Review: Omens Bite by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Omens Bite by P.C. Cast
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this from Wednesday Books an imprint of St Martin's Press) via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I'm really enjoying this series, so far and I'm lookin forward to the next book. I'm not sure how many books are in the series but it is at minimum a trilogy if not more. This picks up where Spells Trouble leaves off, so I don't recommend reading this as a standalone. Mercy and Hunter are both still grieving the loss of their mother and events from the first book have split the twins sisterly bond. They spend much of the book angry at one another and acting like petulant teenagers. I did find myself rolling my eyes at some of their outbursts because they are so immature, but given that they are only 16 their actions and attitudes make perfect sense. Neither one of them is willing to take responsibility for their actions when it comes to her her sister, however they do take responsibility for their actions when said sister is not in the picture. I can see this not appealing to a more adult audience and appealing more to a YA audience.

The twins are both determined to continue in their mother's footsteps and protect the gateways, which have started to weaken. Torn by their grief and resent for one another, they are both determined to find a way to heal the trees that act as gateways to the other realms. Mercy has stayed true to her path as a Green Witch, while Hunter has taken a much darker path after pledging herself to the goddess Amphitrite. The more Hunter learns about her new goddess the more she comes to feel she has made a huge mistake in forsaking Tyr, the god she had previously pledge herself to.

We see alot of character development from both sisters in this as long as they aren't together. Hunter is on a dark path making questionable choices at the behest of Amphitrite to save herself, the gates, and the town. Mercy is coming into her powers and learning to stand on her own two feet. The second they get within 2 feet of each other all of that progress vanishes and they snipe at one another about how self centered and selfish one another is. There is clearly some resentment the two of them will have to work through before the end of the story, but it doesn't happen in this book. I expect it will come in the next installment as Mercy has found herself in quite the predicament and Xena and Hunter have to find her and rescue her. I enjoyed the side characters in this as well. There is a good supporting cast for both Mercy and Hunter to lean on and the villians are equally devious. I'm looking forward to seeing how things play out in the next installment. There are quite a few things left unresolved.

I enjoyed the magic system and world building. The setting is well described and you have a good idea of how the magic works. I especially enjoyed the touch of mythology that the authors chose to add to the story. I thought the Land of the Dead scenes were really well done and very creative.

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Review: The Dysasters by Kristin Cast and P.C Cast

The Dysasters by P.C. Cast
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC via the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I'm a bit behind on posting this review as this was released on Tuesday (February 26, 2019).  Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing me with a physical ARC to review.

I really enjoyed this. It is a fast paced YA fantasy/sci-fi. It has elements of seris like X-men, Captain Planet, and Smallville (all things I like), and puts them in a book. I received an ARC which had comic-esque drawings in it to go with the storyline and they were a really cool addition to the reading experience.

I will say the dramatic dialogue between Tate and Foster got old after awhile. Foster was pretty disrespectful most of the time and most of the time for no good reason. It made her pretty unlikable. I think the characters could have been a little more well developed versus relying on them bickering all the time. This book is heavy on the dialogue. Once you get past the angsty teenage stuff, the book itself is pretty good. I really liked Bastien and Charlotte, I'm looking forward to getting to know them more as the series progresses. I'm interested to see how each of the elemental pairs interact with their evil elemental counterparts. We come to learn that an evil genius scientist has genetically modified 4 older children to be able to control the elements, but their modifications weren't stable. To stabilize and cure his original "children" he created 4 elemental pairs. Tate and Foster are the first of the pairs and they can control Air, they also must find and protect the other 3 pairs from the evil doctor and his progeny. I'm really looking forward to meeting the next 2 pairs of elementals and seeing how each of the 4 pairs masters their element and if and how they defeat the Core Four and evil Dr. Rick.

This book has a little bit of everything, action, romance, superpowers, morally gray characters, and a diverse cast. It is definitely targeted for the YA audience but as a YA reader myself I didn't mind. There is definitely profanity, but the romance isn't overwhelming. I am anxiously awaiting the next installment.



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