Author: Sherry Soule
Series: Spellbound
Pages: 328
Genre: YA - Paranormal
Publisher: Moonlight Publishing
Synopsis. (Goodreads)
Thirteenth daughter. Heritage witch. Demon slayer.
They say every town has its secrets, but that doesn’t even begin to describe Whispering Pines. The townsfolk are a superstitious lot and the mystical disappearance of a local teen has everyone murmuring about a centuries old witch’s curse.
Sixteen-year-old Shiloh Ravenwolf is a heritage witch from the Broussard family, a family both destined and cursed. When she takes a summer job at Ravenhurst Manor, she discovers a ghost with an agenda. That’s where she meets the new town hottie, Trent Donovan, and immediately becomes spellbound by his charms. Yet she is determined to discover the connection between them before it’s too late.
Finally, Shiloh's met someone who is supercute and totally into her, but Trent may be the next victim on the supernatural hit list. And Shiloh is the only person with the power to save him. Complicated much?
It sucks to have a destiny, especially since Shiloh would rather spend her summer being a normal girl who worries about clothes and boys, not the supernatural. But she’s never been
normal and the stranger things become the more her own magical senses awaken.
With cryptic messages from a pesky wraith, she will begin to understand the mysterious significance of the strange mark branded on her wrist, and decide how much she's willing to sacrifice to protect the other teenagers in town.
Unfortunately, for Shiloh, not all ghosts want help crossing over. Some want vengeance
They say every town has its secrets, but that doesn’t even begin to describe Whispering Pines. The townsfolk are a superstitious lot and the mystical disappearance of a local teen has everyone murmuring about a centuries old witch’s curse.
Sixteen-year-old Shiloh Ravenwolf is a heritage witch from the Broussard family, a family both destined and cursed. When she takes a summer job at Ravenhurst Manor, she discovers a ghost with an agenda. That’s where she meets the new town hottie, Trent Donovan, and immediately becomes spellbound by his charms. Yet she is determined to discover the connection between them before it’s too late.
Finally, Shiloh's met someone who is supercute and totally into her, but Trent may be the next victim on the supernatural hit list. And Shiloh is the only person with the power to save him. Complicated much?
It sucks to have a destiny, especially since Shiloh would rather spend her summer being a normal girl who worries about clothes and boys, not the supernatural. But she’s never been
normal and the stranger things become the more her own magical senses awaken.
With cryptic messages from a pesky wraith, she will begin to understand the mysterious significance of the strange mark branded on her wrist, and decide how much she's willing to sacrifice to protect the other teenagers in town.
Unfortunately, for Shiloh, not all ghosts want help crossing over. Some want vengeance
REVIEW: 4 out of 5 stars
Beautifully Broken is the first book in the Spellbound series by author Sherry Soule and the beautiful cover and detailed and intriguing synopsis is what originally drew me to this novel.
Shiloh Ravenwolf is 16 years-old and starting to understand the powers she holds as a heritage witch, she can see auras, echoes of souls which reveal a person or demons true nature. She lives in the small town of Whispering Pines where she is unfortunately known as a ‘weirdo’.
When Trent Donovan arrives in town, they have an instant attraction and when a job comes up at Ravenhurst Manor, Trent’s home, Shiloh sees it as an opportunity to gain experience for her chosen career choice in architecture as well as get to know the gorgeous town bad boy with an interesting family history of his own.
I enjoyed the detailed plot; when Shiloh starts to see a demon ‘Shadow Man’ and receive cryptic messages from a wraith who appears to be everywhere, she begins to understand the mark she has branded on her wrist and how an old legend foretold the coming of a girl who could break the town curse – Shiloh being this girl.
When a few teens begin to go missing and thinking Trent may be next, Shiloh believes she may be the person able to help, but uncovering the secrets of Ravenhurst may also reveal the hidden secrets of those within the gloomy town.
I enjoyed watching Shiloh grow as a person and learn to accept her gifts, she has no real support system and is learning as she goes; I felt sorry for the distance her mother has placed between them, her abrasive attitude towards Shiloh was at times hurtful.
I enjoyed the secondary characters and especially the relationship Shiloh shared with each of her friends; they had a supportive and close bond that was missing from her home life. The connection Trent and Shiloh shared was sweet and realistic and even though there were a few problems to come between them they were quickly resolved.
What I didn’t like: Just a minor gripe, the voice of Shiloh came across as quite immature at times, even in her job interview she was using slang like ‘yep, nope and no prob’; I know she is only 16 years-old and maybe I am just showing my age but I found this at times to be annoying.
I liked Ms Soule’s descriptive writing and attention to detail, especially of the wicca, the apparitions and of hauntingly eerie Ravenhurst Manor. I enjoyed the suspense, mystery and intrigue in Beautifully Broken; it had a spooky element to it that I enjoyed.
All in all, Ms Soule has written a wonderful story. The world-building and character developments were enjoyable and the relationship between Trent and Shiloh believable.
I look forward to reading book 2 in this series, Beautifully Haunted.
Thank you for the fabulous and well-written review! I hope your followers appreciated the post and are interested in reading my debut novel, Beautifully Broken. :- )
ReplyDelete~Sherry
Sherry Soule Author Website