I love stories about witches coming into their own power and I love stories about sisters. So, this book was perfect for me..

This book was a bit of a surprise, mostly good. I wasn't expecting it to be spooky and creepy, but I'm glad it was. It made it even more enjoyable.

I liked the sisterly connection and the growth in their relationship. I could relate to this part of the story. I don't have a twin but I do have a sister. Our connection is very strong even if we have rough patches along the way. We are always stronger when we're together. I feel like Hunter and Mercy are the same deep down.

There are some very scary aspects and some very difficult themes. I do think these are written well and have meaning within the story. When the first monster appears in their town, all hell breaks loose. The murders are gruesome and the descriptions are vivid. I was a little creeped out but not enough to stop reading.

If there is one complaint, it is the steamy scene. I feel it goes beyond what this age group is ready for. YA includes 12 year olds. My grandson is 12 and is in no way ready for any of the descriptions that this particular scene had. This needs to be listed as Upper YA, and even then goes too far, in my opinion. It made me cringe because these are 16 year old kids we're reading about. The story would have been just as good without everything that happened in that particular scene.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and gave it 4 stars. There is so much to love about it, I can't wait for the next installment.

After tragedy claims their mother’s life during a special birthday ritual for Hunter and Mercy Goode, the 16 year old twin sisters are left as the only remaining descendants of founding witch Sarah Goode. Goode witches are the protectors of the five gates to the underworld designated by five unusual trees throughout the city of Goodeville. When the twins realize that the five trees are dying and the gates are weakening, they must rush to perform a spell to strengthen the gates and heal the trees quickly, with the aide of their familiar cat person, Xena, and best friends, Jax and Emily.

Young adult fantasy with witches is not one of my go to genres, but I enjoyed Spells Trouble. I requested it on author’s name recognition because I love the House of Night series. This one didn’t keep my interest as intently as those, because the main character, Mercy, did more whining than action, which I found annoying. Hunter is definitely the stronger twin, as she proved several times, which redeemed the book for me. Overall, I liked the book and would recommend it if witches are your cup of tea!

Give me witches and I will read the book.

Enter, Spells Trouble. Our story actually starts where I wasn't expecting, The Salem Witch Trials, with who I thought was our main character escaping to set up a new life in Illinois... but then we flash to present day and meet her children - twins Mercy and Hunter. We meet them around their 16th birthdays when they are about to fully accept their powers... but when the main event rolls around things don't go as planned and they lose their mother. Following that, adventure ensues.

I really enjoyed this story and love the relationship Hunter and Mercy have despite being VERY different from one another. The ending was somewhat surprising, while still being a little predictable - but it did leave me excited to hear more about the twins and their journey.

P.S. Happy book birthday Spells Trouble (5/25/21)

I’m 61% of the way through this book and not sure if I’m going to finish it or not. I really wanted to like this book, sisterhood and witchcraft? Sign me up! But there are definitely a lot of elements that are keeping me from loving this book.

- the voice feels off, it’s sometimes super juvenile, using terms like “bestie” all over the place and giving way too much exposition. The best writing I’ve encountered in the book so far was the prologue and I wish the whole story was more like that.

- random clinically graphic sex scene, didn’t even feel smutty or passionate it just felt weird and out of place and way too detailed for a YA book

- the treatment of grief in this book is what really turned me off. Death of parent is a big content warning for Spells Trouble and in this book for some reason the literal day after her mother dies a character is expected to be her old self and the other characters perform a spell to “remove her grief” so she can “get back to normal” and really keep emphasizing how they are so different now that they’ve grieved when it has been a matter of days. I think this is a really irresponsible, immature way of framing the grieving process and while I understand the characters are 16 and that this might get addressed in the end of the book, I really didn’t like the way that grief was presented it felt shallow and like a plot point to overcome not a chance for real emotional development in this story.

Overall this story feels like a cheesy CW or ABC family show about witches in high school.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Plot
Mercy and Hunter Goode are witches but not just any witches, they're twin witches. It's their birthday and as all their ancestors previously did, they need to be Gatekeepers which are the protectors of some gates to other worlds. It's now time to celebrate their birthday with their mom and they go through a ritual they always do but this time something happens. When they lose their mom, the twins (still grieving), decide to take up the case for themselves and help solve the string of murders that have been happening all around town as well as their moms. But to solve this case it will take more than magic. It will take courage, love, and what we come to learn as acceptance.
The twins dive straight into the case and start doing research when they learn about Mythological ancient monsters. And turns out a creature has been roaming their town disguised as a person, whom they know very well as the Sheriff.
Now Hunter and Mercy fight together with friends and enemies to bring back their peaceful town.

Hunter
She's my favorite character by far! I connected with her so much and loved that she was gay. I also loved how she tries so much to be strong for her sister and even if she doesn't show it a lot, is grieving! ❤️❤️

Mercy
I dislike her very much. Mercy is not very good to her sister. As much as she loves her sister Hunter is usually the one always looking out for her, Mercy does nothing in return! She didn't even acknowledge that Hunter was probably grieving in her own way, she let Hunter take away all the pain for her but she did nothing to help her in return! Instead, she goes ahead and tells her how her god is causing all this trouble and reflects all that negativity on Hunter's sexuality!!! The ending of this book made me dislike Mercy even more. She's just so selfish and self-indulgent!

Jax
I love how he was so supportive of Hunter and cared for so much! I truly believe that in all this chaos and all the things that are going on he was more of a friend than her own sister ever was. We just need more strong friendships with no romance, you know? And he really made that happen! But I still can't shake the feeling that he might like her? Maybe it's all the your-best-friend-loves-you trope's I've read so much about in almost every book (the hunger games, city of bones, e.t.c)

Emily
She was an awesome friend and I loved how she took care of her family and loved them so very much but was also there for her friends. Even when she was also going through the death of her own father she really did it come out as a strong loving character :)

Overall
I had really high expectations going into this because I love witches and Salem, and if you're going to name a book series The Sisters of Salem you better make sure that book is good! Thankfully this book was really fun and enjoyable and I loved it. Even though my expectations were off the roof this was a really enjoyable read. I loved the LGBTQ aspect of this book and how it all came together with the grief and mystery. This book was really one of wide genres and I loved that it also contained Greek / Roman mythology and connected to the witches to it! So I really loved the overall Worldbuilding and the characters (not Mercy) I also really enjoyed that this book showed me side of the villain as well, even as I was disgusted by what he was doing I really enjoyed him. Let's be honest, who doesn't love a bad guy with a sad backstory?

A special thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for sending me an arc for an honest review!!

~Till Next Time!
📚 Ꮢҽαԃ σ⨍⨍ ɾҽαԃҽɾട! 📚

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

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.

'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!

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.