In this new spin-off from the New York Times bestselling Courtney Crumrin series the powerful young sorceress Courtney Crumrin has battled against all manner of evil forces, but helping her little brother Will navigate high school might be the death of her.

To help Will Crumrin adapt to the mortal world after a hundred years in the twilight realm of faeries, sis big sister Courtney makes him a glamor charm that renders him the most popular kid in school. But he eventually finds popularity a prison, in which he’s surrounded by people who neither know nor care about the real him. When football star Ross, jealous of Will’s friendship with outcast Tucker, bullies her relentlessly, Will decides to turn him in, give up the false popularity of the charm. But Ross retaliates against Will, prompting Courtney to take revenge using magic. But her activity draws the attention of Emil Gorka, an ancient, powerful vampire.

Once driven into hiding by Courtney’s former mentor, Uncle Aloysius, Gorka has reemerged under the guise of a corporate CEO. Everyone in town works for him, including Courtney and Will’s clueless parents. But he wants Courtney, a powerful but inexperienced young sorceress as his servant. And to save Will from his dreadful bite, she must surrender herself. Now only Will, with the help of his best friend Tucker, can save Courtney from eternal servitude to the undead monster and his unquenchable hunger for blood and power. 

I haven’t previously read the series that this is a spin off from, so I’m not sure if that would add more to this story or not. That being said I really enjoyed this first volume and felt like for the most part the setup was done well. I did wish that a little more was revealed about Courtney’s background earlier on, because I was unsure at first how she factored into the story/characters. Still, if there are further adventures ahead for Will and Courtney in the future, I did feel it was a good set up for him and their interactions. It was also a great journey for Will to come to a number of realizations about himself, people and magic. The art style was dynamic and kept the story moving, and I felt the color saturation and tones suited the story really well as well.

Happy reading!