The Spells We Cast

By: Jason June

Narrated by: Jason June

Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

From New York Times best-selling author Jason June, a story of spell-slinging, lasso-swinging, and star-crossed love perfect for fans of Cemetery Boys and Carry On.

“The most magical and swoony page-turner I've read in ages.”—Adam Silvera, #1 New York Times best-selling author of They Both Die at the End

Nigel Barrett has spent his whole life preparing for the Culling, a spell-casting competition that determines which of the world’s teenage magicians will be stripped of their powers to preserve magical balance. But nothing could have prepared him to face Ori Olson, a broody rival whose caustic wit cloaks a painful past. From the moment Nigel and Ori meet, sparks fly. Their powers are stronger, more thrilling, the closer they get—not that they can risk becoming attached. Because as the field narrows and the Culling grows more dangerous, Nigel and Ori realize there’s more at stake than just their powers. The greatest threat to magic, their future, and all of humanity might be the connection growing between them. . . .

©2023 Jason June (P)2023 Disney Hyperion

interesting story

good listen, but the main character seems to monolog a bit much, instead of getting on with what he supposed to do.

Solid story that feels very YA

Solid story with a strong narrative, backstory, and under message…great setup for a series or sequel.

The main character is just soooooo angsty and seems to miss the seriousness of what’s going on around him all the time. Not sure if it’s supposed to be endearing, but it gets very frustrating and distracting at times.

The book needs an edit. Way too much exposition and the author says the name of the villainous species “The Depraved” too many times. Again a distraction to the otherwise solid story.

The author should not be reading this book. His affect is too flat for most of the story unless performing a side character…then he comes alive. A more seasoned voice actor could have really brought more delight to this story.

And while it’s a flawed book…I really did enjoy it. I can’t wait for the sequel. I won’t be listening to that one if the author reads it…I’ll buy a physical book.

Over all, enjoyable

I think the plot was good and the characters where cute, it just kinda felt like a queer story written for a straight audience

Absolutely Loved It!

An easy listen with such a great voice. The story is captivating with enough humor and romance to keep you coming back for more. Will definitely be reading twice.

It was about 6 hrs too long.

Though June weaves a good story, this attempt at gay Harry Potter fell very far short of anything close. This book was in my recommendations based on previous books I’ve listened to. I was excited for it but was quite disappointed overall. I took long breaks between having the desire to try and finish it, but I finally did. This is just my opinion and experience and I encourage you to listen and make your own, but overall, I found this book tried way too hard and was really hokey and a struggle to finish. If you like fantasy, maybe you’ll enjoy this but I found I was constantly waiting for something juicy to happen between our main characters other than constant bickering, power struggles and awkwardness. And the cherry on top of how lame it was occurred when a Taylor Swift song was used as a spell. I really had to fight to finish it after that. I really wanted to like this but I just feel like I wasted 10 hours of my life. At least I was able to do other wings while I listened.