Welcome to my stop on The Midnight Spell Blog Tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. Click here to follow along with the tour schedule.
The Midnight Spell
by Rhiannon Frater & Kody Boye
Published by Permuted Press
Publication Date: February 28th 2013
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Source: Review copy
Synopsis
Best friends since kindergarten, Adam and Christy have always been the perpetual outsiders in their small town in Texas. The other kids call Adam gay and Christy a witch.
On both counts the bullies are right.
Their junior year in high school seems destined to be the same old same old until Christy decides to cast a love spell for Adam at the midnight hour. The next day an alluring and mysterious boy enrolls at school and sets hearts aflutter, including Adam's. Meanwhile, Christy's mad crush on the handsome football player Ian seems to be going nowhere fast and her witch puberty is making her life miserable.
When a great evil arrives in town that threatens everything they hold dear, the best friends realize that finding a boyfriend is the least of their worries. Soon Adam and Christy will have to battle a force of darkness that has killed in their town before, and will again.
Christy and Adam are the perfect pair of best friends in The Midnight Spell. Christy is wildly dramatic, fun loving, and a fiercely loyal friend. I loved her to pieces! I could see myself being friends with her and would want her in my corner any day. Adam is more mellow, contemplative, and the calm to Christy's storm. He's level headed and fiercely loyal to her. While she believes in magic with every reason to do so (she really is a witch), he doesn't, yet they're best friends anyway. They respect each other's beliefs, and their personalities complement each other.
I adored Christy and Adam's parents. Christy's parents have been married for ages but are still as in love as though they're teenagers. I loved them! Adam's mom is supportive of her son being gay, so that's a non-issue in this story. I loved her! These parents listen to their kids, and the lack of family drama was a nice change of pace. I found myself jealous at times that Christy's parents seem to understand her so well. I think she takes them for granted sometimes, but no matter what, teenagers are going to feel embarrassed by their parents.
What was an issue with Adam being gay was the lack of safety around his classmates. He's been beat up before back in sixth grade, and I think the anxiety that it could happen again was always on his mind. He only wants to find love, which seems impossible being the only gay guy in a small and close-minded town.
What was an issue with Adam being gay was the lack of safety around his classmates. He's been beat up before back in sixth grade, and I think the anxiety that it could happen again was always on his mind. He only wants to find love, which seems impossible being the only gay guy in a small and close-minded town.
The sudden appearance of the new girl, Olivia, seemed almost too good to be true. Some might say she's abrasive while others might say she just speaks her mind. She fits right into the group as if she has always been there.
Mark is the new boy at school and arrives the morning after the spell Christy casts. It seems too good to be true for Adam. Mark and Olivia were both mysterious and I kept looking for clues as to who or what the evil was that came to town. I couldn't decide if it would be most obvious or least obvious, and I liked that I couldn't decide.
Mark is the new boy at school and arrives the morning after the spell Christy casts. It seems too good to be true for Adam. Mark and Olivia were both mysterious and I kept looking for clues as to who or what the evil was that came to town. I couldn't decide if it would be most obvious or least obvious, and I liked that I couldn't decide.
The tone of the book, though evil comes to town, was lighter than I was expecting, and I was happy with it. I thought from the synopsis it would have be serious and dark, but there were a lot of happy moments and times I laughed out loud. I loved the writing, the characters, the dual narrative split between Christy and Adam, and their friendship. I highly recommend The Midnight Spell to anyone looking for a young adult paranormal novel - this will grab your attention from the beginning until the end.
Favorite Quote:
"Whoever decided to paint the lunchroom a burnt yellow must really hate kids."
My Rating:
About the Authors
Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of over a dozen books, including the As the World Dies zombie trilogy (Tor), as well as independent works such as The Last Bastion of the Living (declared the #1 Zombie Release of 2012 by Explorations Fantasy Blog and the #1 Zombie Novel of the Decade by B&N Book Blog), and other horror novels.
In 2014, her newest horror novel, The Mesmerized, will be released by Permuted Press. Dead Spots will be published in 2015 by Tor.
She was born and raised a Texan and presently lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and furry children (a.k.a. pets). She loves scary movies, sci-fi and horror shows, playing video games, cooking, dyeing her hair weird colors, and shopping for Betsey Johnson purses and shoes.
You can find her online at:
Email: rhiannonfrater {at} gmail {dot} com
Born and raised in Southeastern Idaho, Kody Boye began his writing career with the publication of his story [A] Prom Queen's Revenge at the age of fourteen. Published nearly three-dozen times before going independent at eighteen, Boye has authored numerous works - including the short story collection Amorous Things, the novella The Diary of Dakota Hammell, the zombie novel Sunrise and the epic fantasy series The Brotherhood Saga. He is represented by Hannah Brown Gordon of the Foundry Literary + Media Agency.
You can visit him online at http://kodyboye.com.
Giveaway
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Glad you liked it, Jennifer! It sounds like it balances humor and dark really well! Great review! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Giselle! Rhiannon and Kody did an excellent job bringing these characters to life together! And I love the face they're best friends in real life! :D
DeleteI'm digging the illustrated cover
ReplyDeleteI was glad to get your opinion on this one, Jennifer. It caught my attention but I was kinda unsure. It sounds good though. And I love that the parents so awesome...sometimes we parents get a bad rap! *ha* Thanks for sharing your thoughts, girlie!
ReplyDeleteRhiannon is an author that's an automatic read for me. I read her Pretty When She Dies trilogy and the first season of In Darkness We Must Abide, and I'm planning on reading all of her books.
DeleteI agree about us parents, especially in YA books. We do get a bad rap sometimes, lol. Thanks for stopping by, Brandee! :)