This book was entertaining but I didn't love it. I found myself easily setting it aside, and my mind wandered to other things going on in my life. This could be a me-thing and I could have not been in the mood for it at the time, but I didn't find myself enjoying the writing itself and they may have contributed. A bit too much telling and far too simplistic in phrasing. Their writing style has certainly changed since House of Night (a series I gave up on at book 5), but I was too reminded of their writing style then and I wasn't a fan then and I'm still not.

Hunter and Mercy Goode are twin teenage witches in their town of Goodeville, which was founded by their ancestor. The girls are gatekeepers to the portals of the underworlds of ancient and mythological lands. However, when their mother’s death begins a string of murders in their town, the sister witches must do something to stop the demon who is threatening their town. Mercy and Hunter must accept their legacy as protectors of Goodeville or risk ruining it forever.

I went into this book blind and I was completely surprised by what it was about. I didn’t expect the mythological aspects. There were creatures and gods from Greek, Norse, and Egyptian mythology mentioned. It was an unusual blend of the modern world with these ancient stories.

There was an awkward subplot about Mercy’s terrible boyfriend. It involved a “slut-shaming” incident which didn’t really add to the story. That part felt out of place and could have been replaced with something that wasn’t so controversial since it didn’t move the plot forward.

My favourite part of this story was Xena, the Goode family’s cat. She surprised them by transforming into a person after their mother died. Even though she became a human, she still had cat behaviours and called everyone “kitten.” She was adorable and funny.

Spells Trouble is an original modern witch story.

Thank you Wednesday Books for providing a copy of this book.

Spells Trouble

Sisters of Salem

By: P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

St. Martin’s Press

Wednesday Books

Publish Date 25 May 2021

Teens and YA

100 Book ReviewsProfessional Reader

I would like to first thank both St. Martin and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Good Reads Synopsis:

Double double, twins spell trouble…

Hunter and Mercy Goode are twin witches, direct descendants of the founder of their town of Goodeville. As their ancestors have done before them, it is now time for the twins to learn what it means 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 devastated sisters vow to avenge her death. But it will take more than magic to rein in the ancient mythological monsters who’ve infected their peaceful town.

Now Hunter and Mercy must come together and accept their destiny or risk being separated for good.

Book Review:

I really enjoyed this book. I gave it 4 stars. I like the family and friendships that this book has and how everyone really comes together. I also like how the story opens with a little bit of history of the family and how the town came to be.

This story is about magic and how the girls learn to help each other along with the town. They may not get along all the time because they are siblings and that is normal but in the end they do what is needed to get the job done.

Spells Trouble was a painful read. I always feel bad writing a bad review of a book, because I acknowledge and respect the author(s) efforts in creating a story. But I also feel honesty is the best way to review a title.

I absolutely love to read Young Adult books, so a certain level of immaturity is to be expected with dialogue and actions of characters. Spells Trouble just felt too much so, in particular when it came to dialogue. Maybe it was an attempt at appealing more towards Gen Z? It just felt forced and not natural at all.

This book was a little bit of a slow start for me, but it soon picked up and I was hooked. The detail and accurate information used about deities and parts of witches was very appealing. I can’t wait for the next book.

When mom Abigail Goode and her twin girls, Mercy and Hunter, were performing a Ritual at the base of the Norse apple tree, a demon attempted a break from the Underworld. In the fight that ensues, Abigail sacrifices herself so her girls could live but the fight is far from over. This story has lots of magical action and contains romance and a bit of steam ending in a cliffhanger. Very highly recommended.

I received an advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is definitely in the vein of her earlier stories. A call back to the HOUSE OF NIGHT fans, with a twist on witchcraft!

My favorite authors wrote a witch book, so I just had to get my hands on a copy. Thank you NetGalley for providing a free copy against an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book!

⭐️ world building
⭐️ writing
⭐️ great characters
⭐️ plot twist

Minus one star because the change of pov confused me a bit.

This book was a great adventure and I can’t wait for book two!

I was given an ARC of this book by Netgalley for my honest review.
Another fabulous book by P. C. and Kristin Cast!
Even though this is a YA book, this older witchy woman thoroughly enjoyed it. Some people may not be into, or understand, the “witchy thing”, but will surely enjoy the paranormal aspect of this story. And, I discovered some new names and information about a couple of Gods that I hadn’t known before. (Thanks to the authors and Google! lol) Also, I plan on ordering the hardcover just so I can re-read this over and over.

Spells Trouble is the first book in a brand new YA paranormal mystery saga. The premise for an excellent new series is there: With the help of their "aunt"--their mother's former cat familiar now turned human--grieving teen witches are dealing with the aftermath of their mother's murder. Together, the three work to uncover who murdered their mother and why. But the questions don't stop there. They also need to figure out what's killing the trees that stand guard between the different dimensions and fight to save the town from a paranormal doomsday. If you're a fan of the Casts' books or YA paranormal fiction in general, give this one a try!

Rating: 3.5 Stars

I was initially granted eARC access to Spells Trouble by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast via NetGalley, but unfortunately I had too much on my schedule at that time and missed publication. Now that I've been approved for the second book as well (thank you for trusting me despite missing this deadline!) I grabbed the audiobook through my local library to the get full immersive experience and get this review done. My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

I devoured the House of Night series when those books were new, buying each in hardcover as they came in stock at the grocery store I was working for at the time. Nostalgia is a powerful thing, so when I saw that this mother-daughter team was starting a new series, I just had to give it a try! I was hoping for something a little more mature than House of Night had been, and I dare say this is. The main characters, twin witches, are still teenagers in high school, but they're a little older than the thirteen-year-old vamps in the early books of The House of Night, and the subject matter is much darker.

That's not to say there isn't any regular teenage shenanigans, though. We've got boyfriend drama, sibling rivaly, gay best friends, and football games. All the mandatory hallmarks of an American high school drama, right? This could easily be the untold story going on in the background of any of the 1990s or 2000s Disney channel movies starting teen actors and set at a middle-class-anywhere USA public high school.

This book is a paranormal mystery at its core. Grieving teen witches and their mother's Maine Coon cat familiar-turned-woman "Aunt" Xena (Zena? Like I said, I ended up listening...) must figure out what killed their mother and their best friend's father, what's killing the trees that stand guard over a interdimensional gate in the local park, and do it all in time to save the town from paranormal destruction.

The good: Cat aunt is hilarious and well worth the read! I also loved the world-building and I can see a lot of potential for this series.

The bad: The plot was way too all over the place for much of this book. It feels like this book was trying to accomplish far too much for the first book in a YA series, and I hope the second book proves to be a little more seamless.

I'm looking forward to book two!

Spells Trouble by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast is a mind bending installment, twin witch sisterhood and an action packed ride!

This is was a tough one for me. It is okay. I'm not sure if I will continue with the series, it really just depends. I love witchcraft books but this one missed the mark with me.

Spells Trouble left me with mixed feelings. I was a little disappointed because it seemed aimed at an even younger audience than I am used to, at the beginning. I read YA a lot but I found this to be a bit unexpected. However, as the story progressed I found it more enjoyable. I will be more than happy to read the second book in the series whenever it comes out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this opportunity to read the book.

This was not my favorite. I like the witchcraft storyline and the dynamic between the characters. I don't know that I am invested enough to continue on with the series.

I really enjoyed this story of the Goode sisters. Likeable characters helped this storyline a ton. I almost wish the prologue would have been a longer part of the book. Maybe there's a prequel in our future...fingers crossed!

I had a friend who I lost touch with who first got me into these two authors. She and I went through the entire House of Night series in about two weeks. In reality, this book is so much better than I expected but I love anything to do with witches.  This book and its characters are absolutely stunning!
After she and her daughter escaped, Sarah Good set up her new life in Illinois.
Present-day, the Good twin's 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 didn't 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. can I just say that I find it funny that most of the books that have to do with witchcraft that it all happen on their 16th birthday and I find that amusing. 
It starts 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 don't have to leave town. Their cat as a human has to be one of my favorite characters as a whole and I hope she is in book two. 

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 setup for another book. I love that it continues and that I get to read more. I have high hopes for book two but I will say that unlike other readers I do not find this to be lazy writing or slow-paced at all. I look forward to more. The only reason this is getting a four-star rating and not a five-star is because I hate cliffhangers and waiting.

Spells Trouble is a new fantasy series by P.C. and Kristin Cast.

I'll be honest, it took me forever to get through this novel, it was very slow and kind of lagged at parts, but I found it overall a fun read.

I liked reading about the different Gods and Goddesses, and how both Hunter and Mercy connected to their god/goddess themselves. Reading about Witches is always a favorite of mine, but I felt a bit of relation to their House of Night series and how the vampires held their rituals.

Like some, I was confused at the POVs weaved throughout, with there not being a set POV but 3rd person told from one characters POV.

The idea of grief is very heavily introduced and I felt like the way all the characters dealt with their own grief and trauma was very relatable and very real.

3.75/5

I was extremely excited to read this after loving their House of Night novels, those books played a huge part of my high school life and I will still continue to read them even as an adult. Honestly though, this book disappointed me. I loved the premise of this book with the twin witches and everything but it almost felt like I wasn't reading a book written by the Cast duo. The writing style felt completely different and at points in this book I was rolling my eyes and incredibly bored.

The only reason I'm giving this book three and a half stars is because I really did love the characters Hunter and Mercy even though at times they annoyed me. The plot of the story wasn't that great to me and felt like it jumped around a lot and wasn't that climatic. I will still continue on with this series because I'm intrigued to see what happens next but I'm hoping the next books are written better.

Portals to various underworlds. Teen twin witches pledge themselves to their patron gods. Uncovering the evil while grieving the loss of their mother. Everything about this sounds good, but almost nothing reads good. With a pacing and tone that disrupts whatever essence the story was attempting to establish, the characterisation almost fails to construct a personality that can take forward the plot or motivate readers to cheer for. The magic system or fantastical world-building, which can be expected to somewhat strengthen the tale, also disappoints when the doors to different underworlds are actually windows into Greek, Norse, Japanese, Hindu, and Egyptian mythologies. Not only does the entire idea of a few white women protecting the world from cultural underworlds, especially those stemming from the east, seems absurdly saviour-ish, but it also indirectly comments on indigenous population in an underwhelming, even disappointing manner. Basically, for the readers, the problems prevailed instead of being resolved in this paranormal fantasy.