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Spellbound #1
Entangled (Spellbound #1)
Hiding her powers was never a problem for seventeen-year-old Graylee Perez. Not until her diabolical twin sister decided to go on a rampage that could expose them all or get someone hurt. To add to the aggravation, coven reject Raj McKenna catches Gray performing a complex spell and is convinced they would make a powerful couple. He can delude himself all he wants. Gray has sworn off dating warlocks, especially delinquents who play with fire. But even Gray’s mysterious death won’t deter Raj, not after Gray is brought back from the great beyond. Only she’s not truly back. Her body’s still six feet under and she’s on borrowed time. There are forces threatening Gray’s existence and a powerful wizard willing to help . . . for a price. Gray doesn’t know who to trust or how long she has left before she vanishes for good, but she’s determined to stick around no matter what the cost.
240 pages, Paperback
First published February 19, 2012
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About the author
Nikki Jefford
60 books1,054 followersReality is overrated ... which is why I write!
Vampire hunters, wolf shifters, witches, elves and Fae with humor, romance, snark and steam. I love bad boys with hearts of gold and heroines who kick ass.
To get in on the fun and adventure, visit my website for release alerts, updates, exclusive giveaways, and a free story when you become a VIP newsletter subscriber: http://nikkijefford.com/
Vampire hunters, wolf shifters, witches, elves and Fae with humor, romance, snark and steam. I love bad boys with hearts of gold and heroines who kick ass.
To get in on the fun and adventure, visit my website for release alerts, updates, exclusive giveaways, and a free story when you become a VIP newsletter subscriber: http://nikkijefford.com/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 578 reviews
December 4, 2013
Initial reaction: I'll write a full review of this once I get home, but I haven't read a book that made me this upset in a while. It wasn't so much for the premise itself as much as the execution of so many things, and honestly, I don't think Jefford writes characters of color and their experiences well AT ALL. This book was not funny, not engaging, and ultimately did not improve as the story went on. Hopefully I can explain in more objective terms what went wrong in my full review.
Full review:
I've had a night to sleep on my reactions to Nikki Jefford's first book in her Spellbound series, "Entangled," so while the tone of this review probably would've been heated if I'd written this right on the heels of finishing it, I'm a little more in tune to try to point out exactly what went wrong here, but that's not to say I'm not still very upset at this book, and I'm surprised in the measure that no one else picked up on its many respective problems.
For as many titles as I've read in the YA paranormal romance department this year, the premise to this excited me initially. I'm definitely not knocking the premise because first off: witches and warlocks - you can't go wrong with that potential because it provides the opportunity to show some wicked magic skills and battles. Second, I get a little thrill whenever I read about twins in a work because I'm a fraternal twin myself. If you include twins in a work, chances are I'm likely to read it. Personal quirk, sure, but I regret nothing.
Third, the premise of having a young woman die mysteriously and end up stuck in the body of her twin, with that twin possibly having something to do with the situation is really...awesome. Having the main character try to figure out how she died and got stuck in her sister's body provides an interesting mystery to try to unravel the layers, giving an unspoken promise that this story would actually be different from the massive influx of other stories in the same genre. And get this - it actually features a POC as a main character/LI and a warlock - how cool is that? (I've always personally liked the name Raj as well.) I was all ready to jump into all the intrigue that this had to offer.
For all its promises, "Entangled" was a complete and utter, even quite offensive, mess. I can only think of a few times that I've actually been uber upset after reading a book this year and this was one of them, and it's not just for the lack of delivery compared to the promise of the storyline. Oh no, no, no. If it were just that, I'd say so and just say it didn't live up to its potential (which might've merited me rating this at a 1-star or 2-star level depending on how I thought about it). But this work is quite a bit more problematic than that, and I'm appalled that Jefford wasn't aware enough to pick up on the way this came across in spurts.
One of the things I want you guys to keep in mind as I'm presenting this review: details matter. Details matter. No matter their size or scope, details can provide a level of intimacy to a story that gives it more meaning in the experience of those that are reading it. Details are important in establishing character, place, attitudes, events, cultures, so many different elements that make a story well rounded. If you're not aware of how those details come across, it can be the difference between a reader immersing themselves in the work, being thrown from it, or some measure between. Now sometimes a reader can enjoy a story and not be too bothered by how some of those details come across, but when they call attention to themselves and aren't expounded upon or put into context - it's much more difficult to swallow.
Again, details matter. Simply stated, and I'll come back to that more than a few times in this review.
Here are just a few of the problems I found in "Entangled": slut shaming, fat shaming, cultural misappropriations, stereotypes against an entire race/country (India), instalove, casual treatment of suicide/suicidal tendencies, among others.
Some of you are probably thinking "Are you serious, where is all this?!" and I'll give citations as to where all these issues arise, but with that many problems in addition to a lack of worldbuilding, poor narrative flow, and flat characters whose actions don't make any kind of sense, you can understand where I had problems with this story.
So where do I begin? Well, for starters, this story doesn't quite start off on the foot of the premise, actually begins a bit before. That's fine because at the very least, it allows us to get to know Graylee Perez, her sister Charlene, and her mother.
I realized I was going to be in for a rough read when the main character kind of scoffs/brushes off her sister's attempts to 1. kill herself because of events in her school life (although it seems to be made in jest), and 2. kill someone else for trying to steal "her" man. The fact that Charlene renames the character she wants to kill "Stacey Whorehouse" (as opposed to her real name Morehouse) really doesn't leave much to the imagination, now does it? *groans*
But that was far from the most offensive aspects of this book, it was mostly just the start to where things are problematic. I was able to swallow the banter between Graylee and Charlene, but truth be told, I never really came to know who these girls were, and they irritated me more often than not. Charlene turns out to be an "evil" twin of sorts when something major's revealed about her relation to Graylee's slow development of her powers, and it causes a really sharp divide between them. I could understand Graylee's hurt from the betrayal, but...there were moments of this that I still just didn't get anything as far as motivation was concerned. It didn't feel connected enough to have an impact on me.
I started raging a bit inside when Raj came into the picture, because for all intents and purposes, Raj is a jerk. I did NOT like him. He starts insta-crushing on Graylee by the third chapter (and this comes after she liked to have choked him with a shoelace after sneaking into his car, payback for humiliating her.) Among his many acts of meanness had to do with using his powers to burst open his female teacher's shirt, revealing her bra and sending the poor woman running out the classroom. Not just to humiliate the teacher after she called him out on not paying attention in class but also TO GET GRAYLEE'S ATTENTION!
Yeah, I wasn't happy about that, understatement. Graylee wasn't either, to her credit, but it still didn't wash the foul taste in my mouth after that whole event. And when Raj makes a comment shortly after that event to Graylee that he "won't be needing magic to get [her] shirt off" - I was creeped out.
Why do all these YA paranormal romance LIs have to be jerks? There are ways to write bad boys who are likable (See Tom MacKee in Melina Marchetta's "The Piper's Son" as per example - which I was glad to be reading that alongside this book to help me contain my upset) and have them as LIs without making them desirable for their obvious offending qualities. The one good thing, I guess, is that Raj was able to remove a tumor from a woman's brain and that was a display of his power for good, but even that wasn't enough to offset the rage I had regarding him on other matters through the work.
Raj's mother is Indian and his father's American (never specified his background). Both are separated. Kaj has a pranic healing ability that was taught to him by his mother, which is kind of touched upon here, but never delved into. I remember learning about pranic healing briefly through my Medical Anthropology classes, when we were discussing medicine as applied to chakara and qi (or chi) and the body's natural energies and how it's perceived in Eastern practices. It's really a fascinating subject to look into. Jefford touches on it, but she doesn't do a good job explaining it, and even then it's kind of dropped before there's really a chance to really know what it means. So it was an opportunity to worldbuild wasted, to be frank.
I really had a problem with such stereotypical passages as this when it came to the presentation of Kaj's background:
"Raj didn’t want to live in India. He liked America. And he had no desire to become some spiritual woo-woo witch doctor who most likely meditated eight hours a day." (This somewhat speaks for itself, but I didn't find this amusing at all.)
"Men and women were forever staring at Raj’s mother. She was no blond next door and certainly hadn’t adopted the friendly American smile." (The odd thing about this passage was that it had described Kaj's mother as being very beautiful, but then follows up with this statement which is...really odd and could be read so many different ways, and my mind automatically went on a more offensive context because this wasn't followed up. Sense this does not make. What's meant by "friendly American smile" here? Because the way I read it, and I sincerely hope that I'm wrong, it's a bit of a backhanded comment. Just because she's not blond, the girl next door, or have the so called "American smile" doesn't make her any less beautiful or American. Matter in point, I don't see how any of that relates here to warrant that description.)
Those were just a few examples of the depictions of POCs in this work that bothered me, though there were more than a few that were awkward in portrayal and wording that just came across as awkward and quick to assumption. That distracted me in several notes as far as the narrative was concerned.
Other issues in the execution of the story include the employment of humor, which, for the most part in this book - falls completely flat. If Jefford was going for dark humor with the numerous references of Graylee's sister killing/harming herself over certain things, it was completely misplaced. Joking about someone being suicidal/having suicidal tendencies isn't right. Neither was using one's warlock powers to shrink someone's penis (which was a joke here that went on longer than it should've, tbh.) I think for the most part, it came across like the humor was too forced and awkward for the setting. There wasn't a natural flow to it and the fact that it was difficult to connect to any specific character here made it that much more difficult to digest.
It may seem like I'm nitpicking on some details that were included (or not included, but were essential pieces) in this work, but again - details matter. By following the familiar and neglecting key pieces of the narrative, it not only misrepresents what the author chooses to showcase, it also sells the overarching story short.
I've digressed a little so I'll steer the focus to the unraveling of the plot, which is so derivative and unimaginative that it's hard to put a single point on what's wrong with it. My answer would be that there are many things, but I'll try to sum it up as best I can. Graylee suddenly wakes up to discover it's two months later and that she's dead and buried. All the while, she's inhabiting her sister's body in a sort of wonky "Groundhog's Day" scenario (this is the comparison given in the book, not mine). Graylee inhabits Charlene's body and Charlene proceeds to dictate to her sister what she should do to act as "normal" while sharing the same body. This led to many irritating exchanges which included Graylee slut shaming her own sister for choices of clothes, for Graylee getting groped by Charlene's current boyfriend
Graylee actually didn't have a significant cause to her death (it was a sudden death syndrome, so basically she died because she...died. No stakes whatsoever.) Yet, Raj discovers that Graylee's back and tries to help her unravel the mystery as to what exactly happened, and why another young woman (who just so happens to be Charlene's enemy from before: Stacey Morehouse) lies in a coma.
Only...there's no mystery or expansions that make sense here. For all the explanations given (of which there were some, but none that made any kind of sense), Graylee believes it's her sister's doing and declares battle lines. In the meantime, Raj and Graylee team up to try to bring Graylee back to some kind of form, and end up falling in love.
Love? Really? I didn't get any romantic vibes from these two characters AT ALL. Mostly their sentiments were told rather than shown, although the physical dimensions of their intimacy were described in detail. It didn't make sense to me.
In the end, I guess there is some form of a happy ending/resolution that's meant to lend into another work, but the terms of Graylee being brought "back to life" are really sketchy at best, and doesn't really have any conclusive resolutions at all. If this is intended to be a start of a series, it did nothing to make me want to read on to see what happens to the characters and what's in store for them. I did try to care for some of the secondary characters (i.e. Raj's little sister), but they're either only a small piece of the story or underdeveloped that it's difficult to care.
I wouldn't recommend this, unfortunately.
Overall score: 1/5
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, self published by the author. I also purchased a copy of this from Amazon.
Full review:
I've had a night to sleep on my reactions to Nikki Jefford's first book in her Spellbound series, "Entangled," so while the tone of this review probably would've been heated if I'd written this right on the heels of finishing it, I'm a little more in tune to try to point out exactly what went wrong here, but that's not to say I'm not still very upset at this book, and I'm surprised in the measure that no one else picked up on its many respective problems.
For as many titles as I've read in the YA paranormal romance department this year, the premise to this excited me initially. I'm definitely not knocking the premise because first off: witches and warlocks - you can't go wrong with that potential because it provides the opportunity to show some wicked magic skills and battles. Second, I get a little thrill whenever I read about twins in a work because I'm a fraternal twin myself. If you include twins in a work, chances are I'm likely to read it. Personal quirk, sure, but I regret nothing.
Third, the premise of having a young woman die mysteriously and end up stuck in the body of her twin, with that twin possibly having something to do with the situation is really...awesome. Having the main character try to figure out how she died and got stuck in her sister's body provides an interesting mystery to try to unravel the layers, giving an unspoken promise that this story would actually be different from the massive influx of other stories in the same genre. And get this - it actually features a POC as a main character/LI and a warlock - how cool is that? (I've always personally liked the name Raj as well.) I was all ready to jump into all the intrigue that this had to offer.
For all its promises, "Entangled" was a complete and utter, even quite offensive, mess. I can only think of a few times that I've actually been uber upset after reading a book this year and this was one of them, and it's not just for the lack of delivery compared to the promise of the storyline. Oh no, no, no. If it were just that, I'd say so and just say it didn't live up to its potential (which might've merited me rating this at a 1-star or 2-star level depending on how I thought about it). But this work is quite a bit more problematic than that, and I'm appalled that Jefford wasn't aware enough to pick up on the way this came across in spurts.
One of the things I want you guys to keep in mind as I'm presenting this review: details matter. Details matter. No matter their size or scope, details can provide a level of intimacy to a story that gives it more meaning in the experience of those that are reading it. Details are important in establishing character, place, attitudes, events, cultures, so many different elements that make a story well rounded. If you're not aware of how those details come across, it can be the difference between a reader immersing themselves in the work, being thrown from it, or some measure between. Now sometimes a reader can enjoy a story and not be too bothered by how some of those details come across, but when they call attention to themselves and aren't expounded upon or put into context - it's much more difficult to swallow.
Again, details matter. Simply stated, and I'll come back to that more than a few times in this review.
Here are just a few of the problems I found in "Entangled": slut shaming, fat shaming, cultural misappropriations, stereotypes against an entire race/country (India), instalove, casual treatment of suicide/suicidal tendencies, among others.
Some of you are probably thinking "Are you serious, where is all this?!" and I'll give citations as to where all these issues arise, but with that many problems in addition to a lack of worldbuilding, poor narrative flow, and flat characters whose actions don't make any kind of sense, you can understand where I had problems with this story.
So where do I begin? Well, for starters, this story doesn't quite start off on the foot of the premise, actually begins a bit before. That's fine because at the very least, it allows us to get to know Graylee Perez, her sister Charlene, and her mother.
I realized I was going to be in for a rough read when the main character kind of scoffs/brushes off her sister's attempts to 1. kill herself because of events in her school life (although it seems to be made in jest), and 2. kill someone else for trying to steal "her" man. The fact that Charlene renames the character she wants to kill "Stacey Whorehouse" (as opposed to her real name Morehouse) really doesn't leave much to the imagination, now does it? *groans*
But that was far from the most offensive aspects of this book, it was mostly just the start to where things are problematic. I was able to swallow the banter between Graylee and Charlene, but truth be told, I never really came to know who these girls were, and they irritated me more often than not. Charlene turns out to be an "evil" twin of sorts when something major's revealed about her relation to Graylee's slow development of her powers, and it causes a really sharp divide between them. I could understand Graylee's hurt from the betrayal, but...there were moments of this that I still just didn't get anything as far as motivation was concerned. It didn't feel connected enough to have an impact on me.
I started raging a bit inside when Raj came into the picture, because for all intents and purposes, Raj is a jerk. I did NOT like him. He starts insta-crushing on Graylee by the third chapter (and this comes after she liked to have choked him with a shoelace after sneaking into his car, payback for humiliating her.) Among his many acts of meanness had to do with using his powers to burst open his female teacher's shirt, revealing her bra and sending the poor woman running out the classroom. Not just to humiliate the teacher after she called him out on not paying attention in class but also TO GET GRAYLEE'S ATTENTION!
Yeah, I wasn't happy about that, understatement. Graylee wasn't either, to her credit, but it still didn't wash the foul taste in my mouth after that whole event. And when Raj makes a comment shortly after that event to Graylee that he "won't be needing magic to get [her] shirt off" - I was creeped out.
Why do all these YA paranormal romance LIs have to be jerks? There are ways to write bad boys who are likable (See Tom MacKee in Melina Marchetta's "The Piper's Son" as per example - which I was glad to be reading that alongside this book to help me contain my upset) and have them as LIs without making them desirable for their obvious offending qualities. The one good thing, I guess, is that Raj was able to remove a tumor from a woman's brain and that was a display of his power for good, but even that wasn't enough to offset the rage I had regarding him on other matters through the work.
Raj's mother is Indian and his father's American (never specified his background). Both are separated. Kaj has a pranic healing ability that was taught to him by his mother, which is kind of touched upon here, but never delved into. I remember learning about pranic healing briefly through my Medical Anthropology classes, when we were discussing medicine as applied to chakara and qi (or chi) and the body's natural energies and how it's perceived in Eastern practices. It's really a fascinating subject to look into. Jefford touches on it, but she doesn't do a good job explaining it, and even then it's kind of dropped before there's really a chance to really know what it means. So it was an opportunity to worldbuild wasted, to be frank.
I really had a problem with such stereotypical passages as this when it came to the presentation of Kaj's background:
"Raj didn’t want to live in India. He liked America. And he had no desire to become some spiritual woo-woo witch doctor who most likely meditated eight hours a day." (This somewhat speaks for itself, but I didn't find this amusing at all.)
"Men and women were forever staring at Raj’s mother. She was no blond next door and certainly hadn’t adopted the friendly American smile." (The odd thing about this passage was that it had described Kaj's mother as being very beautiful, but then follows up with this statement which is...really odd and could be read so many different ways, and my mind automatically went on a more offensive context because this wasn't followed up. Sense this does not make. What's meant by "friendly American smile" here? Because the way I read it, and I sincerely hope that I'm wrong, it's a bit of a backhanded comment. Just because she's not blond, the girl next door, or have the so called "American smile" doesn't make her any less beautiful or American. Matter in point, I don't see how any of that relates here to warrant that description.)
Those were just a few examples of the depictions of POCs in this work that bothered me, though there were more than a few that were awkward in portrayal and wording that just came across as awkward and quick to assumption. That distracted me in several notes as far as the narrative was concerned.
Other issues in the execution of the story include the employment of humor, which, for the most part in this book - falls completely flat. If Jefford was going for dark humor with the numerous references of Graylee's sister killing/harming herself over certain things, it was completely misplaced. Joking about someone being suicidal/having suicidal tendencies isn't right. Neither was using one's warlock powers to shrink someone's penis (which was a joke here that went on longer than it should've, tbh.) I think for the most part, it came across like the humor was too forced and awkward for the setting. There wasn't a natural flow to it and the fact that it was difficult to connect to any specific character here made it that much more difficult to digest.
It may seem like I'm nitpicking on some details that were included (or not included, but were essential pieces) in this work, but again - details matter. By following the familiar and neglecting key pieces of the narrative, it not only misrepresents what the author chooses to showcase, it also sells the overarching story short.
I've digressed a little so I'll steer the focus to the unraveling of the plot, which is so derivative and unimaginative that it's hard to put a single point on what's wrong with it. My answer would be that there are many things, but I'll try to sum it up as best I can. Graylee suddenly wakes up to discover it's two months later and that she's dead and buried. All the while, she's inhabiting her sister's body in a sort of wonky "Groundhog's Day" scenario (this is the comparison given in the book, not mine). Graylee inhabits Charlene's body and Charlene proceeds to dictate to her sister what she should do to act as "normal" while sharing the same body. This led to many irritating exchanges which included Graylee slut shaming her own sister for choices of clothes, for Graylee getting groped by Charlene's current boyfriend
Graylee actually didn't have a significant cause to her death (it was a sudden death syndrome, so basically she died because she...died. No stakes whatsoever.) Yet, Raj discovers that Graylee's back and tries to help her unravel the mystery as to what exactly happened, and why another young woman (who just so happens to be Charlene's enemy from before: Stacey Morehouse) lies in a coma.
Only...there's no mystery or expansions that make sense here. For all the explanations given (of which there were some, but none that made any kind of sense), Graylee believes it's her sister's doing and declares battle lines. In the meantime, Raj and Graylee team up to try to bring Graylee back to some kind of form, and end up falling in love.
Love? Really? I didn't get any romantic vibes from these two characters AT ALL. Mostly their sentiments were told rather than shown, although the physical dimensions of their intimacy were described in detail. It didn't make sense to me.
In the end, I guess there is some form of a happy ending/resolution that's meant to lend into another work, but the terms of Graylee being brought "back to life" are really sketchy at best, and doesn't really have any conclusive resolutions at all. If this is intended to be a start of a series, it did nothing to make me want to read on to see what happens to the characters and what's in store for them. I did try to care for some of the secondary characters (i.e. Raj's little sister), but they're either only a small piece of the story or underdeveloped that it's difficult to care.
I wouldn't recommend this, unfortunately.
Overall score: 1/5
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, self published by the author. I also purchased a copy of this from Amazon.
October 3, 2012
If there’s one thing I hate, it’s this. When there’s a reasonably professional, respectful self-published whose book I just don’t jive with.
The concept is pretty cool. One twin dies and then her mother performs illicit black magic to bring her back. Problem? She has to share her twin’s body like a time share thing. Awesome, right?
And it’s not like the writing is necessarily bad. The novel’s been reasonably well edited and clearly Jefford has put a lot of effort into providing a professional product to her readers. I think this is a great credit to her.
But my problem with the book came from the inexplicable actions of the characters. They acted outside the realm where you would think sense and reason exist. Their response to stress and stimuli were just foreign and completely alien to me. There was this great divide between the events of the novel, and the response of the characters.
For example, Graylee and Charlene are the twins sisters and it’s quite clear from the beginning of the novel that Charlene is a selfish horror-cow of epic proportions. When Charlene’s boyfriend leaves her for Stacey, Graylee and her mother reasonably believe that Charlene will hurt Stacey. Like just straight up murder her. There is an amazing lack of response to this from either of them. Just stop imagine if your sibling or child was honestly someone you believe would murder another girl over something as stupid as a highschool boyfriend. Just look at whatever family member is closest to you and wonder what your reaction would be if you genuinely thought they could just murder the hell out of someone.
Just the nonplussed reaction by either of them to this fact is one of many baffling character decisions in this book. Raj is another one. Why does he suddenly like Graylee? Why is Graylee terrified of him? Why is she very suddenly not terrified of him? What is it with Graylee’s complete and utter reaction to her own death? There is no chemistry between these characters because I couldn’t, for a moment, think up a single thing they actually had in common – other than both like an invisibility spell.
I found everyone in this book almost completely lacking reasonable motivation. They just seemed really cardboard and did things without genuine incentive.
The plot was, similarly, overwrought with ridiculousness. On the plus side, I finished the book and it wasn’t a horrible read. Many people will probably enjoy this book a lot if they’re into that sort of thing. I personally need a stronger, tighter storyline, plot and characters.
For Spoilers:
The concept is pretty cool. One twin dies and then her mother performs illicit black magic to bring her back. Problem? She has to share her twin’s body like a time share thing. Awesome, right?
And it’s not like the writing is necessarily bad. The novel’s been reasonably well edited and clearly Jefford has put a lot of effort into providing a professional product to her readers. I think this is a great credit to her.
But my problem with the book came from the inexplicable actions of the characters. They acted outside the realm where you would think sense and reason exist. Their response to stress and stimuli were just foreign and completely alien to me. There was this great divide between the events of the novel, and the response of the characters.
For example, Graylee and Charlene are the twins sisters and it’s quite clear from the beginning of the novel that Charlene is a selfish horror-cow of epic proportions. When Charlene’s boyfriend leaves her for Stacey, Graylee and her mother reasonably believe that Charlene will hurt Stacey. Like just straight up murder her. There is an amazing lack of response to this from either of them. Just stop imagine if your sibling or child was honestly someone you believe would murder another girl over something as stupid as a highschool boyfriend. Just look at whatever family member is closest to you and wonder what your reaction would be if you genuinely thought they could just murder the hell out of someone.
Just the nonplussed reaction by either of them to this fact is one of many baffling character decisions in this book. Raj is another one. Why does he suddenly like Graylee? Why is Graylee terrified of him? Why is she very suddenly not terrified of him? What is it with Graylee’s complete and utter reaction to her own death? There is no chemistry between these characters because I couldn’t, for a moment, think up a single thing they actually had in common – other than both like an invisibility spell.
I found everyone in this book almost completely lacking reasonable motivation. They just seemed really cardboard and did things without genuine incentive.
The plot was, similarly, overwrought with ridiculousness. On the plus side, I finished the book and it wasn’t a horrible read. Many people will probably enjoy this book a lot if they’re into that sort of thing. I personally need a stronger, tighter storyline, plot and characters.
For Spoilers:
June 8, 2012
Freaky Friday gone wrong anybody? Imagine living only every other day. This is what Graylee has to deal with after she dies, only to wake up in her sister's body - except, her sister still uses it too. Eep. Doesn't this sound horrifying? It is! It's also wildly entertaining.
I'm guilty - again - at having completely forgotten what this book was about when I got around to reading it. I knew it related to witches (which is enough for me) but that is all I could recall. As soon as I was introduced to the witch lore, though, I knew I would really enjoy it: It's the fun kind, the kind that can be employed at the snap of a finger - like in Charmed. I mean, who hasn't wished they could change their outfit, get a glass of water, turn off the lights, all with a simple thought… yeah these examples are totally lame and just plain lazy-making, but you get what I'm saying! Just imagine the possibilities! :D While my curiosity was piqued, I did find the first quarter of the book to be a bit insipid. The pacing was slow, leaving me unsure of where it was getting at. But once Graylee dies, the actual plot makes a sudden appearance and it does not disappoint. It's a fascinating concept, only getting to live every two days. Even moreso when the person whose body you're sharing has become vengeful. It's a thrilling and creative plot-line with quite a bit of clever humor added in which I especially enjoyed.
The story is told from a dual perspective between Graylee and Raj. Graylee is sweet and down-to-earth, but forced to act like her stuck up bitch of a sister. Then on her "off" days, we get to experience what's happening in this shared life through someone else's eyes. This someone being Raj. Raj is our resident bad boy who comes off as a nuisance with dark secrets, and also, he happens to be a wizard. Despite our first impression, Nikki does a wonderful job at making him extremely likeable when we glimpse at his actual personality. He's got the bad-boy vibe that we all secretly adore, but it comes with loyalty and a tenderness that will make you go weak in the knees. This, of course, leads us to a romance that, even though may play only a small role in the book, is solid with a ton of chemistry.
The plot is stimulating, the characters are convincing, but what really gives heart to this story are the various relationship dynamics that you will find scattered in it from page one. From the sisterly rivalry, to the mother's unconditional love, to the peculiar friendships that can be perceived as either real or pretenses; Nikki delivers them all exquisitely. Alongside this, we've got betrayal, jealousy, magic, friendship, death - all powerful themes visited throughout this novel. Although, surprisingly, I'd still consider it an overall light, easy read. One that is highly entertaining and easily enchanting. Being a big fan of witch stories, Entangled quickly topped the chart in my list of favourites, therefore I highly recommend it to young adult paranormal fan, but if you love witches you simply can not pass it up!
--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads
I'm guilty - again - at having completely forgotten what this book was about when I got around to reading it. I knew it related to witches (which is enough for me) but that is all I could recall. As soon as I was introduced to the witch lore, though, I knew I would really enjoy it: It's the fun kind, the kind that can be employed at the snap of a finger - like in Charmed. I mean, who hasn't wished they could change their outfit, get a glass of water, turn off the lights, all with a simple thought… yeah these examples are totally lame and just plain lazy-making, but you get what I'm saying! Just imagine the possibilities! :D While my curiosity was piqued, I did find the first quarter of the book to be a bit insipid. The pacing was slow, leaving me unsure of where it was getting at. But once Graylee dies, the actual plot makes a sudden appearance and it does not disappoint. It's a fascinating concept, only getting to live every two days. Even moreso when the person whose body you're sharing has become vengeful. It's a thrilling and creative plot-line with quite a bit of clever humor added in which I especially enjoyed.
The story is told from a dual perspective between Graylee and Raj. Graylee is sweet and down-to-earth, but forced to act like her stuck up bitch of a sister. Then on her "off" days, we get to experience what's happening in this shared life through someone else's eyes. This someone being Raj. Raj is our resident bad boy who comes off as a nuisance with dark secrets, and also, he happens to be a wizard. Despite our first impression, Nikki does a wonderful job at making him extremely likeable when we glimpse at his actual personality. He's got the bad-boy vibe that we all secretly adore, but it comes with loyalty and a tenderness that will make you go weak in the knees. This, of course, leads us to a romance that, even though may play only a small role in the book, is solid with a ton of chemistry.
The plot is stimulating, the characters are convincing, but what really gives heart to this story are the various relationship dynamics that you will find scattered in it from page one. From the sisterly rivalry, to the mother's unconditional love, to the peculiar friendships that can be perceived as either real or pretenses; Nikki delivers them all exquisitely. Alongside this, we've got betrayal, jealousy, magic, friendship, death - all powerful themes visited throughout this novel. Although, surprisingly, I'd still consider it an overall light, easy read. One that is highly entertaining and easily enchanting. Being a big fan of witch stories, Entangled quickly topped the chart in my list of favourites, therefore I highly recommend it to young adult paranormal fan, but if you love witches you simply can not pass it up!
--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads
December 19, 2012
SPOILER FREE REVIEW
3.5 STARS out of 5
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance/Fantasy
Resurrection Spell gone wrong...
Seventeen year old Graylee Perez is SHOCKED beyond belief when she awakens to find her soul trapped inside her identical twin sister Charlene's body.
For Graylee is a witch just like her mother and her sister; and they belong to a coven.
She awakes and begins her day like she does any other. She finds it weird that she was in her sister bed and in her teddy(night gown). She gets dressed goes to school and is slammed with a realization.
Everyone thinks she is Charlene.
And everyone says that Graylee is dead.
Rules have been broken in order to get Gray back and someone must pay, but who?
After being told that she was found dead in bed two months prior; Graylee races to correct the mistake of a spell that has her now switching place with Charlene every 24hours. Living life every other day and having to be Charlene is not at all what Gray desires.. For one thing Charlene is not helpful. In fact she is down right bossy. Insisting that Gray wears what she sets out for her. Then she leaves a note telling Gray to keep up appearances with her douche of a boyfriend Blake. And on top of that she gives her a list of what she can and cannot do. Including what to eat. Hmph.
Can somebody say 'OH HELL NO'
Thanks girl!
Graylee and Charlene attend a normal high school with humans but other witches and warlocks go to McKinley high as well. And one warlock in particular believes that Graylee is back from the grave. At first she does not know it but it soon becomes very clear.. Graylee is in for the fight of her life as jealousy and betrayal fuel a fight to get rid of her soul forever.
Questions arise and the answers will be shocking.
How did Gray die?
What happened to Stacie Moorehouse?
Will Gray ever admit her feelings for Raj?
And last..
Can Gray free herself and finally be Entangled from Charlene???
My Thoughts
I feel like this story had so much potential. And while it was not bad I feel as though with 50 or 60 more pages it could have been exceptional.
The Plot in my humble opinion was good, very good actually. It was the writing I had some issues with... I felt as though the characters lacked depth. And in turn I failed to connect with them.
Readers quickly see that Charlene was setup to be the more vapid and extremely self absorbed twin. But we do not get to understand her or her reasoning behind some actions. Then we have Gray she is more out going some where along the lines of a free spirit and the total opposite of Charlene. Gray's story is the main focus of the book yet I did not feel as though I got to know her either nor her reasoning behind her actions.
I never ask for more monologue driven narratives but in this case I would. In my opinion it was not needed and necessary to expand on certain story-lines between the characters.
Dear readers,
I think this book is good for teens ages 14-18 years of age. I think I personally would have judged this book totally different if I was..say, not 28yrs old. As a reader over 20 who enjoys an occasional YA read I found this book to be good with the potential to be great. However this rating and conclusion comes mainly due to the fact that I look for and desire certain things out of the books I read. This book did not fill that desire for me.
With that said,
I recommend this book to teens looking for a good YA PNR with a nice dose of action, mystery, drama and romance.
My Ratings
Characters- likable, Sneaky and down right deceitful
Writing Style- Quality was average with true potential to excel
Plot/Storyline- Good, kept me eager to find out what would happen next
Steam Factor- PG-13
Overall- I like it!! I recommend it to teens!!
Now go forth and read. Then come tell us about it on Goodreads!
For more reviews go to http://realitybites-letsgetlost.blogs...
Copy kindly provided by the publisher for an honest review via NetGalley
3.5 STARS out of 5
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance/Fantasy
Resurrection Spell gone wrong...
Seventeen year old Graylee Perez is SHOCKED beyond belief when she awakens to find her soul trapped inside her identical twin sister Charlene's body.
For Graylee is a witch just like her mother and her sister; and they belong to a coven.
She awakes and begins her day like she does any other. She finds it weird that she was in her sister bed and in her teddy(night gown). She gets dressed goes to school and is slammed with a realization.
Everyone thinks she is Charlene.
And everyone says that Graylee is dead.
Rules have been broken in order to get Gray back and someone must pay, but who?
After being told that she was found dead in bed two months prior; Graylee races to correct the mistake of a spell that has her now switching place with Charlene every 24hours. Living life every other day and having to be Charlene is not at all what Gray desires.. For one thing Charlene is not helpful. In fact she is down right bossy. Insisting that Gray wears what she sets out for her. Then she leaves a note telling Gray to keep up appearances with her douche of a boyfriend Blake. And on top of that she gives her a list of what she can and cannot do. Including what to eat. Hmph.
Can somebody say 'OH HELL NO'
Thanks girl!
Graylee and Charlene attend a normal high school with humans but other witches and warlocks go to McKinley high as well. And one warlock in particular believes that Graylee is back from the grave. At first she does not know it but it soon becomes very clear.. Graylee is in for the fight of her life as jealousy and betrayal fuel a fight to get rid of her soul forever.
Questions arise and the answers will be shocking.
How did Gray die?
What happened to Stacie Moorehouse?
Will Gray ever admit her feelings for Raj?
And last..
Can Gray free herself and finally be Entangled from Charlene???
My Thoughts
I feel like this story had so much potential. And while it was not bad I feel as though with 50 or 60 more pages it could have been exceptional.
The Plot in my humble opinion was good, very good actually. It was the writing I had some issues with... I felt as though the characters lacked depth. And in turn I failed to connect with them.
Readers quickly see that Charlene was setup to be the more vapid and extremely self absorbed twin. But we do not get to understand her or her reasoning behind some actions. Then we have Gray she is more out going some where along the lines of a free spirit and the total opposite of Charlene. Gray's story is the main focus of the book yet I did not feel as though I got to know her either nor her reasoning behind her actions.
I never ask for more monologue driven narratives but in this case I would. In my opinion it was not needed and necessary to expand on certain story-lines between the characters.
Dear readers,
I think this book is good for teens ages 14-18 years of age. I think I personally would have judged this book totally different if I was..say, not 28yrs old. As a reader over 20 who enjoys an occasional YA read I found this book to be good with the potential to be great. However this rating and conclusion comes mainly due to the fact that I look for and desire certain things out of the books I read. This book did not fill that desire for me.
With that said,
I recommend this book to teens looking for a good YA PNR with a nice dose of action, mystery, drama and romance.
My Ratings
Characters- likable, Sneaky and down right deceitful
Writing Style- Quality was average with true potential to excel
Plot/Storyline- Good, kept me eager to find out what would happen next
Steam Factor- PG-13
Overall- I like it!! I recommend it to teens!!
Now go forth and read. Then come tell us about it on Goodreads!
For more reviews go to http://realitybites-letsgetlost.blogs...
Copy kindly provided by the publisher for an honest review via NetGalley
November 30, 2012
Graylee "Gray" and her twin sister, Charlene, don't quite get along. They are both witches, but Gray's power is less than her sister's - until she finds out Charlene was shielding Gray's power and holding her back.
One day, Gray wakes up in Charlene's bed wearing Charlene's clothes. Worse, everyone is talking about her being dead! Turns out, Gray is dead and must live every other day in Charlene's body. Will Gray ever return to her body or must she live out the rest of her existence in her sister's body? And who killed her?
This is the point at which I threw in the towel, at 41% through the novel. I had already had problems with it, but this single quote was what convinced me that I couldn't bother with this book anymore. If your main character is portrayed as a goody-goody, yet goes around insulting other girls about their physical features, you've lost me.
But honestly, the novel had many other problems that probably would have made me quit anyway. I'll get into these, after I spend a little time talking about what I did like.
One of the things I did like about this book was that Gray and Charlene already knew about their witchcraft powers and were pretty adept in them (though Gray has to learn a wee bit because she's been shielded). Too often, stories are hampered with characters learning they are Super Speshul Awesomesauce, and while those stories can be interesting, they do tend to be boring and fall into cliche traps.
I also liked how Gray was proud of her ability to perform invisibility, a skill no one else had. Again, how many female protagonists have a Super Speshul Awesomesauce Skill and are PROUD of it? Off the top of my head, I can't really think of anyone.
The third nice thing about this book was that, for once, there is a non-white major character, Rag. Of course, this has it's negative aspects....but I'll get to that in just a few moments.
For those that are tired of all the romance that is tossed higgledy-piggledy into novels these days, this was a refreshing read. Sure, Gray makes eyes at a guy, but it's kept very much in the backseat (or at least in the portion that I read).
And lastly, the book has a nice light-hearted tone, which I really appreciated. I get tired of all these mopey, depressing, emo books where everything is melodramatic and life-threatening and blah blah blah. Sometimes you just want to have a little fun, no?
And really, folks, that's it. I had a tough time coming up with good stuff about this book, because there was quite a bit I found questionable.
1) With the way the cover blurb talks, you would think Gray would die within the first two chapters. Not so; she doesn't die until about chapter 10 or a good 30% through the novel. I suppose you could argue that the 30% was building characters, but the thing is: the characters aren't compelling, interesting, or even well-developed, even given all this time spent on them. Plus, a good author could have you figure out how a character was, using his or her thoughts and flashbacks, after the death had already occurred.
2) For an urban fantasy/paranormal novel, there is just way too much melodramatic high school antics and far too little witchcraft and paranormal. If I wanted to read a "Freaky Friday" high school drama, I'm not going to look in the Urban Fantasy section. That's not to say there is no place for it, but I had to remind myself constantly that these people were witches. A serious crime for a paranormal book.
3) The characters were just not compelling or likeable. No, I don't have to love a character in order to relate to them, but Gray wasn't compelling. She was boring. She was your typical "I'm not one of THOSE girly girls, I am FREE and INDEPENDENT and MY OWN PERSON", which is just so overdone. I didn't like how she called HER OWN SISTER a slut on numerous occasions (or implied Charlene was a slut, based on the clothes); I didn't like how she looked down on everyone who was not like she was because they were "sellouts" or "popular" or wore different clothing than she did. Petty, immature, and self-righteous.
4) The only non-white, Raj, is yet another creepy, stalkerish, abusive Love Interest. What a shame that one of the few Young Adult novels to have a non-white character is also one that makes that character into just a creep! The way Raj looks at Gray, how he intimidates her, how he stalks her, how he thinks about her is just wrong and abusive. And yet, somehow I get the impression he is supposed to be a viable Love Interest. Uh, HELLOOO, this guy is BAD NEWS!! To her credit, Gray doesn't swoon at his feet, but honestly, she ought to be telling her counselor or mother about his creepy actions, and yet it's as if he's a mildly annoying guy that stole her pencil. NOT COOL.
5) At one point, it is brought up that Charlene would like to kill the girl that "stole" her boyfriend. Neither Gray nor her mother bat an eye. And the strange thing about this is that they are dead serious. What kind of mother just looks the other way when her daughter is serious about killing another girl OVER A BOY???
6) While I liked the light-hearted tone, I thought the book overall felt as if it were geared to a much younger audience, like early teens. And yet, some of the events (such as Raj's horrible, stalkeryness) are definitely NOT things I would want a young teen to read!
So those are my reasons I gave up on this one. Maybe it gets better; maybe Gray learns not to be such a stuck-up snob to other girls that aren't in her clique. Maybe Raj gets his comeuppance for being a stalkery guy. Maybe there is a lot more exploration of the powers of these witches and such. But I have no interest in seeing how it ends, and given how short life is and how many books I have to read, this book and I are parting ways. I recommend checking out samples before purchasing this, see if it is something you like.
One day, Gray wakes up in Charlene's bed wearing Charlene's clothes. Worse, everyone is talking about her being dead! Turns out, Gray is dead and must live every other day in Charlene's body. Will Gray ever return to her body or must she live out the rest of her existence in her sister's body? And who killed her?
Gray nearly choked. “Jenna Hocking! But she’s ugly.” Okay, so that was rude, but at least she sounded like Charlene. And Jenna Hocking? The girl was bucktoothed and frizzy haired. Sure, she had jugs the size of melons, but it was a bit hard to believe that Blake Foster would sleep with her—not when he’d snagged the school’s beauty queen, Stacey Morehouse.
This is the point at which I threw in the towel, at 41% through the novel. I had already had problems with it, but this single quote was what convinced me that I couldn't bother with this book anymore. If your main character is portrayed as a goody-goody, yet goes around insulting other girls about their physical features, you've lost me.
But honestly, the novel had many other problems that probably would have made me quit anyway. I'll get into these, after I spend a little time talking about what I did like.
One of the things I did like about this book was that Gray and Charlene already knew about their witchcraft powers and were pretty adept in them (though Gray has to learn a wee bit because she's been shielded). Too often, stories are hampered with characters learning they are Super Speshul Awesomesauce, and while those stories can be interesting, they do tend to be boring and fall into cliche traps.
I also liked how Gray was proud of her ability to perform invisibility, a skill no one else had. Again, how many female protagonists have a Super Speshul Awesomesauce Skill and are PROUD of it? Off the top of my head, I can't really think of anyone.
The third nice thing about this book was that, for once, there is a non-white major character, Rag. Of course, this has it's negative aspects....but I'll get to that in just a few moments.
For those that are tired of all the romance that is tossed higgledy-piggledy into novels these days, this was a refreshing read. Sure, Gray makes eyes at a guy, but it's kept very much in the backseat (or at least in the portion that I read).
And lastly, the book has a nice light-hearted tone, which I really appreciated. I get tired of all these mopey, depressing, emo books where everything is melodramatic and life-threatening and blah blah blah. Sometimes you just want to have a little fun, no?
And really, folks, that's it. I had a tough time coming up with good stuff about this book, because there was quite a bit I found questionable.
1) With the way the cover blurb talks, you would think Gray would die within the first two chapters. Not so; she doesn't die until about chapter 10 or a good 30% through the novel. I suppose you could argue that the 30% was building characters, but the thing is: the characters aren't compelling, interesting, or even well-developed, even given all this time spent on them. Plus, a good author could have you figure out how a character was, using his or her thoughts and flashbacks, after the death had already occurred.
2) For an urban fantasy/paranormal novel, there is just way too much melodramatic high school antics and far too little witchcraft and paranormal. If I wanted to read a "Freaky Friday" high school drama, I'm not going to look in the Urban Fantasy section. That's not to say there is no place for it, but I had to remind myself constantly that these people were witches. A serious crime for a paranormal book.
3) The characters were just not compelling or likeable. No, I don't have to love a character in order to relate to them, but Gray wasn't compelling. She was boring. She was your typical "I'm not one of THOSE girly girls, I am FREE and INDEPENDENT and MY OWN PERSON", which is just so overdone. I didn't like how she called HER OWN SISTER a slut on numerous occasions (or implied Charlene was a slut, based on the clothes); I didn't like how she looked down on everyone who was not like she was because they were "sellouts" or "popular" or wore different clothing than she did. Petty, immature, and self-righteous.
4) The only non-white, Raj, is yet another creepy, stalkerish, abusive Love Interest. What a shame that one of the few Young Adult novels to have a non-white character is also one that makes that character into just a creep! The way Raj looks at Gray, how he intimidates her, how he stalks her, how he thinks about her is just wrong and abusive. And yet, somehow I get the impression he is supposed to be a viable Love Interest. Uh, HELLOOO, this guy is BAD NEWS!! To her credit, Gray doesn't swoon at his feet, but honestly, she ought to be telling her counselor or mother about his creepy actions, and yet it's as if he's a mildly annoying guy that stole her pencil. NOT COOL.
5) At one point, it is brought up that Charlene would like to kill the girl that "stole" her boyfriend. Neither Gray nor her mother bat an eye. And the strange thing about this is that they are dead serious. What kind of mother just looks the other way when her daughter is serious about killing another girl OVER A BOY???
6) While I liked the light-hearted tone, I thought the book overall felt as if it were geared to a much younger audience, like early teens. And yet, some of the events (such as Raj's horrible, stalkeryness) are definitely NOT things I would want a young teen to read!
So those are my reasons I gave up on this one. Maybe it gets better; maybe Gray learns not to be such a stuck-up snob to other girls that aren't in her clique. Maybe Raj gets his comeuppance for being a stalkery guy. Maybe there is a lot more exploration of the powers of these witches and such. But I have no interest in seeing how it ends, and given how short life is and how many books I have to read, this book and I are parting ways. I recommend checking out samples before purchasing this, see if it is something you like.
January 26, 2013
First off I have to say that the cover for this book is absolutely lovely. The colors make it really stand out.
I went into Entangled with the expectation of reading a decent book. The premise goes like this: Graylee Perez is a witch, and two months after her death she wakes up in her twin sisters body. Now they have to figure out the mystery of Graylee's death and how she ended up resurrected before she disappears for good. Sounds good right? Unfortunatley it only took me about 15 minutes of reading to realize that this was going to be a DNF for me.
The timeline in the writing is really choppy. A character will be one place doing one thing and then in the next paragraph it will be half way through the next day and the same character is now sitting in class. You don't have to write about every insignificant detail that happens on a day to day basis but a single sentence would be nice to signal that a new day has begun or a day has ended. Something along the lines of "I left Shay's place and headed home to sleep". That's not too complicated and it doesn't leave the reader feeling like they were just time warped.
Graylee and Raj's relationship just didn't feel real to me. Yeah I can totally see these two getting together *rolls eyes*.
I appreciate the author giving me a copy of this book to read but unfortunatley I have a huge stack of other books in my to read pile and I didn't feel like going through the process of finishing Entangled when I knew I was just going to be headdesking the whole time.
>*I recieved a free ebook copy of this from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
May 30, 2012
*I received this book from this Author for an honest review*
Before I start I would like to say that recently Ive been reading a lot of Indie books and most of them have become some of my favorite books and this book is one of them!
In Entangled we are introduced to Graylee "Gray" and Charlene Perez. They are Identical twins who share the same face but are totally different in every way. Except the fact that both twins are witches and are always trying to be a step ahead of each other. We have Gray- the quiet,over-achiever,& wears her heart on a sleeve/can be feisty when she's pushed twin. Then we have Charlene -the Popular,outgoing,mean twin who always gets her way.
Nikki Jefford has created a fun and witty story about two sisters who are twins and happen to be witches. When you read the first page you are halted by Graylee's sister saying "I'm going to do it ,Lee. I mean it" . After I read that sentence I knew I would love this book! If an author can peak my interest on the first page I then know its a winner! Another thing I liked about this read was how up to date the content was with sister on sister rivalry,family loss,peer pressure,cliques,and finding your purpose through all these experiences. I was also very impressed on how the author portrayed Charlene & Grays relationship because it was dead on literally! I happen to know because I'm a twin myself and we were always and still are at each others throats (not literally)lol. The back in forth commentary between the two was hilarious and it was fun to keep reading about the two!
Why should you read this you say?
Everyone should pick up this book because it has Kick-ass Twitches,Bad-ass warlocks,A surprising yet sweet romance, revenge,and Good VS. Evil twin. This story is Magical and hip and you will not want to put it down and when you do it will be to read the next installment!
Tt@NeverEndingStoriesBookBlog
March 3, 2013
I'm surprised at how much I disliked this book. I went into this book expecting a really great read. The cover is really pretty and the premise seemed really interesting. However, this book was nothing like I expected.
My first issue is that the characters are all horrendous. I disliked all of them. Each one is more self-absorbed than the last and not in a cute way. In a truly odious way. Greylee and Charlene are identical twins that also happen to be witches. They spend the first 25% of the book complaining about boys and being boring. They have some magical skills, which they use randomly, but is is mostly to sneak into class or change their clothes. Like I said, boring. Then Graylee one day dies and wakes up in her sister's body. She finds out that they have to share one body while trying to figure out why and how Graylee died.
What makes this book a DNF for me was that the writing was very bad. I normally don't pick on writers but I couldn't bring myself to read past 60% of the book (a damn good try if you ask me!). The writing is all over the place, and the characters and the world-building were so underdeveloped it wasn't even funny. It was difficult to sod through this mess. Yikes.
**This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
My first issue is that the characters are all horrendous. I disliked all of them. Each one is more self-absorbed than the last and not in a cute way. In a truly odious way. Greylee and Charlene are identical twins that also happen to be witches. They spend the first 25% of the book complaining about boys and being boring. They have some magical skills, which they use randomly, but is is mostly to sneak into class or change their clothes. Like I said, boring. Then Graylee one day dies and wakes up in her sister's body. She finds out that they have to share one body while trying to figure out why and how Graylee died.
What makes this book a DNF for me was that the writing was very bad. I normally don't pick on writers but I couldn't bring myself to read past 60% of the book (a damn good try if you ask me!). The writing is all over the place, and the characters and the world-building were so underdeveloped it wasn't even funny. It was difficult to sod through this mess. Yikes.
**This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
March 27, 2012
Good YA books about witches are the white whales of the genre. It seems like when you pick up a YA title about witches you can expect huge bounds of silliness like The Sweep Series by Cate Tiernan, and the writing usually doesn’t get any better than the writing found in The House of Night series. So when I find a good one in that sea of muck, I’m beyond happy. Especially, when I get done reading it and think, “Holy cow!! That was awesome!”
Entangled starts off with teen angst right at the beginning when Graylee's sister, Charlene, is going to jump of the roof of the school because her boyfriend dumped her for another girl. When Charlene jumps instead of a gruesome death she simply floats to the ground below. The magic takes off right there and I love that it’s not all funky poems and weird chants. It’s more of a mind power, you know believe and you shall achieve. The teen drama in this book is tons of fun with twins Graylee—or just Gray—and Charlene. Just as Gray finds out her sister has been blocking her powers to undermine her confidence Gray wakes up the next morning to find out she died and woke up in her sister's body.
While I thought the mystery behind how Gray died was glaringly obvious, that's not the good stuff. The good stuff is watching Gray come into her magic and find out who her true friends are. Sure that sounds cheesy, but sometimes that is the hardest lesson in life. This book is about character growth and strength, a true treat for any reader.
Besides being an amazing new take on teen witches the romance is just refreshing. Awkward girl meets boy from the wrong side of the tracks, has always been a favorite ploy for romances. What's better is when the reader can watch the two see each other and develop feelings. I hate it when the two just gaze into each others eyes and it's instant magic. Speaking of bad boys, Raj is one dangerous leading man. What I loved even more was that the story is told not just buy Gray, buy Raj gets some running time. Let's just say by the end of the book I had a huge fictional crush on Raj. Almost big enough to rival my crush for Jace from The Mortal Instrument series.
Entangled is that rare book that is going to make you tape your eyes open to read into the ungodly hours of the night—that's just what Entangled is though. Sure, I will admit there were a couple rough spots, but this book comes close to flawless. The magic will prick your interest and then the characters will pull you in. Evil sisters, good boys that are bad, bad boys that are good, dark pasts, dark magic, wild . . . OK I'll stop. You get the point. This is one fantastic read and I highly recommend it.
Sexual Content: Charlene is quite the promiscuous little lady *cough-slut-cough* and Graylee has a pretty hot make out scene. There's sexual talk and humor, but nothing that will put readers on edge.
5/5- Fabulous, a beautiful obsession!
Originally posted on Book Whispers.
Entangled starts off with teen angst right at the beginning when Graylee's sister, Charlene, is going to jump of the roof of the school because her boyfriend dumped her for another girl. When Charlene jumps instead of a gruesome death she simply floats to the ground below. The magic takes off right there and I love that it’s not all funky poems and weird chants. It’s more of a mind power, you know believe and you shall achieve. The teen drama in this book is tons of fun with twins Graylee—or just Gray—and Charlene. Just as Gray finds out her sister has been blocking her powers to undermine her confidence Gray wakes up the next morning to find out she died and woke up in her sister's body.
While I thought the mystery behind how Gray died was glaringly obvious, that's not the good stuff. The good stuff is watching Gray come into her magic and find out who her true friends are. Sure that sounds cheesy, but sometimes that is the hardest lesson in life. This book is about character growth and strength, a true treat for any reader.
Besides being an amazing new take on teen witches the romance is just refreshing. Awkward girl meets boy from the wrong side of the tracks, has always been a favorite ploy for romances. What's better is when the reader can watch the two see each other and develop feelings. I hate it when the two just gaze into each others eyes and it's instant magic. Speaking of bad boys, Raj is one dangerous leading man. What I loved even more was that the story is told not just buy Gray, buy Raj gets some running time. Let's just say by the end of the book I had a huge fictional crush on Raj. Almost big enough to rival my crush for Jace from The Mortal Instrument series.
Entangled is that rare book that is going to make you tape your eyes open to read into the ungodly hours of the night—that's just what Entangled is though. Sure, I will admit there were a couple rough spots, but this book comes close to flawless. The magic will prick your interest and then the characters will pull you in. Evil sisters, good boys that are bad, bad boys that are good, dark pasts, dark magic, wild . . . OK I'll stop. You get the point. This is one fantastic read and I highly recommend it.
Sexual Content: Charlene is quite the promiscuous little lady *cough-slut-cough* and Graylee has a pretty hot make out scene. There's sexual talk and humor, but nothing that will put readers on edge.
5/5- Fabulous, a beautiful obsession!
Originally posted on Book Whispers.
August 5, 2013
Please note: This book is free on Smashwords and Amazon, so if you want to read it, you can!
Book Info: Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy
Reading Level: Young Adult
Recommended for: Anyone, everyone
Trigger Warnings: there is a scene that is sort of the equivalent of rape
My Thoughts: I meant to just start this book and ended up sitting and reading it straight through, then moaning, “Oh my god, DAMMIT” when it was finished. Yes, it was that good and I wanted more. I don't even know exactly why. It has a love triangle, which I hate. But at the same time it is very real. Unlike so many books featuring high schoolers, this one had them acting like high school students, talking like high school students, and despite the magical nature of the main character, it just felt... real. Now I have to go and buy the other books, which I do can't afford at the moment, and find out what happens next. If you like young adult books—heck, even if you don't—you should totally check this book out. I was completely surprised by it. Really good stuff.
Series Information: Spellbound series
Book 1: Entangled
Book 2: Duplicity, available since 2012; I do not have... yet
Book 3: Enchantment, available since April, 2012; I do not have... yet
Disclosure: I don't recall exactly how I ended up with this book; I think the author left a code in a group and I downloaded it as a result. I do know I downloaded it from Smashwords. I later noticed it on NetGalley and accepted it there to have another place to post the review. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: Two months after dying, seventeen-year-old witch Graylee Perez wakes up in her twin sister Charlene’s body.
Until Gray finds a way back inside her own body, she’s stuck being Charlene every twenty-hour hours. Her sister has left precise instructions on how Gray should dress and behave. Looking like a prep isn’t half as bad as hanging out with Charlene’s snotty friends and gropey boyfriend.
The “normals” of McKinley High might be quick to write her behavior off as post-traumatic stress, but warlock Raj McKenna is the only person who suspects Gray has returned from the dead.
Now Gray has to solve the mystery of her death and resurrection and disentangle herself from Charlene’s body before she disappears for good.
Book Info: Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy
Reading Level: Young Adult
Recommended for: Anyone, everyone
Trigger Warnings: there is a scene that is sort of the equivalent of rape
My Thoughts: I meant to just start this book and ended up sitting and reading it straight through, then moaning, “Oh my god, DAMMIT” when it was finished. Yes, it was that good and I wanted more. I don't even know exactly why. It has a love triangle, which I hate. But at the same time it is very real. Unlike so many books featuring high schoolers, this one had them acting like high school students, talking like high school students, and despite the magical nature of the main character, it just felt... real. Now I have to go and buy the other books, which I do can't afford at the moment, and find out what happens next. If you like young adult books—heck, even if you don't—you should totally check this book out. I was completely surprised by it. Really good stuff.
Series Information: Spellbound series
Book 1: Entangled
Book 2: Duplicity, available since 2012; I do not have... yet
Book 3: Enchantment, available since April, 2012; I do not have... yet
Disclosure: I don't recall exactly how I ended up with this book; I think the author left a code in a group and I downloaded it as a result. I do know I downloaded it from Smashwords. I later noticed it on NetGalley and accepted it there to have another place to post the review. All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: Two months after dying, seventeen-year-old witch Graylee Perez wakes up in her twin sister Charlene’s body.
Until Gray finds a way back inside her own body, she’s stuck being Charlene every twenty-hour hours. Her sister has left precise instructions on how Gray should dress and behave. Looking like a prep isn’t half as bad as hanging out with Charlene’s snotty friends and gropey boyfriend.
The “normals” of McKinley High might be quick to write her behavior off as post-traumatic stress, but warlock Raj McKenna is the only person who suspects Gray has returned from the dead.
Now Gray has to solve the mystery of her death and resurrection and disentangle herself from Charlene’s body before she disappears for good.
September 18, 2017
Not much to say about this one, it was just okay. The story itself was a cool concept but was hastily executed and didn't go in depth enough for anything to really amount to much. It was hard to care about anyone other than Graylee and Raj as no one else's story was developed beyond the superficial. I gave it three stars because it held my attention enough to finish it, but I don't think I'll continue the series.
April 7, 2012
HOLY FREAKING CRAP. This really surprised me, which doesn't happen too often these days. I can't wait for the new installment in May!
April 4, 2019
2,5 actually...
September 30, 2012
3.5 stars
After reading this I still couldn’t decide whether this book warranted 3 or 4 stars, so I decided to settle safely in the middle, which is probably more accurate anyway. The first thing that caught my eye was, of course, the gorgeous cover (though even now I don’t really see the connection...) Add to that the concept of two people sharing one body and I was totally sold.
Graylee and Charlene Perez are twins...and witches. But despite the similarities in their appearances and the fact that they both have the ability to do magic, their personalities are completely different, not to mention the fact that Gray’s magical ability isn’t exactly what it once was. One night Gray dies inexplicably and wakes up two months later – in Charlene’s body. This is how she’ll wake up every other day from now; it’s also how she’ll die unless she can figure out how to get out of Charlene’s body herself in a way that’ll allow her to survive.
I loved the way Entangled started. It was dramatic and actually a pretty good introduction to our two twin stars and what was going on. I could see that Gray was sarcastic but a good sister and Charlene annoying, over the top and somewhat temperamental. My issue then was that the opening turned out to be a long-winded tale of the events leading up to Gray’s death. It took ages just to get to that point and some of what was described beforehand didn’t really contribute very much to the story. Eventually it picked up but even then I’d occasionally find myself wishing it would speed up a little.
Gray is a spunky character, nothing like Charlene. I felt sorry that not only did she have to put up with Charlene, she also had to act like her those days she was awake. Charlene is like the witchier, more extreme version of your stereotypical Miss Popular. Initially it seemed like she had some redeeming qualities and that she did have some sort of connection with her sister, but that image soon dissipated. Unable to deal with any misfortunes life deals her, she lets her jealousies and insecurities take over her, making her a raving psychotic of a girl. Yes. She really is that bad. Gray on the other hand is much more down-to-earth; she knows how to stand up for herself and she knows what has to be done.
Raj McKenna, the love interest, is just a hunk of Indian gorgeousness. We see his POV in alternation with Gray’s. He holds that bad-boy image but it’s pretty easy to see that there’s way more to him than the rumours that go around. In reality he’s actually very sweet and he always does his utmost to help Gray. It’s sad to see how long it takes just for his mother to realise there’s more to what happened in their past than what she chose to believe; his sister, happily, is much closer to him from the beginning and the bond between them is incredibly endearing.
The writing in Entangled was a bit of a mix. It was easy to tell between Gray and Raj’s POVs and it made it very easy to connect to them both. The problem I had was that I found it quite jumpy. A scene in one place would end slightly abruptly only for the story to suddenly move forward somewhere else and I didn’t quite see where the connection was. What I particularly didn’t understand was how Gray suddenly, miraculously realised what Charlene had been doing for so many years. It seemed too convenient for it to be believable.
Overall, this was a really enjoyable read. It’s somewhat lighter than you might think, and the author plays around with impressions of characters so that you come to realise they were nothing like they originally seemed. I really liked the concept and it was definitely more pleasurable when it picked up pace; I just wish that the pace was sustained throughout, as well as the flow, and a bit more was added to the plot. Despite the flaws this is definitely worth the read.
A big thank you to the author and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
This review is also posted on my blog.
After reading this I still couldn’t decide whether this book warranted 3 or 4 stars, so I decided to settle safely in the middle, which is probably more accurate anyway. The first thing that caught my eye was, of course, the gorgeous cover (though even now I don’t really see the connection...) Add to that the concept of two people sharing one body and I was totally sold.
Graylee and Charlene Perez are twins...and witches. But despite the similarities in their appearances and the fact that they both have the ability to do magic, their personalities are completely different, not to mention the fact that Gray’s magical ability isn’t exactly what it once was. One night Gray dies inexplicably and wakes up two months later – in Charlene’s body. This is how she’ll wake up every other day from now; it’s also how she’ll die unless she can figure out how to get out of Charlene’s body herself in a way that’ll allow her to survive.
I loved the way Entangled started. It was dramatic and actually a pretty good introduction to our two twin stars and what was going on. I could see that Gray was sarcastic but a good sister and Charlene annoying, over the top and somewhat temperamental. My issue then was that the opening turned out to be a long-winded tale of the events leading up to Gray’s death. It took ages just to get to that point and some of what was described beforehand didn’t really contribute very much to the story. Eventually it picked up but even then I’d occasionally find myself wishing it would speed up a little.
Gray is a spunky character, nothing like Charlene. I felt sorry that not only did she have to put up with Charlene, she also had to act like her those days she was awake. Charlene is like the witchier, more extreme version of your stereotypical Miss Popular. Initially it seemed like she had some redeeming qualities and that she did have some sort of connection with her sister, but that image soon dissipated. Unable to deal with any misfortunes life deals her, she lets her jealousies and insecurities take over her, making her a raving psychotic of a girl. Yes. She really is that bad. Gray on the other hand is much more down-to-earth; she knows how to stand up for herself and she knows what has to be done.
Raj McKenna, the love interest, is just a hunk of Indian gorgeousness. We see his POV in alternation with Gray’s. He holds that bad-boy image but it’s pretty easy to see that there’s way more to him than the rumours that go around. In reality he’s actually very sweet and he always does his utmost to help Gray. It’s sad to see how long it takes just for his mother to realise there’s more to what happened in their past than what she chose to believe; his sister, happily, is much closer to him from the beginning and the bond between them is incredibly endearing.
The writing in Entangled was a bit of a mix. It was easy to tell between Gray and Raj’s POVs and it made it very easy to connect to them both. The problem I had was that I found it quite jumpy. A scene in one place would end slightly abruptly only for the story to suddenly move forward somewhere else and I didn’t quite see where the connection was. What I particularly didn’t understand was how Gray suddenly, miraculously realised what Charlene had been doing for so many years. It seemed too convenient for it to be believable.
Overall, this was a really enjoyable read. It’s somewhat lighter than you might think, and the author plays around with impressions of characters so that you come to realise they were nothing like they originally seemed. I really liked the concept and it was definitely more pleasurable when it picked up pace; I just wish that the pace was sustained throughout, as well as the flow, and a bit more was added to the plot. Despite the flaws this is definitely worth the read.
A big thank you to the author and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
This review is also posted on my blog.
October 11, 2012
~Review will contain small spoilers~
You see, I really have great respect for self-published authors. Writing a book is no small feat to begin with, but taking a chance with it, publishing it yourself, I think that’s great. I know some people shy away from self-published novels, thinking they are bad, but I’ve never thought that. A book can be good or bad, no matter the means by which it went to the presses.
With that said, the blurb sounded awesome. Graylee, the heroine, dies and wakes up two months after her demise, in her identical sister’s, Charlene, body. Her mom, her sister and herself, they’re all witches, so when tragedy struck, Gray’s mom made a deal with a powerful warlock to bring back her child. Everything worked out perfectly, except Gray and Charlene now have to share a body. Every 24 hours a switch happens and the other twin gets the body for a day. Not ideal.
The premise was really interesting and promised some weird, awkward and funny situations. The writing was good too. It’s an easy to read book, the plot moves at a smooth pace, it has a few twists – which I did see coming – and an interesting ending. This would have made a great book if not for ..
The characters! Oh, they were such a hot mess. And I do mean every single one of them. For me, a book can be absolutely excellent when it comes to plot, storylines, pacing, etc but if I can’t relate to even a lowly secondary character, then I’m not going to enjoy the book one bit. Entangled, unfortunately, is one of those cases.
Not one of them was believable or decently fleshed out, which was terrible. I couldn’t connect to any of them, couldn’t sympathize, not even with Gray.
She has no reaction when she finds out she died. Even more so, before either her or her mom figure out how the resurrection works – the time share, 24 hrs thing – she’s not the slightest worried that her sister, for all intents and purposes, is missing. I get sister rivalry, but really? You don’t give a rats ass your own’s sister’s missing? Okay.
The relationship between her and Raj is another ridiculous, baffling thing. He starts off by terrorizing her using magic, but then you find out that’s his way of wanting her. Nice courting, there, bud. His plan for getting Gray goes something like this: scare her senseless, make her feel weak and powerless and you’ll get the girl. Sure.
Gray’s normal and mature response at what Raj does? She physically attacks and threatens him AND inwardly admits to liking it. That’s the point where he figures out he desperately likes her, by the way.
Next off, we have Charlene, who gets the Biggest Sociopath Award from me, who’s incredibly selfish, self-centered and an all around bitch. She threatens to kill herself when her boyfriend dumps her, threatens to kill his new girlfriend when she finds out about her, then thinks up the brilliant plan of sleeping around in order to get him back. She’s a ray of sunshine, that one.
Pretty much all the characters worth mentioning were flat, unbelievable and did stupid, often times, homicidal things. Even the twin’s mom, she’s so incredibly casual about her daughters crazy tendencies, “dealing” with them with barely a shrug or “oh, noes!” when she finds out about them.
If there were one normal, likeable character, I would’ve latched onto it and enjoyed this book. Sadly, there wasn’t. Great idea, interesting plot, but the characters put me off, big time.
Safe to say, I won’t be reading the sequel. If you can overlook the manic characters, then safe bet is you’ll like Entangled.
P.S. I do find the cover gorgeous, don’t'cha think?
You can find this review, and others, here:
You see, I really have great respect for self-published authors. Writing a book is no small feat to begin with, but taking a chance with it, publishing it yourself, I think that’s great. I know some people shy away from self-published novels, thinking they are bad, but I’ve never thought that. A book can be good or bad, no matter the means by which it went to the presses.
With that said, the blurb sounded awesome. Graylee, the heroine, dies and wakes up two months after her demise, in her identical sister’s, Charlene, body. Her mom, her sister and herself, they’re all witches, so when tragedy struck, Gray’s mom made a deal with a powerful warlock to bring back her child. Everything worked out perfectly, except Gray and Charlene now have to share a body. Every 24 hours a switch happens and the other twin gets the body for a day. Not ideal.
The premise was really interesting and promised some weird, awkward and funny situations. The writing was good too. It’s an easy to read book, the plot moves at a smooth pace, it has a few twists – which I did see coming – and an interesting ending. This would have made a great book if not for ..
The characters! Oh, they were such a hot mess. And I do mean every single one of them. For me, a book can be absolutely excellent when it comes to plot, storylines, pacing, etc but if I can’t relate to even a lowly secondary character, then I’m not going to enjoy the book one bit. Entangled, unfortunately, is one of those cases.
Not one of them was believable or decently fleshed out, which was terrible. I couldn’t connect to any of them, couldn’t sympathize, not even with Gray.
She has no reaction when she finds out she died. Even more so, before either her or her mom figure out how the resurrection works – the time share, 24 hrs thing – she’s not the slightest worried that her sister, for all intents and purposes, is missing. I get sister rivalry, but really? You don’t give a rats ass your own’s sister’s missing? Okay.
The relationship between her and Raj is another ridiculous, baffling thing. He starts off by terrorizing her using magic, but then you find out that’s his way of wanting her. Nice courting, there, bud. His plan for getting Gray goes something like this: scare her senseless, make her feel weak and powerless and you’ll get the girl. Sure.
Gray’s normal and mature response at what Raj does? She physically attacks and threatens him AND inwardly admits to liking it. That’s the point where he figures out he desperately likes her, by the way.
Next off, we have Charlene, who gets the Biggest Sociopath Award from me, who’s incredibly selfish, self-centered and an all around bitch. She threatens to kill herself when her boyfriend dumps her, threatens to kill his new girlfriend when she finds out about her, then thinks up the brilliant plan of sleeping around in order to get him back. She’s a ray of sunshine, that one.
Pretty much all the characters worth mentioning were flat, unbelievable and did stupid, often times, homicidal things. Even the twin’s mom, she’s so incredibly casual about her daughters crazy tendencies, “dealing” with them with barely a shrug or “oh, noes!” when she finds out about them.
If there were one normal, likeable character, I would’ve latched onto it and enjoyed this book. Sadly, there wasn’t. Great idea, interesting plot, but the characters put me off, big time.
Safe to say, I won’t be reading the sequel. If you can overlook the manic characters, then safe bet is you’ll like Entangled.
P.S. I do find the cover gorgeous, don’t'cha think?
You can find this review, and others, here:
March 6, 2015
it had it's highs and lags. review to come.
December 22, 2017
spellbinding read!
What would you do when you wake up one morning and realized you've been dead for a couple of months, and then your evil twin sister came to possess your body and the next day, everything is back to normal? How twisted and cool is that?
Twin sisters: both are witches, GrayLee and Charlene, total opposites - the other wanted to jump off from the roof but floated after getting her heart broken; the other died mysteriously because of SUDS (Sudden Death Syndrome)...
The other girl resurrected but had to be alive every other day - using her other twin's body.. Freaky right? It was and it was full of twists! Twin life has never been this so much.... entangled! This is the first time I've read something like twins sharing a body, while the other one is already dead. I couldn't get my hands off this book once I started reading it.
OKay, so it was like a battle of the good twin versus the bad twin. GrayLee died but was resurrected and can only live through her twin sister's body every other day. Charlene, on the other, was flabbergasted and had left numerous rules and lists for her dead twin to do while Gray possessed her body. Yes, they could only communicate with each other through letters. Because they cannot see each other, they are unable to slap each other.. Which was what they'd always wanted to do. LOL.. Their friends and boys were mystified with their behavior, but Raj McKenna knew better. The handsome Indian warlock was talented and got a lot of tricks up his sleeves, and was very handsome. He knew something was off and I loved that he was the one who was helping them fix the fiasco.
The other characters were equally entertaining and badass. I love Raj who was quite complicated and often misunderstood, I like Adrian Montez, the warlock with no powers, I love his Nan, too. Okay, I also liked Ryan, even though he was the evil one and a bad influence, but he was effective in being the villain next to Charlene.. And Stacey Morehouse, I'm beginning to like her, too. But best of all, I love Mommy Perez who should really be awarded the Mom of the Year.
I love how the author Nikki Jefford built everyone's character, especially GrayLee's. Gray was awesome from start to finish. But I would want to know what goes inside Charlene's minds when she did those dark magical stuffs, too.. I want to understand why she had to resort to doing those crazy spells and incantations, why she loathed her twin so much! I want to know why was she so crazy in love with a dummy like Blake. I want to kill her myself for all that she'd done to Gray! Ugh!
Lastly, you know why I love this book so much? It's the date Gray had died and the day everything changed - February 9. Why? Because it's my birthday. That's my birthday.. and everything related to Feb 9 always fascinate me. Am I freaky or what? LOL.
Anyway, the ending was totally heart-stopping and awesome at the same time! The purging or abduction, and then the new body possession, it all blew me away. I love it!!! Kudos to Nikki Jefford for creating this one-of-a-kind spellbinding tale. Can't wait to read the next! :)
What would you do when you wake up one morning and realized you've been dead for a couple of months, and then your evil twin sister came to possess your body and the next day, everything is back to normal? How twisted and cool is that?
Twin sisters: both are witches, GrayLee and Charlene, total opposites - the other wanted to jump off from the roof but floated after getting her heart broken; the other died mysteriously because of SUDS (Sudden Death Syndrome)...
The other girl resurrected but had to be alive every other day - using her other twin's body.. Freaky right? It was and it was full of twists! Twin life has never been this so much.... entangled! This is the first time I've read something like twins sharing a body, while the other one is already dead. I couldn't get my hands off this book once I started reading it.
OKay, so it was like a battle of the good twin versus the bad twin. GrayLee died but was resurrected and can only live through her twin sister's body every other day. Charlene, on the other, was flabbergasted and had left numerous rules and lists for her dead twin to do while Gray possessed her body. Yes, they could only communicate with each other through letters. Because they cannot see each other, they are unable to slap each other.. Which was what they'd always wanted to do. LOL.. Their friends and boys were mystified with their behavior, but Raj McKenna knew better. The handsome Indian warlock was talented and got a lot of tricks up his sleeves, and was very handsome. He knew something was off and I loved that he was the one who was helping them fix the fiasco.
The other characters were equally entertaining and badass. I love Raj who was quite complicated and often misunderstood, I like Adrian Montez, the warlock with no powers, I love his Nan, too. Okay, I also liked Ryan, even though he was the evil one and a bad influence, but he was effective in being the villain next to Charlene.. And Stacey Morehouse, I'm beginning to like her, too. But best of all, I love Mommy Perez who should really be awarded the Mom of the Year.
I love how the author Nikki Jefford built everyone's character, especially GrayLee's. Gray was awesome from start to finish. But I would want to know what goes inside Charlene's minds when she did those dark magical stuffs, too.. I want to understand why she had to resort to doing those crazy spells and incantations, why she loathed her twin so much! I want to know why was she so crazy in love with a dummy like Blake. I want to kill her myself for all that she'd done to Gray! Ugh!
Lastly, you know why I love this book so much? It's the date Gray had died and the day everything changed - February 9. Why? Because it's my birthday. That's my birthday.. and everything related to Feb 9 always fascinate me. Am I freaky or what? LOL.
Anyway, the ending was totally heart-stopping and awesome at the same time! The purging or abduction, and then the new body possession, it all blew me away. I love it!!! Kudos to Nikki Jefford for creating this one-of-a-kind spellbinding tale. Can't wait to read the next! :)
April 5, 2012
Entangled is a well-written, fun, captivating read with a unique take on magic, eternal love, sisterly rivalry, and the danger of power. Each character, even the minor ones, had impressive depth and personality, and the plot moves forward at a pace that will keep you devouring the pages till the very end.
The plot was really fun and suspenseful. I thought there were enough unique aspects to elevate Entangled above "just another story about witches". Much of the magic performed within the book was really cool and made me wish I had such powers :-) I loved the anticipation of turning the pages to find out what would happen next. I've found that if I can easily put a book down and not return to it as soon as I can, it's not good enough to earn 5 stars, but Entangled certainly captivated my attention!
What I loved most about Entangled, though, were the characters!
Graylee and Charlene Perez could not be more different, despite the fact that they are identical twins. Graylee is genuine, fun, witty, and most comfortable in a pair of old jeans and a ribbed tank-top. Charlene is popular, slutty, conniving and an idol for most of the dim-witted high school "sheeple". While Charlene flits from boy to boy in an attempt to make her boyfriend jealous, Graylee would appreciate it if she could just figure out why Raj McKenna, a trouble-making Warlock, is suddenly so interested in her.
The sisters are both talented witches... only, Gray seems to only be able to perform magic when she is on her own. She has looked like a fool time and again at the Gathering training sessions and cannot understand why. That is, until she finally figures out that her own flesh and blood -her twin- Charlene has been jealously blocking her power for years.
After Gray's discovery and a subsequent blow-out with her conniving sister, everything seems to calm down a bit with a surprising and out-of-character apology from Charlene. Unfortunately, someone else becomes the focus of Charlene's twisted rage: Stacey Morehouse, the new sexual play-toy of Charlene's on-again-off-again boyfriend.
When Charlene cooks up a murderous scheme, it's not Stacey who suffers the consequences - it's Gray.
I mean, c'mon! With a sister like Charlene, who needs enemies?! Charlene was definitely a villain you loved to hate. However, I also found myself hoping that she would come around eventually, which I think says a lot for how her character was written and portrayed throughout the book. Kudos to Nikki!
The boys in the story, namely Raj McKenna, were really well-written, too. Raj may be the brooding love interest, but that's where comparisons end to any other main male love interest in Young Adult literature. He's a bit misunderstood but he has a really good heart, which we, as readers, see first before any of the characters. When it really comes down to it, Raj is the guy you can count on when you're in trouble or when you need a friend. He also has an interesting past that makes me even more anxious to read the next book in the trilogy :-)
I think my favorite character, aside from Graylee, is her mom. Crazy, right? Usually the parents in Young Adult literature don't really make an impact. They're either barely mentioned or absent. While Mrs. Perez isn't necessarily a main character, she makes a BIG impact on the overall story arc - and on the reader. The love she shows for her daughters is the "eternal love" I spoke of earlier. She makes a big sacrifice for her daughters and now I'm curious to see how things turn out for the family.
There are other incredibly interesting secondary characters that bring a lot of humor and excitement to the plot. There are no boring or one-note characters here! Each one has a distinct personality and back-story. I mean, if I'm gushing this much about the characters, it's obvious they all made an impact :-) Once again, Nikki Jefford does not disappoint!
I cannot say enough good things about Entangled. You simply must read this book to find out why I am so impressed and why I am now anxiously awaiting Duplicity, the next installment in the series. Major kudos to Nikki Jefford for such a successful debut!
For more reviews of popular indie and commercial Young Adult titles, visit BlookGirl!
The plot was really fun and suspenseful. I thought there were enough unique aspects to elevate Entangled above "just another story about witches". Much of the magic performed within the book was really cool and made me wish I had such powers :-) I loved the anticipation of turning the pages to find out what would happen next. I've found that if I can easily put a book down and not return to it as soon as I can, it's not good enough to earn 5 stars, but Entangled certainly captivated my attention!
What I loved most about Entangled, though, were the characters!
Graylee and Charlene Perez could not be more different, despite the fact that they are identical twins. Graylee is genuine, fun, witty, and most comfortable in a pair of old jeans and a ribbed tank-top. Charlene is popular, slutty, conniving and an idol for most of the dim-witted high school "sheeple". While Charlene flits from boy to boy in an attempt to make her boyfriend jealous, Graylee would appreciate it if she could just figure out why Raj McKenna, a trouble-making Warlock, is suddenly so interested in her.
The sisters are both talented witches... only, Gray seems to only be able to perform magic when she is on her own. She has looked like a fool time and again at the Gathering training sessions and cannot understand why. That is, until she finally figures out that her own flesh and blood -her twin- Charlene has been jealously blocking her power for years.
After Gray's discovery and a subsequent blow-out with her conniving sister, everything seems to calm down a bit with a surprising and out-of-character apology from Charlene. Unfortunately, someone else becomes the focus of Charlene's twisted rage: Stacey Morehouse, the new sexual play-toy of Charlene's on-again-off-again boyfriend.
When Charlene cooks up a murderous scheme, it's not Stacey who suffers the consequences - it's Gray.
I mean, c'mon! With a sister like Charlene, who needs enemies?! Charlene was definitely a villain you loved to hate. However, I also found myself hoping that she would come around eventually, which I think says a lot for how her character was written and portrayed throughout the book. Kudos to Nikki!
The boys in the story, namely Raj McKenna, were really well-written, too. Raj may be the brooding love interest, but that's where comparisons end to any other main male love interest in Young Adult literature. He's a bit misunderstood but he has a really good heart, which we, as readers, see first before any of the characters. When it really comes down to it, Raj is the guy you can count on when you're in trouble or when you need a friend. He also has an interesting past that makes me even more anxious to read the next book in the trilogy :-)
I think my favorite character, aside from Graylee, is her mom. Crazy, right? Usually the parents in Young Adult literature don't really make an impact. They're either barely mentioned or absent. While Mrs. Perez isn't necessarily a main character, she makes a BIG impact on the overall story arc - and on the reader. The love she shows for her daughters is the "eternal love" I spoke of earlier. She makes a big sacrifice for her daughters and now I'm curious to see how things turn out for the family.
There are other incredibly interesting secondary characters that bring a lot of humor and excitement to the plot. There are no boring or one-note characters here! Each one has a distinct personality and back-story. I mean, if I'm gushing this much about the characters, it's obvious they all made an impact :-) Once again, Nikki Jefford does not disappoint!
I cannot say enough good things about Entangled. You simply must read this book to find out why I am so impressed and why I am now anxiously awaiting Duplicity, the next installment in the series. Major kudos to Nikki Jefford for such a successful debut!
For more reviews of popular indie and commercial Young Adult titles, visit BlookGirl!
March 12, 2013
So, the story introduces us to two identical twins who are only the same in appearance but not in personality. They were as different from each other as day was from night. Charlene Perez, the wild child of the two, was selfish, insecure, melodramatic, vain, and possibly psychotic. All she cared about were her looks, her powers as a witch and getting people to notice her. Far from Graylee Perez's character who was sensible and smart and far from extraordinary. At school Gray was practically invisible, navigating the halls by herself or with only one friend, and in their coven of witches she had shown remarkable powers and was considered to be the Top Student, right before her powers began to fail her and she became a laughing stock. Even after she became an embarrassment though, she had a loyal secret admirer. And that secret admirer was Raj McKenna. *Swoon*
Raj McKenna was your brooding, mysterious, devil-may-care bad boy in this story. I loved reading from his POV because it helped me understand him better and see through his bad boy exterior. He was a real softie on the inside, and he cared about Gray more than he let on. He cared about her so much that he had his best friend Shay Baxter create a good-luck amulet for her and he helped her after she found out that she was stuck inside her twin sister's body after her mother and some other accomplice (it was never mentioned in the story) cast a resurrection spell that went wrong. Even after all hell broke loose and the heated arguments between them intensified, he never once left her side. He and Gray had a love-hate relationship that I thought would never be resolved, especially since Gray kept pushing him away and convincing herself he was no good for her (typical character *yawn*) but near the end of the story she was unable to resist Raj's sexy charm and they had a passionate make-out session against a tree. It took a long time for their romance to blossom (emphasizing "long" here) but it was worth the wait because when it finally did come it swept me away. Smart move, Ms. Jefford. I salute you for that.
I later found out that it was her sister Charlene working behind the scenes, blocking Gray's powers and causing her spells to become ineffective; killing her with some pieces of chocolate that she had made herself before Valentine's Day; and purging Gray from her own body because she only wanted her mother's attention for herself. She wanted Gray gone from her life for good. Her plan backfired though because instead of forcing Gray towards the light she ended up in Stacey Morehouse's body in the hospital. I'm not happy with this ending; I somehow think that the author could've added more to the story and gotten Gray her identity back. After all that she had been through, she deserved a better ending. There are two more books after this though that I'm hoping to get my hands on -- because maybe they'll provide better endings. Mainly, I just want to see where the next story leads.
Raj McKenna was your brooding, mysterious, devil-may-care bad boy in this story. I loved reading from his POV because it helped me understand him better and see through his bad boy exterior. He was a real softie on the inside, and he cared about Gray more than he let on. He cared about her so much that he had his best friend Shay Baxter create a good-luck amulet for her and he helped her after she found out that she was stuck inside her twin sister's body after her mother and some other accomplice (it was never mentioned in the story) cast a resurrection spell that went wrong. Even after all hell broke loose and the heated arguments between them intensified, he never once left her side. He and Gray had a love-hate relationship that I thought would never be resolved, especially since Gray kept pushing him away and convincing herself he was no good for her (typical character *yawn*) but near the end of the story she was unable to resist Raj's sexy charm and they had a passionate make-out session against a tree. It took a long time for their romance to blossom (emphasizing "long" here) but it was worth the wait because when it finally did come it swept me away. Smart move, Ms. Jefford. I salute you for that.
I later found out that it was her sister Charlene working behind the scenes, blocking Gray's powers and causing her spells to become ineffective; killing her with some pieces of chocolate that she had made herself before Valentine's Day; and purging Gray from her own body because she only wanted her mother's attention for herself. She wanted Gray gone from her life for good. Her plan backfired though because instead of forcing Gray towards the light she ended up in Stacey Morehouse's body in the hospital. I'm not happy with this ending; I somehow think that the author could've added more to the story and gotten Gray her identity back. After all that she had been through, she deserved a better ending. There are two more books after this though that I'm hoping to get my hands on -- because maybe they'll provide better endings. Mainly, I just want to see where the next story leads.
August 18, 2014
All Graylee’s ever wanted is to be a normal high school student. To forget about dating a magically inclined members of the male species and for life to go on without interference. But it’s hard to do these things when you have an identical twin sister. Graylee accepted long time ago that her sister is nothing like her. Charlene is vain, selfish and manipulative. Good thing all witches and warlocks took the Vow of Honor at the age of twelve, or else Charlene would be using black magic…
Graylee might comfort herself with these thoughts but as soon as we start reading, we can see that her sister is mentally unstable. And soon also to suspect that she has murderous tendencies. And you know what they say…
"Death was final. Even the death of a witch."
In Entangled, Graylee learns that this is not true. Although…
"Gray was stuck inside Charlene’s own sleazy high school soap opera. Maybe this was hell."
And she will soon start to ask herself questions she never thought that she will ask. Like:
"What did one bring to her own gravesite? Flowers? Trinkets… A shovel?"
Ok, I am done teasing you with quotes. If you want to know what is happening in a book – read it. At first glance it sounds like every other ya novel set in high school with love triangle romance and spiced up with witches. But Entangled is much more. It’s perfect light reading for the summer. With good characterisation, magic and a lot of surprising twists in the story. Be warned – summary spoils one of the biggest ones.
In the end...
Entangled is a cute paranormal romance story set in high school with witches and warlocks in contemporary setting. Main characters are twins and they are identical only in looks. Romance is light love triangle, because heroine quickly makes her pick. If you like these kind of novels – read Entangled. I think you will not be dissapointed.
And it’s FREE for Kindle & Nook right now!
Disclaimer: I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.
Graylee might comfort herself with these thoughts but as soon as we start reading, we can see that her sister is mentally unstable. And soon also to suspect that she has murderous tendencies. And you know what they say…
"Death was final. Even the death of a witch."
In Entangled, Graylee learns that this is not true. Although…
"Gray was stuck inside Charlene’s own sleazy high school soap opera. Maybe this was hell."
And she will soon start to ask herself questions she never thought that she will ask. Like:
"What did one bring to her own gravesite? Flowers? Trinkets… A shovel?"
Ok, I am done teasing you with quotes. If you want to know what is happening in a book – read it. At first glance it sounds like every other ya novel set in high school with love triangle romance and spiced up with witches. But Entangled is much more. It’s perfect light reading for the summer. With good characterisation, magic and a lot of surprising twists in the story. Be warned – summary spoils one of the biggest ones.
In the end...
Entangled is a cute paranormal romance story set in high school with witches and warlocks in contemporary setting. Main characters are twins and they are identical only in looks. Romance is light love triangle, because heroine quickly makes her pick. If you like these kind of novels – read Entangled. I think you will not be dissapointed.
And it’s FREE for Kindle & Nook right now!
Disclaimer: I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.
March 20, 2012
I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I started to read Entangled. I knew that I loved the cover, I knew that I loved the premise, but I also knew that some times indie books can be less than impressive. Let's just say that I need not have worried about this title.
I loved this book from the first page. The mix of magic, romance, sibling rivalry, teen angst, friendship and loyalty made this a perfect read. I kept turning the pages...wanting to know how this crazy resurrection spell gone wrong would be resolved... Wanting to know how far Charlene would go to to regain 100% of her life... And wanting to know how the strong and independent Graylee would manage to solve her predicament, maintain her morale compass and of course...decide what to do about Raj...
It's no secret that I have a bit of a thing for witches (I'll take them any day over Vampires, Werewolves, or Zombies) and this book delivered on the witchcraft front. However it was actually the inter-personal relationships in the story that really stole the show. Charlene's relationships with her friends at school, Graylee's budding romance with Raj, a mother's love for her children that can cause her to turn a blind eye to the faults of one and be willing to do anything to save the other...
And most of all...I loved how Nikki wrote the relationship between the twins Charlene and Graylee. It felt so true to me (and growing up with younger twin sisters gives me a good taste for what that kind of kinship entails. The love and hate..the codependency alongside the desire for independence. How two people can be best friends and worst enemies all wrapped in one. Nikki captured it all perfectly and then put her magical spin on it.
All of this may not be the main theme of the book. I am not sure if it was the author's intention for the twins' relationship to be the focus of the novel...but for this reader it was. And I can not wait for the second in the Spellbound series so that I can find out where the twins go from here.
June 29, 2012
This was a super fast read, it took me a little less than three hours, uninterrupted.
I thought the writing was pretty good and the story was awesome. There were a couple things I would have liked that weren't there. Like,
Okay so those were my dislikes, but mainly because I thought there should have been more information. I don't like being left with sooooo many questions at the end of the book.
I liked the story though and thought the writing flowed well (except that one part). I will be reading the next installment. I would rate this YA for ages 15 up.
I thought the writing was pretty good and the story was awesome. There were a couple things I would have liked that weren't there. Like,
Okay so those were my dislikes, but mainly because I thought there should have been more information. I don't like being left with sooooo many questions at the end of the book.
I liked the story though and thought the writing flowed well (except that one part). I will be reading the next installment. I would rate this YA for ages 15 up.
July 24, 2012
I'm going to be honest.
When I started it, I was a little worried. Gray, you could tell, was the laid back twin and I knew her sister was going to be trouble for her. And Raj was going to be the obvious love interest, but he was kinda mean in the beginning. I felt quivery in my stomach as I inched through the Kindle pages.
And then the heaven's opened up when Raj's pov chapter popped up on my kindle. It was game on after that. And yikes, did I love him! And Graylee, or Gray. I loved her, too. She was reserved, but when she had something to say, look out :) She was real, but compassionate and I could totally see us being friends. I wound up completely in love with her, too!
And their first kiss was like a lightning strike in my hands. Holy! Connolly!
The whole plot was interesting and well thought out. The twists, a few of them, had my mouth dropping open. The bad guys were so bad and the good guys were so....well, not good ;) but human and endearing. I loved it!
5 jaw dropping, eyebrow singe inducing, breathe catching stars from me.
When I started it, I was a little worried. Gray, you could tell, was the laid back twin and I knew her sister was going to be trouble for her. And Raj was going to be the obvious love interest, but he was kinda mean in the beginning. I felt quivery in my stomach as I inched through the Kindle pages.
And then the heaven's opened up when Raj's pov chapter popped up on my kindle. It was game on after that. And yikes, did I love him! And Graylee, or Gray. I loved her, too. She was reserved, but when she had something to say, look out :) She was real, but compassionate and I could totally see us being friends. I wound up completely in love with her, too!
And their first kiss was like a lightning strike in my hands. Holy! Connolly!
The whole plot was interesting and well thought out. The twists, a few of them, had my mouth dropping open. The bad guys were so bad and the good guys were so....well, not good ;) but human and endearing. I loved it!
5 jaw dropping, eyebrow singe inducing, breathe catching stars from me.
January 27, 2013
Rating: 2 out of 5
Entangled by Nikki Jefford
Graylee is a witch, as is her sister and mother. This is a closed world, where humans don’t know about witches and warlocks, and they are supposed to keep it that way. Graylee and her family is part of a local coven who meet up. When Graylee dies, her mum puts a spell on her so that she doesn’t die, but that she inhabits her sister’s body every other day. And so begins a race to find a solution instead of body sharing, as time runs out for Graylee.
The story could have been interesting, but the writing style took away much of the interest for me. I found the writing style off-putting. I couldn’t engage with the story because of the writing.
ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA).
Entangled by Nikki Jefford
Graylee is a witch, as is her sister and mother. This is a closed world, where humans don’t know about witches and warlocks, and they are supposed to keep it that way. Graylee and her family is part of a local coven who meet up. When Graylee dies, her mum puts a spell on her so that she doesn’t die, but that she inhabits her sister’s body every other day. And so begins a race to find a solution instead of body sharing, as time runs out for Graylee.
The story could have been interesting, but the writing style took away much of the interest for me. I found the writing style off-putting. I couldn’t engage with the story because of the writing.
ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA).
March 10, 2016
Stupendous excitement that literally had me bouncing on the edge of my seat. The plot was engaging in this unique tale of witches, betrayal, and survival. I found myself screaming at my kindle and questioning anyone whom had read this novel about what was going to happen. The author weaved a mystery so deeply that I now must immediately read the remaining in the series. The characters are three dimensional and evoked strong emotions from me. Graylee and Raj are my favorite. They are full of spunk, sarcasm, and inner strength that had me rooting for them. I cannot recommend this book enough. I'm going to immediately start book 2.
September 12, 2016
Original rating - 4.
This was a good read, but i never enjoyed it as much as the first time around.
I couldn't stand Charlene. She was so bitchy and immature.
Graylee was an okay character, but at the start, she was quite immature too.
The story was quite boring until about 60%.
Not a lot was happening, so it felt longer than what it was.
It did get better near the end, and i'm curious to see where it will go from here.
This was a good read, but i never enjoyed it as much as the first time around.
I couldn't stand Charlene. She was so bitchy and immature.
Graylee was an okay character, but at the start, she was quite immature too.
The story was quite boring until about 60%.
Not a lot was happening, so it felt longer than what it was.
It did get better near the end, and i'm curious to see where it will go from here.
March 17, 2012
I first read it as the short story "Spellbound" on the Death by Chocolate anthology and was ENTANGLED! I could not put it down, and with the full length novel, the same thing happened. The story is fresh and original. I thoroughly enjoyed it and cannot wait to see what else Nikki comes out with! Especially book #2!!!
If you haven't read it, then you MUST! NOW!
If you haven't read it, then you MUST! NOW!
April 17, 2017
I am always hesitant picking up a book about witches since it has been done so many different times. However I was delightedly surprised the way Nikki took on magic. Here we get a book that's a mix of: the bad seed meets Sabrina the teenage witch at a rave, they take some LSD and BAM we got this.
Okay maybe that explanation is not the best of this masterpiece....let me start over.
Graylee and Charlene are identical twin witches who live in Kent, WA (which is my hometown so this book gets a star just for that alone). Although of course this is not the end of the story. There are twists, turns and even tears. Without giving anything away I can say that I love the originality of this book. Gray is also a strong female character even WITH a guy, which is rare to find. Usually we have a strong woman but when the leading man enters she becomes this weak creature leaning on him for everything. Instead we see the leading man not having to go all crazy defensive and just say...ya you can hurt you. LOVE LOVE LOVE!
Short story long- READ THIS BOOK
Okay maybe that explanation is not the best of this masterpiece....let me start over.
Graylee and Charlene are identical twin witches who live in Kent, WA (which is my hometown so this book gets a star just for that alone). Although of course this is not the end of the story. There are twists, turns and even tears. Without giving anything away I can say that I love the originality of this book. Gray is also a strong female character even WITH a guy, which is rare to find. Usually we have a strong woman but when the leading man enters she becomes this weak creature leaning on him for everything. Instead we see the leading man not having to go all crazy defensive and just say...ya you can hurt you. LOVE LOVE LOVE!
Short story long- READ THIS BOOK
March 4, 2018
A very low 3 stars read, probably because this really wasn't what I expected and wanted. For some reason, I expected this to be a Rapunzel retelling, but it's not... It's a highschool/supernatural story, which isn't really my thing...
The best thing and the only thing I really like was Raj and Shay's friendship, as I've said multiple times I really LOVE male/female friendships :)
This was definitely not for me, but if you like the genre it may be for you. Also this was another book I got for free from Google Play through BookBub, so maybe you can still find it there if you're interested
The best thing and the only thing I really like was Raj and Shay's friendship, as I've said multiple times I really LOVE male/female friendships :)
This was definitely not for me, but if you like the genre it may be for you. Also this was another book I got for free from Google Play through BookBub, so maybe you can still find it there if you're interested
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