Spells Trouble:

This is a very YA book. There was some YA that I can read and love. There are other YA I can read and then I feel ancient, like my parents when they discovered what “The Facebook” was. It read almost middle grade to me, but then we have drinking and “dancing like a stripper” so now we’re in the YA part? I just felt old.

I loved their relationship as sisters as it was just realistic. While I won’t be having the same kind of conversations with my kids as their mother had with them, it was good to see their dynamic in play as well.

I did think it was such a cool angle that the girls already knew their past and history and it wasn’t a story of them figuring out they were witches and what was going to happen. They were confident in their task and knew what was at stake.

Overall, I really loved the premise and the prologue and was so excited to get into Spells Trouble! However, it just kind of fell flat. I don’t know if it was because the writing felt so young, or because the beginning started strong and drifted away, but it just wasn’t as amazing I had hoped it would be. Definitely check this out if you do enjoy a younger YA read.

Thank you so much Tor/Wednesday for the gifted copy.

3.5 ⭐

Spells Trouble follows twin witches, Hunter and Mercy Goode. They are direct descendants of the found of the town they live in called Goodeville. All of their ancestors have served as Gatekeepers of the town. Gatekeepers are the protectors of the Gates to different underworlds. They are ancient portals between our world and the realms where mythology rules and nightmares are true.

Just as the girls are learning to take on their new role as Gatekeepers, their mother is murdered. She is just the first in a string of murders. The twins are devastated and vow to avenge their mother's death. They must find the ancient mythological monsters who have been set free in their once peaceful town.

The beginning of this book dragged a little for me and there were a few things I wish were more sussed out, but I look forward to continuing on with the series and following along with the Goode twins!

The beginning of a new paranormal series by the Cast team draws the listener is immediately into high school drama--with some stereotypical characters and events more appealing to YA audiences than adults. Things slow down a bit with an extraordinary amount of ritual, as the twins prepare to celebrate their 16th birthday, but becoming full fledged witches brings new challenges, as well as sorrow and loss. The girls are more priestesses than practitioners. Elements of worship and ceremony added to ordinary adolescent angst dilute the real tragedies and dangers as well as slow down the action. I had problems with the historical setup, ie a lone British woman, even a powerful witch, finding her way from coastal Massachusetts to central Illinois in 1692 to found a multicultural community built on international mythologies. With the world building in place and the twins becoming women, the series still shows some promise. Cassandra Campbell does a fine job of narration, distinguishing the characters with subtlety, helping build suspense, and moving the plot steadily forward.

I wanted to read this book, but enjoyed it so much more listening to it. I loved the voice and the book just came to life better through audio than I could have read it.

P.C. and Kristin Cast wrote one of my favorite series ever, House of Night. When I saw they were releasing a new fantasy series I knew I had to read it. With that said, I was hoping to love this one more than I actually did. It's also quite possible that I didn't enjoy this one as much since I'm not part of the target audience.

Hunter and Mercy are polar opposite 16 year old twin witches that are faced with the task of saving the town after a ritual goes wrong.

The biggest issue I had with this novel, was that it was perceived that a character's sexuality is what led her to choose a god or goddess outside of the norm that ultimately caused the deaths of innocent people and put the entire town at risk. I felt like this gave a negative feel to the last half of the book. Why was it relevant for Hunter's sexuality to even be brought up at that time? Why was it so hard for Mercy to believe that Hunter chose to worship the God solely because that's who she felt drawn the most to? I felt like this situation alone, albeit small, can unnecessarily negatively impact the readers who are also struggling with their sexuality. I also really didn't understand why Mercy's boyfriend all of a sudden completely flipped out on the girls toward the end. It seemed really out of character than from his other appearances.

In regards to the narration, I feel like Cassandra Campbell may not have been the best fit. I've listened to several books narrated by her and she always does a wonderful job. This however was a YA novel with 16 year old main characters and I don't think her voice quite fit.

Trying to end on a positive note, I really liked that this book was about witches rather than the normal YA paranormal and the overall premise was great. There was an explicit scene that would keep me from recommending this book to younger teens but other than that, I would have really enjoyed this book as a high schooler. I know what powerful magic PC & Kristin Cast can create with their novels and am really looking forward to reading more in this series.

Thank you, Macmillan and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel.
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Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️(3)/5

Firstly, the narrator is incredible and has a great voice for audiobooks!

This story is wonderful, sad, complex, and full of familial love. Twin witches that need to save their world from monsters from different realms of power?! Sign me up! Norse, Egyptian, Hindu, Greek, Japanese gates that needed to be fixed and closed again to keep the "Oogly-Boogly's" away from the world. Hunter and Mercy must work together starting on their shared 16th birthday to seal the gates or risk being separated.

I loved this so much! It was full of magic and just had the greatest weaved story!

Spells Trouble is a fun witch story that seems to be a better fit for younger readers. I liked the plot and the characters but thought the details were a bit lacking as well as any complicated aspects to the story. The world building is nice and the magic was thought out and fun. The story did come off as flat and one dimensional at times and that reduced my connection, I did like the main ideas of the story and think this series will have interesting places to go. I think younger readers, middle grade and young adults will enjoy this story and I think it is a fun adventure for many readers.

I would have liked to feel a better connection to the characters and their plight but I just didn't. I also think (as I listened to the audiobook and didn't read this story) that the narrator was not to my enjoyment and that might have impacted my full enjoyment. I thought the narrator "tried too hard" and over exaggerated the different voices and roll and the story came off a bit cheesy because of that. That said, however, I will be reading this story again in book form and I think that might make the difference for me in star rating.

Spells Trouble was an ok read for me. I adore P.C. Cast’s writing, so I was super excited to receive the galley of this. It just wasn’t quite there. I enjoyed the sister bond and the premise of the story. The “voice” just felt a bit all over the place to me. It felt like they went from being incredibly mature 16-year olds (like old souls), to incredibly childish 16-year olds, to just a normal teenager. I will give a warning for parents of younger readers there is one explicit scene, so you may want to talk to your kiddo if you haven’t yet. (Although if they’re reading this, they probably know!) Overall, this was an ok read but a bit forgettable.

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.

Also they both seemed to move past their mom’s death way too quickly. For newly 16 year olds who only had their mom their entire lives, they really went from mourning to totally okay way too fast.

Spells Trouble is about twin witches in their teens, finally reaching the age where they can dedicate themselves to their chosen goddess and declare their magical specialty.

Under their mother’s tutelage, they have learned their roles as descendants of their hometown’s first witch, but they still have much to learn. They don’t understand just how ill-prepared they are until their Mother dies, a monster slips into their world, and the two fledgling witches are left trying to deal with their grief and protect their world alone.

It’s a story of family, heartbreak, and sacrifice, with mature content and complex relationships. It also has LGBTQ content

While the book ends with a satisfying ending, the epilogue adds reveals the lack of a resolution and hints at a sequel. It also tears the twins apart with enough force to leave the reader breathless.

This audiobook is narrated by the talented Cassandra Campbell, who does an incredible job bringing the main characters to life.

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.

++Goode Witches Spells Trouble!++


I've seen reviews of many readers not enjoy "Spells Trouble" by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast, but I'm here to tell you I had the opposite reading experience. I was lucky to get the ARC of this in audiobook format and I highly recommend you indulge in the story of the Goode Twins.

The story follows the Goode Twins, Hunter and Mercy, who happen to be direct descendants of the founder of their town, Goodeville. We learn that they are responsible for being the 'Gate keepers' and protectors to the different underworlds. Being a witch comes with many complications; aside from only telling those they trust that they are witches and are able to do the unthinkable, they must also be the protectors of their town.

At the start of the story, Hunter and Mercy experience an unimaginable loss. With this loss, a string of murders begins in the town of Goodeville, which leads to more questions than answers. It becomes a vow between the Goode sisters to find and avenge the death of their beloved. What they don't know is that the murderer escaped through one of the portals they were responsible for,

'Spells Trouble' is an adventure of finding the truth and being able to handle the responsibilities that follow. Hunter and Mercy go through a string of events to discover who the murderer is and why the town of Goodeville is being overrun by evil. I highly recommend those who are into witchcraft, friendship, and mystery to pick up this book.

Before you ask - There is minimal smut; one scene to be exact if my memory serves me right. But the banter between the characters is enjoyable. I loved the murder mystery aspect of this story. Did I mention there is a talking cat? No? Well.....now I did.

I would definitely categorize this as YA. I loved P.C. Cast's 'House of Night' series, so if you enjoy their writing style, then this is definitely highly recommended.

I read most of the House of Night series as a teenager and was excited to see the first installment of PC Cast's new series! I thought it was a little less dark than the other series, but still really enjoyed it! It gave me Sabrina the Teenager vibes! The narrator was engaging and kept me listening to this book! Excited to listen to the second book when it comes out :)

Thank you MacMillan Audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

I am normally not a fantasy fan, but I received the ALC of Spells Trouble from MacMillan and I thought I would give it a whirl. I was immediately enticed by this story, as the prologue is anchored around the Salem Witch Trials. This fact alone made my history-loving heart extremely happy. I continued listening, because the world created in a small town in Illinois was intriguing with its witchcraft and mysterious deaths.

Twins Hunter and Mercy could not be more opposite. Hunter is quiet and reserved. Mercy is loud and popular. On the eve of their 16th birthday, with their mother in tow, attend a sacred ceremony, only to be interrupted by something from the underworld bursting out and killing their mother. As more people turn up dead, the twins must use their witchcraft to stop the killings and put their world back how it's supposed to be.

I was really invested in the plot and wanted to know who was killing the townspeople and how Hunter and Mercy could fix everything at only 16. While I am normally not a fan of fantasy and witchcraft, these two characters were super fun and I enjoyed how their personalities balanced each other out. The quirky cast of secondary characters were also a treat. I enjoyed the mystery, the suspense, and the small nods to Illinois geography. Ending on a cliffhanger, I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Cassandra Campbell was an excellent narrator that nailed the different personalities and voices of all the characters. Running just shy of 11 hours, I did speed the narration up to about 2.3 speed for most of the book and sped it up quicker toward the end, because I just wanted to know what was going to happen.

There were a few things that caused me to knock the book down a star. First, the book did feel a tad long, especially at the end when they were trying to get to the ritual that would save their town. I understand it was done to build suspense, but it could have been shorter. There were points where I was questioning just how much people knew about the witchcraft of the sisters and their ancestors. At times, I felt like it was a common fact, but then at other times, I felt like it was a secret. Finally, there was some on page sex and frank sexual discussions that I felt were a tad unnecessary. I don't feel like it moved the story along, even though it was used to eventually show a short-coming in a character. This is the one thing that is keeping me from recommending this book to my 8th grade readers where I teach.

Spells trouble by P.C. and Kristin Cast is the story of twin sisters, who happen to be from a very long and powerful line of witches. Their ancestor founded the town they reside in, Goodeville and have been protecting the town as Gatekeepers ever since.

This was such a great, witchy read. There is some very strong language and sexual stuff so this is a book for someone a tad older but if you've read the authors works before then you know what to expect.

I flew through this book on one sitting(about 3 hours) and now I have to wait a year for the next book so I am sad but very glad I got a chance to read the book early.

RATING:
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Fans of the Cast team will enjoy this spooky and fun first in the Sisters of Salem trilogy. Twin teen witches Hunter and Mercy Goode have strong magic, inherited directly from their town’s founder. They are gatekeepers – charged with guarding ancient portals and preventing evil beings from entering their world. The twins have their world turned upside down when their mother is killed by a beast from another world that somehow got through a portal. The event is just the first in a string of murders, and the twins must put aside their grief in order to do what they have been charged to do by their ancestors – protect the town of Goodeville.

This was a quick and really fun read! If you like the House of Night series, this is a lighter trilogy, and obviously centered on witches! There are plenty of surprises as you go – one of which involving my favorite cat in the novel. I really liked the bond between the twins and how they come together to deal with the grief of their mother’s death and what is needed from them to guard the portals. I also enjoyed the incorporation of Wiccan elements and practices throughout the book. I know the authors drew on some of their own knowledge and experiences, so that made it even more interesting. I recommend this for YA readers. This will be a really fun summer break read!

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.

I listened to the audiobook. The reader did a good job, my issue was when she talked as Mercy, she used a very “baby” voice. I think that was part of what made the sex scene awkward.

Overall, the audiobook was okay. I think the reader did a good job with voice and pace, it was just the baby voice that threw me off.

I don't really know what to make of Spells Trouble, which ended up reminding me a bit of Practical Magic meets Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Overall, I enjoyed the story; in particular the relationship between Hunter and Mercy, the book's protagonist twitches. Opposites in many ways and argumentative like sisters can be, but never rivals and always there for each other at a moment's notice. Of course, the book ends hinting that may not always be the case. Luckily, we need not concern ourselves with that now.

Regarding tone, Spells Trouble is a little all over the place. At times it reads very much like an angsty YA novel, at others more like a simple Middle Grade, and then it hits you with a couple of very detailed mature moments that I was not expecting and honestly took me out of the story for a moment.

While I did enjoy the story, I was also a bit disappointed because it had the potential to be great. Unfortunately, it ended up being just a 3.5 for me. It moves along nicely and is easy to follow, but it also has some cliches and uses of slurs that were completely unnecessary. And since I did listen to the audiobook, I can say that while nothing amazing, the narrator does a solid job of bringing the story and characters to life.

Will I continue with the series? I don't know. It's not a hard pass from me, and honestly, if I had read this when all the books in the series had already been released, I probably would have. But is it something worth continuing in a year or two? I guess we'll have to see how my TBR looks at that time.

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this book.

Twin witches Hunter and Mercy Goode are tasked with protecting the 5 gates to the underworlds set up in their town, just as every Goode witch has been before them. But when the trees marking the gates begin dying and so do people, they are forced to find a way to stop it before they are too late.

The plot of this book was pretty interesting, and I liked to learn about the type of magic they had. I liked the prologue with reference to the Salem Witch Trials and I liked that their magic came from deities that they each chose when they came of age. Hunter was a pretty interesting character for the most part, but most of these characters felt a little bland and one note.

I also thought that the writing was very over-descriptive for my taste and didn't feel natural. The dialogue was too exposition heavy for me. The over-descriptive is not my style of writing, but if you don't mind it then you will probably enjoy this book.

Pub Date: May 25, 2021
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Murder

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.

On a positive note the narrator Cassandra Campbell was fantastic!

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press & Macmillan Audio for the ALC.