Damn good! (That's actually a bit funny, because she spends time in a hell dimension...never mind.) I really enjoyed this urban fantasy. It has a hint of romance, but that's not the focus at all. I liked the characters and the almost-dorky-but-not-quite moments of humor juxtaposed with moments of horror. And the overall story is great - it sets Jessie up for bigger and badder things, establishes her core group of friends, and hints at an interesting backstory to discover. The setting is modern day Ohio where magic lives among us in hiding. Jessie discovered her powers a bit late and hasn't had the usual instruction. She fell in love with one of her magic professors (Cooper) and now they live and work together - he was asked to leave teaching and she's too busy for school. Their private lessons are unorthodox - they use a kind of magic that is based on improvisation. During one spell (involving sex in a park to call rain), they accidently unleash a demon and Cooper is sucked into a hell dimension. Jessie defeats the demon just barely, and immediately finds herself on the shit list of the most powerful magic user in the region. It doesn't make sense why he's demanding she not go into the hell dimension to rescue Cooper. Eventually, everything ties together with a logical explanation and Jessie rescues Cooper after collecting some special powers along the way. I'm not sure about Spellbent. On one hand I loved the action, the magic, and the story, but on the other hand some of the characters bothered me, and parts of the plot were strange. Our heroine, Jessie, is strong, tough, and doesn't take crap from anyone. She has a good sense of humor, overcomes adversary quickly, and makes the best of any situation. She is not impervious, she can, and does get hurt, and she isn't cold and unfeeling. In other words she has everything I could want in a heroine, including an interesting back story that was only touched on in Spellbent. One of my favorite things about this novel is that it made me laugh out loud a few times. The humor may not appeal to everyone, but I certainly enjoyed it. The magic system was also a plus. Everything was explained really well with no holes, it felt realistic, and it wasn't too easy to cast a spell. The plot was fairly simple, and involved a rescue mission, but I enjoyed everything I read. Some may have been bored by the fairly straightforward one event leads to another storyline, but I wasn't. During the journey from lost to found we meet some interesting characters such as Jessie's familiar, Pal, Warlock, Opal, and some college kids. I'm on the fence as to whether I really like Pal. Part of me thinks the story would have been just as good without him, but part of me liked his conversation with a kitten and his ability to point Jessie in the right direction and help get her out of bad situations. For a few hundred year old being from another realm, he acted a bit airheaded at times, but as he said, he has had a long time to learn human customs, so his character didn't bother me too much. Those who did bother me, however, were Warlock, and Opal. When Warlock was first introduced I expected him to be sophisticated, intelligent, and helpful, not cowardly, burnt out, and immature. His girlfriend Opal was just as unlikable, and Jessie's college roommates were pretty bland. Also, none of the characters were as interesting or as strong as Jessie, even the bad guy was weak. In the end, it doesn't really matter how much I liked Warlock and everyone else, because they may have only been included in this book to serve a purpose. If their presence continues in the series, all I can hope for is that they grow, but personally, I don't think that supporting characters don't have to be as likable as the main characters. My last issue is that the place Jessie visits to rescue her lover is not as scary or dangerous as it should be. The entire thing was just a bit too easy in my opinion. Maybe with a bit more danger, a bit less help, and some better supporting characters, this book could have been a five. Still, Spellbent is an exciting urban fantasy, with no vampires or werewolves, and a likable heroine. I would definitely recommend it.
What do You think about Liens Infernaux (2013)?
Pretty fun urban fantasy, building an interesting new world
—candyndanny8212010
