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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
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
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
cgphoenix79's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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? It's complicated
3.5
“Spells Trouble” by: PC and Kristen Cast
In this first book of the Sisters of Salem series we find our identical heroines, Mercy and Hunter Goode, at a crossroads. Their world is crumbling, figuratively and literally. Murder abounds in their tiny town of Goodeville, named after their ancestor, Sarah Goode. The gates are splintering allowing Demi-gods and demons to depart their realms and enter their town. Will the twins be Goode enough to banish the Demi-gods, close the gates, and save their town? Tune in next book as this one ended on a cliffhanger.
My rating? Meh. The Casts are good authors. They have solid writing styles, great plot development and I loved the inclusion of a lesbian witch as one of the protagonists. Where it lost me was some misconceptions re mythology and witchcraft practices. Nitpicky I know, but that’s me. I don’t feel a driving urge to finish the series but if there was nothing else to read I’d read the next book.
In this first book of the Sisters of Salem series we find our identical heroines, Mercy and Hunter Goode, at a crossroads. Their world is crumbling, figuratively and literally. Murder abounds in their tiny town of Goodeville, named after their ancestor, Sarah Goode. The gates are splintering allowing Demi-gods and demons to depart their realms and enter their town. Will the twins be Goode enough to banish the Demi-gods, close the gates, and save their town? Tune in next book as this one ended on a cliffhanger.
My rating? Meh. The Casts are good authors. They have solid writing styles, great plot development and I loved the inclusion of a lesbian witch as one of the protagonists. Where it lost me was some misconceptions re mythology and witchcraft practices. Nitpicky I know, but that’s me. I don’t feel a driving urge to finish the series but if there was nothing else to read I’d read the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Bullying, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Lesbophobia
melaniereadsbooks's review
adventurous
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
3.0
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
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
crystalx620's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Death of parent, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Homophobia and Murder
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