I thought the author's style of writing would be more developed from their earlier book. However, this story is much like their other stories. Young girl coming into power and trying to battle a more evil force. It has become very repetitive. It was a slow read for me as I have read it before in their other books. The characters never really developed but rather stagnant.

Thank you to Martin's Press and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book a great deal. I also loved the house of night series so I was excited for this. The fact that it was based on witches caught my attention and after the first few chapters I was hooked. It’s definitely YA aimed so if you’re looking for something more adult based maybe pass on this one. But it has magic, a lesbian witch, and mythology so I truly enjoy reading it. I loved that they linked the sisters back to Salem directly and that their ancestors had such an important part of founding/keeping the town safe which was passed down to them, maybe sooner than expected. They are high school girls so there have to deal with saving the town for a murderer and typical high school drama. It was an addictive read, once I started I didn’t want to put it down

Loved this book so much!! So magical!! I was hyped for this book and it did not disappoint. One of the best books of 2021!! Loved the writing and the prose!

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this arc!

I loved this book! Centering on twins that are turning 16 in a small town. Hunter and Mercy may look alike but that is where their similarities mostly end. Hunter is an aspiring writer and quite introverted while her sister, Mercy, is the life of the party and always outspoken. Both, however, do have one thing in common: they are witches!

Turning 16 is always important for any teenager, but for a witch it can be defining. Mercy, Hunter and their mother, Abigail, have generations of witchy history to uphold and the twins 16th birthday is part of that. However, things are not what they seem and the ancient trees that hold the five gates to different worlds closed while also serving as points of power for this magical family may be falling apart already when the Goode family gathers on this cataclysmic night.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I loved the feelings of love and magic that simply radiated from these characters. Also, the connection of sisterhood and friendship mixed in with spells, tarot decks, ley lines and an action-packed story made me keep reading till the end! And I cannot wait for book 2!

Book: Spells Trouble
Author: PC and Kristen Cast
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Wednesday Books, for sending me an ARC.

Maybe I am not the best person to write this review, because I am a little bit bias. I read the authors House of Night series in high school and university and really enjoyed them. Whenever I saw they had a brand new series coming out, I knew I had to try to get an ARC of it. I feel like that this series, like the House of Night series, is going to be very long with short books. I’m fine with that. I like it whenever authors focus on bits of the story at a time. However, it also means that it takes forever to actually get the entire story arc. Anyway, I have faith.

What really surprised me was how much PC and Kristen’s write has improved. Even though I enjoyed House of Night, I will be the first to admit that the writing really wasn’t the best. However, here, it seems like the mother and daughter duo has listened to all of their critics and taken it to heart. While the writing is still on the simpler side, there is a lot more depth to it that wasn’t there in their previous series. Yes, it is your typical YA writing, but the sentence structure is more complex and as a whole, everything just seems to be put together a lot better. While the dialogue is still rather cringe worthy, it works. I mean, once you stop and think about the characters, it does actually work and works really well for the characters-just saying.

What really pulled me in was the opener. We start back during the Salem Witch Trials with Sarah Goode and her upcoming hanging. The sense of darkness and death comes across the page so well that you have no other choice but to keep reading. We have the magic and, with that, a little bit of hope that everything is going to be okay. You are sucked in and you have to see just how everything is going to be carried out. I have to give them five stars for the hook alone. This is how you hook your readers and keep them reading.

Then, we move into modern day where we meet the characters who are going to be focus of the novel. They are high schoolers and act like high schooler. Mercy and Hunter are twin sisters and are witches. The book switches back and forth between the two sisters. At first, I thought they were going to be cookie cutter copies of each other. However, as I kept reading, I found myself being proven wrong. The more I read, the more I realized how different they are. I think I did prefer Hunter’s character a little bit more, but I did enjoy Mercy’s point of view too. We get to see them come together, then be torn apart as their life keeps throwing difficult situations at them. We see them going through heartbreak, loss, friendships, and so much more. While this book is about witches and defeating a bad guy, we get to see a lot more. I loved the little moments with the characters.
Now, I gave this a four star rating. Why?

Honestly, there are holes in this book. While the magic is a large chunk of the book, it’s not really fleshed out the best. There are different kinds of witches, gods, and goddess, but it’s not really explained as to what each can do. The magic system isn’t explained at all and it’s almost like the authors expect the readers to just go with it. This may be bugging me because I’ve been reading adult fantasy lately. I would just like to know what makes the different types of magic special and what they can do. Maybe this will be explained more in later books?

The ending also felt rushed in my opinion. I don’t know why it did. We had all of this build up and increased tensions toward the end of the book that I thought we were leading up to the second book. However, in the last five percent or so, we see an ending and it felt rushed. I honestly think it should have been extended into book two or the book should have been longer. It just felt like ending was just tacked on for the sake of having an ending.

Despite my issues with this book, I still had a good time reading it and I can’t wait to see where it goes. As far as first books go, this one does have that hook that I need to pick up book two.

Spells Trouble comes out on May 25, 2021.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/yJ9iLzrA6hU

I always know immediately if I am reading a book written by the Cast women. 😊 Their books always have at least one (but usually more) strong character that has a deep bond with nature, other creatures, and the world around them. Spells Trouble has the entire Goode line of women who manifest this connection and make you excited to keep reading!

Spells Trouble is the story of sisters who use their witchy powers to protect their town and care for the gates that surround it. Kristin and P. C. Cast did a wonderful job of creating a world that blends the modern world and magic seamlessly.

This is a great start to a new series and I was lucky enough to receive an ARC from NetGalley. Spells Trouble will be released in May and hopefully news of when the 4th book in the Tales of a New World series will be shared soon. That is another series by Kristin and P. C. Cast that I highly recommend! 😊

I received an e-arc of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 25%

The concept of this book seemed like exactly the fun witchy vibe that I was really hoping and in the mood for so I was really disappointed that I just wasn't loving anything about it. Now that's not to say that this book is horrible or written poorly but it just wasn't grabbing me at all.

I did enjoy the opening of the story linking it to the Salem witch trials but for me there was no personal connection. The characters didn't feel real enough and I didn't feel invested in them or the story so when things started to get more exciting and I still didn't feel any anticipation or worry for our characters I knew it was time for me to put this book aside.

I have read books by these authors in the past and remember enjoying them so I was very excited to get an opportunity to read their newest work but this one just isn't the one for me. The characters seemed pretty stereotypical and there was no particular character that drew me in to the story. The concept of this story seemed really great but with no appeal to the main characters I just couldn't continue trying to read this one.

Overall I'm giving this book 2 stars even though I didn't finish it because there really was nothing wrong with it, I just couldn't get into it at this time.

This just wasn't it. Felt very late 00's teen paranormal romance and I just didn't enjoy it. The characters at times were very unbearable and the pacing of this book seemed to fast for where it was going.

Going into this story I really wanted to like it, sadly that didn’t end up being the case. Starting out we meet Sarah Goode, the founder of the Goode family of witches. She’s able to escape her execution, with her young daughter, and find a new place to settle. When she first comes to the area, that her Deity and magic have led her to, she finds its uninhabitable because horrible creatures roam free.

Now, this part seemed a little too “white savior” for me. The native Shamans of the area were unable to vanquish these monsters, who had come through five different Underworld portals (portals that lead to the Greek, Nordic, Japanese, Hindu, and Egyptian Underworlds). Sarah, a witch who just arrived and wants to settle there because of the leylines, just happens to have the knowledge and power to seal the five portals. Personally, I would have loved if the story went with her working closely with the Shaman’s until TOGETHER they found a solution, not just her showing up and solving the problem herself.

We then switch to present time, where Hunter and Mercy Goode, twin witches, are celebrating their sixteenth birthday. The evening of their birthday they go, with their mother, to perform a ritual that will strengthen the seals, on the gates to the Underworlds, as well as have them choose what Deity they plan to follow.

Hunter, who also happens to be queer, has always felt a pull towards Tyr and plans to follow him even though no other Goode witch has ever followed a male God before. During the ritual, there are signs that something is off, and Fenrir ends up appearing and killing the twins' mother. With her dying breathe, their mother is able to push Fenrir back into his portal and seal it behind him.

The twins now have to not only deal with their grief but find out why the portals aren’t secure and quickly find a way to secure them before horrible creatures are able to escape their underworld prisons and roam free. As they check on each of the portals, which are held by five different trees, they find signs of the trees dying and the horrible smell of sulfur.

There is a very detailed description of a blowjob and fingering in this book…that’s geared to Young Adults and is about girls who just turned sixteen. I’d heard other reviewers before discuss how sexual acts should not be depicted in YA books and until this book I’d never seen a YA with graphicly detailed sexual acts included, sex might have been implied but never detailed. This entire scene had me very uncomfortable and wondering what made the authors think this scene was a good idea?

I understand that plenty of teens experiment with their sexuality and sexual acts, however, that doesn’t mean we need detailed descriptions within books geared towards young readers. There have been YA books that I’ve read where sex is implied but not described…almost a fade-out movie moment…you know what’s about to happen or what just happened but you weren’t a witness to it…which I feel is a much better way to handle sex within the YA genre, if you really feel the need to include it. If a teen is genuinely curious about reading detailed sexual scenes there are plenty of adult romance novels that can be found at bookstores and the library, there is no need to have graphic depictions in YA novels.

Another thing that gives me pause is I feel like they’re setting up Hunter, who happens to be queer, to be a villain. Now, I could easily be wrong about this, the next book could actually throw Mercy in as a villain and Hunter the heroine…this first book just has me very nervous about where they’re going with a queer character.

All that being said, I really wish there weren’t so many elements that gave me pause. Having never read a P.C. or Kristin Cast book before, but having heard countless ravings about their work, I was genuinely excited to finally see what the big deal was about…only to be disappointed.

What started as an interesting process prologue and overall concept soon became what was - to me - an OK YA book which uses the tropes of the authors previous popular series but in a new setting. I am however aware that I'm not the target audience here. The book is well written and structured and I think will appeal greatly to a younger audience and those who are already fans of this author duo.

Spells Trouble by authors P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast starts with the Salem witch trials and the craziness that permeated that historical scene. When Sarah Goode escapes hanging, she uses her powers to travel with her young daughter to a safe place where Sarah’s magick can protect the town from gruesome spirits. Sarah finds a home that loves and accepts her and where generations of good healers/witches women thrive. Our story moves forward to modern times as twins Hunter and Mercy Goode celebrate their birthday and begin the journey to learn the full potential and responsibilities that await them as Goode descendants. This was the part that I found genuinely entertaining. However, the interplay of sex in this novel bothered me to some degree because I felt like the sexual part of the book was more of a gimmick. The twin girls suffer a profound loss that causes them to grow up quickly to save their town and secure their destiny. It is a well-told young adult book but again, I think I would’ve preferred more of the sexual issues to come forth in future sequels. I like the relationship with the twins and Xena the cat the most. Still, I especially liked that the authors depict the sisters as imperfect twins with their loving interactions and their argumentative interactions. It’s very realistic. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The beginning was so promising and then it just fell flat. I love books with twins but Hunter and Mercy just weren't there. Not sure what it was but I just didn't really enjoy this book.

While the premise seemed interesting over all the book fell flat for me. I never really connected with either sister. Everything just felt a bit disjointed. Unlike some I didn’t mind the sex in the book but do think at times some of the behaviors displayed where not realistic to the age range. I generally like multiple POVs but the way it was done in this book with these characters it added more confusion than anything.
I will most likely read it again and give it a second shot when the sequel comes out as I do still want to find out what happens.

I was really excited to read this because I love witches and I really enjoyed the House of Night series by P.C. Cast. This series has a lot of potential to be really awesome. There were moment in this story I was underwhelmed but the story picked up. I enjoyed the characters and the history weaved into the story. The writing did feel a little young at times, more like middle grade than YA but I still enjoyed this story. I think Spells Troubles has a lot to potential to be a really fun series and I can't wait to see where it goes next!

Twin witches Hunter and Mercy perform a coming of age ritual that acknowledge them as full fledged witches and protectors of the Gates to the underworlds, but something goes wrong with the ritual and the gates are opened, releasing monsters, leading to their mother sacrificing herself to save the twins. As monsters begin to kill more townsfolk, the twins must seal the gates once again, and get rid of the monsters.

It was an interesting premise, and certainly hooked me with the prologue. However, the book fell flat for me after the prologue, and as much as I enjoy witch stories, I wasn't able to get into the book. The writing was weak, and I thought the pacing could have used some improvement. I struggled to get emotionally invested in either twins, so it was a little hard to continue the book.

That being said, I don't think the book was bad, it was just not my thing, but I do think fans of Vampire Diaries, its spinoffs, Supernatural, and other similar shows would probably enjoy this more than I did.

An interesting and exciting book to read. It's a page Turner with action, spells and heartache. The characters are solid, the plot is excellent. It's an Arc so I know it needs some fine -tuning but overall an excellent, edge of your seat story.

Parts of this book were very fun, and I loved the giant familiar cat and all that was going on there, but this book presented issues for me. First of all, it seemed to veer between being much younger than its reader demographic would suggest (almost middle grade) and then OLDER, as when the girls and their mom joked about sex, etc. I can appreciate having such an open attitude toward sexuality in a YA novel, but when it comes with cutesy and much younger-than-16 interiority of its main characters, it seems...dissonant. I'm not entirely sure who this is for. Also, the attempt to partly incorporate or at least acknowledge Indigenous and other POC knowledge and belief systems was a bit ham-fisted and seemed slightly problematic at times (calling Native US communities "aboriginal," accidentally recreating a white savior mythos, etc.)

This title was difficult to get into. It is not really an author I read and was very high school centered. I did not finish.

DNF

to be honest, this book completely lost me in the first chapter. i picked this up because i wanted witches and magic and drama, not... whatever this was.

(arc provided by netgallery and Wednesday Books. all thoughts and opinions are my own)

This book's plot summary seemed so interesting, and the prologue had me hooked! Unfortunately it went downhill from there, and it made it tougher to enjoy. Especially the sex scenes which seemed out of place and graphic for a young adult book.