Joshua Palmatier (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jpskewedthrone) wrote2011-05-19 09:42 am
jpskewedthrone) wrote2011-05-19 09:42 am
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Book Review: "Spellcast" by Barbara Ashford
Barbara Ashford's debut novel is at once fantastical, realistic, heartwarming, and touching. It begins with Maggie Graham losing her job and having her bathroom ceiling plaster cave in on her while she's taking a relaxing conciliatory bath. Fed up, she decides she needs a break from Brooklyn and her life and heads to Vermont in her car. There, she finds the Crossroads Theater and, reaching back to her original passion before she settled for a 9-5 day job, she "accidentally" auditions for the summer stock roles.
All of this happens in the first few chapters of the book. After this, Maggie sinks herself into the theater while keeping her illicit affair with the stage secret from her mom and working half-heartedly on seeking another job. As the summer progresses, she begins to realize that there is more going on at the theater than it at first appears, something magical. The director and the staff seem to be able to take ordinary people with no theater experience and turn them into decent actors over the course of a few weeks, and most of these newbie actors undergo some kind of life-changing transformation, most for the better. Meanwhile, Maggie gets along fine with the staff, but seems to be in continual confrontation with the director about nearly everything. HER life doesn't seem to be getting better. Until they hit the production of Carousel and she's forced to confront her role as Nettie . . . and her own past.
This is not really urban fantasy, more of what I'd call contemporary fantasy. The magic is subtle and evocative, not in your face, and the general feel of the novel is in no way "dark" as I expect of most urban fantasies. There is a strong romance element in this novel. It will appeal to urban fantasy readers and paranormal romance readers alike, mostly because it has all of those elements but is slightly . . . different. It's a refreshing take on those two genres. Readers will love Maggie with all of her insecurities and the sheer reality of her life, and they will root for her as the confrontation with the director, Rowan MacKenzie, progresses and Maggie discovers the true magic behind the Crossroads Theater. I'll definitely be reading the sequels.
All of this happens in the first few chapters of the book. After this, Maggie sinks herself into the theater while keeping her illicit affair with the stage secret from her mom and working half-heartedly on seeking another job. As the summer progresses, she begins to realize that there is more going on at the theater than it at first appears, something magical. The director and the staff seem to be able to take ordinary people with no theater experience and turn them into decent actors over the course of a few weeks, and most of these newbie actors undergo some kind of life-changing transformation, most for the better. Meanwhile, Maggie gets along fine with the staff, but seems to be in continual confrontation with the director about nearly everything. HER life doesn't seem to be getting better. Until they hit the production of Carousel and she's forced to confront her role as Nettie . . . and her own past.
This is not really urban fantasy, more of what I'd call contemporary fantasy. The magic is subtle and evocative, not in your face, and the general feel of the novel is in no way "dark" as I expect of most urban fantasies. There is a strong romance element in this novel. It will appeal to urban fantasy readers and paranormal romance readers alike, mostly because it has all of those elements but is slightly . . . different. It's a refreshing take on those two genres. Readers will love Maggie with all of her insecurities and the sheer reality of her life, and they will root for her as the confrontation with the director, Rowan MacKenzie, progresses and Maggie discovers the true magic behind the Crossroads Theater. I'll definitely be reading the sequels.
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Would you consider posting a review on amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com? Those reviews actually do help the author, and it doesn't have to be long. In fact, you could just tweak your comment here (the enthusiasm part) and that would be a review. (I know Barbara is stressing over whether this book will do well or not, so every little bit helps.)
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