Review: The Trouble With Spells by Lacey Weatherford

The Trouble With Spells
Author: Lacey Weatherford
Publication: Global Authors Publishers (March 11, 2011)


Description: Portia Mullins had always lived the life of a normal teenager, up until her sixteenth birthday. She is then informed by her grandma that she is actually a witch whois a descendant of a long line of witches and warlocks. After overcoming her disbelief she finds that being a member of the coven comes with one great perk in the form of the school's handsome bad boy, Vance Mangum. Vance and Portia have an immediate connection as a budding romance begins, only to be threatened by turbulent skies on the horizon as Vance's checkered past rears its ugly head to haunt them. Portia is forced to use her untried powers in defense of everything she loves in a desperate attempt to hold on to the one thing that really matters in her life.


My Thoughts: What a fun story! It made me long to be sixteen again. I was just swept into this story. Portia and Vance had a wonderful romance. I liked Portia and I really liked Vance. He is any girl's dream hero. He looks like a bad boy but has a rock-solid sense of ethics and values. He sees her and falls in love with her when she is only 14 but has to wait until she is 16 and learns that she is a witch before they can be together.


Portia has had a crush on him since she met him and is very pleased to learn that he is one of the witches in the coven that she becomes a member of on her sixteenth birthday. While she is surprised to find out that her father and grandmother are powerful witches, she adjusts quickly to her own magical heritage. Her romance with Vance helps with her adjustment too.


There romance is going smoothly until someone starts trying to hurt Portia and kidnap Vance. 


While I was swept into the story, every once in a while my cynical adult side popped up. It seems to me that Portia learned her magic very quickly and with none of the tedious studying or practice that most people have to do when they learn something new. It also seemed strange that the parents who wouldn't let her date until she was sixteen were so accepting of the relationship between Portia and Vance. They slept together - though chastely -- most nights and made vows that bound their souls together. Cynical old me thinks of all the relationships that I have seen between sixteen and eighteen year olds that have completely fallen apart by the time they are 21. 


I liked the relationship Portia has with her parents and grandmother. They were there to love and support her no matter what she did -- aside from the whole dating thing. They treat her as a responsible young adult and she doesn't hesitate to confide in her parents. 


I think teenagers will love this romantic story and will gobble up the sequels. I know I am eager to find out what happens next for Portia and Vance too. 


Favorite Quote:

Vance Mangum was in a class by himself. He was a senior who had the reputation of resident bad boy, yet despite that, every boy in school aspired to be like him in one way or another. 

They were always trying to copy the cool messed up hair, or getting their holey Levis to look just as good, even doing extra workouts, trying to build up their muscles so their t-shirts would stretch like his across their chests. But no matter how hard they tried, none of them managed to pull it off quite the way he did.

I have this book on my Kindle. I took advantage of the coupon offer that is good until April 9.

The sequels are The Demon Kiss and The Blood of the White Witch. Both are available at Smashwords too if you are looking for digital editions. Print copies of all three books are available at Amazon.

Check back on April 10 when I will be a stop on Lacey Weatherford's blog tour. You can see the whole tour schedule here. Follow the tour for a chance to win a Kindle of your very own.