"The Sweetest Spell" Guest Post and Review

As part of the blog tour for "The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors, I have my review of the book and a guest post from the author!

 I'd like to welcome Suzanne Selfors to In the Hammock for a guest post! 

 Thank you, Suzanne, for taking the time out today to visit as part of the blog tour!

Guest Post

Can You Drizzle Some Chocolate Over that Fairy Tale?
by
Suzanne Selfors

The Sweetest Spell is my fourth teen novel, but it’s my first fairy tale and my first true romance.
A huge fan of The Princess Bride and Ella Enchanted, I was looking forward to creating a story with those well-known fairy tale elements— a faraway kingdom, a wicked queen, a handsome prince, a knight in shining armor, a royal ball, and a girl with a magical destiny.
Oh, and chocolate.
That’s right. My girl, Emmeline Thistle, discovers she has the magical ability to make chocolate in a kingdom where the delicious stuff is only legend.
On the romantic side, I decided that I wanted to get to know the love interest as much as I wanted to know our hero, Emmeline. And so I decided to write the story from both their perspectives. While there is much at stake in this story, it is the relationship between Emmeline Thistle and Owen Oak that is the story’s heart.
Though Emmeline is a sixteen-year-old girl, The Sweetest Spell will appeal to readers of all ages because it’s about those timeless issues—self-discovery, longing, loyalty and…chocolate.




Thank you, Suzanne!!

My Review

"The Sweetest Spell"
by Suzanne Selfors

Publisher: Walker Children's
Release Date: Aug 21, 2012

Source: ARC sent by publicist

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary from goodreads.com:  

Emmeline Thistle, a dirt-scratcher's daughter, has escaped death twice-first, on the night she was born, and second, on the day her entire village was swept away by flood. Left with nothing and no one, Emmeline discovers her rare and mysterious ability-she can churn milk into chocolate, a delicacy more precious than gold.

Suddenly, the most unwanted girl in Anglund finds herself desired by all. But Emmeline only wants one-Owen Oak, a dairyman's son, whose slow smiles and lingering glances once tempted her to believe she might someday be loved for herself. But others will stop at nothing to use her gift for their own gains-no matter what the cost to Emmeline.

Magic and romance entwine in this fantastical world where true love and chocolate conquer all.

My Review:

This is such a wonderful book! It had all the elements of a great YA fantasy story. The action was so incredibly fast-paced, I couldn't turn the pages quickly enough. Aside from a few similarities to favorites such as "The Princess Academy" and the dystopian 'districts' of "The Hunger Games", I really felt like this story was an original.

I loved the rich characters, and all of their facets. Emmeline was born with a curled foot, but that was never the core of her character. Yes, she had a limp, and she felt self-conscious about her foot at times, but that aspect of her life really became the least interesting part of her character. I really felt that all of the characters had to deal with some pretty rough situations at times, and instead of wallowing in self pity or giving up, they always thought "what can I do to make this better?" or "how can I change this?" It made took the bad situations in the book to a more hopeful place.

Most of the time, I don't like it when the hero and heroine are separated for most of the book, but in this case, it really worked. I enjoyed reading about Emmeline and Owen's adventures finding each other again. Owen was just so sweet, he was a bit clueless at the beginning, maybe from having a sheltered life, but I liked seeing him grow. Even the secondary characters did a lot of growing, and it was fun to see play out. Fans of love triangles will enjoy seeing Emmeline as the center of so much male attention, even though it's clear that Owen holds her heart. I really enjoyed reading about the arrogant Griffin, and how even he grew up a little in the book. Also a great side story was the Prince, who didn't follow the path his parents had planned out for him.


Main Characters: 5/5
Supporting Characters: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Romance: 5/5
Uniqueness: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Writing: 5/5


Bottom Line: Overall, this novel is the perfect mix of fantasy, romance, adventure, and great characters. I'd recommend it to any fan of YA fantasy and romance!