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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

I got 50 pages in, but couldn't finish this. The description sounds fun, but the writing is lazy. The slang used is basically already outdated. There's nothing new about witches here that hasn't already been done. When i got to a passage where the authors were describing what the characters were wearing like this was a cliche fanfic, I was out.

Hunter and Mercy are direct descendants of an ancient line of witches who settled in Goodeville. These twins must learn what they need to do to be Gatekeepers and keep creatures from other realms out of our world. They quickly learn that there is a lot they don’t know after their mother is the first victim in a series of murders. Will Hunter and Mercy be able to learn the spells and rituals they need to protect their town? Will this crisis break even their twin bond?

Spells Trouble is the first book in the Sisters of Salem series. There are many books out there that have witches who are descended from a Salem Witch and this one isn’t much different than those. I do understand that Cast needed to complete world-building and character development, yet the overall storyline fell flat. Readers can tell from the ending that there will be more books in this series and I hope that the story will become better evolved in the upcoming titles. For now, I recommend this series as a no rush to-be-read book.

I love P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast! Their books are just magic. They know how to create a world and draw the reader in. This book is no different. I loved this book. I can not wait to read more in this series.

This was a good book. It's about twin witches who are meant to be Gatekeepers until their mother is murdered and now the twins must solve the case of who is murdering the people. I have read P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast's past books, House of Night, which I have enjoyed. The writing of this book was the same but it didn't suit the book in my opinion. The story plotline was all well structured and well-paced but I didn't enjoy the word choices as much. I felt that it was very childish at times when it should have been more mature. I did enjoy reading about the witches of Salem and getting to know the history behind the Goode witches which I think more will come in the other books.

In this book, there are two main characters who are Hunter and Mercy. This book is written in both of their POVs. I enjoyed Hunter's character more as I felt she was more mature and organized vs Mercy who was childish and annoying. Though both did have a great story development. The side characters were enjoyable in the book especially the cat who turns into an aunt which I thought was cute. I wish for the other side characters we got to know a little more about them but I think that will expand in the future books. In this book, I was confused with the super detailed s*x scene as this is a YA book with a teenager who turned 16...

The ending was well done in this book and I enjoyed how all the characters came together with taking part in solving the mystery. I think this book could have been so much better if the writing wasn't childish and possibly have had older characters. The writing was the reason why it got dropped to three stars but I'm hoping for the next books to be better. I recommend this book to fans of fantasy and witches.

I cannot describe how excited I was to both see and get approved for this title. I was absolutely head over heels for House of Night (and seeing myself in Zoey bc you never see Cherokee girls being the MC) so my excitement for this novel knew no bounds. I really enjoyed the dual POV take as I feel it gave the story the dimension and depth it needed to really give you an idea of the who, what, and why that drove the plot. I will say that I felt like the execution of this story fell a bit short for me; the tonality of it all sort of clashed (middle grade feel w/ a sex scene? Why.) , there were bits that drug on, and areas that could’ve used a rework. There was so much potential for this story, but unfortunately the execution of it all didn’t do it justice.

Goode sisters are twin witches. On the midnight of their 16th birthday they take up the work of gatekeeping of different underworlds from their mother as did the generations of Goode witches before them. But something goes awry during the ritual. As their mother dies protecting them from the nightmarish mythological beast, it falls on their shoulders to keep the ancient portals between their worlds and the mythological realms, closed.

The best part of the story was the prologue. It started out like this - Salem Witch Trials era, a mother daughter duo and a feline familiar - a rather promising start of a fantasy fiction. From there, each chapter was a downhill journey. The interactions between the characters felt forced somehow. Some were downright cringey. If not for the unexpected inclusion of a very graphic sex scene I would have said the writing style was aimed for children and middle graders. Loose ends and unnecessary subplots were all over the place. With floundering plot and dull characters, 'Spells Trouble' could not become the story it promised. I hope the second story brings forth the same magic as the prologue of this story did.

T/W death of a parent, sexual content, homophobia, bullying, violence, gore.

This book releases on 25th May. If you are a fan of magic, mythology and YA fictions then this might be a good summer read for you.

Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing the e-ARC.

I'm a big fan of the House of Night books so when I saw that PC and Kristin Cast had a new book series coming out I was really excited, especially since it was witchy. Unfortunately this book was nothing but a big letdown. It was messy, chaotic and really immature. Hunter and Mercy are incredibly childish heroines and it is unbelievable that they would be able to handle the task put before them. The magic system is super basic and feels under-researched, and while the idea of the gates and multiple mythologies had potential it was poorly developed. I also found that the sex scene was unnecessarily graphic, especially for it being between teens in a YA book. Not good. Overall this book is a big disappointment and I'm not sure how it got past the editors.

This book’s premise was amazing but unfortunately for me, I didn’t love the execution.

While I understand these are teen characters and they will act like dumb teens, it just felt even more unrealistic because both Hunter and Mercy were usually super wise and read older quite often. It was a bit weird when they would go from smart/mature to super childish in the span of a couple pages.

In this novel, twin sisters Hunter and Mercy Goode are descendants of a long line of witches with real power leading back to the infamous Salem Witch Trials. On the night of their sixteenth birthday, a spell seems to go awry and lead to their mother's death. While the twins are grieving they have to tend to five trees that guard gates to various mythological underworlds.

I wanted to like this book. No, I wanted to LOVE this book. It had everything going for it in the description - Salem witches, underworlds, demons, magic... However, when actually reading this book I was never actually sure what age it was written for. The language and character-building seemed more like a middle-grade book, while the plot seemed more YA, while the very detailed blow job and orgasm scene seemed VERY ADULT. This book was listed as a YA and that should mean that it's OK for about 13-year-olds. I believe Amazon lists YA as 12-18-year-olds. As a parent to a kid in that age range, I certainly wouldn't let him read this.

Even if you ignore the drawn-out and detailed sex scene, there is still a terrible ending. I'm not going to give spoilers to what happens, but at the end of one chapter, Mercy is so upset because she can't feel Hunter and thinks her twin is dead. The next chapter gives that same time frame from Hunter's perspective and the next is an epilogue set days or weeks later with no explanation to what happened in between or how things have been or what the aftermath for the town was. It's just a happy-go-lucky beach day. Like... what? There is no way an entire town just forgot about Hell beasts murdering at least four townsfolk!

3 1/2 stars....

Spells Trouble had all the ingredients to be a great book. Unfortunately, for me, it fell short. It wasn't a bad read. However, I felt like it had potential to be much more. In my opinion, there was a significant amount of time spent on unnecessary details. There was also a great deal of inner dialogue with Hunter and Mercy. Some of that helps the reader understand their feelings and impressions. However, too much of it can become somewhat redundant Because of this, I thought the story felt drawn out without enough activity to keep my attention. I believe sometimes the first book in a series can be challenging. Many times a lot of effort goes into world building and I'm hoping that is the case with this series.

I did enjoy the relationship between Hunter, Mercy and their friends. I also think the premise behind this story is a good one and I believe the next book in the series has promise. I look forward to seeing where these authors take Hunter and Mercy's story.

In addition, I both listened to the audiobook and read the ebook. The narration for the audiobook was good. She gave the story a solid flow and helped the listener easily differentiate between the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

Spells Trouble is the first book in the Sisters of Salem by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. A paranormal young adult fantasy that is full of mystery and intrigue.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's press for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.
This was my first book by these authors. I have heard good things about the writing and wanted to give it a try.
While I loved what the story line represented, I honestly was not thrilled with the writing. I think my biggest gripe was that one of the characters, who is not British, used many British colloquialisms. Couple that with her being a twin, living with her sister in the USA and it just annoyed me.
Overall I liked the theme. Witches are fun to read about. Though their powers in this book really do rely on spells overall, so it was a bit different for me.. I do feel like there could have been more explanation of each tree, more background about what they truly represent. Perhaps in the following books there will be more background.
The third person was a bit hard to follow at first. I had a hard time figuring out which twin was talking sometimes. I did like that their personalities were very distinct.
The writing seemed a bit off to me and definitely did not feel like YA but more like middle grade. There were times I thought it would pick up. The bones of a story were buried there, I thought I would start to love it, but I did not. I felt like there was a disconnect in many areas, perhaps because it's two authors writing together. I'm not sure if this is how their writing normally is.
The whole time I was reading I felt like I had fell into the middle of a series. Like there was some background I was missing. I kept going back to Goodreads to see if there was something I missed about a tie in series.
Overall it wasn't really for me. I"m sure fans of these authors will adore it. But I don't see myself moving on for another shot at liking the next book in the series.

Thank you NetGalley, authors P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast, and Wednesday Books publishing for giving me a free arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
4 stars
TW: Loss of a parent
Ever since I read the House of Night series by these same authors, I have been a huge fan of their works.
I was excited to see they have started a new series after such a long time.
This book follows twin witches, who are descendants of one of the the original witches of the Salem Witch Trials Sarah Good, who was able to escape with her daughter and started a new life in Illinois.
On the night of their 16th birthday Mercy and Hunter are to preform a ceremony ritual with their mother, but as they are about to come into their powers by choosing a god or goddess, something comes through one of the portals, which leads to their mother sacrificing her life to protect them. Now left on their own with only a family cat familiar to guide them, they must find out why the trees are dying and what came through the portal the night of their birthday.
As always the authors developed great characters and showed their growth throughout their journey. I liked Hunter more than I liked Mercy! Mercy seemed to be more like a younger sister than the same age as her twin. Mercy seemed to hold onto her grief a little more and was more focused on her relationship with her boyfriend. I liked how close they were even though they were really opposites in many ways. This book was a little more mature that their previous books. There was a darker side to this book with all the murders and the sisters trying to stop them. The ending was not overly surprising, but made for a great set up for the next book to pick up from. Overall, I would recommend this book to those who like YA stories about witches and sisterly bonds. I am looking forward to the second book in this series!

I love the witches of Salem so was looking forward to this story.. It had magic and a mystery. There was a shout out to HON which was great until I started to feel like I was reading HON but with different characters. You had the main protagonist surrounded by a group of friends doing spells in a circle using the same greetings.. I was glad when HON ended as it outlived its life, so I was not looking to read the same formula again. I was surprised by the explicit oral sex scene as being a YA book these scenes are usually glossed over. I did enjoy Aunt Xena and would be interested in more of her story. It was good but would like the sequel to build on the world and divert from HON's formula.

As a fan of both witch books and mythology, I was excited to read this. Sadly, this book is witches with a hot mess of mythology just splashed everywhere. I like books where mythologies from all over are together, like American Gods. But the magic and mythologies in this novel weren’t cohesive. I understand it is a new take on the genre, but I couldn’t immerse myself into the world. The opening takes place during the Salem Witch Trials, and there are references to Gaia and Odysseus by Puritans that had actually existed.