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antidietleah's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Bullying, Murder, Death, Homophobia, and Death of parent
lovelymisanthrope's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I have had this on my bookshelf for years, and finally decided to make time to read it.
"Spells Trouble" follows twin sisters: Hunter and Mercy. Hunter and Mercy are direct descendants of the founders of their town: Goodeville. As their ancestors before them, the twins must learn how to be proper Gatekeepers so they can protect their town from nightmarish entities that may try to come through ancient portals. Tragically, their mother is brutally murdered by one such entity and Hunter and Mercy must figure out how to protect their town and how to best use their witchy powers.
This was a really sweet, fast-paced read about witchy twins. The book is pretty atmospheric, and this is the perfect book to read in September to begin spooky season.
My favorite part about this book was reading about the dynamic between Hunter and Mercy. They are twins, and the love each other unconditionally. They often do not even have to speak to one another to express what is on their mind. But there is still tension and they still feel unseen by the other. They both are working through some challenging things, and reading both perspectives gives a really robust picture of what is going on.
This book does read a little younger than I typically gravitate towards these days. Mercy especially reads immature and despite constantly seeing her boyfriend's true colors, she continues to give him more of herself. The moments between her and Kirk were awful, and I really did not enjoy reading them, however, I think their story arch has a good message for this book's intended audience.
I am definitely intrigued, and I will probably pick up the next book eventually.
"Spells Trouble" follows twin sisters: Hunter and Mercy. Hunter and Mercy are direct descendants of the founders of their town: Goodeville. As their ancestors before them, the twins must learn how to be proper Gatekeepers so they can protect their town from nightmarish entities that may try to come through ancient portals. Tragically, their mother is brutally murdered by one such entity and Hunter and Mercy must figure out how to protect their town and how to best use their witchy powers.
This was a really sweet, fast-paced read about witchy twins. The book is pretty atmospheric, and this is the perfect book to read in September to begin spooky season.
My favorite part about this book was reading about the dynamic between Hunter and Mercy. They are twins, and the love each other unconditionally. They often do not even have to speak to one another to express what is on their mind. But there is still tension and they still feel unseen by the other. They both are working through some challenging things, and reading both perspectives gives a really robust picture of what is going on.
This book does read a little younger than I typically gravitate towards these days. Mercy especially reads immature and despite constantly seeing her boyfriend's true colors, she continues to give him more of herself. The moments between her and Kirk were awful, and I really did not enjoy reading them, however, I think their story arch has a good message for this book's intended audience.
I am definitely intrigued, and I will probably pick up the next book eventually.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Sexism
pdxbrighid's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
I tried to like the story, but I just couldn't.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
There is a fairly graphic sex scene between two 16-year-olds.keepingitread's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
P. C Cast & Kristen Cast are auto buy authors for me because I loved their House of Night Series. With that being said I mostly went into this book only knowing it was about twin witches, the book was good but took me a while to get though it as I hadn't realized that it also had to do with the death of a parent and the grief that come with that. Reading back over the Synopsis it is something that is mentions but I didn't bother to read it. With that being said it affected my reading of the book as I had a family health scare happening at the time and I had to put the book down for a bit, I do believe it might have affected my rating of the book and when I read the next one, I will be more prepared for that content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood and Murder
Minor: Sexual content, Bullying, and Toxic relationship
chronicacademia's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, and Sexual content
martamae77's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content, Homophobia, and Bullying
Minor: Alcoholism
rachaelarsenault's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
You can find my in-depth review of this book over on Medium (https://medium.com/@rachaellawrites/buzzword-feminism-and-a-legacy-of-white-saviours-an-in-depth-review-of-spells-trouble-64c563d12a38), but for now I'll offer a quick pros and cons list.
<b>Pros</b>
-The confrontation/chase in chapter 31 was decent.
-The concept of gate trees is fascinating and has a lot of potential.
-The concept of a cat turning into a person could be really fun.
<b>Cons</b>
-Mystification and dehumanization of indigenous people without them ever actually being present.
-White savior narrative is the backbone of the world-building.
-Cultural appropriation with gate trees in the American Midwest being of Japanese, Hindu, Egyptian, Greek, and Norse mythology.
-The only two recurring characters of colour are ambiguously brown and described with fetishizing/exotifying language compared to white characters.
-Contains both misandry and internalized misogyny, as well as sprinklings of slut shaming for good measure.
-Needlessly graphic and inappropriate-for-genre depiction of sex between minors, including descriptions of a 16 year old boy's penis.
-Misery porn of the only confirmed queer character, constantly tying all of her personal conflicts and hardships back to her queerness.
-Excessively long sentences, misused words (pixilate vs. pixelate), choppy and disjointed prose, jarringly absurd metaphors and descriptions, out-of-voice word choice, and laughably try-hard attempts at teen speak.
-Nonsensical exclamations/expletives based on the girls' deity of choice, such as "Freya's cloak!" and "Athena's shield!"
-Hunter's tarot cards are inconsistent with how every other instance of magic has been portrayed.
-Inconsistent about what Xena does and doesn't know as a cat person (calls it a "phone device", but used a cell phone during the climax without issue), and is written in an obnoxiously heavy-handed and repetitive manner.
If it wasn't already obvious by the low rating and long list of flaws, I really don't recommend this book.
<b>Pros</b>
-The confrontation/chase in chapter 31 was decent.
-The concept of gate trees is fascinating and has a lot of potential.
-The concept of a cat turning into a person could be really fun.
<b>Cons</b>
-Mystification and dehumanization of indigenous people without them ever actually being present.
-White savior narrative is the backbone of the world-building.
-Cultural appropriation with gate trees in the American Midwest being of Japanese, Hindu, Egyptian, Greek, and Norse mythology.
-The only two recurring characters of colour are ambiguously brown and described with fetishizing/exotifying language compared to white characters.
-Contains both misandry and internalized misogyny, as well as sprinklings of slut shaming for good measure.
-Needlessly graphic and inappropriate-for-genre depiction of sex between minors, including descriptions of a 16 year old boy's penis.
-Misery porn of the only confirmed queer character, constantly tying all of her personal conflicts and hardships back to her queerness.
-Excessively long sentences, misused words (pixilate vs. pixelate), choppy and disjointed prose, jarringly absurd metaphors and descriptions, out-of-voice word choice, and laughably try-hard attempts at teen speak.
-Nonsensical exclamations/expletives based on the girls' deity of choice, such as "Freya's cloak!" and "Athena's shield!"
-Hunter's tarot cards are inconsistent with how every other instance of magic has been portrayed.
-Inconsistent about what Xena does and doesn't know as a cat person (calls it a "phone device", but used a cell phone during the climax without issue), and is written in an obnoxiously heavy-handed and repetitive manner.
If it wasn't already obvious by the low rating and long list of flaws, I really don't recommend this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, and Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia
foreverinastory's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
QUEER WITCH!! THANK YOU!!
Rep: white lesbian cis female MC, white cishet female MC, various cishet side characters.
CWs: Death of parent, death, murder, sexual content, grief, bullying, slut shaming, toxic relationship (romantic), blood, gore, lesbophobia/lesbomisia, cursing. Moderate: cannibalism, homophobia/homomisia. Minor: alcohol consumption, alcoholism.
Rep: white lesbian cis female MC, white cishet female MC, various cishet side characters.
CWs: Death of parent, death, murder, sexual content, grief, bullying, slut shaming, toxic relationship (romantic), blood, gore, lesbophobia/lesbomisia, cursing. Moderate: cannibalism, homophobia/homomisia. Minor: alcohol consumption, alcoholism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Murder, Sexual content, Grief, Toxic relationship, Gore, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Homophobia and Cannibalism
Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism
ashleereadsbooks692's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail