Secret Circle Vol I: The Initiation

By: L. J. Smith

Narrated by: Devon Sorvari

The Circle's power
has lured her home. . . .

Forced to move from sunny California to gloomy New England, Cassie longs for her old life. Even so, she feels a strange kinship to a terrifying group of teens who seem to rule her school. Initiated into the coven of witches that’s controlled New Salem for hundreds of years, she’s drawn into the Secret Circle, a thrill that’s both intoxicating and deadly. But when she falls for the mysterious and intriguing Adam, Cassie must choose whether to resist temptation or risk dark forces to get what she wants—even if it means that one wrong move could ultimately destroy her.

Not what I expected

I decided to listed to theses books because the show was cancelled. I quickly realized the stories are completely different. Even basing the book just on its own its not that great as the reviews claimed. I feel that the show had a better story line.

Wonderful story

The biggest disappointment in this story is that it has a non+ending in order to lead into the next book in the series. other than that, it's a fantastic read!!

I loved this book. the narrator was right on point

It started out kind of slow but got pretty good very quickly. It is a fantasy, drama, love spell all cast into one book.

Interesting

I listened to this book because of CW series rendition of The Secret Circle. I had no idea it was originally a book until I saw a comment on youtube. The series give you an idea of what the book itself is about but the stories are quite different in a lot of sense.

The narrator first and foremost is very much suited for this genre I must say, she did do a pretty fair job of the book itself. My only thought (slight problem really and it's just a personal thing) however is that the narrator though suited for this genre from the get go makes me think that this is a teeny romance novel. That is (in a sense) what the book is, however I believe with a different narrator it might have felt more than that.

As for the story, it is far different from the series in many ways. The number of characters in the circle itself, the description of some of the characters, the make-up of the families and the very motive behind how or why the circle was formed. I find some aspects of the story a bit trivial and annoying (teeny love stories are a bit overplayed to me in general). I have always thought that teenagers in love, forbidden love and the likes are a bit overplayed at best and impractical in real life (alas, this is fantasy). The story itself though is fascinating, there are so many unanswered questions and twists and turns that the novel can take. I am without a doubt intrigued as to how the book series will continue.

Overall, the book is a good listen. If your into Teeny Fantasy Romance novel or if your able to put up with that aspect of the book then this is a good book to listen. I am not too looking forward to the love story aspect of the book but I am not going to give up on the book just yet, there is enough in this book to make it a very very good listen....

Pure brain candy

When I don't want to read something intellectually heavy, I find books that I call "brain candy." This one definitely fits that category. It is well written and does most of the thinking for you. I'm not trying to be condescending, this is a vacation for my mind. Cassie is an interesting protagonist and the polar extremities of Faye and Diana are nicely portrayed. I wish these books were a little longer though. I'm already at the last book available and awaiting the next installment. I prefer the book series to the show on the CW, but I admittedly watch it faithfully every week.