While I normally LOVE books by this dynamic duo, this one did not meet that bar. I looked forward to reading it when I had free time but I found the characters less complete than other story lines by them. Not once did I sacrifice sleep to read just a little more. A couple of the minor characters were developed enough that I look forward to seeing them again. The ending felt abrupt but I guess it is a good opening for book two. That said, I think that the story line has great potential and look forward to seeing the characters come more alive in future books. I am grateful for the opportunity to read and review the book. Overall, I think it was a good read and it gives me something to look forward to.

I just don't think this book was for me. I got excited because I thought maybe this could make me like YA Fantasy but it just missed the mark with me even though it was still contemporary.

I was really excited to read this book because I’ve been wanting to read more books about Witches and I recognized the authors.

Unfortunately, I feel like this book would have been better if it was geared towards younger readers. The writing style reminded me of books I read in middle school. It was trying to reach an older audience without matching the writing to it.

I ended up skipping the sex scene because it felt super uncomfortable. Partly because it really didn’t fit with the writing style but it also was cringey.

I found this slow and flat. I loved the concept and the two sisters connections. I didn’t care much for the boyfriend or their friends. I thought it was fun that the Cat was also their “aunt” that was a fun throwback to Sabrina the teenage witch. But overall I wouldn’t recommend this book.

1 STAR

What should be a celebration turns rapidly into a tragedy for Hunter and Mercy Goode.


The night of their sixteenth birthday, they pledge themselves to their patron gods, preparing to become full witches in their own right. But even as they reach this monumental milestone, something goes horribly awry, killing their mother and weakening the gates of Goodeville in the process. Now, overrun by grief and fear, without their beloved mother’s guidance, the twins must discover the source of the evil seeping into their town if they hope to protect their loved ones who remain.

That’s easier said than done, though, and along the way, Hunter and Mercy must come to understand one another, too.


Conceptually, this could have been exciting. In practice, though, Spells Trouble is an exercise in futility.


Frankly, the only reason I didn’t DNF this book was my own stubborn nature, and the faint hope that maybe it would improve by the end. Obviously, seeing as I gave it only a single star, it very much did not, and this is due to its constant failure to accomplish anything of note. You would think that portals to various underworlds would elicit a great sense of urgency, even with grief weighing on the twins. Yet the pacing and tone is all over the place, sometimes leaning almost towards a younger YA voice and focusing on blips of character bonding that don’t advance the plot, and sometimes launching into a full on sex scene between sixteen year old kids that also does very little for the plot.

(I would have had less of an issue with the sex scene if it wasn’t so…detailed? I get that teens sometimes have sex, and I think it’s reasonable for YA authors to include that. But when your sex scene is written with such an emphasis on the sexy? In YA? Yeah, that’s pretty uncomfortable.)

Really, most of the issues stem from this failure to advance the plot. Over the course of the entire book, the Goode twins alternate between mourning their mother and fumbling through possible ways to protect the trees that serve as underworld gates, only to end the book knowing they failed after all their hard work. What, then, was the point of all those attempts? What was the point of all that tense research and the drawing of boundaries between characters?

It ultimately feels like a waste of 320 pages to place our characters essentially where they started, except more distrustful of one another than before.


But Spells Trouble doesn’t just flounder in its plot. It’s careless in its representation and approaches.


This section of my review could easily go on forever, but I’ll try to keep it concise. The short version? Certain fragments of representation were handed out as if to score brownie points. Certain personality traits were slapped onto characters to make them less dull, only to make them feel even flatter. It’s overall a train wreck, dripping with a carelessness that has me rolling my eyes so hard I can see the back of my skull.

The personality trait issue is the far less serious of the two I’ve mentioned, and takes a little less time to cover. For some reason, the authors make sure to highlight that Hunter is an aspiring author, only to give that hobby minimal depth beyond a single notebook and her inability to put the words on the page. It barely shapes her character otherwise.

Meanwhile, Mercy sometimes uses British slang for absolutely no reason at all. She doesn’t have anyone in her life from England, and hasn’t spent any time there at all. It’s entirely inexplicable, and while I’m sure there are kids out there who play around with slang and accents for minimal reason, it only serves here to make Mercy irritating, as well as a collection of eccentricities pasted on top of an otherwise boring character. Complexity and nuance who?

But easily most frustrating are matters of attempted representation. The most obvious issue is the way Hunter is treated. She is a lesbian, but the matter only surfaces when discussing childhood bullying she faced (complete with gratuitous slurs!), or when she feels isolated and not like other folks in Goodeville. Here I was, all excited about a book that might have a sapphic witch, and all I got was this lousy case of dogpiling and misery.

And while we’re at it, let’s talk about how the authors handle race and culture, because they’re terrible at it. Turns out, the underworld gates in Spells Trouble are linked to mythologies across the world, including underworlds from Japanese, Hindu, and Egyptian mythology. And these gates? They were founded by a white woman, who conveniently found the solution to holding mythological underworlds at bay when the indigenous populations could not.

(It’s no surprise that this indigenous population is said to be gone now, and that SURPRISE, one of the supporting characters is half Native American! Not that you would know unless it was mentioned, since there are absolutely zero indicators otherwise. And naming which group of indigenous people he’s part of? Gee whiz, that must have been too much work.)

Overall, it makes Spells Trouble clumsy, frustrating, and disrespectful, even if that wasn’t the authors’ intent. After all, you can intend to do right by someone or something and still cause harm instead. Or, as it often feels in this case, you can try to score your brownie points but just not really, truly care.


In full honesty, I cannot recommend this book.


I regret not DNFing it, to be frank. And I can’t even come up with a sort of reader who might enjoy it. When I finished reading, I felt like I’d wasted the last three hours of my life. You probably know as well as I do that’s never a good feeling.

Save your three-odd hours for another book, one that’s actually enjoyable. Or go for a walk. Maybe play a video game. Simply anything else is probably more rewarding than Spells Trouble.


CW: animal death, underage drinking, violence, gore (including eye gore), graphic injury, loss of a loved one, homophobia (including slurs), sex scene, drug use


[This review will go live on Hail & Well Read at 2pm EST on 5/17/21.]

Im having a hard time getting into this book. I have time still to keep trying to read it but I honestly don't think I will.

I was excited to read this since I absolutely LOVED their House of Night series and who doesn’t get excited for witches? Unfortunately this one didn’t work for me. The girls didn’t read like 16 year olds. I also felt it was all over the place and tried cramming too many things into one book if that makes sense. I thought about DNFing it a few times but pushed through. I’m sure there will be people who love it. Sadly this was not me and I will not be continuing the series.

Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

Spells Trouble is the first book in the Sisters of Salem series by author duo P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast and it was epic, I absolutely loved it! This story is filled with witchy goodness that is centered on a sisterly bond. This is a contemporary story based in our world but has real magic that is not wildly known. So it's everyday life mixed with a little magic.

The story follows Hunter and Mercy Goode who are the descendants of Sarah Goode, who was a witch that fled Salem and settled in a town that had a little supernatural trouble. Sarah and her descendants became guardians of the gates that protect the town of Goodeville from supernaturals that have no place in their world.
Hunter and Mercy Goode are twins who couldn't be more different. Hunter is more reserved, she internalizes things a lot, is quiet, a writer, and a cosmic witch. While Mercy is more outgoing, the center of attention, vibrant, and is a green witch. Not gonna lie, I liked Hunter from the beginning but Mercy I'm still unsure about, she has the type of personality where she refuses to see what's in front of her and is a little negative with those who love her. She not a bad person, maybe a little annoying at times and overall I like her but at times I just wanted to yell at Mercy.

The twins couldn't be more different but they have such a close bond with not only each other but with their mother Abigail as well. I can tell from the start how very much they are entangled in each other's lives in a very good way. They do things together, share so much with each other, and love each other very deeply. However, when Abigail dies things fracture with the twins, the gates are damaged and their mother's loss is felt deeply. Hunter has been through a lot, she was bullied so she's able to pull herself together in hard times while Mercy broke down. Everything fell on Hunter, their mother's funeral, the gate issues, and bring Mercy out of her grief with the help of a few close friends and Mercy's boyfriend. Jax is Hunter's best friend and Emily is Mercy's and each suits the twin's personality but know that they come as a package deal especially Emily, she is not only close with Mercy she is close with Hunter too. Emily was a nice little surprise, I first thought that Emily was a little bit pushy and kind of a so-so friend but Emily pulled through when the girls needed her and have a good heart.

My favorite part about this book was the magic and the amount of magic. The magic was all throughout the book, it was detailed, vibrant, and connected the past with the present. The magic as a religion, was interesting and then the representation of the gods from mythology and not just one mythology like just Norse or Greek but all the gods were felt. Not to mention the nature in the magic that just brings magic into the everyday things, it was all at once normal and extraordinary.

Spells Trouble was compelling from the beginning, it started off with a lot of action, my jaw dropped, and the mystery behind what's going on is fascinating. The history, the magical gates, the gods, the mystery behind what's going on with the gates all made for an excellent read. The characters, the twins' relationship help round out the story but the magic made it special. I loved Spells Trouble so much and lucky for me it's just the beginning of the series, I can't wait to see what happens next.

DNF at 25%

Writing was not for me. The prologue and premise were great but then it spiraled into some school.vibe teenage thing that didn't work for me at all Might be for more of a middle school audience

DNF. Incredibly disappointing as I was excited for this one. I was a fan of the authors' books in the past and looked forward to a new title from them, but I could not connect with it. The characters fell flat and the dialogue felt forced. The setting was difficult to grasp for the most part. Description overall wasn't great. It felt like parts of a book, not a whole story, which was so disappointing. That's the word for almost every single part of what I read. And, hey, maybe it gets better farther in, but what I read wasn't great. It was just one of those books that read like how people think teenagers are but not how they actually are. Forced is another word that applies here. Almost every word I read felt forced. The only part I really liked was the prologue but a prologue does not a great story make. Hopefully other people like it but I am not a fan.

This book follows twin sisters who are exact opposites in every way. Hunter and Mercy are descendants of the Goode witches in this absolutely spellbinding book.
Spells Trouble emphasizes what it is like to be young and going through teenage years. Hunter is a queer, shy, socially inept young woman with a passion for Cosmic magic. Mercy is an energetic, feisty, and outgoing Greenwitch with a stubborn personality .Their quirky relationship was so fun to read about and really added to the plot line in my opinion. Hunter and Mercy may be opposites, but they are two side of the same coin. The way they work together in this book was so fun to read about and wonderfully written.
Most importantly, I found these characters relatable. Hunter is absolutely my favorite and I was cheering her on the whole way through this plot. She’s socially awkward but has endured bullying and overcome it. I loved the push and pull the author included for Mercy and Hunter because it is so like what sisters do.
The inner dialogue for the twins was very fun to read and, I believe, fundamental to the point of this book. However, it did slow the pacing of the book down and retract somewhat from the point of the plot.
P.C. Cast was able to add in some amazing details in the world building of this book. The magic and ritual of setting intentions was such an interesting concept. I loved reading about the spellwork and connections to the deities. All the little elements she added into the magic system for this book really drew me in. There was so much foreshadowing in this book, I can’t wait until the next one comes out!

Thank you Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book. I wanted to love this book, but I found it to be very slow at times and disjointed. I would have liked the antagonist to have had more story development throughout the book. I found myself hating one of the twins more than the other, and I also thought that the plot line where they cast the spell to help one deal with grief was unnecessary as it was never really talked about after that. I felt like there was the potential for more of a story arc there and it just got lost. Overall it was an entertaining book, but I'm not sure I loved it enough to continue on with the series.

This book has some different vibes flowing thru it all at once. I felt like I was on a road trip with Practical Magic taking the lead in the drivers seat and we just picked up Percy Jackson. It's going to be a bumpy ride with a lot of twists and turns and rest stop full of high school drama.

I wish I LOVED this book. I wanted to so badly, but I just wasn't really feeling the story line. The story was going in many directions with out enough character or world building. I did enjoy the way that the author changed to different character points of view with in the same chapter. It was easy to follow and different from past books that i have read where they make each chapter its own character point of view. This book is book 1 in the Salem Sisters series so I am interested to see where the writers go with the story and how they grow with it. This book is a great middle grade book. There is a small amount of sex talk but nothing to descriptive and a touch of violence, but they don't draw it out or linger on it too long.

You follow two twin witches that just got a big wake up call. They need to grow up and see what their magic can do. Being a twin doesn't mean anything in this case other than they were born at the same time as these two girls are very different. The big question is can they put those differences aside and come together as one? That you're going to have to read to find out.

In Short:
Did I like it ? It was ok.
Would I recommend it ? For YA yeah def . It's a good book for those starting off in the witchy world of books.
Would I read more by these authors? If they do have a book 2 I would check it out to see where they build on. This could be a great book but it needs more substance.

I’m surprised to see this book has so many negative reviews! Was it the best witch book I’ve read? No, but it wasn’t terrible. I loved the Salem twins I thought their connection was authentic and I think the authors represented 16 year old teens perfectly. Yes the tiny steamy scene maybe wasn’t necessary but there was also death and gore in this book and I’m not sure why that’s acceptable but the steamy scene isn’t appropriate? We were all teens once with raging hormones and this book depicts That perfectly. I loved the mythology that was mixed into this book and the connections to nature and energies. Overall an enjoyable audiobook and I’m looking forward to more from these witchy ladies!

Spells Trouble (Sisters of Salem) by P. C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Narrated by Cassandra Campbell
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Genre: Teens & YA
Publication Date: May 25, 2021

Spells Trouble is the first book in the Sisters of Salem trilogy by P. C. Cast & Kristin Cast.

I was so excited when I read the description of this book! Because I grew up in Massachusetts, the history of Salem is in my blood, so I HAD to read this book. I loved the idea that this book was about the descendants of Sarah Goode!

I really enjoyed the premise of the book. I thought it had a lot of potential. I thought most of the book was very interesting, at times fascinating. Unfortunately, the ending fell flat. I felt like the book was building up to something and once we got there it was kinda like eh. There were also a few unanswered questions that maybe will be answered in future books.

I did enjoy the characters. I thought they were well developed. My favorite characters was Xena because she is amazing!

I look forward to reading the next book because I would love to see how things turn out for the sisters.

I'm so grateful to P. C. Cast & Kristin Cast, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

As someone who read the House of Night series when I was younger and loved it, this was a disappointment.
It had all the qualities that the House of Night series had; unique story, interesting intertwining of cultures and myths and potential. But it was way too much like HON; I felt like I was back reading HON in 2010, and this writing & character building was too much like the 2010 YA, and that doesn't have a leg to stand on in my reading world today.

Positives:
-Loved the culture mixtures
-enjoyed the discussion on how dealing with death/trauma was different for each sister because they had their own histories and pains
-Unique Witch style
-I loved the prologue

Main problems;
-writing
-I was not too fond of the characters
-the quick fix for grieving their DEAD mum was too fast and not cool
-why was that sex scene included
-Hated the boyfriend, disliked Emily's switch up personality (half the time she was a good character, and then they switched to annoying)

I am sorry because I was given this access, and I truly appreciate it but unfortunately, for this book and my originally love for the Cast books, this series will not be in my library. However, I'm sure others will enjoy it

This book was a bit frustrating. The main characters, Hunter and Mercy, have just turned 16 and are just coming into their witchy powers. However, the way they were written you would think they were 12. There are subplots in this book that don’t seem to belong and lessons that feel as if they are being forced down our throats. A sexual scene between two characters felt gratuitous and out of place. While I know it served as a plot device for later events, it still felt unnecessary. Some of the conflicts seemed extraneous and inserted just to create angst.

That being said it’s not all bad. The basic premise is a solid, if derivative, one. The bones of the story was interesting and what kept me reading. I wanted to see the situation resolved and how they did it. I generally love witchy stories I just didn’t love this one.

I wanted to love this book, it had a good premise but was not executed well at all. The story fell flat and the dialogue was very tedious, felt childish, and flowed awkwardly. The main characters were not very , Mercy was selfish and Hunter was too selfless. Spells Trouble read more like a middle grade book than a YA. It wasn't bad was just...lacking.

If you are wanting a quick, easy YA book to read, you may want to check this book out.
The cover is beautiful and the audiobook was narrated well.

Thank you Netgalley, St Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for allowing me access to this advanced copy.

Spells Trouble was a great introduction to this new series. While it was a weird combination of things, I thought it was a great book to get us into the world of Mercy and Hunter and it got me excited for what’s coming next!

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I thought about the writing for this book. It was hard to rate this because while I enjoyed the overall plot and thought the story was really interesting, but the writing was a bit weird. Like it was written as if for younger YA, like between 13-15, but some of the plot points were more mature, like 16+. Honestly, it was such a strange combination, so I might split this up into two sections.

Section one, the story. I loved the way this story was built up and the action introduced. We have twin sisters, Mercy and Hunter, who are witches. Their mother is finally letting them participate in the annual ceremony to strengthen the trees that act as protection for the town, named after their ancestors. But something goes horribly wrong and their mother is dead and the trees are weakened, letting a monster into their town. This book also includes a prologue which introduces Sarah Goode, who was a witch living in Salem. She managed to get away with her daughter Dorothy and founded Goodeville. The prologue was interesting, and it provided good backstory, but I don’t think it was necessary for this story. Unless it’s going to be brought back in future books. If so, then I’m glad we read it now, but for this story in particular, it was a nice addition, but not necessary for the overall storyline.

Hunter and Mercy, who are identical twins, were fun characters to follow around. While identical in appearance, they have vastly different personalities, interests, and even their sexuality. But the one thing these twins have are an intense sisterly love and connection. They seemed to be pretty accurate representations of twin teenage girls though there are times that the dialogue is kind of weird. Everyone kind of says everything they’re thinking or repeats themselves as if to make a point.

And this leads me to my biggest issue with the book: the actual writing. See, I thought the plot and the characters were interesting and pretty well written, but the actual writing and the dialogue was strange. It was almost oversimplified as if to be for a younger audience, but the context of the situation was for more mature readers.

For example, if I was having a conversation with Mercy about finding an object in the house it would probably sound like this:

“Hey Sammy, can you find me the toolbox in the upstairs cabinet?” Mercy called from the kitchen.

“Sure! I can go find the toolbox in the upstairs cabinet.” Sammy walks upstairs to grab the toolbox from the upstairs cabinet. “I got the toolbox! It was in the upstairs cabinet!”

Mercy grabs the toolbox and pulls out the drill, attaching the drill bit. “Thank you so much for grabbing the toolbox upstairs! Ok, so I’m going to take this drill and drill a hole into the wall.”

“Ohh, so you’re going to drill a hole into the wall to hang up a picture? That’s so smart!”

This was the majority of the conversations. Or there would be strange nicknames or even their real names used over and over again. It was like the authors were writing a mature story for a younger audience, instead of teenagers. And it was such a repetitive thing happening and I wasn’t sure why the writing was like that. At times, it was even a bit distracting, because half the lines would be repeating the same thing or including this weird exchange of dialogue.

To wrap things up, I liked this book. It was good enough for 3.5 stars, but with the issues with the actual prose and dialogue, I had to drop it. Plus, the confusion of who this book is marketed too. Because the writing says pre-teens and young teenagers while some of the content says older teenagers and young adults. It’s a very weird mix and I’m not even sure who to recommend this too honestly.

Twin witches, Hunter and Mercy Goode are direct descendants of the founder of Goodeville. Their mother, Abigail is a well-known kitchen witch who is murdered during their birthday ritual to become Gatekeepers of the 5 realms. As the murders begin to pile up, the twins need to work together with the help of their friends and loveable cat Xena, to discover who is behind the killing and how to put a stop to them once and for all.

I was initially very excited for this because I absolutely love witchy books... and I thought it would be even better with twin witches! The book started off pretty strong with the prologue, and I thought it was going to be really interesting! Unfortunately, I was really disappointed with this one...It felt very young in its writing style, which I wasn't expecting. I didn't like either of these main characters, they were both so self-absorbed and annoying. I hated the dialogue between all of the characters, a lot of it was awkward and stilted... and it became repetitive and irritating very quickly. I did like Xena, but even she kind of annoyed me at times.

I ended up giving it 2 stars instead of one because I do think the story was unique, I just think it could have been executed SO MUCH better.

I loved the House of Night series so I was really looking forward to this. I'm so sad but it wasn't anything close to their last books. But even comparing it on its own, it still sadly fell flat. It was written for someone so young I could barely stay concentrated on it, I felt like I was reading a middle school book. It would be fabulous for that age (minus the sex scene) but for an audience of young adults comparable to their last books I would so to skip it. I'll probably read the next book and hope that the writing changes because the bones of the story is solid and could be so so good.