Spells Trouble: P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Title: Spells Trouble
Author: P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Publish Date: May 25th, 2021
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Huge thank you to Raincoast Books for providing an ARC for review! 

Double double, twins spell trouble…

Hunter and Mercy Goode are twin witches, direct descendants of the founder of their town of Goodeville. As their ancestors have done before them, it is now time for the twins to learn what it means to be Gatekeepers–the protectors of the Gates to different underworlds, ancient portals between their world and realms where mythology rules and nightmares come to life.

When their mother becomes the first victim in a string of murders, the devastated sisters vow to avenge her death. But it will take more than magic to rein in the ancient mythological monsters who’ve infected their peaceful town.

Now Hunter and Mercy must come together and accept their destiny or risk being separated for good.

Penelope's Review 

I'm so sad to be giving this book less than 5 stars because I LOVE P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast (House of Night for the WIN!) but this just wasn't my favorite. It wasn't bad, it was definitely unique and entertaining, but I just didn't have that "can't put it down" vibe at all. 

The book follows two twin witches, Hunter and Mercy Goode, who must figure out how to protect the Gates (each of which leads to a different Underworld) after their mother is killed. In terms of content, I really did find the premise to be unique and quite interesting and it had the potential to be a really fantastic read. But while the writing wasn't bad per se, it definitely read very young and a little bit too much like adults writing the way they think teenagers talk and missing the mark. Unfortunately while the book reads like it could be for younger kids, there's mature content thrown in so that it really isn't right for that age group either. Also, this is kind of an insignificant detail, but I found it a bit odd that the girls called their mom by her first name instead of... you know... mom. Is that a thing these days lol??? 

Some sections seemed to drag a bit, some scenes seemed thrown in out of the blue for no particular reason as it did nothing to further the storyline. I found myself reading this book sporadically and not really thinking about it after I put it down, like I was sort of reading to find out what happens but not really getting into it. 

Again, I'm SO sad to give this book a less than stellar review because I really do love this mom-daughter author duo! But it just didn't live up to my expectations this time around. That being said, because the plot was pretty unique, and I do love these authors, I will be giving the next book in the series a try! Sometimes starting a new series can be difficult as you haven't "been with" the characters for long (if that makes sense lol) so perhaps when they get further into the series and get more into the mindset of these characters the writing will flow better! I guess we'll see!

Rating: 3/5 Devils!