SPELLBINDER: NIGHTWORLD [Paperback]

L.J. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Series: Night World | Publication Date: October 1, 1996

When her cousin Blaise, a witch of the black arts, sets her sights on star athlete Eric Ross, white witch Thea casts a spell on the young man to protect him and falls in love despite the rules that forbid a relationship.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

L.J. Smith is the bestselling author of the Night World and The Vampire Diaries series, and has written over twenty-five books for young adults. She lives in the Bay Area of California where she enjoys reading, hiking, and traveling. Her favorite place is a cabin in Point Reyes National Park. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671551353
• ISBN-13: 978-0671551353
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #390,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Let's see, I've known that I wanted to be a writer since I was about six, when a teacher praised a horrible poem I'd written. I wrote my first book in high school, finishing it in my first year of college. Then I became a special ed teacher before I was able to become a writer full-time. That's about it!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Feminism is the Radical Notion that Women are People", April 5, 2005

By 

R. M. Fisher "Raye" (New Zealand = Middle Earth!) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: SPELLBINDER: NIGHTWORLD (Paperback)

"Spellbinder" (also published as "Enchantress") is the third book in L. J. Smith's `Night World' series, concerning the secret world of supernatural creatures that live among normal human beings. Called the Night World, there are several rules imposed upon the witches, vampires, werewolves and shape shifters that inhabit this world, namely that they are to never tell a human being about their secret society, and never to fall in love with one of them.

This is the first book in the series to deal with witches rather than vampires, and concerns the lives of two seventeen year old witch cousins who made their first appearance in "Secret Vampire": Thea and Blaise Harman. The two girls are complete opposites; Thea is fair and quiet, whilst Blaise is black-haired and someone who enjoys playing with the human world for fun - making boys fall in love with her and then discarding them. After a series of expulsions from high schools around the country (the last one having resulted in the school burning down), the cousins are brought to live with their grandmother Edgith Harman - the Crone of All the Witches, a prestigious position within the Circles of Night World witches. In other words, the cousins are on thin ice.

But Blaise doesn't trouble herself with things like this - she's always played her love games and doesn't plan on stopping now. Thea however, is desperate to live a quiet, peaceful life. But then she finds her soul mate: Eric Ross, a human. Their connection is powerful, but Thea knows that should they be discovered, it could result in executions for both of them, or in war among the factions of the Night World. When Blaise finds out about Thea's feelings, she decides the only way in which to act is to separate the two of them: by using her own charms to divert Eric's attention away from Thea...

The blurb would have you believe that Blaise is an out-and-out villain, and the focus of the story is on the two girls fighting over Eric's affections. This however is not so - the main conflict in the story comes from Thea's attempts to protect Eric by summoning up a benevolent spirit. However, when the spell goes wrong, Thea finds that a murderous witch-ghost is on the loose, and perfectly capable of killing. As well as this there are numerous sub-plots, including Edgith's failing health, Blaise's exploits at her new high school, a few spells and meetings with other witches, Thea's various attempts to allure/dispel Eric's affections and an introduction to Eric's family and his radical-feminist little sister.

All this equals a rather slip-shod plot that slides all over the place. It's not that the story isn't interesting, but L. J. Smith doesn't seem quite sure on where it's going, or where the true conflict lies. Instead it comes across as a series of magical events and workings that don't quite have the urgency and suspense of other books in the series - especially the later ones.

Furthermore, many of the plot points and characters in the book were rather familiar - Smith has been recycling her own work, most particularly "The Secret Circle" trilogy. Blaise and Thea are almost identical to Faye and Diana (and both sets were cousins!) whilst things like the vengeful spirit, the death of a school student and the forbidden love affair all have their counterpoints in this previous trilogy. As such, the story has a lack of originality (and the coupling of Thea and Eric doesn`t come across as *that* genuine).

But there are some nice touches throughout: we get another piece of the ever-growing history of the Night World (this time it's the story of Hellewise and Maya), some names of other characters that have either been in previous books or will pop up in later ones (such as Aradia, Ash, Quinn and Thierry) that make the book feel like a small part of a larger whole. Smith also makes good use of folklore and mythology, weaving little bits of `real' legends and practices into what the characters say and do - like the Cup of Lethe or the many allusions to Aphrodite.

All in all, not a bad contribution to the 'Night World' series, though by no means the best: things only get really interesting when we hit book five: "The Chosen".

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting!, January 15, 2002

By 

"wujasmine" (Melbourne, VIC AUS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SPELLBINDER: NIGHTWORLD (Paperback)

With the reappearance of two characters in Secret Vampire, L.J. Smith has launched into her first book centred around witches. I enjoyed this book and if you're an animal lover, you'll probably find a few scenes regarding them but it's not quite as good as her first two books in the series.

Thea and Blaise are two cousins who have been expelled from five high schools because of Blaise's exploits. Unable to control her, Thea can only watch as Blaise toys with human boys and commands them to do her bidding.

At their new school, things seem no different with Blaise setting her sights on Eric, a boy Thea is strangely attracted to. Amused by his refusal of Blaise, amusement soon turns to anxiety as Thea realises that her cousin is determined to make Eric desire her.

Breaking the rule of never loving a human, Thea puts both her and Eric's life on the line as she tries to ward Blaise off.

The two main characters (Blaise and Thea) are very well written and I could visualise them quite easily. They are both strong women and Blaise is not the complete ... that she seems to be. Nor is Thea the obedient, good girl she seems to be.

Eric - and most human males in the series I must admit - is a bit of a weak character. When you really think about it, it's not that surprising. How can a weak human male compare to a cool, ruthless, strong vampire guy? He's not written in as much detail but you do get the general idea.

There is a very good twist at the end and if you read carefully, you won't really guess it but you'll pick up small clues. Quite a bit of suspense and I liked the extra touch with the spirit.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BUY it, READ it and LOVE it!!!!!!!!!, October 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: SPELLBINDER: NIGHTWORLD (Paperback)

This book is sooooooo good, i have read most of the books in the Night World series, but so far this is my fav. i love the way she describes the witchcraft and makes u feel part of the powerful magic that takes place. If you like witchcraft and a mysterious book, do as my title tells you too!!!!!

Cos' you don't wanna miss the book of the century!