Started reading August 9th,2013.
Took me too long. A solid 3 star book, no real surprises, some things where way to obvious.
The female lead was way to whiney in this one, maybe I was in better mood when reading the others.
Will certainly take a break before buying the next one - nice one: wanted to look on her website to state the date, that site has not been updated even with this book (showing only the first 4 books).

This should have been 2-3 day-read, a comfort-fast-food-read.
May be my fault. Recommended for a rainy day YA. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Under A Spell is one of those rare stories that combines laugh-out-loud moments with fast-paced thrills. Though her inner dialogue can get tiring at times, Sophie Lawson is probably the most realistic paranormal heroine I’ve encountered and I truly appreciated the light-hearted flair that her diverse cast of friends brought to the story.

Opening Sentence: “You want me to do what?”

The Review:

Sophie Lawson leads a fairly normal life. She has a roommate, a job and a boyfriend. It just so happens that her roommate is a vampire; her job is with the Scotland Yard of the paranormal world known as the Underworld Detective Agency; and her boyfriend has been avoiding her since she told him she loved him. Oh, did I mention that he’s a fallen angel who has to kill her to re-enter Heaven because her body is the current home to the Vessel of Souls?

The description of how Sophie came to be the Vessel of Souls isn’t clear, but I’d think that being a kind of supernatural holding cell for all of the human souls stuck in limbo and safeguarding the power to enslave all of humankind if it falls into the wrong angelic or evil hands would give a girl some paranormal benefits. Unfortunately the only ability Sophie possesses in her otherwise still very human body is an immunity to magic. Which makes her the perfect choice to go undercover after an unregistered coven is suspected of a kidnapping at her alma mater. The multitude of supernatural baddies Sophie’s faced is nothing compared to what awaits her at the all-girl Mercy High though. Her memories are more Carrie than High School Musical and she can’t stop freaking out at the thought of returning to the place where her self-esteem was murdered. Turns out that some things never change and when Sophie’s first meeting with the school’s “in” crowd goes as poorly as she expected, she ends up becoming the champion for another outcast girl at the school.

As if dealing with the poster child for mean-girl bullies and a possible coven isn’t enough, Sophie’s roommate has turned their apartment into a theatre production, a vindictive untrained teenage witch is after her boss and she’s been assigned a new partner. Will Sherman – her incredibly sexy neighbor, Guardian for the Vessel of Souls, local firefighter hero and the man she didn’t choose – is going in undercover with her. Will’s close proximity and swoon-worthy flirtations only emphasizes the distance Alex Grace, her possible ex-boyfriend, has put between them. It’s clear that Will still cares for Sophie and it’s not long until she begins questioning her choice. A sentiment her friends (and this reader) obviously share and aren’t afraid to mention.

Unable to separate her miserable past from the dangerous present, Sophie sets out to convince Will of a student’s guilt even as the evidence points to a more sinister and longer lasting threat than anyone realized. The stakes get higher and the threats hit closer to home as it becomes clear that Sophie’s mistake could mean the death of someone she cares for.

Anyone looking for a mystery with a bit of silliness will enjoy Under A Spell. However, you should move along if you’re looking for a paranormal romance because this is possibly the most un-romantic romance story I’ve come across. Sure there’s plenty sex-on-a-stick references to Will, yet the action is as exciting as a church ice cream social. It’s commendable that Sophie is using her considerable will power to control herself since she’s in love with Alex, but not even a tiny kiss with the delicious Englishman? Granted, I haven’t read the other books in the series and Alex could very well be the dreamiest angel to ever lose his wings. Yet, with what little exposure of Alex there was in this installment, I couldn’t for the life of me understand Sophie’s longing for the jerk.

I’d also be lying if I didn’t say there were times when Sophie’s pity party crossed into annoying territory. Yes, the teenage girls were as cruel as…well, teenage girls can be. Fallon was every bit That Girl, the one both envied and despised by the majority of her frenemies, and there were definitely times when I wanted to drop kick her. It was hard to understand why Sophie continued to cower in front of the girl after her initial confrontation. Thankfully Jayne balanced Sophie’s neurosis with a number of light-hearted characters that limited my annoyance and kept the amusement high. Which is probably the only reason why I’m going to start reading at the beginning of the series before continuing on with the next book.

Notable Scene:

“But she’s a teenage girl, Sophie. Who you’re accusing of killing her best friend.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I’m not saying she killed her, I’m saying that Fallon may have had more to do with it than you think.”

“And I’m saying she may have had less to do with it than you think.”

“You don’t know teenage girls, Will. You don’t know what they’re like.”

Will took a step back from me, his eyes raking over me in a way that made me feel exposed. “Those are your demons, love. Not hers.”

FTC Advisory: Kensington Books provided me with a copy of Under A Spell. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

Sophie Lawson is an investigator in the Fallen Angels Division of the Underworld Detection Agency. She also happens to be the Vessel of Souls (or be the host for the Vessel of Souls), although not having read any other books in this series I’m not entirely sure exactly what that means. It has something to do with holding all of the souls that are in limbo, but beyond that the book doesn’t really explain it. For whatever reason, fallen angels are after the Vessel, which requires Sophie to have a Guardian. For Sophie’s latest case, she has to do the unthinkable—go back to high school. Girls have been disappearing for years from Mercy High, and now the UDA thinks a coven of witches may be to blame. Can Sophie survive high school and a coven of teen witches?

This book reminded me of two other series that I have read. One is Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan books. Rachel is a witch, where Sophie is a non-magical human, but she works for an agency that deals with things that go bump in the night, she has a vampire roommate, she works with a pixie, and she even has red hair. The other is Darynda Jones’ Charley Davidson series. Charley is a private investigator who happens to see dead people (because she’s the Grim Reaper, which seems not a whole lot different from the “vessel of souls”). For me, Sophie Lawson as a heroine falls somewhere in between these two other characters. I don’t care much for Rachel Morgan—in fact, I haven’t finished reading that series and don’t know if I ever will because of my inability to find anything likable about her. I love Charley Davidson and laugh maniacally the entire time I’m reading Jones’ books, and while Sophie Lawson is funny, she’s not THAT funny. So that puts her squarely in the middle for me, which is not really a bad thing.

There were a couple of things that bugged me. One, which I alluded to already, is that you are definitely at a disadvantage if you haven’t read any previous books in the series. There’s a lot going on, such as the love triangle between Sophie, Will, and Alex, that you really don’t get a good idea about what’s happened before. The whole Vessel of Souls thing, which I think is really important and actually figures into the resolution of the story in this novel, is really not explained in this novel for those of us not “in the know.” Another thing that bothered me was that Will’s character seemed pretty inconsistent. One minute he’s brushing off Sophie nearly getting killed, saying he’s only concerned about protecting her from fallen angels, while the next minute he gets mad at her for not calling him over to sift through police files about the case. Does he want to be left alone or doesn’t he? ( )

This is yet another book in this series in which the character of Sophie has no growth. If anything, her character has taken a great leap backwards.

I believe that these books are might be mismarked and should possibly be labeled - Young Adult or even New Adult. The humor, what little there was, was childish and over-done. The plot, part of which has Sophie having to go back to her old High School to investigate student disappearances and possible coven activity was interesting. However, having Sophia re-live her own experiences in the same high school over and over, felt as if we were beating a dead horse after a while.

I can almost compare these books to Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series – the first few are great and you think that the humor and naiveté of the main character is cute, but after a while, it starts to grate on you. You start to wonder just how someone can be so stupid or naive after so many books. Shouldn’t they have learned something by now…anything?*ARC SUPPLIED BY PUBLISHER* ( )

In Under A Spell, Hannah Jayne's fifth book in the Underworld Detection Agency series, Sophie Lawson faces her greatest fear - high school. Ordered to go undercover as a substitute teacher at her alma mater to investigate rumours of a coven on campus. Sophie would rather walk through hell fire than the halls of the all girl school but with one girl dead and another girl missing, Sophie is determined to make the grade.

Set in San Francisco in a world where vampires, trolls and pixies etc live alongside the ignorant human populace, Under A Spell is a light, fast paced read combining action, humour romance and mystery.

Oddly Sophie's one ability, an immunity to magic, doesn't seem to hold here, making her vulnerable to a witch who is able to project realistic illusions. I had expected this storyline would have given Sophie the chance to have the upper hand for once, instead she is as vulnerable and clueless as ever. Though Sophie's investigative skills are amateurish at best, her motivations can't be faulted. She is sincere in her determination to find the missing girl alive, even at the risk of her own life.

Those familiar with the series might be disappointed to find Alex, the fallen angel/cop that Sophie pines after, is giving her the cold shoulder in Under A Spell. Luckily Will - Sophie's guardian, due to her being the host of the Vessel of Souls - joins her during the investigation providing plenty of romantic tension as Sophie's attention wavers between the two men.

In amongst the drama, Sophie's teenage vampire roommate, Vlad, is having more than a little trouble with the woman in his life, and BFF Nina has hit on the bright idea of filming an ad for the UDA, in which she wants Sophie to star. I really like Vlad and Nina whose blunt manners and vampiric confidence(as long as there are no birds nearby) contrasts nicely with Sophie's attraction to chaos.

Under A Spell is a quick, entertaining read. If you haven't read a previous installment of this series (I have read only the fourth book, Under the Gun), the story works as a stand alone but the relationship dynamics may seem lacking. ( )