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Earthaven #2
Spell Spring
It has been six months since the rebel Caster Lord Hawk kidnapped Natalie in an attempt to bond her to his spellclave, and was imprisoned inside the Thrallstone by his son Merlin. Natalie and her family have moved to Scotland, where her mother’s magehound is teaching her magic, while Merlin stayed behind in Earthaven to help heal the root system of his father's poison.
Now the soultrees of Earthaven are preparing for the Blossoming, when treemages will fertilize the flowers with unicorn dust to grow new spells. But Earthaven’s magic is draining through the gateways into the human world, where Lord Hawk’s accomplice Claudia the Fish has escaped from prison. The Spell Lords summon Natalie to take her mother’s seat on the Council of Oq so they can save the tree – but first her magehound must swallow two people’s familiars, and Natalie is not ready. Meanwhile, one of the young treemage candidates picked for her spellclave has fled through the forbidden Thrallstone gateway into the human world, unwittingly releasing Lord Hawk.
With the Blossoming fast approaching, Natalie and her friends find themselves once again fighting Lord Hawk’s Casters in a desperate race to gain Power of Thirteen – only this time Natalie has learned how to cast spells, and is determined to do things her way, no matter what the Spell Lords say.
The sequel to SPELLFALL.
Now the soultrees of Earthaven are preparing for the Blossoming, when treemages will fertilize the flowers with unicorn dust to grow new spells. But Earthaven’s magic is draining through the gateways into the human world, where Lord Hawk’s accomplice Claudia the Fish has escaped from prison. The Spell Lords summon Natalie to take her mother’s seat on the Council of Oq so they can save the tree – but first her magehound must swallow two people’s familiars, and Natalie is not ready. Meanwhile, one of the young treemage candidates picked for her spellclave has fled through the forbidden Thrallstone gateway into the human world, unwittingly releasing Lord Hawk.
With the Blossoming fast approaching, Natalie and her friends find themselves once again fighting Lord Hawk’s Casters in a desperate race to gain Power of Thirteen – only this time Natalie has learned how to cast spells, and is determined to do things her way, no matter what the Spell Lords say.
The sequel to SPELLFALL.
- GenresFantasy
269 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2016
6 people are currently reading
165 people want to read
About the author
Katherine Roberts
73 books144 followersI grew up in the south west of England and studied Mathematics at the University of Bath, writing fantasy and science fiction in my spare time. After graduating with 1st class honours (in maths, not fantasy writing!), I worked with computers for several years before redundancy convinced me that working with horses might be healthier.
I spent the next decade working in various horse racing yards, and kept on writing. "Song Quest" was eventually published in 1999 and went on to win the Branford Boase Award for best debut children's novel by a UK author.
I spent the next decade working in various horse racing yards, and kept on writing. "Song Quest" was eventually published in 1999 and went on to win the Branford Boase Award for best debut children's novel by a UK author.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 26, 2017
I AM SO HYPE TO READ THIS BOOK I HAVE BEEN WAITING 8 YEARS FOR A SEQUEL I NEVER THOUGHT WAS COMING!!!
October 21, 2020
Considering she had about twenty years to write this, it was not as good as Spellfall.
April 12, 2025
When I first read Spellfall around a decade ago, I always thought that it left off pretty snugly; yes, there was room for a sequel. Room to explore more of the world and its characters. But for me it didn’t need it. It felt concluded and I was satisfied with what it had to offer.
Sixteen years later though, Roberts decided that she wasn’t. Sixteen years later, we got a sequel to Spellfall, placing it in the same ‘decades for a sequel club’ as The Girl Who Could Fly.
After reading it, I stand by my thought that this was an unnecessary addition – as much of the substance of Spellspring is. Unlike its previous instalment, it seems to flounder and choke as it tries to piece together a plot. Barely anything happens, barely anything seems to happen. Much of what Spellfall suffers from is exemplified here – power scaling problems, lack of worldbuilding, and unthought out plot points. Lord Hawk is back but just as easy to defeat by a young teenager as last time, along with another lesser Big Bad, Lady Moira. The aforementioned Lady even has ‘the power of thirteen’ that everyone seems to scream about, and yet with just our heroine and a few powerless friends, she’s easily thwarted. Lord Hawk is said to have communication and is working with other spellclaves around the world, but they don’t have any relevance nor do anything. Again, Earthaven is so incompetent that they must rely on a teenager from another world despite their numerous resources, again they sit back and watch as Lord Hawk almost destroys them. There is also a weird love plot established between Natalie and Merlin despite her belittling and outright finding him irritating to be around in the first book. Weird, didn’t enjoy it, felt forced.
(A side note here, the whole scene where Natalie is trying to figure out how to make two other people join her spellclave without eating their familiars is written so badly. You have a whole room of people, Lord Hawk and his twelve other henchlings, the same amount of Lord and Ladies of Earthaven, a handful of younger children cowering, and yet, it feels like only Natalie is doing anything. She sits there for pages and pages trying to not make someone join her side by force that it just seems like everyone else is frozen. A few people speak offhandedly, but everyone seems to sit and wait and let everything play out, despite Lord Hawk being right there in the same room as her. It was so annoying and disjointed to read. By the time she unsuccessfully bonds Frodo the first go around, Lord Hawk would have killed or captured her by then. He holds all the power here! Why are they doing nothing!!!)
Spellfall did not need a sequel, nor one that took sixteen years to write. You’d think with that many years to develop it, it wouldn’t be so boring and annoying to read. My care for it dwindled as I got more tired from reading it. With Roberts talking about there being a third book on the way, expect another sixteen year wait for another disappointment. Just eight more to go!
2/10
Sixteen years later though, Roberts decided that she wasn’t. Sixteen years later, we got a sequel to Spellfall, placing it in the same ‘decades for a sequel club’ as The Girl Who Could Fly.
After reading it, I stand by my thought that this was an unnecessary addition – as much of the substance of Spellspring is. Unlike its previous instalment, it seems to flounder and choke as it tries to piece together a plot. Barely anything happens, barely anything seems to happen. Much of what Spellfall suffers from is exemplified here – power scaling problems, lack of worldbuilding, and unthought out plot points. Lord Hawk is back but just as easy to defeat by a young teenager as last time, along with another lesser Big Bad, Lady Moira. The aforementioned Lady even has ‘the power of thirteen’ that everyone seems to scream about, and yet with just our heroine and a few powerless friends, she’s easily thwarted. Lord Hawk is said to have communication and is working with other spellclaves around the world, but they don’t have any relevance nor do anything. Again, Earthaven is so incompetent that they must rely on a teenager from another world despite their numerous resources, again they sit back and watch as Lord Hawk almost destroys them. There is also a weird love plot established between Natalie and Merlin despite her belittling and outright finding him irritating to be around in the first book. Weird, didn’t enjoy it, felt forced.
(A side note here, the whole scene where Natalie is trying to figure out how to make two other people join her spellclave without eating their familiars is written so badly. You have a whole room of people, Lord Hawk and his twelve other henchlings, the same amount of Lord and Ladies of Earthaven, a handful of younger children cowering, and yet, it feels like only Natalie is doing anything. She sits there for pages and pages trying to not make someone join her side by force that it just seems like everyone else is frozen. A few people speak offhandedly, but everyone seems to sit and wait and let everything play out, despite Lord Hawk being right there in the same room as her. It was so annoying and disjointed to read. By the time she unsuccessfully bonds Frodo the first go around, Lord Hawk would have killed or captured her by then. He holds all the power here! Why are they doing nothing!!!)
Spellfall did not need a sequel, nor one that took sixteen years to write. You’d think with that many years to develop it, it wouldn’t be so boring and annoying to read. My care for it dwindled as I got more tired from reading it. With Roberts talking about there being a third book on the way, expect another sixteen year wait for another disappointment. Just eight more to go!
2/10
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 27, 2019
Great sequel!
I am so glad I finally got to read the sequel I waited 19 years for. It was filled with much action and excitement. I would definitely recommend it and most likely read it again one day.
I only wish I knew when K’tanaqui mated with the retriever dog and had puppies. How did he even meet the human world dog? All we know is that the mother dog and her pups were in the rescue shelter. On top of that, wouldn’t it be bad to have magehound pups living with humans? Maybe a third book to hunt the pups down or something?
I also want to see more of Natalie and Merlin’s blossoming relationship and how that will work with the agreement when Natalie is done with school and in Earthhaven. I really want them together. There also still seems to be a threat with Lady Moira and the other spellclaves. It can’t be as easy as an agreement between Earthhaven and Merlin.
I am so glad I finally got to read the sequel I waited 19 years for. It was filled with much action and excitement. I would definitely recommend it and most likely read it again one day.
I only wish I knew when K’tanaqui mated with the retriever dog and had puppies. How did he even meet the human world dog? All we know is that the mother dog and her pups were in the rescue shelter. On top of that, wouldn’t it be bad to have magehound pups living with humans? Maybe a third book to hunt the pups down or something?
I also want to see more of Natalie and Merlin’s blossoming relationship and how that will work with the agreement when Natalie is done with school and in Earthhaven. I really want them together. There also still seems to be a threat with Lady Moira and the other spellclaves. It can’t be as easy as an agreement between Earthhaven and Merlin.
June 16, 2020
Nice sequel
This book brought closure to the first book in the series. Pleasant read. Great for kids who like adventure and are reading fluently. As adult, I enjoyed it, too.
This book brought closure to the first book in the series. Pleasant read. Great for kids who like adventure and are reading fluently. As adult, I enjoyed it, too.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews