What would you do if you spotted a man following a young woman, but no-one else could see him?
Like most sane people, student Alex Webber thought he was hallucinating – perhaps he’d consumed something bad at the party he’d been attending that night, or he was severely overtired.
But when he sees the mysterious man following Natalie again the very next day, he can no longer disbelieve his eyes.
Although she denies the man’s existence, Alex sees her walking with him down a road in his neighborhood he’s never seen before – and can’t help but follow. After a bizarre, but strangely short journey, he finds himself standing before a towering iron gate wreathed in gray ivy, behind which looms a decrepit old mansion named Spellshadow Manor.
Spellshadow, with its beautiful yet sinisterly decorated hallways, ever-changing outdoor scenery, and very unusual residents…Alex will quickly learn it is a place that is as wondrous as it is deadly.
Especially for a normal person like him.
What if you found yourself recruited to an institute of magic, only to discover you really couldn’t do magic?
What if your enrollment there was all one big, terrible mistake?
If you were at Spellshadow, you’d keep it a secret. A deep, dark, deadly secret…
Because Spellshadow’s elusive head is hiding a secret of his own – one that Alex soon realizes he and Natalie must uncover at all costs if either of them wishes to leave the Manor alive…and before it’s too late.
This is no Harry Potter! I disagree that this compares to the Potter series. Poor character development; poor relationships development; dark and moody; not very magical. I kept waiting for it to get better but it didn’t. I won’t buy anymore of the series.
Entertaining but light on substance This is an entertaining mildly spooky riff on the sorcerer boarding house story. It’s main characters spend a lot of time thinking, searching for answers in half empty books, and dueling each other in the wine cellar of a largely undescribed manor house. The cast of characters is interesting: terrified instructors, a ghoulish Finder, a dark Cheshire Cat creature, a Headmaster that is more Freddy Kruger than Dumbledore, a group of kidnapped teen magicians, and Alex the non magical friend of a…
Terrible Writing! This is one of the worst written novels I’ve read in a long time. The author tells about the characters all the time instead of showing. “Alex (main character) didn’t trust his roommates.” “Alex felt cold.” “Alex wanted to escape.” And when Ms. Forrest attempts to describe the horrors of the ruins of Spellshadow Manor, she over-writes to the point where I couldn’t envision anything. The plot never gets going. The other characters are as dull-witted as the hero. I hate to…