Thursday, June 07, 2012

Review: Entangled by Nikki Jefford

Posted by

Entangled
Nikki Jefford
Series: Spellbound, #1
Release date: February 20th, 2012

Goodreads / Purchase

A Resurrection Spell Gone Wrong

Two months after dying, Graylee Perez wakes up in her twin sister Charlene’s body. As a witch, can anyone blame her mother for attempting to bring her daughter back to life? Now Gray is stuck sharing her sister’s body 50/50 in twenty-four-hour shifts.

Raj McKenna is rumored to meddle in the black arts, not to mention he’s after Gray’s invisibility spell, and worse—her heart. But Raj might be the only one powerful enough to save Gray from fading away forever.

The race is on for Gray to find a way back inside her own body before Charlene purges her from existence.

*****

This book is intended for older teens.

 *A copy was provided by Nikki Jefford for review purposes*

Freaky Friday gone wrong anybody? Imagine living only every other day. This is what Graylee has to deal with after she dies, only to wake up in her sister’s body – except, her sister still uses it too. Eep. Doesn’t  this sound horrifying? It is! It’s also wildly entertaining.

I’m guilty – again – at having completely forgotten what this book was about when I got around to reading it. I knew it related to witches (which is enough for me) but that is all I could recall. As soon as I was introduced to the witch lore, though, I knew I would really enjoy it: It’s the fun kind, the kind that can be employed at the snap of a finger – like in Charmed. I mean, who hasn’t wished they could change their outfit, get a glass of water, turn off the lights, all with a simple thought… yeah these examples are totally lame and just plain lazy-making, but you get what I’m saying! Just imagine the possibilities! 😀 While my curiosity was piqued, I did find the first quarter of the book to be a bit insipid. The pacing was slow, leaving me unsure of where it was getting at. But once Graylee dies, the actual plot makes a sudden appearance and it does not disappoint. It’s a fascinating concept, only getting to live every two days. Even moreso when the person whose body you’re sharing has become vengeful. It’s a thrilling and creative plot-line with quite a bit of clever humor added in which I especially enjoyed.

The story is told from a dual perspective between Graylee and Raj. Graylee is sweet and down-to-earth, but forced to act like her stuck up bitch of a sister. Then on her “off” days, we get to experience what’s happening in this shared life through someone else’s eyes. This someone being Raj. Raj is our resident bad boy who comes off as a nuisance with dark secrets, and also, he happens to be a wizard. Despite our first impression, Nikki does a wonderful job at making him extremely likeable when we glimpse at his actual personality. He’s got the bad-boy vibe that we all secretly adore, but it comes with loyalty and a tenderness that will make you go weak in the knees. This, of course, leads us to a romance that, even though may play only a small role in the book, is solid with a ton of chemistry.

The plot is stimulating, the characters are convincing, but what really gives heart to this story are the various relationship dynamics that you will find scattered in it from page one. From the sisterly rivalry, to the mother’s unconditional love, to the peculiar friendships that can be perceived as either real or pretenses; Nikki delivers them all exquisitely. Alongside this, we’ve got betrayal, jealousy, magic, friendship, death – all powerful themes visited throughout this novel. Although, surprisingly, I’d still consider it an overall light, easy read. One that is highly entertaining and easily enchanting. Being a big fan of witch stories, Entangled quickly topped the chart in my list of favourites, therefore I highly recommend it to young adult paranormal fan, but if you love witches you simply can not pass it up! 

4 Hot Espressos
The following two tabs change content below.

Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

Latest posts by Giselle (see all)

37 Responses to “Review: Entangled by Nikki Jefford”

  4. The Teen Book Guru

    I haven’t heard of this book either, but the whole premise of it seems really fascinating and original!! 🙂 I LOVE witch stories too, so I hope this one is good and doesn’t disappoint my (admittedly) high expectations. 😛 And a light witch read? That’s almost unheard of!! The only time I can think of when I found a witchy book to be a light read was the Bras and Broomsticks books by Sarah Mlynowski. Oh, how I love those books!! 😀 Great review, Giselle sweetie!! <3

  5. Mel - Thedailyprophecy.

    I have this one as a freebie on amazon and I’m glad that I have it. It sounds amazing! I would love to have the kind of magic as in Charmed. Especially to change my clothes with just a finger snap ^^ Imagine that, haha.

    It sounds horrible to be trapped inside another body 😮

    Thanks for the review ^^

  6. Nick

    Yeah ! I’m so glad you liked it, Giselle !
    Your first sentence is pretty epic! 😀
    I,too,liked the fact that this had a somewhat light tone to it. I really did not like Graylee’s twin. She was so mean ! 😛
    Great review, Giselle ! 🙂
    You rock !

  8. Amy

    This sounds really cool! I haven’t really heard too much about this, but the few reviews I have read caught my interest. I am totally intrigued now after reading your review!! We are soulmates when it comes to books. 🙂

  11. Sam

    I’m glad you enjoyed this Giselle! I have a copy waiting to be read and now I’m really looking forward to it. The premise sounds great, as do the characters. This looks like a promising read! 🙂

  12. Katie @ BlookGirl

    Yay! I knew you’d love it 🙂 I agree that Entangled is a light, fun read even with the serious themes that are touched upon throughout the story. Definitely my absolute favorite self-pub! <3

    Great review, love muffin!

  13. Heather

    This sounds really interesting. What a concept, wow! Thanks for the review, I hadn’t heard of this one but I’ll definitely check it out.

  14. Tabitha

    I haven’t heard of this book before, it sounds pretty amazing. “Freaky Friday gone wrong?”, HA! I can’t wait to read this one. Thanks for the review. (:

  18. Shooting Stars Mag

    well, you are certainly convincing me. I really love the premise…it’s like a really messed up multiple-personality disorder. And what a pretty cover! Very eye-catching.

    -lauren

  21. Camille Picott

    I was intrigued by this when I saw the guest post a few days ago. I love the concept of whacking the MC in the opening of the novel. I’ve never seen that done before. I’m definitely going to check this one out!

  22. Jennifer

    I cannot wait to read this book. I also love the cover. It’s stunning. And I need a witch book. I haven’t read one in ages. I just loved your review, Giselle. I’m glad you enjoyed this one 🙂

    Jennifer @ Dream Reads

  23. Aylee

    Heh, I can see how that concept could lend itself to both instances of entertainment and horror! I love witches too, I think for the same reason you pointed out – I love to imagine having all those abilities myself and what I could do with them! Erm, yeah it’s mostly about thinking of ways to make me lazier.

  25. Jenni @ Alluring Reads

    I’m so happy you liked it! I really love this series, and the covers are just so damn pretty. I agree about the mothers unconditional love, it was really portrayed so well. Can’t wait to see what you think of Duplicity!

  29. Rachel

    The thought of sisters sharing a body creeps me out but this does sound like a great read! Great review Giselle. 🙂

  31. Jennifer Messerschmidt

    I love witches and Freaky Friday! I saw in the summary that they would share bodies but I didn’t realize each one took a turn every other day. That makes things very interesting! One being vengeful and then the next day you would figure it out. I also love reading different perspectives.

  32. Elodie

    I’m dying to read the Spellbound series, it sounds AMAZING !! I really look forward to meet Graylee, she sounds like a great character !! Raj sounds very swoon worthy, bad boys are alaways the best !! Great review Giselle !!

  33. Felicia

    That cover is beautiful! I’d love to see a movie adaptation of this book! I think that would be awesome.

    I just found your blog and I love it, it’s so cute! Great review!!

  36. Alexa

    This book sounds great! I really love books about witchcraft and this one has a particularly interesting premise.

    And the cover is certainly fabulous! Although the girl reminds me of Ashley Tisdale and Malese Jow for some reason…

  37. Lexie

    AWESOME review. I haven’t heard much about this novel, but your review makes me strongly tempted to buy this. Slow pacing isn’t fun, but I think it’d totally be worth it for an awesome concept and genuinely good chemistry. That is my kind of read.