Laurel has finally accepted the fact that she's a faerie, but that doesn't mean she has to enjoy every aspect of it; who really wants to hide a blossom growing out of their back every fall? And she refuses to trade in her old life for a new one in Avalon, where all other Fae live. She likes her life, where she gets to make choices: which college to attend, who to love, and when she sleeps and eats. But when she's summoned to Avalon to be educated on faerie matters, she realizes there are some benefits to the world of the Fae, Tamani, a faerie sentry, being one of them. But David, her boyfriend back home, is a constant thought in the back of her head. As matters spiral out of her hands, Laurel faces heartbreak, choices, and dangers like never before.
When I saw this book, I knew immediately I had to read it. Not only did I really enjoy Wings, the first book in this series, but just look at the cover: I absolutely love the flowers floating on the water! They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but in this case, I'm glad I did. I found Spells to be a very interesting, informative, and successful follow-up to book one. I mentioned in my review of Wings that I thought it needed to provide more information. I'm happy to say book two made good to this wish. There was much more information on Avalon and faeries in general, probably because Laurel went to Avalon for schooling. She stayed for two months, plenty of time to learn a lot on a topic you don't know much of. This was one reason I found Spells to be even better than Wings.
For some reason, whenever I put this novel down, my fingers itched to pick it back up again. As I said in my review of Wings, I don't know whether it's the writing style or the content, but I found that there wasn't a single part of this book that I found to be boring, or even just uninteresting. I love the picture of Avalon that Aprilynne Pike paints in the reader's mind; it reminded me of a child's fantasy garden. Faeries, forests, and fantasy; three of my favourite 'f ' words, all of which this story contained. My least favourite 'f ' word wasn't in here, which I also enjoyed. I appreciate books where the author doesn't feel the need to implement several rude words.
I found the settings in this story to be outlined more clearly than in the previous book, and for there to be more detail. I enjoyed this, because the amount of detail was just enough: not too much, so as to make my mind wander, but not too little, so I feel as though something is missing. Perhaps that is why I always wanted to read more: not just because of the intriguing fairytale land of Avalon, but because the quantity of detail was spot-on for me. Descriptions were elegant or gritty, depending on what was being focused on, and I found that this novel invoked emotions in me. If a book can make me feel something for its characters, it deserves praise.
This story was a refreshing break from the last few slightly under-par reads I've gone through. I really enjoyed Spells and would rate it four stars. Overall, a very good, interesting, fun and flirty read. I would suggest this book to anyone looking for a story with realistic magic, a love triangle, and hard decisions that have to be made in limited time.
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