Sunday 30 September 2012

Review: Entangled

Title: Entangled (Spellbound #1)
Author: Nikki Jefford
Publisher: Self-published
Released: 20th February 2012
Rating: 3.5/5

After reading this I still couldn’t decide whether this book warranted 3 or 4 stars, so I decided to settle safely in the middle, which is probably more accurate anyway. The first thing that caught my eye was, of course, the gorgeous cover (though even now I don’t really see the connection...) Add to that the concept of two people sharing one body and I was totally sold.

Graylee and Charlene Perez are twins...and witches. But despite the similarities in their appearances and the fact that they both have the ability to do magic, their personalities are completely different, not to mention the fact that Gray’s magical ability isn’t exactly what it once was. One night Gray dies inexplicably and wakes up two months later – in Charlene’s body. This is how she’ll wake up every other day from now; it’s also how she’ll die unless she can figure out how to get out of Charlene’s body herself in a way that’ll allow her to survive.

I loved the way Entangled started. It was dramatic and actually a pretty good introduction to our two twin stars and what was going on. I could see that Gray was sarcastic but a good sister and Charlene annoying, over the top and somewhat temperamental. My issue then was that the opening turned out to be a long-winded tale of the events leading up to Gray’s death. It took ages just to get to that point and some of what was described beforehand didn’t really contribute very much to the story. Eventually it picked up but even then I’d occasionally find myself wishing it would speed up a little.

Gray is a spunky character, nothing like Charlene. I felt sorry that not only did she have to put up with Charlene, she also had to act like her those days she was awake. Charlene is like the witchier, more extreme version of your stereotypical Miss Popular. Initially it seemed like she had some redeeming qualities and that she did have some sort of connection with her sister, but that image soon dissipated. Unable to deal with any misfortunes life deals her, she lets her jealousies and insecurities take over her, making her a raving psychotic of a girl. Yes. She really is that bad. Gray on the other hand is much more down-to-earth; she knows how to stand up for herself and she knows what has to be done.

Raj McKenna, the love interest, is just a hunk of Indian gorgeousness. We see his POV in alternation with Gray’s. He holds that bad-boy image but it’s pretty easy to see that there’s way more to him than the rumours that go around. In reality he’s actually very sweet and he always does his utmost to help Gray. It’s sad to see how long it takes just for his mother to realise there’s more to what happened in their past than what she chose to believe; his sister, happily, is much closer to him from the beginning and the bond between them is incredibly endearing.

The writing in Entangled was a bit of a mix. It was easy to tell between Gray and Raj’s POVs and it made it very easy to connect to them both. The problem I had was that I found it quite jumpy. A scene in one place would end slightly abruptly only for the story to suddenly move forward somewhere else and I didn’t quite see where the connection was. What I particularly didn’t understand was how Gray suddenly, miraculously realised what Charlene had been doing for so many years. It seemed too convenient for it to be believable.

Overall, this was a really enjoyable read. It’s somewhat lighter than you might think, and the author plays around with impressions of characters so that you come to realise they were nothing like they originally seemed. I really liked the concept and it was definitely more pleasurable when it picked up pace; I just wish that the pace was sustained throughout, as well as the flow, and a bit more was added to the plot. Despite the flaws this is definitely worth the read.

A big thank you to the author and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

14 comments:

  1. Woah, an Indian love interest? I might have to check this one out after all! I was put off my the typical cover and even the synopsis, but this seems to be really good. Unfortunately though, some of the issues you had with this one seem to be problems I'd have too, seven-fold in fact, so we'll see. Perhaps I'll decide about this one after the sequel releases? Either way, wonderful review, Aa'Ishah!(:

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  2. This sounds kind of like What's Left of Me because of the two people in one body part. Indian love interest.. hmm. Interesting! We only have white boys in books sadly.

    A Sprinkle of Books

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  3. I can't stand when a book just drags so I prolly won't read this one. But that cover is stunning and I love the premise with the witchy twins and basically sharing a body. Great review!

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  4. I really do love the cover! It's so pretty! Except, lately, I've been seeing a lot of books that play with the two in one thing. And YAY, an Asian love interest! :D

    Great review, Aa'Ishah!

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  5. I'm never quite sure of this book whenever I see it, I agree the cover is gorgeous and premise sounds quite promising, but I don't think I would have the patience to deal with the pacing. But I'm glad that on the whole you enjoyed it Aa'Ishah! Brilliant review! :)

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  6. Aa'Ishah, I truly appreciate your thoroughness! Gray sounds like an interesting character and I like how you describe Raj - I mean, who wouldn't want a hunk of Indian gorgeousness?? ;)

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  7. The love interest sounds like a very likeable character. The bad boys who are in fact sweeties tend to be my favourite kid. ;) I also really like the premise for this book. Great review as always, Aa'Ishah! :)

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  8. Yay I really enjoyed this one too it was a really fun, light read. And I agree Charlene was such a bitch! Arg!! Glad you liked it! Awesome review! :)

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  9. 2 personalities 1 body is really a hot theme right now.
    (Think What's left of me!)
    And yay for Indian hotness, we need more of it :P
    Though I might not read this immediately.. I enjoyed the review! :)

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  10. Wow this almost sounds like a pretty complicated book when looking at the fact that it abruptly jumps from one POV to the other. I may not really have the patience for that haha! But good to hear that it was in the end a light read and also had its fast pace moments ;) May consider it! Thank you for the review! I enjoyed it!

    Readiculously-Peachy

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  11. I feel bad for Gray, and I wonder how this gets resolved. It makes me nervous to think of her sharing a body with her sister and it looks like this doesn't get resolved in this book because I see it's book 1. I think I'm going to wait and see what happens with this series before I pick it up. Wonderful review Aa'Ishah. :)

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  12. Beautiful cover! Interesting story concept :-)

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  13. Ah, I hadn't heard of this one! Not sure if I'm feeling like reading another witch book but I love books/movies with body swaps (Freaky Friday??) so I'll keep it in mind! Great review as usual, and yes, that cover is mesmerising. :)

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  14. I love this cover. I haven't heard much about this book, but I think I'll give it a try.

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