Review + Giveaway: The Midnight Spell

The Midnight Spell

Authors: Rhiannon Frater & Kody Boye
Pages: 254 according to the Nook version
Publisher: self-published
Source: ecopy for blog tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours

Description from Goodreads:
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 a flutter, 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.

First Sentence: "It all started with a spell."

Review:

As a book blogger, especially one who reads Giselle's reviews, it's hard to miss Rhiannon Frater. She apparently writes super awesome vampire and zombie books, but I haven't gotten around to those yet. When the tour came up for Frater's paranormal co-written with another author, I couldn't resist. Joining The Midnight Spell tour was a good choice. Frater and Boye's novel is light, humorous, and fun all the way through.

Like Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Christy is approaching the age of her powers awakening. Christy desperately wants her full-blown witchy powers, and keeps trying to perform spells in hopes that they'll turn her powers on full blast. Her latest plan is a spell at midnight to bring her bestie Adam's perfect guy to town. Adam doesn't wholly believe in Christy's magical abilities, but he hopes, tired of being alone and picked on for his sexuality.

Adam and Christy both really stick out in their whitebread, small town. Christy's been called a witch since she was young, her tendency to wear dark clothing not really helping matters. Red-headed Adam has been picked on for being gay for years too, even though he hasn't actually come out. They're lucky to have each other, though, and their social butterfly friend, Drifter. I would have liked to see a bit more of Christy and Adam's friendship before the midnight spell kicked the plot into motion, but I love their bond, and that the story is told from the POV of a straight girl and her gay best friend.

The plot includes some paranormal mayhem, but definitely keeps more to the funny than the creepy, which is a nice change of pace from paranormal stories that take themselves super seriously. There are some paranormal creature reveals at the end that definitely made me chuckle. The focus, though, is really on the romances: Adam's with mysterious new hottie Mark and Christy's with her long-time crush Ian.

The one thing that cut down on my enjoyment a little bit was my indifference towards Mark and Christy. I don't dislike either of them, but I never got a real sense of them as people. I would have assumed that Boye and Frater each took one of the perspectives to write, but Christy and Adam read too similarly to me. I had a bit of trouble keeping whose section I was reading straight.

On the other hand, I loved the secondary characters. They are made of sass and awesomeness. Callie, Christy's cat familiar, and the broom really steal the show. They're also super dependable and a bit snarky. Yes, a broom can be kind of snarky. Oh, and both Adam and Christy have super caring, present parents, with the exception of Adam's dad who's gone months at a time for work but who obviously loves his family a lot. The three parents are all a hoot. Oh, also, there's Drifter, who I totally want to hook up with Christy, because he's way smarter and more interesting.

The Midnight Spell is a highly fun paranormal self-pub. The ARC version I read had very few errors, so I imagine the finished copy will be pretty spotless, so, if you're interested, feel no fear! I'm definitely looking forward to reading some of Frater's darker novels.

Rating: 3/5

Favorite Quote: "'You're never to come here again. You will never touch Adam. You will never so much as even look or talk to him, because if you do, I swear I will shoot you dead. And if you try anything at the school, I swear I will bring holy hell down upon you, because when you fuck with the cub, you mess with the fucking mama bear. Get out. Now.'"

Giveaway:
As part of the tour, I have one e-copy of The Midnight Spell to offer to a reader. Just fill out the Rafflecopter! 
a Rafflecopter giveaway