A review by wonderxxland
Tardy Bells and Witches' Spells by Sarina Dorie

4.0

I received a copy of this book through Voracious Readers Only.

Overall it is a good and enjoyable read, especially if you are in the mood for a magical setting/world. Even though we don't see the school in this book, which was a bit disappointing.

A 14-15 year old girl wants to believe in magic, but her mom is going all "mama Gothel" at times. At the beginning it was a bit slow but there wasn't any unnecessary conversations and moments that weren't moving along the plot. I loved the writing style as well, there were some twists to keep it interesting and the world the story is set in seemed quite interesting.

Derrick is easily likeable and hilarious at times, i loved his character. And i loved the chemistry between Clarissa and Derrick, and how their love story took a while to progress.

There were references of some fantasy and sci-fi movies and books, which is fun to read about if you like said movies, and Clarissa is relatable.

What i didn't like were the few Harry Potter rules of magic that we see in here as well. The magic here was shown and explained differently, it's a different type of magic. However then there's the "technology shoundn't be near when magic is being performed"...okay, it was like, one scene really, so i let it slide. What bugs me even more is how wands were involved, it could have been just as well without them. And.... Did they had to use quills? We see it just once used by a "professionally trained" Witchkin, so it wouldn't be shocking if the students and teachers in the school use them as well. It was also a bit weird how Jessica was afraid of Derrick, so far so good, but then Clarissa tells her friend group about magic and stuff, (and they ALL? believe her. Being "nerdy/geeky" doesn't mean one would believe in magic instantly) Jessica included. And she's fine fine with it and all, no mention of her not liking the thought of magic, feeling uncomfortable to do a spell or anything.


SpoilerBecause of the summary i expected Clarissa to either try to prove she isn't evil or for her to be evil/battle with her morals. It wasn't really delved into, at least not in this book. I mean, she doesn't have to be evil, just because her mom is considered to have been. But then again what was this moment when she was tested? She thinks it's a test, having the choice to not do magic at all or to be able to do dark magic only and turn to the dark side. It could have been delved more into that, as one second she chooses to lose her magic only so she'd prove she's not evil. She was tempted to take that offer, to be able to do only dark magic over doing none at all, but didn't cause she thought she'd get accepted into the magical school. But then, at the last pages, she chooses to let go of magic forever quite easily. On top of that, her thinking "I won't be like Missy! I will fit in!" ......umm.... Missy went "to the dark side" exactly with this way of thinking...? Couldn't she realise that?
Spoiler