Review – Spells (Wings, Book 2) by Aprilynne Pike (4/5 stars)

This is the second book in the Wings series by Pike.  There are four books planned in the series last that I heard; the third book is supposed to be titled Enchantments, but I couldn’t find an expected release date.  This book was a good addition to the series and an entertaining read.

In this book Laurel spends her summer in Avalon learning what is expected of her as a Fall fairy.  The tempting Tam is there to keep her company and Laurel learns there are both benefits and responsibilities associated with being a Fall fairy.  The action starts when Laurel returns home and finds that the trolls from the first book are still hunting her down.

I didn’t like this book quite as much as the first one; I didn’t think it progressed the storyline all that much.  It was interesting to learn more about Fairy culture and how the four classes of fairies (Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter) are broken up via population and responsibility.  Pike delves into the morality of class separation for the fairy race and does a pretty good job discussing the benefits and detriments of this setup.  The section where Laurel was in Avalon was my favorite of the book because it was just so interesting.

When Laurel gets back to the human world she spends a lot of time making out with her boyfriend David, worrying about her mother’s reaction to her being a fairy, and being worried about Trolls.  I thought Laurel was a little wishy washy in this portion of the book.  She is trying to learn all she can about being a Fall fairy but wants to still live in the human world.  She wants David to be her boyfriend, but wants Tam to keep her company.  I got a little sick of this undecided attitude, but at the end of this book Laurel does make a choice…I am just skeptical that she will stick with that choice given how often she changed her mind in this book.

I was also a little irritated at the actions of Tam and David.  Tam is trying to constantly press Laurel into a relationship with him.  Whereas David is getting pitifully clingy.  By the end of the book I didn’t think either man was acting in a very attractive way.  Of course, I have to roll my eyes a little at the fact that we have another blatant love triangle here.  I am beginning to think that is a prerequisite of all fairy young adult novels.

As far as writing style goes, this story is a very easy and engaging read.  A great book to read for summer.  I was a little disappointed that the plot didn’t move along more.  Trolls do attack again, but the only realization is that the Trolls are part of something bigger and that is a realization that Laurel and crew made at the end of the first book.

Overall the portions in Avalon were very interesting and intriguing.  I also enjoyed some of the action in the plot when Laurel returns home (human home).  I was a bit disappointed at Laurel’s wishy-washiness in her decisions and with the way David and Tam are being developed…but we will see what book three brings.  I am still eager to read the next book in the series.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– The Young Adult Reading Challenge
– The 100+ Book Reading Challenge
– Summer Romance Reading Challenge