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flaggums's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
chaos_sugar's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
princessjj14's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
kleonard's review
2.0
This was promising: a story with a strong sisterly and mother-daughters bond, daughters suddenly left in the company of a shapeshifting cat, and the need for the sisters to repair broken magics. And while the diverse characters felt a bit tokenistic: the One Black Person, the One Lesbian Girl, the characters were at least interesting and developed through the book. But then it became a predictable sister-against-sister mess, setting up a big sister/witch fight in a sequel. I was really disappointed that writers who were so creative with everything else in the book couldn't have come up with something better than this for a conflict.
lindseybun's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
linireads's review
2.0
This feels like a book that doesn't know what it wants to be. It has a great premise. A witch is sentenced to burn, you see a glimpse of magic and she escapes.
The story then jumps to the present day, with a set of "witchy" twins about to turn 16. Hunter and Mercy call their mom Abagail, and they have a very open relationship in which they can talk about anything and everything at all, including Abagail hinting that her daughter's boyfriend must have a massive dick. Awkward much? I always find it off-putting whenever parents are introduced and referenced to by their names, especially by their children.
They're from a long line of Goode women, starting off with the first one we read about, who founded Goodeville, Illinois, and are guardians of five mystic trees, the portals to different hells from five mythologies. Why are there five mythological trees that form a pentagram in the middle of America that is the *only* gateway to the underworld? Who knows.
Their mother dies, and within 24 hours Hunter is managing her grief great and desperately wants her twin back, so she exorcises Mercy's grief.
From there, the plot comes to a grinding halt. Some things happen, and instead of focusing on how to stop this Wrong, it's a whole lot of teenage drama, white savourism, and massive scenes of bullying and using slurs? I'm very confused why there's a whole, detailed scene about a blowjob? Hunter, the lesbian one, is noticing her best guy friend's trail of hair that leads into his pants? Wasn't this a YA? The characters flip flop between emotions and personalities and
"Oh bloody hell."
"Sod it."
I'm not enitrely sure why they're using British phrasing to start with when they're in the middle of America. Illinois. Speaking of small town Illinois,
Wait, spells are just them saying their intentions 6 times? "Make it rain!"
The story then jumps to the present day, with a set of "witchy" twins about to turn 16. Hunter and Mercy call their mom Abagail, and they have a very open relationship in which they can talk about anything and everything at all, including Abagail hinting that her daughter's boyfriend must have a massive dick. Awkward much? I always find it off-putting whenever parents are introduced and referenced to by their names, especially by their children.
They're from a long line of Goode women, starting off with the first one we read about, who founded Goodeville, Illinois, and are guardians of five mystic trees, the portals to different hells from five mythologies. Why are there five mythological trees that form a pentagram in the middle of America that is the *only* gateway to the underworld? Who knows.
Their mother dies, and within 24 hours Hunter is managing her grief great and desperately wants her twin back, so she exorcises Mercy's grief.
From there, the plot comes to a grinding halt. Some things happen, and instead of focusing on how to stop this Wrong, it's a whole lot of teenage drama, white savourism, and massive scenes of bullying and using slurs? I'm very confused why there's a whole, detailed scene about a blowjob? Hunter, the lesbian one, is noticing her best guy friend's trail of hair that leads into his pants? Wasn't this a YA? The characters flip flop between emotions and personalities and
"Oh bloody hell."
"Sod it."
I'm not enitrely sure why they're using British phrasing to start with when they're in the middle of America. Illinois. Speaking of small town Illinois,
Wait, spells are just them saying their intentions 6 times? "Make it rain!"
dame_samara's review against another edition
1.0
This book left me with FEELINGS. By Feelings, I mean complete and utter rage. Specifically, the last roughly 10% of the book, which is so spoiler-filled, cannot be spoken about without delving into it headfirst.
I had a hard time getting into this book at first (after the Prologue); it felt like a lot of telling and not a whole lot of showing and overall aligned with what I recalled from my interactions with the House of Night series. I read in Middle School (this is not something I would hand a middle schooler, though).
This book read like something I would expect from an Anime. There is no adult supervision throughout this book; there is no dad in the picture, their mother dies a tragic, gruesome death at the beginning. They EVEN have an animal companion.
It just has no beach episode or beautiful art to try and sway the viewer to enjoy it.
We do, though, get an incredibly awkward and unneeded sex scene that left me feeling extremely gross afterward.
That being said, I enjoyed the middle of this book a lot, enough so that I had forgiven it for the rocky start. But what I can't forgive is the fact that this could have been standalone, and instead of any resolution ever happening, it just gets tossed off the edge in favor of making it a series.
I am not sure; I could honestly recommend this book.
For more spoiler-filled reasonings, see below.
Let's first start with my problem with Hunter's choice to rip Mercy's grief out of her WITHOUT telling her. It had been less than 48 hours since your mom died. PEOPLE NEED TIME TO GRIEVE, I get that shit is going down, but that doesn't solve it.
Also, we hear time and time again this is a small town; the Goode family plays a prominent role in the town and has always lived there. NO ONE questions that another Goode shows up.
Jock boyfriend dude, (like I legit can't remember his name and don't care enough to scroll thru the audio to find out). Is an asshole, and just exists to tear the girls apart, and is probs being set up as a mirror to Sarah's Husband in the Prologue.
Tyr!
As someone who has practiced Wicca for a long time, I am finding words to express my fury at how unempathetic Mercy is towards Hunter regarding having her EVEN consider cutting ties with Tyr, a bond that meant a lot to her.
That's without even talking about how they parted ways, or the fact she the Goddess she called to work with was one she called because that is what allowed Mercy's plan to work out best. Not because she felt any connection.
I don't even want to delve into how gender and sexual orientation are presented in this book and how that ties into how Hunter is expected to reject Tyr in favor of fitting the mold.
I had a hard time getting into this book at first (after the Prologue); it felt like a lot of telling and not a whole lot of showing and overall aligned with what I recalled from my interactions with the House of Night series. I read in Middle School (this is not something I would hand a middle schooler, though).
This book read like something I would expect from an Anime. There is no adult supervision throughout this book; there is no dad in the picture, their mother dies a tragic, gruesome death at the beginning. They EVEN have an animal companion.
It just has no beach episode or beautiful art to try and sway the viewer to enjoy it.
We do, though, get an incredibly awkward and unneeded sex scene that left me feeling extremely gross afterward.
That being said, I enjoyed the middle of this book a lot, enough so that I had forgiven it for the rocky start. But what I can't forgive is the fact that this could have been standalone, and instead of any resolution ever happening, it just gets tossed off the edge in favor of making it a series.
I am not sure; I could honestly recommend this book.
For more spoiler-filled reasonings, see below.
Spoiler
Let's first start with my problem with Hunter's choice to rip Mercy's grief out of her WITHOUT telling her. It had been less than 48 hours since your mom died. PEOPLE NEED TIME TO GRIEVE, I get that shit is going down, but that doesn't solve it.
Also, we hear time and time again this is a small town; the Goode family plays a prominent role in the town and has always lived there. NO ONE questions that another Goode shows up.
Jock boyfriend dude, (like I legit can't remember his name and don't care enough to scroll thru the audio to find out). Is an asshole, and just exists to tear the girls apart, and is probs being set up as a mirror to Sarah's Husband in the Prologue.
Tyr!
As someone who has practiced Wicca for a long time, I am finding words to express my fury at how unempathetic Mercy is towards Hunter regarding having her EVEN consider cutting ties with Tyr, a bond that meant a lot to her.
That's without even talking about how they parted ways, or the fact she the Goddess she called to work with was one she called because that is what allowed Mercy's plan to work out best. Not because she felt any connection.
I don't even want to delve into how gender and sexual orientation are presented in this book and how that ties into how Hunter is expected to reject Tyr in favor of fitting the mold.
draculaura21's review
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
0.5
When I read the synopsis for this book, I was hooked. Twin witches tasked with protecting the five fates to the Underworld, based on five major mythologies (Greek, Norse, Hindu, Japanese, and Egyptian)? Sign me right up!
Oh, you sweet, summer child.
This book could've been good. Heck, it could've been great...if only no one ever spoke. The dialogue is so gut-wrenchingly cringe-worthy. It's as though someone's grandma was trying to relate to the youths of today, which I guess is very much the case. Mercifully, there was not a single instant of "lit" or I would've thrown my kindle across the room. Also, despite the book being completely set in the middle of Illinois and PC Cast/Kristin Cast being very much American, one of the twins insists on using British swears for no apparent reason. My eyes rolled so hard every time there was a "bloody buggering hell" or a "wanker" that I think I saw my own brain.
I muscled through it to the end, hoping the witchcraft and mythology would down out my constant, internal groaning. It did not.
Oh, you sweet, summer child.
This book could've been good. Heck, it could've been great...if only no one ever spoke. The dialogue is so gut-wrenchingly cringe-worthy. It's as though someone's grandma was trying to relate to the youths of today, which I guess is very much the case. Mercifully, there was not a single instant of "lit" or I would've thrown my kindle across the room. Also, despite the book being completely set in the middle of Illinois and PC Cast/Kristin Cast being very much American, one of the twins insists on using British swears for no apparent reason. My eyes rolled so hard every time there was a "bloody buggering hell" or a "wanker" that I think I saw my own brain.
I muscled through it to the end, hoping the witchcraft and mythology would down out my constant, internal groaning. It did not.
broom_closet_reader's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0