Review & Giveaway: Spellcaster by Claudia Gray

Title: Spellcaster
Author: Claudia Gray
Publisher: HarperTeen
Age Group: Young Adult
Category: Paranormal
Release date: March 5th, 2013
Pages: 370 (Hardcover)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Source: Publisher
Goodreads | Amazon | Author

When Nadia’s family moves to Captive’s Sound, she instantly realizes there’s more to it than meets the eye. Descended from witches, Nadia senses a dark and powerful magic at work in her new town. Mateo has lived in Captive’s Sound his entire life, trying to dodge the local legend that his family is cursed - and that curse will cause him to believe he’s seeing the future … until it drives him mad. When the strange dreams Mateo has been having of rescuing a beautiful girl—Nadia—from a car accident come true, he knows he’s doomed. 

Despite the forces pulling them apart, Nadia and Mateo must work together to break the chains of his family’s terrible curse, and to prevent a disaster that threatens the lives of everyone around them.

In this exciting beginning of a new paranormal YA trilogy, the author introduces Nadia, a young and determined girl.  She's battling a few personal issues as well as the fact that she's a witch and the only other person who knows is her mother, who also left their family a few months back.  Moving to Captive's Sound was supposed to be a fresh start, but it's obvious that something dark is taking over.  With the help of a boy who has been having visions of her, and a girl named Verlaine, Nadia discovers the truth about the town's history and does whatever she can to help put an end to it all.

I began this book having no idea what it would be about other than magic and an unusual connection between the two main characters.  Nadia was a likable character, but what I enjoyed most about her was that she was just learning how to master her powers.  With no one to help her, she's had to keep this secret until she slips up and accidentally performs a spell in front of Verlaine.  Verlaine is sort of your typical outcast.  She constantly gets picked on for wearing out-of-style clothing and having two gay guardians.  Then there was Mateo, who is totally swoon-worthy.  From the moment he pulls Nadia out of the car wreck, he'll win you over.

Though many parts were predictable, the paranormal elements stood out more than anything.  They're the reason that I enjoyed this book as much as I did.  The magic was unique and intriguing, definitely not something you read about in most books.  The spells were used by recalling memories and the help of a Steadfast (which is extremely rare, especially in Nadia's case) made them stronger.  It's obvious that there's more for Nadia to learn, which leaves so much room for growth within the next couple books.

Spellcaster will capture your interest from the start and although there is a lot to learn within these 370 pages, the story is also filled with action and mysterious events.  If you enjoy stories involving quirky characters, the occult, and family curses, I would highly recommend this one.  Even the writing made me want more!

I have an extra ARC of Spellcaster to giveaway!

-Open internationally

-Ends April 20th, 2013
-Winner must claim prize within 48 hours

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