Spellbound

3.5 stars. Very promising debut novel and series opener. Spellbound is set in one of my favorite time periods and places, prohibition-era New York City. It features the rich, handsome Arthur “Ace” Kenzie, who has no magical powers of his own but works with paranormals to keep the world safe from dangerous magical artifacts. When he meets scrappy, grumpy Rory Brodigan, a psychometric who hides his powers from others and is resigned to gradually being driven mad by his tendency to get lost into whatever he is scrying, sparks fly. Rory is initially mistrustful of Arthur's motives and even after he begrudgingly starts to trust him, he is sure that the dashing former soldier would never go for a poor, near-sighted wreck like himself. But the bond they formed in a moment of confusion proves to be exactly what both men needed to change their lives - and maybe save them when some bad guys with magic of their own turn up.

There were definitely some weaknesses to this story. Rory acts like a hissing, spitting cat for a REALLY long time, to the point where I wouldn't have blamed Arthur for giving up on him. And then he does a very abrupt 180 degree shift to “Oh god, he's wonderful, what could he possibly see in little old me?” which is really one of my least favorite tropes (while arrogance is awful, absolute self-doubt isn't much better). Plus there's a fair amount of telling not showing in the first half with some info-dumping about Arthur's previous experiences with magic.

And yet Spellbound was a very enjoyable, page-turning read that sets up an intriguing world I want to know more about. There are lovely moments of passion and tenderness between the two MCs, and plenty of wry humor. The secondary characters are diverse and interesting in their own right (Rory's boss, Mrs. Brodigan pretty much steals the show), and the last third of the story is taut and action-packed. There's still a lot for Arthur and Rory to figure out about their relationship, and there are plenty of loose ends left about the magic plot, but there's a satisfying HFN ending.

I will definitely read the next book in the series and look forward to Allie Therin's growth as an author.

ARC provided by Net Galley in exchange for an objective review.