- Title:
- Spells Trouble
- Author:
- P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast
- Release:
- May 25, 2021
- Format:
- eBook
- Series:
- Sisters of Salem
Spells Trouble is an exceptionally slow novel and the summary makes it sound far more exciting than it actually is. According to my Kindle, it was nearly 70% of the way through the book before it really started to go anywhere. Despite the book taking course over a few days, very little happens. It’s almost entirely people standing around talking. Everything is described down to the most minute detail, such as regularly bringing up Mercy’s “bottomless purse”, and how characters are rummaging around in it.
The main antagonist is rather sympathetic and the threat of the crumbling gates cums off as minor at best. The majority of the novel is spent on the characters and their interpersonal relationships. The characters all feel extremely realistic and human due to this, though it’s often easy to see where the author(s) personal bias and opinions creep into the work. It reads less like a character stating an opinion and more like the author standing on their soapbox while they have an audience.
Overall, I enjoyed the world-building, I just hope book 2 isn’t this slow. I can’t stress that slow in slow-burn enough. I’m fine with a slow burn, I’m in it for the long haul, but this, this is something else.