I really enjoyed the plot in the book, a fantasy murder mystery with gods and witches/warlocks, I felt this was unique. I enjoyed the characters and their personalities as well and the representation. I did not like the romance aspect, i felt like the romance was rushed and it did not flow smoothly, i felt the conversations between the love interests was a bit cringe. The dialogue between the characters felt unnecessary at times as well.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review:
It was an interesting concept of witches and gods mixed with a mystery, but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. The story seemed fast paced, and not in the best way for me. It felt like someone was summarizing the story glossing over the details to get to the end. It felt disjointed and rushed. Characters and feelings didn’t seem to have enough time to develop properly. Fight scenes lasted 3 sentences and conflicts resolved too quickly. Not the kind of storytelling that gets me personally hooked.

Synopsis:
Spellbound is set in a world where witches and mortals are separated out of fear. Elle, a mortal born witch is taken away from her sister when her powers emerge and taken to Fairwick. Her hope of seeing her sister again lies in mastering her apprenticeship and becoming a keeper. But not only have the recent murders become a constant worry but a new guy comes in and threatens her plans and her shot at becoming a keeper. She not only has to surpass his unnatural talent, which seems very suspicious to her but she ado has to try not to get swept away in his charm.

- one land for humans and one land for witches
- unexplained murders
- enemies to lovers - but i will say the initial 🔥steamy🔥 scene came out of nowhere it felt like … i would’ve preferred more of a build up to that lol
- an easy read
- i didn’t really connect with any of the characters and felt that the romantic relationship wasn’t really as fleshed out as i hoped
- asks the question… what would you do for family?
- i may be in the minority with my meh review though bc the reviews so far on goodreads are really high!
- out 9/3!

Spellbound had a slow start for me, but once I reached the second part (the book is divided into three), I was HOOKED. Seriously—I read 400ish pages in one day. A stand-alone fantasy novel is a challenging feat, so cheers to Rebecca L. Garcia for writing this delightful one !

My main criticism is that the relationship between the main characters seemed superficial and not fully developed. That didn’t stop me from being invested though, especially in the beginning.

If you like the FBAA series and found family trope, this is the book for you !

Elle discovers that she is a witch not in the best way, but she learns how to embrace it with the promise to come back to her sister Mona. However, when a man called Viktor appears everything in Elle’s life is going to change.

This standalone has everything! Magic, enemies to lovers, darkness, gods, and a strong female lead! I’ve loved following Elle’s story.

+18 audience

Omg what a book, I was hooked from start to finish, could not put this down loved it, the whole story line was so gripping and twisty that you will not want to put it down in fear something will happen without you, love the characters can't wait for book 2, fantastic read highly recommended

I absolutely loved this book!! I have always been a fan of fantasy and romance, and this book has both of those elements. I very much enjoyed the world building in this book. It was very descriptive (I am a visual reader) and I was able to recreate the world in my head. If you like covens, witches, warlocks, gods, and all of that jazz you will very much enjoy this book. Another thing I enjoyed were the side characters. Maddox, Edmund, Dora, Naomi, and the siblings were all an essential part of this story. Of course the MC, Eleanor, is a badass and has her own storyline along with her love interest. I do wish there was a little bit more interaction between those two, but I did love what the book had it in as well. Oh, and i loved the banter between those two!! This is my first book by Rebecca L. Garcia and I do plan to go back and read her previous trilogy. But i am also looking forward to her next book in the Embracing Darkness collection, Heart of a Witch, Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this before it was published!

Definitely an enjoyable read! The worldbuilding and the magic were great, really creative and just fun to read about. I didn't love the romance, it wasn't really my thing but I can see a lot of people liking it. It felt a bit rushed to me too, but that's an issue I often have with standalones, so I don't fault the book for that. The plot was solid, but I thought the pacing was a bit off sometimes. Overall a pretty fun read, that I would surely recommend to anyone who likes fantasy romance.

Soooo… this is one of those books where I came for the romance but stayed for the plot. It is true for 2 reasons: 1) the romance wasn't necessarily my favourite as it felt a little forced and rushed rather than having a nice build up. 2) the plot itself was actually great and what I'm constantly looking for?!! So I have no regrets in picking this up.

It was my first book by Rebecca and I think it gave me a solid understanding about her writing style and world building. It was definitely a breath of fresh air to see her incorporate the forever argument about fantasy books where the idea of technology is completely erased. Spellbound had a well balanced world where magic exists alongside technology but didn't turn it into urban fantasy.

I loved the lore of the world, the way witches and gods were in the spotlight and the plot itself. I just wish it would have been paced a little more evenly?! There were moments where I felt we were glossing over the events more rapidly than the narration had place for. The way it is, everything felt a little rushed thus I couldn't really believe the epicness of this romance. And it also left me with a little bad taste for Viktor's character.

All in all, Spellbound scratched that specific itch for stories about gods running rampant and blurring a line between good and bad.

Elle was torn apart from her sister because she was discovered to be a witch... and taken to live with the witches... now years later Elle is working to get a promotion amongst the witches in order to reunite with her sister in the human kingdom. The only thing that is in her way? The attractive and talented new arrival who is also aiming for the same position. Despite the attraction between the two both of them want the position and will crush the other to get it. Besides this competition, there have been strange killings happening and a murderer on the loose. Throw in gods, enemies to lovers, and a trip to the underworld and you get a story about one girl who must make the ultimate sacrifice in order to get what her heart truly wants. The story starts off small with a concentrated storyline about Elle wanting to win a job competition in order to reunite with her sister and struggling to find confidence in her magic and escalates to ultimately fighting various gods and trips to the underworld. The story is a standalone but part of a series, the arc between Elle and Raiden (the mysterious new arrival and competitor against Elle as well as her love interest) felt really scattered but considering the circumstances I guess it’s okay. I just felt a bit disjointed while reading the progression of the characters arcs and the storyline itself. Overall, the pacing felt a bit off to me, and the romance between Elle and Raiden just didn’t work for me. But I am curious where the next book will go and will probably give it a go too. Even though this book didn’t work for me, maybe it will work for you. It definitely fits into the fantasy romance type so if you like that genre definitely give it a try.

*Thanks Netgalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Three and a half
I originally thought this was a standalone YA fantasy but due to the detailed adult content would suggest a slightly older age so perhaps NA ? Certainly I personally would not suggest for 12/13 years old.
Having got that out the way what about the story ? Elle is desperate to find her sister but reluctant to take the test to become a Keeper but when a new boy arrives and he is clearly way better at controlling dark magic than Elle she has no choice but to step up . People are being brutally murdered and it looks like Viktor knows more than he’s saying but is it possible he is the killer ?
I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the Witches we meet here and there is definitely a sense that they have become a caring family to Elle . The Gods introduced and their motivations felt very human making them feel fallible and capable of mistakes which I liked . As much as I admit to being a hopeless romantic I wasn’t initially impressed by the very quick relationship that built here . The timing just didn’t work for this reader and I would have preferred a slower more believable build up . However it was a wholly unique story that kept me guessing what would happen and that obviously makes me happy
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from NetGalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Thank you Netgalley and Victory Editing for allowing me to read and review this title! Below are my own opinions and thoughts.

In a new standalone fantasy series, where you can read one without reading the previous book, SPELLBOUND is about Elle who was torn away from her sister who was left behind in a human kingdom. In the town where Elle is residing, murders are popping up and Elle suspects the new warlock in town is to blame and not the gods.

The story has an enemies to lovers plotline and I could not resist that trope. It's one of my favorites and I think Rebecca Garcia did a good job with the banter and trope itself. I liked Elle as a main character and the story was pretty well-written. I am looking forward to reading the next standalone, set in the same world, in the future.

4.5 stars

(Goodreads was unable to find the ISBN to the book, so I am manually posting it there.)

I was obsessed with this book and read it in a matter of HOURS I t covered every base for me AND was a standalone. Thank god.

The world building was incredible, I loved the found family. The romance was absolutely excellent and well paced for a standalone book, which can be tricky.

There was angst, cuteness, romance, etc. I apologize about my ability to articulate well. I was happy with it!

Super fun and unique! I regret to say the romance wasn’t as well written as the blurb suggested. Filling up words now