Kindred Reads {3}

3 weeks ago I started posting these book recommendations posts, which I'm hoping to keep posting as a weekly theme post for my blog! This is something that I personally wish I saw more of; after reading a book I enjoy, I often want to read similar books but they can be hard to discover!

These books contain similar elements, whether it's content, writing style, or other themes found in the stories.

If you like...
Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz

You might want to read...

Remembrance by Michelle Madow

Reincarnated lovers who are given a second chance, need I say more? It's an extremely similar plot, except I found the characters (Liz and Drew in Remembrance, Emma and Brendan in Spellbound) to be complete opposites. Plus, there's a bit more mythology behind the story in Spellbound. But still, similar stories played out in different ways.

Evermore (The Immortals #1) by Alyson Noel

And... just like Spellbound and Remembrance, Evermore is the story of lovers given another chance in a new life. Except, there are some different and exciting twists in Evermore compared to Spellbound and Remembrance (such as the whole Immortals mythology) which make it stand out. Just take one moody girl, one brooding boy, give them a long history (literally) and VOILA! Instant fated lovers YA novel.

I don't mean to take away from these books, since I read all 3 of them and really enjoyed some of them, but it is true that they're similar.

Are there any others you can think of that are similar to these books? Have you read any (or all) of these? What did you think of them?

Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz

Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz
Released: June 21, 2011
Harlequin Teen
ISBN13:  9780373210305

4/5 Stars

Goodreads Synopsis:
What's a girl to do when meeting The One means she's cursed to die a horrible death?
Prior to reading this, I hadn't read too much about it besides "it's amazing!" so I was really surprised by this. The description hadn't really caught my attention too much, and I wasn't really interested in the beginning of the book while I was reading it either. But that quickly changed.

This has to be one of the most intense romances I've ever read about- I'm not usually big on the "love at first sight", instant connection thing but I ended up really liking Shultz's take on this.

Spellbound is one of the most unique books out there, once you get into the specifics of what the story is actually about. I enjoyed that about it, since I thought it was an interesting take on the paranormal genre. I kind of wish there had been more focus on the supernatural aspect of it rather than simply going on about how complicated the romance was. I think the forbidden romance is a bit overdone now, but this was a fairly unique take on it. The plot goes a lot deeper than I initially anticipated it would, which was excellently done. The real twists aren't introduced so early on that the reader knows well in advance of the characters what's going to happen- in fact the reader tends to figure things out at about the same time which I liked.

My only two complaints about it were how sappy the romance was at times (it tottered around swoonworthy and roll-your-eyes-sappy for most of the book) and I felt the fight scenes could've been written better. They seemed to be bland and extremely straightforward in my opinion.

Overall, Spellbound's an enjoyable read and I think it stands out from most other YA paranormal books witih its plot and great writing.

Copy provided from Net Galley and Harlequin Teen- thank you!
Life hasn't been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Connor, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she's irresistibly drawn to—Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight.
But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can't stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma's been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives—visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.