When I first heard about Spellbound, I was really intrigued by the blurb. It was coming out in 2021 which was definitely the rise of Romantasy, and it sounded so good. I immediately requested it on Netgalley… and then it sat on my kindle for 2 years (story of my life). I finally picked it up as part of my ARC August challenge, and I enjoyed it. Is it the best in the romantasy genre? No… but it is enjoyable.

One thing I absolutely loved about this book was the premise. It was such a fun and unique storyline. Witches are all raised and educated in their own land, but the main character is desperate to get back to the human land as she has left her sister behind. There’s magic challenges to become a ‘keeper’, there’s gods on the loose and even a murder mystery. It had all these wonderful elements that actually worked incredibly well together. I am a plot girl through and through so I loved that the plot was the big focus. Where this one fell down for me was the romance.

Elle and Viktor are wonderful multi-dimensional characters, and I loved reading about them… until their romance kicked in. I just didn’t feel any emotional connection between them at all. It’s an ‘enemies to lovers’ trope, though to me it didn’t really feel like enemies, as much as rivals at best. But I feel like some of the spicy scenes were just dropped in for the sake of it and it didn’t make me feel anything. It went from Elle and Viktor sniping at each other and distrusting each other… to a spicy scene… and then back to distrust. And while this can work and be an absolutely delicious dynamic, I just didn’t feel any connection between the two of them. There just wasn’t enough time spent dedicated to their emotional connections and developing those feelings. I actually felt nothing between them and felt more like I was being told they liked/loved each other rather than showing me they did. That made it feel unrealistic to me and so I just didn’t connect with their romance at all.

I also had some issues with the pacing in this book. The build up of the plot in the first 50% of the book was fantastic… but then we had some random battle at 50% in which gave ‘book ending’ vibes for it to then slow down a hell of a lot before a bit more action towards the end. I really got bored in the second half, and I was just really looking forward to the book being done. I ended up skimming a lot in the last 20% because I just didn’t feel it at all.

Spellbound is not a bad book, not at all! I’m certain this book will have a huge fanbase, but two of the things that I love the most in books is good pacing and when a book makes me feel something for, and between, the characters, and unfortunately I just didn’t get that from this one. I probably won’t be picking up any more by Rebecca as unfortunately I feel like her writing style is just not for me.

This book I cannot recommend enough! I was taken away with the story and the characters! Honestly I stayed for the characters being so lovable! There were times the plot would get slow but overall a recommended read!

The world building in this was fantastic and I adored the plot, this is definitely one for fantasy lovers!

I have to admit, it was hard for me to rate this book because I would give a solid four stars to the plot but three stars to its execution. I’ve always been a sucker for found family stories. But even so this book doesn't go past a 3 for me.

Fun paranormal romance read! The plot was fantastic, but I think it could have been executed a little more thoroughly. Alas, this was a great first step in what is sure to be a captivating series.

If you are looking for a fast fantasy read that is good for fans of Maniscalco, Holly Black, or Armentrout then this might just be the book for you. Not 100 percent perfect. One might say it reads a little too rushed, but the world building is there as well as some character development.

There is murder. There is magic. There is a tall, dark, handsome man infiltrating the local coven. It checks all the boxes really.

3/5

This book is amazing. It sucks you into the world and makes you forget everything for a minute. I read it pretty fast. You fall in love with the characters. Good writing!

I really wanted to immerse myself in this new fantasy world by Rebecca L. Garcia. However, the story felt too rushed for me. The world-building was also very confusing. Still, I did like the writing style. I also love the romance in the novel! Therefore, I recommend this for fans of Kingdom of the Wicked, The Cruel Prince, and From Blood and Ash!

This was my first time reading anything by Rebecca L. Garcia and I really enjoyed it!
Enemies-to-lovers is my all-time favorite trope, so I went into this with big hopes and expectations. Fantasy is what I mainly read so this was right up my alley.

The tension with the MC and Viktor was delicious! I am a sucker for slow burn, and I have to say Spellbound did a great job of capturing everything I love about the trope.
I felt that Elle was a well-rounded character. She showed real growth from beginning to end. And I found that I enjoyed everything about her journey.

I loved the mix of futuristic items with things that seemed to belong to the past. One of my favorite parts of fantasy books is that it is FANTASY so anything can be true. The author can make their own rules for the worlds they create, and it doesn't have to fit with the reality we exist in, the possibilities are endless and it's always exciting to see what an author does with that freedom.

I enjoyed that it was a standalone! I love trilogies, and series. Some of my top ten favorite books are a part of a longer series but I equally enjoy standalones. I feel like they can be a breath of fresh air. Especially when they are fast paced like Spellbound. What impressed me the most was the fact that even though this was a fast paced standalone book the author still managed to make this big expansive world without making it feel over complicated and without making it feel as if it was too much to fit in one story,

It was a captivating read! I definitely recommend lovers of fantasy, slow burn, found family, enemies-to-lovers, expansive worlds, and well rounded, badass MCs to put this on their TBR!

**I just want to say thank you to Net Galley as this is my first arc and first review. I am very excited to be apart of the Net Galley family and continue to read and review books from as many authors as I can get my hands on!

I just couldn't get into this. The story and worldbuilding felt very simple and I didn't feel attached to any of the characters. I may just have to accept this is not the author for me.

Spellbound by Rebecca Garcia is one of those books where you can read at ease, perfect for a lazy morning.

I found the book had some great qualities such as portraying the enemies to lovers trope between Elle and Vicktor- I just loved the friction between those two.

But it also for me personally had some downfalls, lack of depth of character and world building, it needed more showing than telling and where was the magic? Let’s just put magic around ourselves and call it a day.

Overall I really wanted more from this book as I think the story of the premise is there but it just lacked a few things. Personally for me I think the story would have worked better if it was set as a duology just so it could be built up and extended.

Thank you to @netgalley and Victor Editing for the ebook review copy of Spellbound.

I think I should add another name to my list of favorite authors!
Spellbound is a complete story: it has a novel and well-developed plot, locations that, despite being completely imaginary, make the reader imagine being there with the characters in the story. And speaking of characters, the last time I've read books with such strong and defined characters, it was in books by authors like Anne Rice, Jeff Wheeler and Andy Peloquin.

This book was a quick, easy, fun read a book full of witches, covens, magic, murder mystery, and pagan gods. An interesting world with a satisfying romance just very predictable and in places felt rushed. but over all a good read perfect for those weekends you just want a okay book

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Rebecca L. Garcia for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. I gave Spellbound 3.5/5 stars.

I thought the magic was very unique. Witches and magic-wielding beings are very popular in the bookish world, but this kind of magic was refreshing. I found it to be easy to follow and a lot of fun. I even thought the spin on the gods and goddesses was refreshing and very interesting.

I liked Viktor and Elle. I thought they melded well together but also contrasted in all the right places. I liked that their relationship was slow to build and didn't come out of nowhere. I will say though, there are some spicy scenes in this book and I feel like they came out of nowhere. They escalated fast and totally came out of left field.

It was slow to start, then picked up the pace. There were some areas I wished would speed up and some I wished would slow down. I think the plot was great, it's just the execution that was a little jarring. I was also a little confused about the time period, but overall I thought it was a good standalone fantasy.

This is one of my FAVORITE types of books, a standalone new adult fantasy with an intriguing magic system, found family, witty banter and sexual tension!!! Elle is a female protagonist that I LOVE to read, brave & loyal and her relationship with Viktor was the best kind of angst and will they or wont they. The world-building was excellent and reminded me of all of my favorite paranormal romance authors. I am thrilled to continue with this series and continue reading Rebecca's work as this was one of my top PNR reads of the year!!!

Wish there were more fantastical NA books like this coming out into the world. Loved the voice used, the story, magic, worldbuilding, and of course, the romance! Many of us are suckers for a good enemies to lovers romance and I am no exception. A really excellent and gripping adventure!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

Entertaining. Well written. Enjoyed it.

You see?! I can appreciate romance when it’s done well – like this was. Featuring many fantasy staples but presented with a fresh voice and a gripping plot, Spellbound was the enemies to lovers romance I was waiting for.

Rebecca never disappoint me. I've been loving her works since her debut day when she first published the first book in her Young Adult Fantasy trilogy, The Fate of Crowns. Her trilogy was phenomenal, and so does this stunningly standalone dark fantasy book. Elle and Viktor's story is full of dark and intriguing adventures. From witches to gods and goddesses. The entire story was mind-blowing and I was so invested in the story. I couldn't put it down because it was so good. They are both well-written characters that lead this story. The world-building was truly beautiful, the plot was very engaging, the storyline are full of surprises and shocking twists, the characters that appeared in this book are all important to the storyline. As for the romance, I didn't know that Rebecca can make her book spicy but I loved it anyway. I'm all for the spicy stuff and the one in this which are between Elle and Viktor totally didn't disappoint. Their romance are both hot and sweet, and they have this great dynamic which makes their bond stronger. I loved seeing these two being all lovey dovey. The ending is something I was expecting for. I'm happy for everyone, especially for the main couple. I'm looking forward to read Rebecca's next release.

Full review will be up on my blog as soon as I'm done with it and the links to my review will be posted by then.

Thank you for NetGalley, Rebecca Garcia, and the publisher for sending me this free ARC, in exchange for an honest review. This will be the next popular NA Fantasy book on Tik Tok, I am calling it now. This was insanely entertaining! I loved the world, the story/plot, and all of the characters! This was a great mix of fantasy and romance for anyone looking for a book that contains both, in a good balance.