Under His Spell (My Boyfriend is a Monster #4)

Title: Under His Spell (My Boyfriend is Monster #4)
Author: Marie P. Croall

Illustrator: Hyeondo Park
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group: Graphic Universe

Copyright: 2011

Price: $21.95

ISBN: 978-0-7613-5602-8
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Summary and Quick Thoughts: Bethany is down to Earth. She is so down to Earth that she doesn’t let boys distract her from the important things in life: school and soccer. Her coach even suggests to her teammates they should be more like her. Her friends think she’s crazy for not being interested in boys, at least, that is until “foreign exchange student” (with pointy ears), Allein, shows up in her class. There is something about him that attracts her to him and she’s different enough that he notices her. Romance blossoms, but their first date could be their last. On a side note, our teacher from previous volumes is here (in case you were wondering), and the guidance counselor is up to something if he has most of the first page devoted to him.

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Recommended Audience: high school

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Things to be aware of: mild violence
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Further Thoughts: I’m worried we’ve hit that point in the series where it is going downhill. My first reaction to this one (volume 4) is “elves? Really? Come on!” Elves. Yes. Elves of the “Lord of the Rings” (movie) variety: flowing clothing, pointed ears, natural over the top furnishings, and ticked off daddy. More on that in a bit.

Actually, aside from my initial reaction, this series is still holding up, somewhat.

The series isn’t tripping on the one part that has made this fantastic so far: strong heroines. Bethany is still as strong as her fellow heroines. She refuses to sit low during a fight. If her life is threatened (which it was), she will fight for that and she’ll fight for what she loves: Allein (who has a bad habit of launching into speeches which give his attackers a chance to go after him, after their own speeches). She’s also very down to Earth about her future with Allein which is a nice change of pace and a nice reminder.

Now, Allein, the elf and love interest and, of course, the monster boyfriend. Simply, he’s kind of flat. He’s in that story line of “I’m an exiled prince and people want to kill me for the throne.” Bethany ends up prompting him into action a lot, but at least he was willing to see her for her and love her as she is, faults and all. It’s just a little creepy (when I think about it) about how he always has the right thing to say. Although, it’d be nice if boys really did work that way, huh? Simply, love/hate on that issue. (The Philosopher Musician is yanking at his collar at the moment.)

What makes this volume different from the others so far is that it includes full color spreads while they are visiting the elf world. There is the usual “we got kicked out of our homeland” speech, but seriously, they have color while the real world is black and white. The bit of the story that takes place in the elf land is sweet and a great explanation as to what is going on. It also gives Bethany a chance to prove to Allein’s Dad that they need to save the humans, no matter how horrible they are. I didn’t want the color spreads to end. They were just that much more of a treat.

Frankly, looking at this title, I have to debate whether it is worth continuing. If there has been interest in the first three, please do. If there hasn’t been, you can stop getting it now or, if you really like the strong heroines, consider switching over to the $10 paperbacks. Despite the elves and despite the art, it seems that the series is still holding true to the goals, but if I don’t get even a teaser of information on our beloved teacher and guidance counselor soon, I’m going to go nuts (unless it is like looking for Alfred Hitchcock in his movies, then fine, but make that clear sooooooon!).

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Bonus: Information on the elf world and the fae, with edits in the back of the book.

Source: Library copy (Publishing info from Netgalley. Didn’t get to Netgalley copy in time to read that version)