Began reading: 11.5.2015
Completed reading: 18.5.2015
Overall rating: 4.2 stars
Following the catastrophic events on Halloween night, Nadia and her friends had thought the dark one that is Elizabeth was defeated and destroyed. This was not the case — if anything, Elizabeth’s power had worsened. Now, ‘illness’ has spread and demons roam around Captive’s Sound. The curse on Nadia’s boyfriend, Mateo, has intensified, no longer restricted to when he’s asleep. The One Beneath has summoned Nadia to join Elizabeth on the dark side, and Nadia is finding more difficult to resist. Along with Mateo and Verlaine, Nadia must figure out what is causing the mysterious ‘illness’ striking innocent locals one by one, as well as what Elizabeth really has planned for the One Beneath.
Steadfast by Claudia Gray is the second novel in the Spellcaster series. It is a young adult novel that contains fantasy and paranormal themes, with a hint of romance. I thoroughly enjoyed this book — maybe more than the first novel.
The novel was well-written, which I expected after reading Spellcaster. From the first sentence: “Nearly every gravestone in the cemetery of Captive’s Sound made a promise about forever” (p. 1), I was hooked. There were just so many good quotes.
This novel was definitely an emotional rollercoaster, especially with Verlaine’s experiences. I loved it!
No one would ever, ever care about her… She was going to spend the rest of her life on the outside looking in. This horrible, clawing loneliness inside her, the thing she battled every single day…
The loneliness was going to win (p. 118).
One moment, I was on the verge of tears, and the next, I was longing for her to kiss her significant other. Unfortunately, the first novel was not like this. I just love when books are emotional roller coasters.
The characters were far more interesting than in the first novel. There were appearances by new characters, which made the plot so much more interesting. An anti hero was also introduced, and I couldn’t help falling for him.
*WARNING: SPOILER* Speaking of characters, I don’t understand how the witch/hairdresser in Spellcaster, Ginger, didn’t even get a mention in the second novel. Apparently, it was a big deal when Nadia found out about Ginger’s powers. Yet, when everything gets serious in this novel, no one bothers to mention her.
Diversity was applied in this story, just like it did in Spellcaster. This time, prejudice against different religions was the focal point. It is always the same character that holds these prejudices, and I can’t help but think, can she please be killed off already?
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Like Spellcaster, there were too many perspectives, and many just seemed unnecessary. For example, Kendall Bender’s experience of applying makeup to her comatose sister. I mean, really?
Nadia remains to be my favourite character. In this novel, she is braver and willing to sacrifice for her friends. Similarly, Verlaine remains to be my second favourite character. Their friendship has seriously improved in this novel, which makes the story more interesting. Verlaine is also classier, sassier, and played a more central role.
My favourite part of the book would be the Verlaine’s section of the epilogue. I was so glad that Verlaine was able to get some happiness and romance in her life. *WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER* I think it was great that the guy was someone that she had been attracted to all along, but also wasn’t (you’ll understand when you read the book).
Recommendation time! If you like “Beautiful Creatures” by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, then you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes “Witches of East End” by Melissa de la Cruz.
I suggest reading the first novella before this novel, The First Midnight. It will provide more background information about how a witch turned into the villain. I will also be reviewing the next two book, Sorceress. Keep an eye out for that!
Happy reading!
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