Very good read with great character development. The pacing was just right and the writing was nice. The plot could have gone many ways, but it went the perfect route. I enjoyed this read.

As a fan of the House of Night series, I was very happy with this book. It wasn’t as great as their HON series, but it was definitely worth the read. Some parts dragged but others were very good.

I was excited to get the chance to read Spells Trouble early from P.C, and Kristin Cast. House of Night is one of my favorite series ever. It restored my love of reading. With that said, Spells Trouble was not as magical to me. Yes, I liked it and yes, I want to find out what happens next. It was interesting, but it was hard for me to continuously stay into it unlike HON.

Spells Trouble starts with a prologue that I enjoyed, which focuses on Sarah Goode. She was accused of being a witch during the Salem Witch Trials era. She escapes to what becomes known as Goodeville and where the story takes place.

Mercy and Hunter Goode are twin witches and direct descendants of Sarah Goode. On their 16th birthday, they must learn how to become Gatekeepers like the Goode women before them. What starts out as a night meant to reinforce the gates that keep different hell dimensions out, turns into a horrible night that ultimately changes their lives forever.

They must overcome their obstacles and work together to fix the gates and save lives. Will they be able to do it?

Hunter and Mercy Goode are turning 16 and stepping into their powers as witches. Their powers and training have all been guided by the Goddess or God they have chosen to associate their magic with. When they go to the apple tree to strengthen the gate and make offerings to their God and Goddess with the guidance of their mother they are met with the unexpected. A wolf, called Fenrir, exits the gate and tries to kill them. The twin's mother stops Fenrir but doing so is fatal, leaving the twins to find the problem and fix it.

The magic and backstory of Goodeville is as mysterious as it is sweet. Goodeville was a dangerous place until it wasn't, and is now a safe place until it isn't. There are just regular bullies and the like in the town. Mercy has a boyfriend, Kirk, who is captain of the football team. Every one of their friends thinks he is a jerk, including Mercy's best friend Emily and particularly her twin Hunter. Mercy always has an excuse ready for him. The characters are real in that their problems are relatable. Young women are always given this trope of having to teach a boy to become a man, but the truth is that it isn't our job, but it is also a hard lesson that we usually have to learn the hard way. The end leaves us with a cliffhanger wondering how Goodville will fair and if it will be able to stand if the twins cannot stand united.

~ received as an ARC from NetGalley ~

Honestly, I was really excited for this, but I feel like 3/5 is still generous. I didn’t like it and thought about DNF multiple times. The magic itself is good and is rooted in the “Salem” tropes and I love the historical aspect, but everything else was flat. There was a “sex scene” that didn’t need to be in it, and the plot as a whole was messy and undeveloped. I would have ranked it 2/5 but the cover and the magic/choosing a goddess intrigued me too much. Will not read the sequel even though the cliffhanger was interesting (?).

I received a complimentary copy of Spells Trouble from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I love this pair of authors! Great characters, believable actions, and descriptive setting/alternate world make for a very interesting novel. I am glad this will be a series, as I would like to read more about the witchy twins, Mercy and Hunter Goode.

Wow! I enjoyed this one soo much!
So this is actually the first that I've read by these authors and they lived up to the hype that I've heard about them really well!
Hunter and Marcy Goode are twin witches and they are crossing a big time in their lives when they learn to be the protectors of the gates and for them to make the choice of what God or Goddess they are going to choose for their path.
However when they go to do their ritual on their birthday something goes terribly wrong and a creature comes out of the gate and attacks the girls and then their mother sacrifices herself to save the girls. Now, the girls must work together with their friends and feline to get the gates closed and to get rid of whatever crossed over.
So, this story was really good. There was a little teenage drama but I enjoyed the story. I was hooked from once I really started reading it and finished rather quickly. If you like Legacies or even Charmed then this book would be for you! I am really happy to see that it's a series!!! Thank you Netgally and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this one!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.
I'll be honest, I did not have the opportunity to complete this one. But what I did read, the world-building was phenomenal, the characters were beautiful, and I found little fault with the text. Granted, I didn't finish it because I did get a little bored half-way through, but that's just my individual difficulty to get through quiet slumps in the literature. Sometimes I just need non-stop excitement.

The setting and premise of the story is very intriguing. I liked that the five trees protected the underworld gates to different mythological underworlds. It was interesting seeing the different cultural influences and mythological creatures. I found the characters a little frustrating though. They were interesting and had some great qualities that made me want to like them more; but I found their dialogue felt forced and unnatural at times which took me out of the story. I also found some of their actions frustrating, it was odd how much the book stressed how close the twins were for them to keep disrespecting and not listening to each other. I understand that they were facing some factors of growing apart and feeling frustrated with each other before the events in the book started but it really felt like they were never that close at all. That said I am still interested in the series and hope that some more character development will help me grow to like the characters more.

Conceptually, this story is okay, not something never done before, but original in its own telling. I would have loved more of this story had the twins not been so ‘valley’. That was an immediate turn off for me. The POV crosses were almost impossible to tell apart, and I caught myself flipping back to make sure I hadn’t missed something.

The absolute devotion to a man who has 2 personalities, the “he’s different when we are alone” teaches young girls a dangerous boundary to be okay with. The overall troupe of popular gorgeous sister vs unpopular sister but one is accepted (They are twins)

I found no ‘blaring’ plot holes or story inaccuracies but this isn’t one I would return to, nor will I likely pick up the sequel.

I have a ton of respect for P.C. and Kristin Cast, but I am a much larger fan of their works individually vs together.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this Arc in exchange for a review.

Thanks to St Martins Press and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this E-ARC.

This book has so many great aspects. Who doesn't love witches? Throw in teens and their drama and hardships and it made for a fun book. I love the way the author included a variety of magic with tarot, a cauldron and so much more. The Gods and Goddesses were fun to read about as well. While parts of this book were exciting, I felt I often wanted to put the book down as it was slow in places.

I felt a bit conflicted about the audience of this book. Is it YA? Because with the sex scene and language used, I wouldn't think so, but the story and thought patterns of the main characters leads one to believe it should be. I can't quite figure out where this one lands.

I also had a hard time getting used to the POV. At first, I was confused by the flip-flopping between sisters but eventually, I became used to it.

I would love to see more from Jax and the characters that live in the underworld as protectors in the next book. I really love Xena, she provided some great comedic relief when the twins became a bit too much, personality-wise.

This is the first in a new series by Cast. It has been quite a long time since I've read anything by this author. Unfortunately this book didn't do it for me. It moved fairly slowly and I wasn't invested in any of the characters. I'm glad I read it, but I don't know if I will be picking up the next in the series. This may be an author I have grown out of, and that's alright!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday books for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I had a really hard time getting into this one since the beginning was really... Well corny and annoying. The prologue was actually really awesome and witchy though! I'm glad I pushed through it though! I really liked the idea the sisters; Hunter and Mercy Goode using their magic to try to fix problems within their hometown of Goodeville. There's tragedy, magic, mayhem and a hilarious cat(?) The cat isn't what it appears and that's probably my favorite part of the whole book! I really loved the idea behind this book... an important magical family that are the descendants of an important Salem witch that have to protect the gates to different underworlds. Oh and they all choose a god or goddess to follow (would've loved to see more of the lore behind the gods/goddesses chosen). Overall I really enjoyed Spells Trouble. I just wish it would have involved more witch drama and less high school drama. The writing felt a bit immature at times too. If you're into witchy, earthy, magical books that contain funny familiars don't miss this one on May 25!

Thanks to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this E-ARC. I will publish this review on my blog (A Bookish Star), Amazon Canada, Barnes & Noble, and Instagram (@ABookishStar) closer to the publication date.

My favourite part of Spells Trouble was the concept. I liked the idea of twin sisters being responsible for the gates that protect their town. I liked that Mercy is an Earth witch and Hunter is a cosmos witch. The book's inclusion of nature, tarot, or even a cauldron into their spells was neat to read about in this book.

The other aspect of Spells Trouble that I liked was the friendship between the twins, Emily and Jax. The idea that that the twins could rely on their friends during troubling times was nice to see in this book. This aspect of friendship is something I remember also enjoying in P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast's House of Night series.

Jax and Hunter were, by far, my favourite characters in Spells Trouble. I even wish that Jax had more page time in book one. My favourite POV to read about was Hunter's narration. I related to Hunter with her past of being bullied and socially anxious around crowds of people.

I wasn't a big fan of how the story was structured in Spells Trouble. I think the story was building up tension for the end. However, I found the ending to be a bit anticlimactic. I am hoping that book two will focus more on the gates. I felt that the grief that the characters were going through could have been better shown. I also felt the antagonist was revealed too soon in the story. The early revelation of the antagonist for me meant that the book lost a bit of its element of mystery and surprise.

This novel did leave me with a few questions: Why does Mercy call her mom by her first name? Why does Mercy use English phrases (is she half English)? Where is the twins' father?

I also wanted more backstory on how Xena can transform into a person.

Overall, I will continue with book two, because I'm curious to see how the main story continues to unfold in the Sisters of Salem series. I enjoyed the story's concept and the strong friendships shown in Spells Trouble. I was not a big fan of how the plot was laid out and unfolded.

This book and its characters are absolutely stunning!
The back story of this book is a subject that has always fascinated me. The Salem Witch Trials. After she and her daughter escaped, Sarah Good set up her new life in Illinois.
Present day, the Good twins Mercy and Hunter, are about to have their 16th birthdays. The twins are complete opposites but are also extremely close. They are also absolutely witches. I was worried at first when it jumped that it would be a book where they didnt know their lineage and had to discover their powers but instead, they were witches descended from witches and they were about to come into their full powers after they chose their god or goddess.
It starts off with the twins losing their mother on their big night, midnight on their birthday. Their cat then turns human and becomes their guardians so at least they dont have to leave town.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the differences between the twins and their interactions with their friends and others in the town. I also loved the darker side of the books. There are a ton of murders that happen and the twins are racing to stop them.

The ending was something I was slightly expecting. .not the exact end but rather, an obvious set up for another book. I love that it continues and that I get to read more.

This is a story about witchy women.

I enjoyed this, but wanted more out of it. The action scenes were fun & descriptive, but the relationships felt like they were primarily setting up for a sequel & the banter felt forced. I did really enjoy the cat/aunt character! Extra 1/2 star for the interesting magic system.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️. 🌟 , rounded to 4.

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for this e-Arc!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a longtime P.C and Kristin Cast fan (I was obsessed with the House of Night series as a teen) I was so excited when I heard about this book.

The story is told from two POV's, twins Hunter and Mercy, who are witches. They need to learn how to be Gatekeepers, the protectors of the Gates to different underworlds, ancient portals between their world and realms where mythology rules and nightmares come to life. When their mother becomes the first victim in a string of murders, the twins are set to avenge her death.

This book was okay. I really wanted to love it! The beginning was strong and kept my interest, but as the story went on I found myself getting bored. That being said, I will pick up the second book to see what happens.

Hunter and Mercy are forced into their roles as the new Gatekeeper’s of the Underworld on their 16th birthday after a spell goes wrong and tragedy happens. As Goodes, it is their responsibility to protect the town and find the killer.

I had fun reading this book. I enjoyed how different Hunter and Mercy were, despite being twins. Where one was weak the other was strong. They reminded me of how the Owens sisters (from Practical Magic) would be if we saw them as teens. The relationships between Jax and Hunter, and Emily and Mercy were adorable. I didn’t like Kirk at all. He was the typical jock boy, arrogant, stupid and I would say dangerous. Avoid at all costs!

I like how the authors added bits of mythology in the book and how the sisters (and the mother) chose their own god or goddess to dedicate their path to. I know a few Wiccans and this is something that I have heard them talk about so it seems they did their research.

I was hoping the book would have stayed in the Salem Witch Trials era (as that is a favorite historical time period of mine) and I felt we were somewhat roughly transitioned to modern-day but overall I think this was a good book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC.

I had to DNF this book. It started pretty interestingly, but when the time jump to the twins came, I lost interest because I didn’t like the characters at all. I know there’s huge debate about adults saying YA seems immature, but in this case, it’s as if the authors are out of touch with how teens really talk. The MCs say things like pressies (presents) & hugses. The dialogue is also a little absurd. In chapter 3, the mother of the girls literally ask if she wants to talk about her clitoris again when she goes steady with a boy.

I was so excited to receive an advanced e-copy of this book as I’ve been looking forward to it! I really wanted to love it. Books with witches are my favorite. Twin witches Hunter & Mercy are ushered into their roles as the new Gatekeeper’s of the underworlds on their 16th birthday, after a spell goes awry and their mother is murdered. This twins now must hunt down the murderer while keeping mythological monsters at bay. It is after all, their duty as the Goode’s, to protect the town.

I really enjoyed this one and I can’t wait to see what’s next, I struggled a little with the switching back and forth between characters but after reading for a while I was able to get into it....