3.25 ⭐️

In Book 2 of the Sisters of Salem series, Hunter and Mercy are still reeling from the death of their mother. As the new protectors of the Gates, it is up to them to heal the trees that help protect the gates, but they won’t be able to do it if they can’t heal their relationship with each other first. Driven apart by anger and grief; Mercy and Hunter are presented with the ultimate test of their bond.

I enjoyed this book much more than book 1. While still filled with over the top cringey teenage dialogue & rushed teen romances, it still felt like a much stronger book.
Mercy and Hunter constantly come across as spoiled, but they’re 16 so it’s expected. I also finally feel like they’re two separate and distinct characters. That was great to see.

The main plot felt a bit bland and lacking at times (Hunter and Mercy not talking, and still trying to heal the trees, and Hunter trusting the wrong people), but I really enjoyed the new storyline brought in towards the end of the book with Mercy and Khenti in Duat. I’ll read the next installment just to find out what happens there!

*Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

This book is the second in the Sisters of Salem Series. I liked this book much more than the first, Spells Trouble where we meet Mercy and Hunter Goode, twin witches and descendants of the founder of Goodeville. They have become the Gatekeepers, protectors of the five gates to the different underworlds. After losing their Mother in book one, the twins have gone their separate ways, unable to get along with each other. The problem is that something is making the trees at the five gates sick and each twin is trying to come up with a magic spell to heal them.

I enjoyed this book so much better than the first and felt that I got to know Mercy and Hunter much better. This book really isn’t a standalone. I feel I would have been very confused if I hadn’t read book one.

I received thiis ebook from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I was super excited for this sequel, due to the ending of the first book.

However I felt a little let down by this one. It started super slow and it was very hard for me to stay interested in the story.

I am glad to know what happens, but slightly disappointed in the overall story.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book. This is my voluntary honest review.

Thank you Wednesday Books, P. C Cast, Kristin Cast, and NetGalley for this advanced copy. I will admit I was a little hesitant going into this one because the first one I didn’t care for as much. But this one was so much more drama and it completely blew away my expectations for this book. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the extensive mythology‘s that are included in this world. You actually get to see some of the different gods and goddesses in this book and it’s very interesting because they are all based off the various mythologies in real life. The characters frustrated me so much in this book but I really enjoyed seeing their growth. This book genuinely blew me away. It felt so much on the first one that it’s just made me fall in love with these characters, this world, and the magic system even more. I am so thankful I got a chance to read this early and I am really looking forward to the next one!

I was provided an ARC of this from Wednesday Books an imprint of St Martin's Press) via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I'm really enjoying this series, so far and I'm lookin forward to the next book. I'm not sure how many books are in the series but it is at minimum a trilogy if not more. This picks up where Spells Trouble leaves off, so I don't recommend reading this as a standalone. Mercy and Hunter are both still grieving the loss of their mother and events from the first book have split the twins sisterly bond. They spend much of the book angry at one another and acting like petulant teenagers. I did find myself rolling my eyes at some of their outbursts because they are so immature, but given that they are only 16 their actions and attitudes make perfect sense. Neither one of them is willing to take responsibility for their actions when it comes to her her sister, however they do take responsibility for their actions when said sister is not in the picture. I can see this not appealing to a more adult audience and appealing more to a YA audience.

The twins are both determined to continue in their mother's footsteps and protect the gateways, which have started to weaken. Torn by their grief and resent for one another, they are both determined to find a way to heal the trees that act as gateways to the other realms. Mercy has stayed true to her path as a Green Witch, while Hunter has taken a much darker path after pledging herself to the goddess Amphitrite. The more Hunter learns about her new goddess the more she comes to feel she has made a huge mistake in forsaking Tyr, the god she had previously pledge herself to.

We see alot of character development from both sisters in this as long as they aren't together. Hunter is on a dark path making questionable choices at the behest of Amphitrite to save herself, the gates, and the town. Mercy is coming into her powers and learning to stand on her own two feet. The second they get within 2 feet of each other all of that progress vanishes and they snipe at one another about how self centered and selfish one another is. There is clearly some resentment the two of them will have to work through before the end of the story, but it doesn't happen in this book. I expect it will come in the next installment as Mercy has found herself in quite the predicament and Xena and Hunter have to find her and rescue her. I enjoyed the side characters in this as well. There is a good supporting cast for both Mercy and Hunter to lean on and the villians are equally devious. I'm looking forward to seeing how things play out in the next installment. There are quite a few things left unresolved.

I enjoyed the magic system and world building. The setting is well described and you have a good idea of how the magic works. I especially enjoyed the touch of mythology that the authors chose to add to the story. I thought the Land of the Dead scenes were really well done and very creative.

I was granted eARC access to Omens Bite by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

I'll start by saying that I did read and review the first book in this series, Spells Trouble, and I enjoyed it. I also used to adore the House of Night series, an older YA Urban Fantasy series by the same author pair, so I consider myself quite familiar with how they write and what sort of plots to expect. With that said, I was disappointed by Omens Bite.

I thought the previous book, Spells Trouble, was pretty good and rated it a solid 4 out of 5 stars. It was a little dry here, and little clunky there, but ultimately set up a fascinating concept and what promised to be a great series. A little bit of the magic (pun intended) that I loved in the House of Night series has been lost here in this series simply by placing the teenaged protagonists in a perfectly ordinary US city high school full of mundane human kids. Everything magical happens outside of school hours.

I was really hoping that the sisters would come together to do whatever big villain-vanquishing sort of things needed doing in this one, but it appears they're not done being hurt and giving each other the cold shoulder. I don't know if this will be more relatable to actual teen readers, but as a woman in my 30s, I didn't have the patience for it. Neither sister really grabbed me and made me love her in the first book, so now that they're further driving a wedge between themselves, I didn't feel that emotion, and I didn't care about the conflict.

I did enjoy all of the further world-building and god-meeting we got to do in this instalment, and as always, cat aunt Xena is hilariously bad at remembering not to be catlike when she's being human. Seriously, all the being called out for licking... doesn't it taste bad to her human tongue? We've established that her human stomach handles cheese while her cat stomach does not, so the transformation is not just an optical illusion...

So what do I think of this one overall? It's not bad. The authors are skilled and experienced and that does show. A greener author/team trying to tell the same story would not have won a publishing contract. I think this book will appeal more to the intended teen audience than it does to older women like me, which is both a good thing and a shame. It's good in that I don't think it'll be equally unappreciated across the board, but a shame in that I still love YA and I'm always disappointed to come across a YA title that doesn't feel accessible to an older reader. To specifically address the plot itself and how this book played out, if we're comparing to House of Night, I'm surprised I didn't love the plot. House of Night took much more than two books to start feeling like it was fizzling. Hopefully this is just a second book slump and the series will come back with a powerful third book! Will I read it? Maybe. Depends how busy I am when it's time to request the ARC.

This is the second book in the Sisters of Salem series. I was excited to dive back in on Hunter's and Mercy's journey especially with the cliffhanger that I was left with after Book 1. I really loved all these characters and the overall story on Book 1.

The second book was much slower for me than book one. I thought parts dragged on, and I really did not like Mercy or Hunter. I felt like they really lost their spark from book one. Both girls were very selfish and self absorbed. I was disappointed in where their characters were compared to where they were in book one.

The ending though gets very exciting! I was flipping through pages and felt like everyone was finally getting back where they belong. I was at the point of giving this series up, but because of the ending I definitely will be picking up Book three!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

While this one still held my attention, and was a quick read, I didn't enjoy it as much as the first. I will say that with both this one and the first one I kept thinking about how much my junior high self would have loved these books. Some of the ways the characters behave in this can be frustrating at times but it is helpful to remember that they are around 16 years old and it makes more sense.

I am interested to see how this all gets resolved in (hopefully) the next book.

I really enjoyed Spelled Trouble and I was so excited to receive an ARC Of Omens Bite! I really like Mercy and Hunter as individuals as well as their dynamic together. I really enjoyed this one and I thought the plot was very interesting and captivating!

I received this advanced copy and dove into it pretty deep before I realized that it was a sequel 🤦🏽‍♀️ I need to go back and read the first one because I know there is more to the back story than I realize, even after finishing this one! I have read a series by these authors before and really enjoyed it, so I definitely will give this one a chance!

Mercy and Hunter are twin sisters who have lost their mother and they have fallen out with one another. Hunter moves out and takes up with a new goddess after leaving her previous god. Mercy stays behind and continues to try to heal the trees and deal with her heartbreak. They have a complicated relationship and I ended up liking Hunter better than Mercy, although both of them certainly have their issues. If you are into magic, witches, gods and goddesses, you will enjoy this book for sure!

Thank you to #netgalley for the chance to read this in exchange for my honest review!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It picks up where the first book left off. The twins have definitely reacted differently to their circumstances. I actually thought the author did a great job with depicting teens dealing with grief and loss and a lack of guidance. The bad decisions and misunderstandings between Mercy and Hunter really did ring true for me.

It did get a little difficult to keep reading when it seemed like it was one thing after the next with those two. However, teens are often not the most rational thinkers when emotions are involved so I stuck it out and am very glad that I did.

The book is a solid 4 star read for me.

After the events of Spells Trouble twins Mercy and Hunter are more at odds than ever. They each must decide what’s truly important to them and if they can heal together to save their town.

I’m hoping book three will be the completion of those story! I’m enjoying Hunter and Mercy’s journey.

Although, I really enjoyed the first book in this series. Unfortunately, this one gave me severe second book syndrome, I had a really hard time with the writing style in this, and I did not like it as much as I was hoping I would.

The main issue I had with this was just the way the dialogue was written, it was very stiff, and I feel like real people don't talk like that. That was a challenge, I also feel like there was no real growth or character development in terms of the main characters.

Do not read this 2nd book in the Sisters of Salem series unless you've read Spells Trouble. It will be too confusing. Actually, with the language and the way the teenagers speak in this novel, it may be too confusing anyway. I actually have 2 teenagers and if they ever started talking the way the kids in this novel talk, I think I' d try and give them up for adoption.
Anyway, Omens Bite is the 2nd novel in the Sisters of Salem series by P.C. and Kristen Cast, a mother/daughter team who have done other YA works such as the House of Night series and Otherworld. Spells Trouble was definitely better. There just seems to be SO MUCH going on in all these novels. WAY too much drama, even for a pair of teen twin witches. And some of the side plots are needless and confusing and just throw you off the main action. I suppose I will eventually read the third book when it becomes available, but it's not something I'm looking forward to reading. And does every novel have to end on a cliffhanger gloom and doom catastrophe?!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an e-arc of this novel.*

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this Arc!

I enjoyed Spells Trouble and this next book, Omens Bite, did not let me down. I feel like the characters had more distinct and defining personalities, particularly the twins. And, I loved the magic in this book.

Overall, it's a fun, fast-paced read that is easy to get through.

Out April 5th!

This book falls short. I believe it was struck by the Second in a series curse.

I enjoyed the first installation of this series and even liked the characters then.

In this it was much the same and no growth or change and I found myself annoyed with the characters all together.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Omen’s Bite follows teen twin witches Hunter and Mercy Goode as they continue their task of healing the trees that protect their hometown of Goodeville, IL while navigating their strained relationship following the events of Spells Trouble.

Years ago, I read the House of Night series by PC Cast and Kristen Cast and enjoyed it, so I went into the Sisters of Salem series hopeful, but I was ultimately underwhelmed. I am, admittedly, not the target audience, but I also had a difficult time figuring out what age group this series was written for. Based on the dialogue and prose alone, I would have guessed that this series was for the younger side of YA, maybe as a branch between middle grade and YA, but given the detailed sex scene in the first book, this doesn’t track (thankfully there was no such scene in book 2, a great improvement). Another improvement from Spells Trouble is that Hunter and Mercy felt more flushed out and distinct from each other as characters.

I found the dialogue to be stiff and lacking; it doesn’t feel like how real people talk. I also do not care for Xena, the familiar who became the twins’ de facto guardian in Spells Trouble. The fact that she is a cat is overplayed while she is in human form and any instance of her (no spoilers as these happened in book one as well) asking for cream or tuna, complaining about having to wear clothes, or lamenting about having to act human to feel like filler and don't add much to the story. I think this is indicative of the book's overall issue with pacing: everything felt drawn out and relayed so matter-of-factly that it came off as underwhelming and not engaging. I found I had to push myself to continue reading it. If it weren’t reading a review copy, I probably would have DNF’d around 30% in, but I wanted to make sure I gave it a fair chance for a review by completing it.

The book picks up around the 70% mark, but this was a bit late into the story to hold my attention. The overall story arc is interesting, but ultimately felt repetitive and predictable.

1.5 stars rounded up to 2.

In this series we follow twin sisters Mercy and Hunter Goode. They are the descendant of Sarah Goode who fled from the Salem witch trials in the 1600's. She settled at the convergence of ley lines in Illinois and founded Goodeville. At each line there is a magical gate that seals away a mythological underworld. The Goode witches have guarded and taken care of these gates, which appear as different kinds of trees in our world, for generations.
The second book really threw me. Hunter's character showed some anxiety and possible anger issues before but this time around we took them to another level. Also all the twin bond talk before seems to have been for crap sense they can't tell when the other is being honest with their feelings. I didn't like the way Hunter was shown though this book. Mercy had more growth but only when not around her sister.
Also the lack of reality to their situation sometimes really was hard to wrap my head around. I suppose actual teenagers wouldn't think of the how are they paying to eat out so much or drive around aspect. But come on.
My biggest issue wit this book though is the lack of story progression or plot really. By the end of the book we are pretty much in the same place as where it started. Plus where they cut this one off was very abrupt it just happened after something that felt like a build up connection. Not happy with the ending to either book.

Omens Bite, the second installment in the Sisters of Salem series, continues the story of twin witches, Mercy and Hunter. Following their mother’s death, grief has them drifting apart from one another. But when the Gates they protect start to wither away, will they be able to figure out a way to break the curse?

Omens Bite, in my opinion, is definitely a step up from Spells Trouble and again takes on tough topics such as grief, death, bullying, etc. I enjoyed the multiple POVs as we were able to get a glimpse into each sister’s perspective on things. While the twins constant bickering and the Hunter/Amphitrite connection did wear on me a bit, the addition of the underworld/Khenti realm kept me glued to the book.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the story continues in the third book!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press and am leaving an honest review.

Thank you to Wednesday books for the advanced copy

Still told in dual storyline between Hunter and Mercy, this book starts off where the first book ended, and I love when sequels do that instead of just throwing you into a new plot. His time the sisters drift apart for the first times in their lives as they still continue to protect the five gates to the mythological underground. They are still reeling from the death of their mother while dealing with the choices they made in their own personal life.

I still didn’t like how the characters were written, they still came off spoiled brats. But I did like the storyline and the concept for the story.