LitPick Review
Spellbound is a story about a girl, Bea, who has worked as a housemaid all her life. The monotonous pattern of her life was disrupted with the return of her childhood friend – Princess Jennipher – and with the princess, the arrival of the liberated security forces captain, Caid Knight. Set in a world that is familiar yet unfamiliar, the land is torn with rebellion and war, and the lives of the monarchies are at risk with the attempted overthrow of Queen Rosalind. And in the foreground Bea is facing personal problems such as people who are after her, teetering friendships and an uncertain love triangle. When she turns 18, she may leave her duties as maid, but having spent all her life in the castle, can she leave? What will she choose, and whom will she choose? Will she succumb to fate or pave her own path?
Opinion:
The book Spellbound by Monique N. Peterson, was an enjoyable, intriguing and refreshing read. It had good characterization and a gripping plot that made you wonder what was going to happen (however it finished with far too many questions unanswered – so hopefully it will be picked up and answered in a sequel, especially after the cliff-hanger ending and too many unsolved mysteries (Who are Bea’s parents? What are their roles? The disappearance of Queen Rosalind and Kerry. Who tried to poison the Queen? Also, the importance of the Bishop baby to the rebel boss, to name a few).
The setting was interesting – I was surprised and confused at first, as I was expecting a historical setting, but instead it was quite a different world. The people acted with modern day mannerisms, however, the traditions of the country were kind of olden dayish (absolute monarchy vs. democracy) with the monarchs and monarchy having to have arranged marriages. Yet it was futuristic in terms of the technology as it seemed more advanced and different to what we have today, such as cars with invisibility functions, plants that grow with a push of a button etc.
Spellbound was a terrific book, with an interesting setting and spellbinding mysteries; I look forward to reading a sequel.
