Book: “Spells Trouble” by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Format: Physical copy with audiobook accompaniment
Blogger’s Note: Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
“Spells Trouble” is the story of a set of twins that descend from a long line of witches. This coming of age tale puts the sisters in the middle of the action when their mother dies and they have to protect their town and each other from mythological creatures out to destroy the life they know.
I enjoyed Hunter’s character. As the main protagonist, I found her character to be relatable. The quiet, more internal thinker and writer persona spoke more to my attitude and I found myself interested in her motivations and storyline. In contrast, I didn’t particularly love Mercy’s character. However, the polarity between the twins was well written and I did enjoy that they saw situations differently and their behavior followed suit.
I also found the plot of the book to be original and I loved that the novel blended together the topics of witchcraft and mythology. The inclusion of the greek myths and characters gave the story some weight and made it feel more meaningful and potent.
However, I didn’t love the dialogue. Especially in the beginning of the book… it felt more like someone was explaining the situation vs the author building this fantasy world. It came off as fact based with a very hardnosed explanatory approach. Usually fantasy books whisk the reader away on a journey… but this one did not have that similar dreamy quality. There were also a couple of situations involving sexuality that felt above the age of the text. They were awkward and felt forced. These left me feeling uneasy as a reader and unmotivated to continue reading.
Overall, this book would be well suited for readers with a strong interest in magic, witches and/or Greek mythology. I did love the concepts but was just a bit let down by the execution.
Audiobook notes: This narration was excellent. The female narrator did a stellar job of changing up her voice to fit with the different characters. She even performed the male voices well which can be hard to do for some narrators. Her enunciation was excellent and easy to understand. However, I must admit that I was a bit thrown by the pronunciation of “Goodeville” which the narrator pronounced as good-E-ville. Reading it silently with the hard copy, I never pronounced the E as a long E, so that was surprising to me! However, overall I loved the narration of this book and would highly recommend the audio version if you’re planning on reading this one!
Recommendations: Pick this one up if you love reading about mythology or witches!
Literature & Lattes 