Book Review: Allure by Lea Nolan

Allure by Lea Nolan
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pub Date: October 1, 2013
ebook, 304 pages
ISBN: 9781622660230
The Hoodoo Apprentice #2


My Review:


I was so excited to visit with Emma, Cooper, Jack and Miss Delia again that I dove right into Allure during Dewey's 24-hour read-a-thon this past weekend. Conjure was so enjoyable and different exploring the South Carolina low country, the Gullah people a little and the magic and responsibility of hoodoo that I was enthralled by the setting the Ms. Nolan created for these books.

This was a great book to read during the read-a-thon. It continued the exciting story from Conjure, it delved deeper into the characters, the curse, the general setting of the area and more learning of hoodoo for Emma. First I loved the characters again. Emma, Jack, Cooper and Miss Delia make such an interesting team. And the romance between Emma and Cooper is sweet. Of course there are some new characters in Allure who liven things up a bit (or frustrate you like they really should). Miss Delia's great-granddaughter comes to stay and boy does she bring trouble. I found some of this predictable, but it didn't take away from the story in the least for me. All three main characters go through some changes in different ways and I enjoyed watching their growth. Growth is always essential for me when I consider the characters in a book, and Ms. Nolan does a great job maturing and changing the characters just enough that it seems reasonable in the short period of time that this book takes place. I also like that they have some guidance from adults like Jack and Emma's father and of course Miss Delia who is one of my favorite secondary characters of all time.

As far as plot, wow, it's very fast-moving. From the very first page the plot starts with a bang. You know the main premise is that the four characters are in a race against time to stop the curse from taking Cooper's soul when he turns 16 in a few weeks. So it's a ticking clock and of course there is more than just the curse to hinder the group from finding the right hoodoo to reverse the curse. I loved watching the plot develop. It was done in an amazing way that kept me enthralled from beginning to end. And just when I thought that the book was done, another monkey wrench was thrown into the plot. I'm not really sure how Ms. Nolan could have packed much more into this 300 page book, but she makes sure it is a thriller.

As a great continuation to the first book in the series Conjure, Allure makes a wonderful second installment. And while things come to a natural completion at the end of Allure I cannot wait for the third installment. This series is so interesting to me. I love the characters, the plot line and the setting. And I feel that Ms. Nolan has tried to be as true as she can to the hoodoo tradition so it fascinates me and makes me feel that I am learning something new about a very interesting group of people. This series is for the young and older alike, it holds your interest, it has great characters and it's just different which is one of the main reasons I love it. So if you haven't read Conjure get it and read it. If you have read it, then run and grab Allure because you know you want to know what happens next. Now to just wait for the next book . . .

My rating: 5.0/5.0

About the Book:
Worst. Summer. Ever.Emma Guthrie races to learn the hoodoo magic needed to break The Beaumont Curse before her marked boyfriend Cooper’s sixteenth birthday. But deep in the South Carolina Lowcountry, dark, mysterious forces encroach, conspiring to separate Emma and Cooper forever. When Cooper starts to change, turning cold and indifferent, Emma discovers that both his heart and body are marked for possession by competing but equally powerful adversaries. Desperate to save him, Emma and her twin brother, Jack, risk their lives to uncover the source of the black magic that has allured Cooper and holds him in its grip. Faced with the horror of a soul-eating boohag, Emma and Jack must fight to resist its fiendish power to free Cooper long enough to join their strengths and face it together, before it destroys them all.

***I received this book from the publisher for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free.  ***