I really really wanted to love this book. Gay Cowboy Wizard? Sign me up! He rides a fantasy horse and does magic with a lasso. I love the premise and really wanted to love the book. I just didn't. I love how inclusive this is. These stories are so important I just found myself getting bored. I don't think this will happen with my students, so maybe I am just not the audience.

3 stars

It was a fun YA fantasy filled with magic battles, angsty teens, queer love/crushes, monsters trying to end the world, and a magical society/world that could stand to be fleshed out a bit more. Like the teens I found myself asking “why?” frequently and sort of predicting where we were heading with the story. Still a fun listen - enjoyed the author also narrating the story. Ends with a bit of a cliffhanger/setup for the next book. If you’re looking for more magical cowboys in your life, this might be your book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook.

Nigel just wants some friends. At the very beginning his boyfriend of the year is breaking up with him and the culling is about to start. During his Task, Nigel meets Ori. A new magical person who seems to have strange new powers just like Nigel. These two seem to be drawn to each other. Along with their new best friend Bick, they push back on the structure their society has held to for as long as anyone can remember. This was as n interesting book. The different types of magic were very complementary to each other. The writing was thoughtful and usually quick paced. There were a couple of places were I thought it could have b en tighten up but other than that..

Learning that you have been lied to your entire life by the person you loved and trusted the most is never easy. An interesting story with well developed characters. Enjoyable.

This was a very fun read! I loved learning about the world and magic and romance was very sweet. Meema and Bex were utter highlights! I hope we see Jason June do more fantasy in the future.

18-year-old, Nigel Barrett lives in a world full of magic. At 18, gifted teens get the opportunity to win a tournament, the Culling, to keep their powers, only a fraction of them do. When his boyfriend breaks up with him right before the Culling, Nigel is determined to put aside any possible love life and prove himself in the Culling. As the descendant of the only human ever granted magic, Nigel’s experience will be an uphill battle. Matters only get more complicated when Nigel meets Oril Olsen. He not only has a crush on the guy, but his powers also seem to magnify when he’s around Ori. Paired together for round two, their restoration spell to destroy a curse accidentally awakens the Depraved, beings who feed off of negative emotions. With traitors all around them, they can only rely on themselves. Using their love-based magic, can they defeat the Depraved?

Narrator and author, Jason June’s narration is unique, engaging, and bring the books to life. The plot is intriguing and had potential , but feels rushed and would’ be better fleshed out into multiple books.. The romance is heartwarming and will appeal to readers looking for magical romance.. The world building is poor, feels contrived, and doesn't draw the reader into Nigel’s world. Readers who like are looking for primarily a LGBTQ teen romance with a touch of magical realism will likely want to pick this one up. Recommended for general purchase where such books are popular..

Please Note: A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. No other compensation was received.

I really wanted to like this, and I think it could be a fun romp for the right audience, but I was not the right audience. Everything, from the world to the characters, felt rushed and under-developed, and it felt oddly juvenile (even for a book about 18 year olds) in a way that really grated on me.

Whew, this book!!!! Okay, first of all we LOVE a book that is read by the author, LOVE! Second, the queer joy that radiates from this book and the metaphor of love, particularly queer love, overcoming hate, greed, and evil was *chef's kiss.* This book reminded me a lot of The Sunbearer Trials in the BEST way -- both had great queer rep, amazing characters, and a thrilling fantasy plot. I think these would be awesome read-alikes. I am dying for a sequel for both. You would love The Spells We Cast if you like fantasy, strong characters, an interesting plot with twists and turns. This is my favorite book by Jason June so far and I can't wait for more. I'll definitely be adding this to our school library and I'd recommend adding it to classroom libraries or giving as a gift. Can't recommend enough!

I loved this novel! If Harry Potter and Hunger Gamer were mashed together into a LGBT+ Western - this would be it! Nigel has been prepared by his magical Southern Grandma his whole life for the culling (a series of trials that strip magical users of their magic to balance the power). But when the trials begin, Nigel is destined to meet up with Ori... a super sardonic boy with a tragic backstory. When they meet, their magical melds into something power and new. Will they survive the culling and figure out their magical connection?

Warning: this novel leaves you off on an insane cliffhanger!

As a descendent of a powerful magical family, Nigel must prevent his fathers fate from becoming his own by succeeding in the magical culling that determines who does and does not get to keep their magical powers. In the process, Nigel has insta-love with a competitor in the culling and together they seek to solve the reasons for the culling.

I've enjoyed all this author's books that I've read so far and this was no exception. I've be keeping and eye out for whatever they do next.

This was a cool new take on fantasy I found the world building in this book to be really interesting and I enjoyed getting to know the characters and look forward to reading more in the future!

Thank you to Disney Publishing, Disney Audiobooks, and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book!

This story was really fun to read, and I enjoyed it so much! I don’t think I’ve ever read about a magical cowboy before, and I certainly didn’t know I would love it as much as I did. Nigel Barrett has grown up on a ranch in Texas and is the youngest generation of a very storied magical family. He is old enough to compete in the Culling, which is a magical tournament that determines which individuals are able to keep their magic as adults. Nigel so desperately wants to fit in and experience the acceptance that he’s been longing for his whole life. Then he meets Ori, another magical teenage boy, and sparks immediately begin to fly between the two. Not only is their connection both physical and emotional, but it also has a magical element that proves to be both powerful and dangerous.

I went back and forth between reading and listening to this story, and I enjoyed both formats very much. There’s a very complex magical world in this book, and it is well-explained without feeling like a major info dump throughout the book. The main and side characters are so developed and nuanced and unique. I felt like the pacing was fast from the beginning and never let up, and while I did feel like the overall arc had a predictable ending, I never lost interest while reading the book. The author definitely teed up a sequel intentionally, and I’ll be reading it!

I was lucky enough to get to listen to this audiobook and I love when a book recorded by it's author. No one knows a book better than the person who wrote it and has probably read it hundreds of times through the editing process. You could easily hear all the emotions each character had while listening to this and it made for such an enjoyable experience.

I loved the premise for this book - I heard magical cowboy and was instantly hooked. I do think of the 2 main character Ori was my favorite, I'm always drawn to a snarky, grumpy angel. This book has the same vibes as "Carry On" - I don't want to say that's where the similarities end, but there wasn't as many as I thought going into the book. That being said, I still loved this book. Grumpy/Sunshine is a trope I love to see when reading and this book was no exception, it also has some enemies to lovers which is another favorite. Every time Ori called Nigel "Cowboy" it made me feel a smile grow on my face.

This story has such relatable characters and even though the world is full of magic, the message about everyone having struggles and kindness was so important.

The ending of the book was really good and I hope it was a set up for a sequel. I would 100% hoping for and would read more about the amazing characters in this book.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Disney audiobooks for a e-copy of #TheSpellsWeCast by Jason June to read and review.

This is a fun teen cowboy magical romance. It's set in the "real" world where magic exists but is hidden. The story takes place over a short time frame as Nigel, Ori, and hundreds of other late-teen apprentice magicians compete in the culling, a competition where magic users undergo trials and those who succeed are inducted into the Guild, and those who don't lose their magic permanently. During this competition, Nigel and Ori meet and realize that their powers can combine to do amazing things.

Although there are very high stakes, corruption, death, and monsters, the book is generally quite lighthearted and is a romance at its core. The audiobook was narrated by the author and was very nice to listen to.

I enjoyed this queer YA horror/romance/fantasy so so much! Set in a realistic world where magic does exist in secret, there was a lot of relatable content (queerphobia and hate). I loved that this was a completely different direction for author Jason June and I was totally here for it!

This story features a gay magical cowboy, a spell casting competition to "cull" out the less magically gifted, found family, scary monsters, loss, love and everything in between. This was also GREAT on audio narrated by the author himself and the way things ended left it open for a sequel or series (fingers crossed)!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital and audio copies in exchange for my honest review! The overall message of the power of love to conquer evil and hate was powerful and applicable to the everyday life queer teens are faced with all the time.

The magic system in this book was a really interesting concept. The fact that descendants of different magical creatures each have their own specialty of magic really intrigued me. Our main character is a descendant of the elves and has been raised on a farm, so has a specialty for animal magics.

While I felt like I predicted some of the plot, I was really sucked into the story by Nigel slowly discovering what was going on in the Guild, as he competes in the culling against other apprentices to keep his magic. The fact that the hate of the world was what created the demons that they had to fight made sense to me, and that love may be the answer to defeating them.

I feel like the romance was the weakest part of the book because it took place during such a short span of time. I feel like Nigel and Ori didn't have enough time to get to know each other well or to form a good connection other than a magical one.

I could definitely see the author being able to write more in this world, as the book had an open ending.