Spellbound

The author was kind enough to provide me with a copy of her book in exchange for an honest review. First of, let me tell you I don't read a lot of fantasy so my review is solely my opinion and will likely differ from those who are more comfortable in this genre. I can say that I did get enjoyment out of reading this book, even if it was not really my cup of tea. I loved the premise of the plot but felt that the actual plot itself wasn't executed to its highest potential. This book definitely had a lot of potential but ultimately fell short in my eyes.

To begin with, the book is about a girl who's been confined to a glasshouse that she can never leave because of a curse that's been put on her when she was an infant. As Rose gets older and starts to yearn for more freedom and to get out of her confinement, she goes to great lengths and tries to break free against all odds. I loved the idea of the plot but it didn't feel like a fully developed story came from it and I wanted more. I wanted to know more background, more of what happened, just expanding on the plot would have made this story feel a little less rushed and more whole.

Secondly, the characterization is probably the strongest point in this book and yet it still lacks the stuff that transforms the character into a real life person for me. I wanted to see more into their minds and a lot more thoughts behind why they acted the way that they did in the story. The central romance of the story also seemed a little bit forced and sometimes the dialogue was just a bit on the cheesy side. Since the characters could have been developed more fully, the relationship between them didn't quite move me as much as I wanted to be moved and committed to their lifelong happiness together.

Finally, the writing style was precise and to the point and it helped me get through the book even when I was struggling. There was some vivid imagery painted in this book but it wasn't quite enough. I could just imagine what was happening but the very bare minimum at that and my mind had to fill in the blanks myself. Still, the writing style flowed and there was no confusion as to what was happening in the story.

All in all, I believe this book has a lot of potential but many things are missing for me and many aspects aren't as developed as I would want them to. I might read the second book in the series but I am not sure because I didn't feel that invested in the story or the characters. It wasn't a bad read by any means, it just didn't feel like reading a fully developed story.