Review: Firespell

Firespell by Chloe Neill
Publisher: Signet
Pub. Date: January 5th, 2010
Pages: 246
Age Level: 14+
Series: Dark Elite #1

Synopsis from Goodreads
As the new girl at the elite St. Sophia’s boarding school, Lily Parker thinks her classmates are the most monstrous things she’ll have to face…

When Lily’s guardians decided to send her away to a fancy boarding school in Chicago, she was shocked. So was St. Sophia’s. Lily’s ultra-rich brat pack classmates think Lily should be the punchline to every joke, and on top of that, she’s hearing strange noises and seeing bizarre things in the shadows of the creepy building.

The only thing keeping her sane is her roommate, Scout, but even Scout’s a little weird—she keeps disappearing late at night and won’t tell Lily where she’s been. But when a prank leaves Lily trapped in the catacombs beneath the school, Lily finds Scout running from a real monster.

Scout’s a member of a splinter group of rebel teens with unique magical talents, who’ve sworn to protect the city against demons, vampires, and Reapers, magic users who’ve been corrupted by their power. And when Lily finds herself in the line of a firespell, Scout tells her the truth about her secret life, even though Lily has no powers of her own—at least none that she’s discovered yet…

Review
With a wide array of charismatic characters and an enticing plot that kept me turning the pages, Firespell is a great start to what I believe is going to be an even greater series.

My favorite aspect of this book would have to be the characters. I thought Lily was a strong, witty, and mature protagonist. I found she was an easy character to like, atleast the majority of the time; there were one or two times I wanted to smack her upside the head but I also feel these things made her more realistic. As for Scout, well I'm going to have to say I actually liked her even more than Lily. Scout is like my ideal best friend; she's sassy, fun, slightly odd, and...well...she basically kicks ass. As for the supporting characters - the Brat Pack, the Adepts, etc - I felt they were all great characters who really helped add to the story. I have to admit, I was a bit surprised by Foley, the headmistress; she didn't turn out to be quite the person I was expecting her to be, personality wise. Then there is Sebastian; he's barely in this book but I find myself very intrigued by him. I'm very curious to see how his character plays out in the next book.

The very beginning of Firespell was a bit slow at first but aside from that, I actually thought this book was very well paced. It wasn't always jam-packed with action but there was always something going on to hold my attention and pull me further into the story. I found it to be a very compelling, even quick, read. There were various twists, some of which I saw coming and others that I didn't. I loved the Gothic boarding school setting - one of the reasons I actually wanted to read this book - and there was just the right amount of paranormal-ness to satisfy me without it consuming the whole story.

The actual writing style wasn't really anything that jumped out at me as being distinguished but it was likable enough and had a good flow and consistency. The ending wasn't exactly a big shocker but I feel it is well suited to draw Firespell to a close and leave me in eager anticipation for the next book.

As with any first book in a series, you got to lay the ground work and background information has to be given; this sometimes creates a bit of drag in parts of the book if not written properly. That said, I think Neill did a lovely job of grasping my attention with Firespell and holding it until the last page. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for the release of Hexbound, which I suspect will be even better. If Firespell sounds like something you'd like, then I'd definitely say go for it.

Grade
Characters: B+
Writing: C+
Plot: B-
Ending: B
1st in Series: B
Enjoyment/Likability: B
Recommendable: B

Overall: B

Cover: A-