Skip to main content

Member Reviews

The title and the picture on the cover are what got me hooked to request this book. I had never heard of the author and I do not read blurbs. I had really high hopes for this. It started off super strong and then lost me when Mercy decided she was suddenly the strong twin and knew what was best for Hunter. I would have liked to have seen more of what happened with Sarah and her daughter but we are immediately taken to present time. What happened between her and Kirk was not cool and in my honest opinion doesn't meet the mark for middle grade which was what this was listed as in a few places. I wouldn't let my middle grade kiddo read this and we are not by any means sheltered. What I did like about the book was the characters for the most part, aside from Mercy. What confused me was at the beginning their friend Emily said that the party doesn't start until Mag got there making it sound like she was the most popular girl in school, which later in the story doesn't seem to be the case anymore? I am not really sure.... I am not sure if I am really invested enough to read the second book but only time will tell. Thank you NetGalley for the e arc.

Was this review helpful?

Although P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast are already well known from the House of the Night series, I must admit that I had never read any of their books. When I saw their latest book Spells Trouble, my attention was immediately drawn to the simple yet mysterious cover. After reading the synopsis I became very curious about this story, and I started in my first book by this duo. How will my first experience with these authors be?

Hunter and Mercy Goode are twins from an ancient family of witches who protect the village of Goodeville from the evil of the underworld. On their 16th birthday, the two must choose which god/ goddess they want to serve and learn what it is like to keep the gates of the underworld closed. However, something goes terribly wrong during the ritual. When their mother is murdered by an unknown creature, the two sisters are on their own with their cat Xena. But what if their mother’s murder is just the beginning of something much bigger? Can the two sisters find out the cause of the murdes and protect Goodeville from evil?

Although Hunter and Mercy are twins, they are also each others opposite. Where Mercy is very extroverted, Hunter is introverted, but despite the many differences, the two are very close. During the story, their bond comes under pressure, and they get to know each other even better.

Although this story was written by two authors, it doesn’t feel like it at all. The story has a well-paced beginning and slowly builds up. As a reader you get enough information from start to finish to be able to understand the story, but you also remain curious. Both authors have a fine writing style that is easy to read.

Spells Trouble has a number of plot twists that kept me curious about what was to come. The story has mystery, magic, adventure, friendship but also humor. One of my favorite characters is Xena because of her humor, but because of spoilers I can’t tell you more about her.

For me, this first encounter with P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast certainly succeeded and partly due to the cliffhanger at the end I am very curious about the next part in the Sisters of Salem series called Omens Bite which is expected to be released on April 5, 2022.

Was this review helpful?

Spells Trouble was a solid witchy novel. I absolutely loved the way magic worked in this book, and as someone who has done a good amount of homework looking into witchcraft and its history, this book seemed very realistic and well researched in its magical theory. The concept of the five gates to different underworlds was a really cool idea, and the history behind them helped highlight the gravity of the plot. It was a fast-paced and quick read, but I wish it would have gone a little deeper in detail to give it some "wow" moments. The characters and their relationships were nuanced and interesting, especially the twins, Hunter and Mercy, and their sister dynamic was layered well and fluctuated a lot as the story progressed. I also appreciated their supportive friendships with Jax and Emily, and Mercy's conflicting, and somewhat drama-filled, relationship with her boyfriend, Kirk. The ending climax, along with the cliffhanger epilogue, was exciting and sets up the next book very nicely. Overall, this book was an enjoyable read, and while it lacked a wow factor for me, I would like to continue on in the series and see what else is in store.

Was this review helpful?

I was so excited to get my hands on this, but that is about as far as the excitement went. I felt the writing style was a bit lazy and just fell flat. I expected so much more from this one after reading the prologue.

Was this review helpful?

I received a copy of this book on Netgalley for my honest review.

And that review is a really enjoyed this book.

Heads up the writing jumps around between the sisters but I was able to keep up with no issues.

There was death, alittle sisterly tiff and some team work.

I cannot wait for book two after that ending so many questions I want to be answered.

The only thing I disagree with is the synopsis it’s not really a string of murders and there is only one mythological monster in their realm.

Was this review helpful?

I’ve read a lot of PC Cast’s books so I had a certain expectation going in. I did enjoy the story overall but I felt that the characters weren’t as developed as her previous series.

I felt some of the contain could be labeled as “new adult” even thought the characters are 16 which could become an issue with younger readers.

I am excited to see where the story will go and how the characters will grow as the series continues.

Was this review helpful?

Lovers of P.C Cast & Kristen Cast will love this book. Witches, Spells, Murder oh my. The novel focuses on Norse and Greek mythology, the twins get a glimpse into Egyptian lore and the setting is prepped for the introduction of Japanese and Hindu mythology in the novels to come. This book was everything I expected it to be and more. That cliffhanger will have you screaming for more

Was this review helpful?

Spells Trouble by P.C. and Kristin Cast is a unique fantasy story with an intriguing premise and a creative rendering of mythological creatures. I loved the whole concept of a town founded by a witch who anchored the town mystically by placing trees from different world mythologies around its perimeter. I also enjoyed that the strength of women, in general, is incredible, awe-inspiring, and even fun. Its foundation is full of possibilities.

What I wish, though, and really missed as a reader is character development that delved deep down below the surface. The sisters are interesting as they seem to be quite different halves of a whole. Still, I never felt like I was taken below the Y.A. superficial aspects to the very heart of what motivates them and their potential to grow into the role they were born to fulfill.

The support characters – Jax and Emily – showed more depth than the sisters, and as a result, I hope they play an even more significant role in the story to come. They are both supportive, loyal and are from families steeped in the town’s history. Everything about them reflects this essential and multifaceted part of their being.

I also enjoyed the cat. If a cat could turn into a person, it would act just how the character is portrayed. I loved this bit of fun and whimsy in a story so full of grief and tension.

This is an excellent read if you are looking for a light beginning to a series with a great deal of potential.

Was this review helpful?

'Spells Trouble' by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast is book one in the Sisters of Salem series.

After centuries as the Gatekeepers to five ancient underworlds, descendants of the founder of Goodeville face a challenge none of their kind have ever seen before. The integrity of the portals is weakening and if they fail, all manner of walking nightmares would come through.

On the night of their birthday, Hunter and Mercy Goode lose their mother. The first in a string of deaths that the twins must understand before they can find a way to heal the Gates and put a stop to the inevitable. If they don't, their world will not survive.

This book is kind of a welcome surprise. Though the premise sounded interesting, when I first started reading it.. I thought it seemed very light-hearted, which is fine. The girls are high schoolers, one is stereotypically popular and the other is stereotypically shunned, but their twin bond is tight and the love at home with their mom is warm and welcoming.

Initially, I genuinely didn't take any of it too seriously. There's a mention within the book of Sabrina and of course, some of the vibe is definitely similar. But like Sabrina, there's also a surprising darkness kind of strewn throughout.

For me, the difference is that the darkness never feels campy. I'm not disparaging Sabrina, I was surprised to find I enjoyed that too, but even with the dark tones.. it's sort of tongue-in-cheek at times. And this can be, but again.. not really in the campy way. Though.. Xena. Very fun.

Mixed into this high school romp through spell casting, are some distinctively Stephen King-esque textures, some Stranger Things adventure horror, and a fascinating dash of mythology. Now, if you don't know much about mythology, don't worry. The part it plays is all clearly explained, as are any connections of importance.

The characters, are all well done. Some I liked and some I didn't, but as was fitting with the story. Hunter and Jax are probably my favorites, as the latter is a really lovely friend, and the former is the more reasonable of the two MCs. But Mercy is cool too, if a bit misguided at times. They do really love each other and try to look out for each other.

As for the magic system, though it's kind of dressed up and modernized a bit, it's also rooted in a couple of traditional ritual styles.. giving it a sense of believability even in fantasy use.

Admittedly, I really loved the choices that were made as to the mythological connections. I especially enjoyed what little we were shown in relation to the underworlds and the ways and reasons each of the Gates were different.

I definitely added book two in my Goodreads list as soon as I finished reading this one. So, if you like witchy stories with a lot of interesting elements that aren't too atmospheric, give this a try!

Was this review helpful?

This is kind of stale for me.
I'm about 40% into it and don't really wanna force the rest.
I may go back to it eventually, but for now I feel like it would only make things worse to continue.

Was this review helpful?

I am so bummed! Being a die hard House of Night fan I was really hoping I would love this book. The beginning captivated me but shortly thereafter it was hard to keep reading. I didn’t feel connected with the story or the characters. The premise of the plot sounded so good, but it just never really got to a good place for me.

Thank you to Wednesday Books & NetGalley for the ARC!

Was this review helpful?

In a promising plot description following twin sisters, Mercy and Hunter Goode, as they fight as powerful descendents from a long line of witches against unknown forces in their small town that took the life of their mother, this was an incredibly disappointing story.

The prologue felt to be the most grounded and well-written section of the entire story and should have been the central focus.

This is a Teen/Young Adult labeled book with a middle grade writing style and dialogue approach with an all too explicit sex scene that lasts pages between literal children. I don't know what the author wants this book to be and neither do they, apparently.

The slang and language used by the 16 year olds are outdated and filled with the most awkward hashtags and "yaaaassss, bestie" moments that made me cringe. The use of the word "bestie" both in narration and dialogue was overwhelming.

There was no emotion from the twins despite the story being told from their alternating perspectives. They never grieve the death of their mother and just say they're affected by her murder briefly before snapping back and moving on. There's no life in the characters or writing and I'm concerned with the frequent Indigenous references to these white characters' witchcraft practices.

I do not practice witchcraft, so I cannot speak to the accuracy of its depiction in this story.

Overall, this was an incredibly uncomfortable read for all the wrong reasons.

Was this review helpful?

Short and Sweet Review
Mercy and Hunter Goode are descendants of Sarah Goode their town’s founder and like their ancestors have done before them its time for them to become gate keepers. Gate keepers are the protectors of gates to different underworlds where mythological creatures rule. During a ritual the girl’s mother becomes the first victim in a string of murders that begins to plague their town. The girls vow to avenge their mother, but they also have work together in order for the gates to close again.
The book starts off with Hunter and Mercy celebrating their birthday with their friends and later that night is when they go out to do their ceremony with their mom Abigail. During the ceremony in which the girls are supposed to become gate keepers something goes wrong and Abigail is attacked by a Fenrir that came from one of the gates and is unfortunately killed. The girls realize something is wrong with the gates and with the help of Xena their cat familiar who can conveniently transform into a human try to figure out a way to fix it and fast.
So there were a lot of things I didn’t like about this book starting right after their mother was killed was when things went right off a cliff.
~ Xena was just weird but I guess if you’re a cat person it’s to be expected. she would groom the girls, call the characters kitten and hiss at people. You would think that for being around people for as long as she has she would know how to act as a human.
~ Mercy and Kirk were a mess and unfortunately I had to read about them. Everyone could tell that Kirk was a piece of trash except for Mercy, her friends warned her, her family warned her, but she just didn’t care. The authors for some reasons thought it would be pertinent to add a sex scene which added nothing to the book. All this scene did was make me cringe, apparently it’s romantic to call your girlfriend a witchy woman (yuck). And you’re probably thinking why are you mentioning this scene in your review? Well lovely reader, for some reason this is like a big moment for Mercy. So big in fact that Kirk goes around and tells everyone and I mean EVERYONE that they had sex but when Mercy finds out she doesn’t believe it because Kirk wouldn’t do such a thing. Anyway our smart main character decides to cast a spell so the entire school can hear just how much Kirk loves her and ends up getting embarrassed when he admits that he was playing her the whole time. This might have actually have been my favorite part because she was so sure of herself that she would disregard what everyone around her was saying, so sorry sis.
~ The writing felt weird, at some points I felt like I could have been reading a middle grade book if there wasn’t a sex scene and stuff. At other times it felt like a young adult but the characters were written for a bad 2000s movie. Do teens really talk like this? I’m going to say no. Especially Mercy! What the hell is up with her dialogue? She talks like she’s from Europe but she’s most definitely not so I don’t know you guys I don’t know, maybe she’s going through an identity crisis.
~ Also Mercy is annoying. Her best friend’s father dies and she doesn’t even give her time to grieve she’s just blowing up her phone like give her some breathing room. Mercy is pushy. Writing this point I feel like both Mercy and Hunter want to be right but when there’s push back from someone all hell breaks loose and they get so mad and stomp off and have a tantrum.
~ Speaking of getting mad more than 60% of this book is Mercy and Hunter being mad at each other. How are things supposed to get done when there’s so much tension between them? When the girls do there spells they’re supposed to think of the intention behind them but I feel like that’s hard to do when you’re thinking about how you’re mad at your sister.
~ Also there’s a prophecy that was written about why the gates are deteriorating, Mercy thinks its because Hunter chose a God and Hunter thinks that Mercy is wrong so Hunter in the end picks a Goddess but things still go to hell and that’s when we’re left with a dramatic cliffhanger and Hunter running off like the angsty teen she is.
So I honestly did not want to finish this book, but I did because I’m dedicated, and how else would I have gotten all the above bullet points? This book, the characters, the plot, the pacing, everything was a hot mess and I would not recommend it at all, save your time and your money!

Was this review helpful?

Spells Trouble by P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast is supposed to be the first book of a new young adult paranormal fantasy series featuring a set of sixteen year old twin witches. However, I’m using the word supposed there due to the fact that one of my biggest problems with this one is it didn’t seem to know what it really wanted to be.

The series is about Hunter and Mercy Goode who are twin witches that are just celebrating their sixteenth birthday. These girls come from a long line of witches and their mother is about to have them perform the ceremony for them to become protectors of the Gates to different underworlds. These ancient portals between their world other realms house all kinds of evil and when their mother becomes the first victim of the gates breaking down the girls must protect their world.

Now, having read other books from these authors I have had my ups and downs with their series but my usual complaint was that the books would drag on and just be too lengthy for my taste. Seeing this new first book of the series was only around 300 pages I thought it should move faster so I took a chance. Well it did move at a better speed and the fantasy had huge potential but it still was a miss for me.

Spells Trouble to me would often feel like more of a middle grade book than young adult but then you have instances where it felt like it went too far for even YA…most notably a sex scene tossed in. There were also too many times I thought let’s just get back to the magic and the bones of the story which at times had huge potential but it just didn’t feel like everything meshed together very well. Being a shorter read as I said it took three days for me to drag myself to the finish and for me being someone who when totally invested could read two books of this length in a not so busy day felt like a year. So unfortunately this won’t be one series I won’t be coming back to which is a shame as it could have been a lot of fun.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Was this review helpful?

Unfortunately I don’t think this book is for me.
I’ve heard great things about these authors, but I just didn’t vibe with this book.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book before release, unfortunately it’s not for me.

Was this review helpful?

Any book with a romantic element in fantasy and spells in which is in all things paranormal? Oh yes signed me up! Aside from some plot holes, I did it out this down once I started. My children may have gone to the wolves!

Was this review helpful?

This pains me as I love books about witches. The synopsis is so promising. I thought I was going to love this book. Instead, what I loved was the prologue. I would give the prologue 5 stars if I could. I thought it was brilliant. I wanted more of it. I wanted to know what happened to Sarah Goode and her daughter. I was instantly drawn in and captivated by her plight. But the book was not about Sarah Goode but her descendants - Hunter and Mercy Goode.

Hunter and Mercy are twin witches who are learning what it means to be a gatekeeper to different underworlds and portals. Still with me? When their mother is murdered, it is only the beginning. But unlike the beginning of this book, their story did not shine. While I loved the writing in the prologue, I was not a fan of it here. This just did not work for me. It held my interest enough to keep me reading, but unfortunately it was not the book for me. I kept wondering the entire book, how could this book have such a strong prologue to then lose its way?

Sadly, a book I had high hopes for but just did not work for me. Others are really enjoying this book and I encourage you to read those reviews as well.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press - Wednesday Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Was this review helpful?

3.5/5 stars from me. These are definitely not new authors to me since I enjoyed the Marked series when I was younger. I think this book is a great way to start a series. I enjoyed the characters and it had an eventful start to the book that keeps your attention. This is definitely a Young Adult book so it may not be everyone's cup of tea but I think this will be an intriguing series for YA readers. There are a lot of books out now that have supernatural aspects to them but this is the first one I've read in a while that is centered around witches.
Spells Trouble is about twin witches, Hunter and Mercy, who are just coming into their powers when tragedy strikes. This line of witches has protected their town by guarding 5 gates that lead to various underworlds. They realize something is going very wrong while they are performing a ritual at one of the gates and their mother gets killed. Now the young sisters are left to figure out how the fix the gates and keep all the monsters out of their world. This first book in the series wraps up some things but leaves you anticipating the next book in the series.

Was this review helpful?

This book was a goner for me at 16% but I held on until the end to make sure I could write a comprehensive review with aaaaaaall the warnings. This witchy YA fantasy is a contemporary tale following twin sisters who must help close the gates to the underworld(s) after a disaster ushers in their 16th birthday.

Even before I took offense at the whole story, I have to say this one has a weird take on teenagers. The dialogue is clunky, and the drama definitely invokes a 2000s teen tv drama, but not in a fun, nostalgic type way. Literally, one twin's boyfriend is a quarterback named Kirk who wears Abercrombie & Fitch cologne (check that overly specific preppy white boy product placement).  It ends up coming off shallow, and though I love to mock my students for their dating foibles, they are complex, wonderful humans, and this book flattens all that.

Now, let's get serious. The Goode family traces their roots back to Salem. In the relating of the family lore, the book kept digging itself into a deeper hole. First, matriarch Sarah Goode flees the witch trials out west. I was already on high alert for "westward expansion" aka Colonialist Bullshit to enter the picture. And boy, did it. Sarah finds her way to an unoccupied area that the characters note Indigenous populations were "super smart" too avoid because it holds 5 entrances to the underworld. But guess what?? Sarah is SO smart and cool that she is able to shut the gates and build a utopia or whatever, and even the Indigenous peoples decide it's safe to live there now. There's an attempt by the authors/characters to recognize Native wise women later in the book, but it reads like token representation when the white main cast still runs around at the center of everything, and the story is ultimately about their heroics and cleverness, etc. Plus, it's a bad look when they actually high-five each other for having the most basic thought about it. Let's assume you're already appalled. But we've got to keep digging that hole because the 5 gates to the underworld represent different pantheons: Norse, Greek, Egyptian, Japanese, and Hindu. So I guess now this is the part where we appropriate from living religions to make our magic seem fun and cool and global? Aka colonialism part II.

Yeah, so... would not recommend.

Was this review helpful?

I just want to start this review by saying that I went into this book really thinking that I was going to like it and being quite excited about it. I think it had good bones...a good idea at the root of it that could have been really enjoyable to read. I just think that this book was so poorly done. It felt like it was phoned in, as far as the quality of the writing is concerned. Something about it felt amateur or maybe that it was supposed to be written for a younger age than the ya audience it was supposed to be written for, style wise. The sex scene was cringe-worthy and totally unnecessary. I don't think that was needed at all and really don't think that character's entire relationship and the conflict it brought helped to move the story along in any way. It just felt like unnecessary conflict. The characters had enough going on in their family life to overcome. I feel like the bipoc representation that took the form of the Illinois Native American tribe being brought into the story felt almost disrespectful because it felt shoved in there as an afterthought. That's not how to do bipoc representation. If they wanted that to be a part of the story, which I would have welcomed and loved, it needed to be a bigger part of the story than it was. I feel like this book needed more time and a better editor and it honestly just feels like it was rushed out the door. I hate that I have to be so negative about a book because I usually don't like to do that, but I don't feel like this is a book I would recommend anybody read.

Was this review helpful?