Entangled (Spellbound #1) by Nikki Jefford

Title: Entangled

Author: Nikki Jefford

Publish Date: February 20, 2012

Publisher: Self-published

Pages: 303

Other Books in the Series: Duplicity (Spellbound #2), Enchantment (Spellbound #3)

Buy the Book: Amazon

Rating: ★★★

Two months after dying, seventeen-year-old witch Graylee Perez wakes up in her twin sister Charlene’s body.

Until Gray finds a way back inside her own body, she’s stuck being Charlene every twenty-hour hours. Her sister has left precise instructions on how Gray should dress and behave. Looking like a prep isn’t half as bad as hanging out with Charlene’s snotty friends and gropey boyfriend.

The “normals” of McKinley High might be quick to write her behavior off as post-traumatic stress, but warlock Raj McKenna is the only person who suspects Gray has returned from the dead.

Now Gray has to solve the mystery of her death and resurrection and disentangle herself from Charlene’s body before she disappears for good.

I love this cover a ton, it's very beautiful and artistic. Typically I don't like covers that show a model's face because I prefer to imagine the way a character looks. There is something eery about it and I think that is what makes it most beautiful.

Entangled by Nikki Jefford tells the story of Graylee Perez, a witch, who finds herself in a sticky situation -- she died and now inhabits her twin's body but only every other twenty-four hours. The twisted, "entangled" web weaved throughout the story keeps you constantly guessing about what will come next. 

Typically I don't find a lot of empathy or connection with any love interest in a story -- either because they make stupid choices or they are not what you want for a character -- but I was pleasantly surprised with Raj. He was the most complex character in the whole story and from the moment he was introduced, I knew he would be my favorite character. There was so much hidden beneath the surface that I didn't know what to expect when it came to him. I have to say that I got more frustrated with how Graylee responded to Raj than anything else. It was like the whole romance was flipped from what typical YA books have and so that certainly threw me for a loop.

Can I just say one word of caution when it comes to the first half of the story? I despise all versions of the "f-word" and they were very common throughout the whole beginning. It got to the point that sometimes I wondered whether these were entirely necessary. So yeah, that was something that weaken most of the story for me and set my teeth on edge. Once and awhile is okay.

Charlene and Graylee were the essence of identical twins being completely different from each other. They both brought their own challenges to the story and they were both stubborn as well as difficult. I strive to find someway to connect all of the characters so it was frustrating when I struggled to grasp something I loved about each of them or that evoked an emotion response. It's hard for me to defend Charlene for her shortcomings because I didn't see anything that made her plea sympathetic and I think that is key for any character. My issue with Graylee stemmed a lot from Raj, so yeah. 

The plot had an interesting take on bringing back a soul and what the effects of a spell gone wrong really was. Witches and warlocks are commonplace in YA books but I liked the different way the author manipulated the stereotypical mythical character.