Review: Spellbound by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Spellbound
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld #12
Pages: 325
Publisher: Dutton
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Source: Bought

Synopsis:
Savannah Levine is in terrible danger, and for once she's powerless to help herself. Savannah swore that she would give up her powers if it would prevent further pain for a young orphan. Little did she know that someone would take her up on that promise. And now, witch-hunting assassins, necromancers, half-demons, and rogue witches all seem to be after her. The threat is not just for Savannah; every member of the Otherworld might be at risk. Savannah is caught on the road, isolated from those who can protect her and unable to use her vast spell-casting talent. In a story that will change the shape of the Otherworld forever, Armstrong gathers Elena, Clay, Paige, Lucas, Jamie, Hope, and other beloved characters, who soon learn that the greatest threat to supernaturals just may come from within.

My Review:
I've been dying to read this book for the last YEAR. It's been on my TBR shelf since the last one came out, and what with blog tours, school, and the holidays, something always seemed to come up. Fortuanately, I finally got to sit down with a nice glass of wine and Spellbound in my favorite comfy chair and read it on New Years Day! And it was definitely worth the wait...I should have read it the second it came out...it was that good. Savannah is fast becoming my favorite female lead, not only in The Otherworld series, but in all of the Urban Fantasy genre. I love that I've gotten to watch her grow from a spoiled 12 year old to a love-struck 15 year old,  21 year old kick ass chick. Watching her through the eyes of the other women in the series was great, but she really knows how to stand on her own and I feel like her plot-lines are the best yet in the series.

Spellbound starts up right where Waking the Witch left off. Savannah's spells and powers are still on the fritz, but she can't tell if it's because of the poison running through her system or if it's the deal she made with the fates to give up her powers to save the lives of Kayla and her grandmother. Of course, she doesn't know about the evil entity that was lying in wait for exactly that kind of thought so they could steal her powers...dun dun DUNN! Like all of Kelley's other books, this novel was chock full of story and plot. There are usually 3-5 subplots outside of the main plot in any of her books and I think that this one in particular was freaking fantastic. How Kelley keeps track of kidnap victims, supernaturals taking over the word, demons taking over supernaturals, love stories, character development, and past plot lines comepletely befuddles and amazes me. I ate this book up like it was a chocolate cake...and like a chocolate cake I wanted MORE!

I did have mixed feelings about how many of the other characters from the series appeared in Spellbound. I love Elena and Clay a lot, as well as Paige and Lucas, but I wanted this book to be all about Savannah. Instead, there is a whole lot of plot that revolves around the other main characters instead of our girl. Still, I enjoyed seeing everybody. It was like a crazy supernatural family reunion, complete with witches, werewolves, demons, and vampires. Totally freaking awesome. I especially enjoyed Cassandra's dry vampire sense of humor as she partners with Savannah to find some kidnap victims. Particularly when she get's pissed off at the humans for not believeing her super sensory powers...“Well, either you have a compartment under this floor, containing a living person, or the property is infested by giant moles”-Cassandra DuCharme

Okay, so If you are a Women of the Otherworld fan, you know that the Savannah/Adam love interest thing has been in development from book 3. This is book TWELVE. So there has been a lot of build up, a lot of cool friendship moments, and a lot of tense chemistry-lovey moments...but that is nothing...and I tell you NOTHING to how much Adam and Savannah's relationship changes in this book. There were moments that had me squeeing out of my chair and giggling like a school-girl. There's this completely intense moment where you don't even know you're holding your breath until you're passed out on the floor wondering what happened. Then you remember and have to run back to the book to read it again! Gah...Adam and Savannah...so cute...so awesome...I'm team Savadam all the way! And, Savannah's realizations about Adam was so perfect! She gave one of the best lovey quotes ever!

God. I loved him. I could insist I was okay with just being friends, that I'd find someone else and get over him, but I was fooling myself. There was no getting past this. I loved him, and fifty years from now we could be married to other people, never exchanged so much as a single kiss, and I'd still be looking into his eyes and know he was the one. He'd always be the one.”

It's hard to top the awe and swoon factor of that quote right there. It's just so heartbreaking and you just want to get Adam and Savannah drunk or something so that they will finally just get over themselves and get together.

I'm huddling in a ball on the floor because I just learned(from Kelley Armstrong herself!) that Spellbound is the second to last book in the Otherworld series. That's right...book Thirteen will be the last! *sob*. As much as I love Kelley's young adult series, the Women of the Otherworld were some of my first Urban Fantasy books, as well as some of my first adult books in general. Kelley's books are one of the few that I pre-order, and she has done an amazing job keeping the series fresh and interesting. On one hand, I can appreciate that she's ending the series on a strong note...there's nothing worse than a series that just doesn't know when to die *COUGH*Anita Blake*COUGH* On the other hand I WANT MORE Elena/Clay/Jeremy/Kate/Logan/Savanna/Paige/Lucas/Adam/Hope/Karl!! The Otherworld has such an amazingly strong cast that I am SURE there is so much more for them to do! I love absolutely LOVE reading about every single character, and I am sad that there won't be anything else from them in the forseeable future...I can always hope though...Despite my now coma-like depression over the demise of the series,  I give Spellbound 5 Keys! It was a great way to start off the new year and I enjoyed it so much that I almost want to start the series over again...lol...maybe when book 13 comes out... 

Spellbound satisfies the requirements for multiple challenges! I think I will use it for: