Larna and her little brother Aron travel to Sherwood forest to visit their grandmother and do a bit of geocacheing. Instead of finding a typical geocache box, they find a portal to the future, a future full of wizards, warlocks and a genetic mutation that only they can fix.Spellbound has a fun idea, traveling to the future to help battle a Warlock and save the people who live in the forest. I grew up in a forest, and this is just the kind of adventure I would have imagined and played out with friends. It’s full of magical creatures, wizards, wands, magical trees, and even magical cups. The cups are my favorite. I want a cup that's full of whatever drink I want, whenever I want it. Well, I want it, but imagine the hangover potential? Fortunately, Spellbound doesn't explore that possibility.The main characters, Larna and Aron, are typical teenagers caught up in an adventure they don't understand and none of their friends would believe. Larna is brave and obviously cares about her little brother Aron. Aron is way out of his depth but tries hard to be as strong as his sister. They are good characters, but it would be nice to see more interaction between two, something that sets the tone of their relationship prior to the start of their adventure.There is an interesting mix of Fantasy and Sci-fi in Spellbound. Most of the book is pure fantasy, but somewhen between the present and the future there was a scientific endeavour that was sabotaged, making the people of Sherwood Forest oddly mutated. Their DNA is mixed with various animals, leaving some with tails, puppy dog ears, donkey snotes… Larna’s and Aron’s DNA is untainted and can be used to create a spell to heal others, so the solution is both magical and scientific. It would be interesting to learn more about how science and magic interact in this world.One thing I didn’t understand in Spellbound was why the kids had to travel to the future. If all that was needed was some of their DNA to make a spell, why couldn’t someone travel back in time, collect the sample and return to the future? Maybe I missed something here, but it seems like an easier solution to their problem.I'm also left wondering why the future is accepting of magic while the present seems more like our world. The future has magical creatures, wizards, witches, and warlocks. No one blinks an eye at this. They all accept the magic, but in the present, a talking crow is thought to be a hoax. Did something happen between now and the future time to make people accept magic, or is it just this secluded group of people in the forest who openly believe in magic? I don't know. Maybe this is something that will be explored/explained in a future book.Spellbound is a fun and easy read, but there were some phrases and grammatical structures that I found odd. This could be down to me being American and this book being very British. I read a lot of British authors but am no expert on the difference in language between various regions. I'm guessing there are some regional phrases I'm simply unfamiliar with. It didn't make the book hard to follow, but did make me pause a couple of times to reread a sentence or paragraph.I won't go into any spoilers, but will say the book left open the possibility for sequels. I checked and a second book is already available. That’s good. The first book of a series shouldn't give away all the world's secrets. Spellbound doesn't, and there could be some really good stories ahead.I think this series has promise, but I do hope to connect more with the main characters in future books. I'd like a little more of their backstory, who are their friends, what are they like when not around each other? I want to get to know Larna. I want to know her favorite class at school, her favorite book, color, song, anything that makes her more than just a girl in a magical adventure. That would be my one criticism of this book. I did enjoy Spellbound, but if I'd gotten to know Larna before the adventure began, then the book would have been a full star better.