies are sort of like the cheap bookshelves you get at Walmart: a lot of people have them, and they're all the same--cheap, colorless, and weak. Move away from prophesy. We need more characters who rise up to the occasion on their own, without prompting from people who think they are something else. There's nothing heroic about someone fulfilling their destiny; it's just...expected.Spellwright's prophesy subplot does have a twist in it and much of the novel is spent dispelling the belief that Nicodemus is the Halycon, but the prophesy bit is still there in the background. Fantasy has sort of built up its foundations on recycled themes, and it continues to do so, because that's sort of how it's done; some of these themes, I think, should simply disappear.But moving away from that, I'll try to get back on a positive note, because I don't think it's fair to point all the fingers at Charlton, or to try to take away from what works in the novel. Charlton has a lot of potential. He could take the concepts of his novel very far: so much can be done with thecacography and all the unique languages he has created for his magic system. If he keeps pressing the details in his future novels, I think he'll become a strong player in the fantasy realm. Right now,Spellwright is fun, unique, and engaging, despite being a tad cliche. Hopefully we'll seem some improvement in the second book.

[mariahsidhe · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Steamy. I know it isn't much but it sums up the book neatly.

[bluemom · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

MacDonald presents a realistic problem teenagers face, an unwanted pregnancy and dropping out of high school, within the setting of one of New York’s projects. Raven acts like a typical teenager: dreaming of going to school, dealing with friends and antagonists both at school and at the projects, and wanting to have fun but trying to be mature. She deals with many common teenage social and emotional issues but now with the responsibility of caring for her own baby she did not intend to have. A good read for older teenagers who are dealing with an unwanted pregnancy; a book with a hopeful message amidst an environment that could so easily crush dreams.

[theonlinelibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Such an imaginative twist on casting magic spells - literally spelling them. Nicodemus is determined to find the emerald that will heal him of his disability to spell, but will it really make him whole? He needs to elude the strange creature in white who is hunting him, and he finds help in his teacher Magister Shannon and the mysterious druid Deirdre.

[alexann_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The first sentence of this fantasy novel pretty much told (or didn't tell) the story for me. "The grammarian was choking to death on her own words.And they were long sharp words, written in a magical language and crushed into a small, spiny ball." I thought to myself that surely the author would make this unusual imagery clear within the next few pages. No, it wasn't made clear in the next fifty pages, and since I had come no closer to understanding this magical society in that amount of time, I gave up on it. I don't like to think of myself as a quitter, but nothing about the premise of this novel or its characters pulled me in and made me want to keep reading. That's not to say that some readers won't love it, but not me!

[erincathryn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I dithered between rating this as a 4 stars and a 5 stars. In the end I settled on 5, because I really thoroughly enjoyed the book.

First, some cons.
The book doesn't have much exposition in it. You are launched immediately into a world where language is magic and expected to just get it. At the beginning the timeline is a little confusing. The prologue makes it seem like the first murder happens some time in the past, but it doesn't. The story is very complex and a little convoluted at times. And the story is somewhat exhausting. There were times when I looked at my progress and went "Dude, that is seriously all I have read???". The last con is that despite everything that happens near the end, the actual ending of the book didn't instill me with an immediate need to get the next one. It wasn't a cliffhanger ending. It was just an ending that left me to pick up the next book at my earliest convenience.

The story is also edited a little strangely with breaks in it that don't make much sense as there isn't a change in perspective or time. It utilizes visual breaks in the pages where either a further break (swapping POV, ending the chapter) would have been more effective, or a lesser break (new paragraph instead of such a visible break) would have been sufficient.

A note on the characters in the cons category. I like that Nico is of limited/different ability. I like Shannon's ability to see magical text. I didn't like Nico's attitude through a lot of the book... he seemed stubborn when he didn't need to be. And I feel so bad for poor Dierdre. SAVE HER NICO!

Now, some pros.
The book, for a first novel of a non-literary major, is fantastically written. It is not bogged down by a lot of useless exposition, though it does border on too-sparse at times. The story is fantastically in-depth and the literary-based magic system with a dyslexic hero (who isn't really THE hero as we find out at the end) is unique. While the ending itself doesn't have that sense of urgency to dive into Book 2, there were plenty of jaw-dropping moments that kept me reading past my bedtime. Blake Charlton knows how to drop a bomb, he just needed to drop one near the end as well.

I feel really attached to some of the characters in this book. Especially the nightmares. I want them to not be completely gone.

I might come back later and edit this to add more, but for now that is it.

[etimme_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a book with an amazingly original premise that fell tragically short of its potential. The description of spells was nerdy, but detailed and compelling. I thought the pacing of the first half of the book was great with introducing us to campus life and parts of the world and its conflicts. However, after wrapping up the main storyline the author abandons that measured pacing completely.The protagonist regains his powers, saves his mentor, loses his powers, then journeys to live and study with the goblins for a year. We find out there's a chick out there gunning for him, mistaking him for an evil force, and this all happens in the last few chapters of the book. It was too much info-dumping for me.

[bell7_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nicodemus Weal is a cacographer, the magical equivalent of dyslexia, which makes him misspell magic texts and shortchanges his spellcasting ability. An unknown enemy is searching for a powerful cacographer, and Nicodemus is in grave danger, even while the master that would protect him, Magister Agwu Shannon, is under suspicion of murder.This fantasy is an excellent blend of old and new. I loved the inventiveness of magic itself - and gargoyles, constructs, and the like - being built out of text. This gave rise to numerous plays on words and new meanings for such things as "authors" and "grammarians" that were really fun to discover. At the same time, the use of magic, prophecy, and battle of good and evil put this well within the traditional genre. Though given to long, conversational exposition and a long ending that seemed more to set up the next book than wrap up loose ends, this debut shows a lot of talent, and I look forward to reading the next in the series.

[my624persona · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Raven is 17 and dropped out of school when she had a baby; now she lives at home with her mom with no fun, no hope for the future, and no company except her friend Aisha--until her bossy sister Dell shows her a chance to get to college.Janet McDonald does not shy away from anything in this book. She gives a full picture of what Raven's life is like, from wishing Raven's daddy will come back, to her mother working overtime at the post office to support the 3 of them, and deep into the painful class prejudice she faces from middle class black people and the racism that pervades her whole life. And yet, the book is laugh-out-loud funny without sacrificing the weight or severity of Raven's struggle. And it gives no false hopes of a happily-ever-after, but doesn't cheat the readers--or the characters-- of a happy-for-now. Highly recommended for all libraries that serve high schoolers.

[pccsakura · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Whenever I get to the ending of a book it can go either way: I stop reading because is too good for it to end; or I stop reading because I'm tired from it and need a break. Eventually I get back to it, or not. With this one I stopped because it was good. I got tired of being kept at the edge of my seat so I took a break. A very short one. I've been on a reading slump because I couldn't find a fantasy book worthy of my limited time. I started reading this at the store because it kept popping up at the corner of my eye when looking for something to read. I tend to judge a book on how it gets me going from the first pages. Sometimes is no good, so I skip to a few pages ahead, no good. Sometimes I give it a chance and keep going a few pages more. With this one I kept reading as soon as I opened the book on the first pages. I had to stop myself and put the book away until I could purchase it. I love the characters and the twists that come with them. I love the fact that no character is perfect, and they all have their problems and a road to evolve and grow up into. I love the fact that the main character isn't perfect but isn't too broody and angsty. This is the first time I have encountered such use of the magic and spellcasting world. Made me have to re-read sentences, go back pages, to see what I missed or didn't understand as well. Very complex, and believeable due to the fact of where the world itself is based off. Can't wait for more.

[maryrobinettekowal · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a strong opening to a new fantasy series which takes the power of language literally. One of the things I most enjoyed was how complete the worldbuilding is and the many different cultures that populate the novel. Nicodemus is a deeply sympathetic character whose cacography (think of dyslexia but with magical ramifications) not only keeps him from being able to cast spells but also makes it difficult for him to even handle magical artifacts. Too often a character is given a disability which is unrelated to the larger quest, but in Spellwright it is deeply connected to the larger quest. If you are looking for a new voice in fantasy, give this a try.

[Shari · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I am a big fan of this writer but this story does not have a lot of character development like her previous novels.

[sheila1957 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Victoria is a familiar whose Master has died. Max is the vampire who has been sent to kill her because she is so powerful that she scares the Council. Once Max sees her he cannot do it. In retaliation for his taking her under his protection, he is sent against the worst of the community. I liked how Victoria and Max support each other. They are strong individually but together they are unstoppable. I enjoyed Victoria fighting Max every step to her surrender. They are one of the sexiest couples I have read.

[jkgrage · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm not sure how to rate a book that really wasn't my type of story but was still well written. I'm giving it four stars because I think if you like this type of paranormal plot line, you'll like this story.

[lisa.isselee · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I loved the crossfire novels and I kind of expected this book to reach that standard.
But it didn't, you get thrown into the story without a prologue or even a short introduction. The full first chapter I kept thinking that this was a sequel to another I hadn't read. The story advances way to fast without actually developing a decent storyline.
I liked what the story could have been, but those 176 pages just weren't enough to make it work.
But this won't stop me from buying other novels by Sylvia, not at all.

[thelustyliterate-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4 Stars | Ultra SteamyThis collection of erotic paranormal romances is a three course carnal feast! Each dusky, intriguing novella is finely crafted, from start to finish and with thoughtful efficiency, by Sylvia Day.Spellbound’s engaging world is a unique and seductive combination of mystical and menacing. It’s the perfect playground for the memorable and delightfully wicked Max and Victoria. Those dark and delicious creatures immediately entice, then ignite, as they spar, bewitch and devour one another. The insatiable and voracious lovers share one sizzling scene after another, each hotter than the last. Their sex is unearthly, intense, combative and fabulously filthy. When Max and Victoria’s mutual lust invites lasting love, it’s moving. Sigh.. It’s beautiful! Their enviable bond is so strong, their devotion unwavering. I was swooning! (Three episodes written about this stormy and extraordinary couple isn’t nearly enough! More, please!)Due to the brevity of this collection the $12.99 paperback price is too steep to recommend. The current e-book price of $5.99 however is worth every penny.