Spells by Aprilynne Pike

Summary:

Six months have gone by since Laurel fought with Barns in Wings; David and Laurel are officially a couple; Laurel’s mother is unsure about this whole faerie business; And Laurel spends 8 weeks in Avalon to learn how to be a Fall faerie. While there, Laurel spends a couple of afternoons with Tamani. She is struggling to keep David as her boyfriend and still have a relationship with Tamani. As she tries to straddle both worlds, the danger to the gate, to her family and to anyone close to her increases. The trolls have not forgotten. But learning how to be a Fall faerie is not a quick process. Can Laurel learn fast enough to protect the ones she loves from the danger of the trolls? Can she keep what she has with David and still be friends with Tamani? What about her mother, she doesn’t seem to accept Laurel being a fae. What will happen to Laurel and her mother’s relationship?

My thoughts: (A little spoilery)

3 out of 5

Okay, I will just say it. Spells is suffering from middle book syndrome. Wings was great. It had a fast pace and lots of problems to solve. Laurel grew up a lot in that book. Her relationship with David developed into love. She struggled to accept being a faerie. The world that was crafted was wonderful. It included some of the typical faerie lore but included some new elements that were interesting. The whole experience was exciting and compelling. Enter book two, Spells. I wanted it to be just as good. I enjoyed learning more about the world that includes Laurel. But the pace was so slow. Too much of the book was her building up to being able to actually do something with her faerie power. The development of Laurel and Tamani’s relationship didn’t really do much for me. Because she was physically away from David at the time, it didn’t feel like she was cheating on him. The separation of the two worlds did too much to separate the two relationships. I wasn’t even worried about David and Laurels relationship until the very end. Then the troll attacks were mostly in the background and away from Laurel. The one attack was neatly taken care of. I kept wondering just how powerful these Faeries are if they can’t do anything to help Laurel. The trolls had them chasing shadows and no one seemed to communicate anything to Avalon except Laurel. What are these faeries doing to protect their precious gate? So it seems that this book was just getting us to the right point for the big finale of Illusions (book 3). It’s middle book syndrome defined. I can say that I liked the development of Chelsea’s character. It seems like she may play a bigger role now. Laurel did have some character development. She had to choose between the human world and the faerie world. She had to choose between David and Tamani again. (I sense a theme developing here). I am excited to read Illusions. Most series that have middle book syndrome recover in book 3. I’m hoping for the quality that was Wings.