constantin's review against another edition
4.0
Now that's a very good book! I am glad that I continued reading this series after I got a bit disappointed by the first one. Really worth it!
The action has increased, the characters have developed a lot and the magic in it has finally started to become a bit more elaborate.
The action has increased, the characters have developed a lot and the magic in it has finally started to become a bit more elaborate.
hellobookling's review against another edition
2.0
I started reading this book and immediately noticed a drastic shift in the characters. It was ridiculous. The tone and relationships didn't mesh with the books I'd previously read. I was in too deep by the time I managed to Google what had gone so wrong.
I completed the entire series out of curiosity. The only reason I gave it 2 stars is because I couldn't stop due to my own need to know where it was going. It's nearly impossible for me to not complete a series. I got enthralled against my better judgement but struggled to get past the distinct changes in writing and character personalities.
That being said--the ghost writer did not do a good job. It's as if she'd never read any of the previous books or any of Smith's writing at all. The storyline took a turn toward the DRAMA. Instead of the strong relationships and plot that the previous books had...this "author" decided to just focus on petty nonsense and childish feuds. This book--and the following ones--take a whole new turn and I wouldn't recommend reading them. Just stop and #3 and let it be done. Reading the ghost written books tarnishes the original story because of how this new "author" distorts it.
Also, Alloy is a horrible company for dropping such a wonderful writer and replacing her with whatever this woman is supposed to be.
I completed the entire series out of curiosity. The only reason I gave it 2 stars is because I couldn't stop due to my own need to know where it was going. It's nearly impossible for me to not complete a series. I got enthralled against my better judgement but struggled to get past the distinct changes in writing and character personalities.
That being said--the ghost writer did not do a good job. It's as if she'd never read any of the previous books or any of Smith's writing at all. The storyline took a turn toward the DRAMA. Instead of the strong relationships and plot that the previous books had...this "author" decided to just focus on petty nonsense and childish feuds. This book--and the following ones--take a whole new turn and I wouldn't recommend reading them. Just stop and #3 and let it be done. Reading the ghost written books tarnishes the original story because of how this new "author" distorts it.
Also, Alloy is a horrible company for dropping such a wonderful writer and replacing her with whatever this woman is supposed to be.
melissa11's review against another edition
3.0
I love the original book, the books that actually write L.J Smith and not another writer...
landscapesofink's review against another edition
4.0
I definitely preferred the first 3/4 of the book to the last 1/4. In the last 1/4 Cassie just annoyed me no end, being all like And, lo and behold, no one gives her any crap for it! That's not what would happen in real life! But I do wonder what the And I suspected whether I even felt a little sad for Faye in this one, and if I was Cassie, I'd definitely be a lot more paranoid and insecure about :/ I like the way Nick treats her though.
Overall, a pretty good book.
Spoiler
'Oh no I can do it myself. As long as I have the Master Tools, I'll be invincible. I hate it how no one's on my side. I'm strong enough to do it myself.'Spoiler
silver cord is between Adam and Scarlett.Spoiler
Scarlett would be a hunter all along, and she wasn't, so that was nice.Spoiler
Adam and DianaOverall, a pretty good book.
duckie7582's review against another edition
2.0
Not sure why they felt the need to replace LJ Smith but whatever. This book was very basic. I could see the plot twists coming a mile away and the characterization was pretty bad. It definitely drew more on the TV series than the book series. Cassie was super annoying in this one.
heather_e_lizabeth's review against another edition
4.0
Just like the previous books I loved this one.
It was a little cheesy, but all the characters still grew and the magic system was expanded on again.
I liked the introduction of new characters and I definitely have opinions on the relationships going on in this book!
I can't wait to find the next book in the series so I can continue.
It was a little cheesy, but all the characters still grew and the magic system was expanded on again.
I liked the introduction of new characters and I definitely have opinions on the relationships going on in this book!
I can't wait to find the next book in the series so I can continue.
dani03's review against another edition
1.0
The Secret Circle was one of my favorite trilogies in middle school (along with the vampire diaries).. but this was not written by L.J. Smith and it shows. The characters are dramatically different (and not in a good way), there are strange changes to the storyline and there were some noticeable editing errors.. plus the story itself was a little predictable and reminded me of the horrible CW tv show.
tessa_grayreading's review against another edition
1.0
Wow, I just wanted to put this as read for future reference on here like I usually do, because I listened to 15% of this and just didn't want to read another second of it, and then I read all those reviews about how this series and The Vampire Diaries series was basically stolen from Smith.. I always assumed she got tired or bored of the series, but that's just really, really fucked up. I'm very sorry Smith had to deal with that kind of crap and I hope she never had to read what they did to her characters.
(In those 15% I read, they completely ruined Adam and Diana as characters, tried to make the romantic subplot super dramatic, even though the low level of the romantic drama was such a great thing in the original trilogy, destroyed any and all character growth Fay ever went through and made Cassie a judgmental bitch. Oh, and also, really?? Just a repeat of the evil principal but this time he has a hot son?? Garbage.)
(In those 15% I read, they completely ruined Adam and Diana as characters, tried to make the romantic subplot super dramatic, even though the low level of the romantic drama was such a great thing in the original trilogy, destroyed any and all character growth Fay ever went through and made Cassie a judgmental bitch. Oh, and also, really?? Just a repeat of the evil principal but this time he has a hot son?? Garbage.)
burialshroud's review against another edition
1.0
Lots of the reviews I've read on Goodreads are from L.J. Smith fans who've taken against this latest instalment of The Secret Circle because it was written by a ghost writer. This didn't put me off though, I spent enough time reading Sweet Valley High and Babysitter's Club to know that ghost written novels can be great fun. Also I've read recent L.J. Smith offering The Vampire Diaries colon The Return colon Nightfall, it was a bible-length cray-fest and it's clear that she has completely lost it.
I came to this novel with an open mind, ready to embrace it.
UNFORTUNATELY IT COMPLETELY SUCKED.
Seems to me like step one of writing a sequel to a book someone else wrote would be to read the originals but from what I can tell, the person who wrote this did not read the original trilogy. Main characters change completely or else devolve to earlier versions of themselves. Diana was always classy and could get along with everyone, she is noble and selfless (she broke up with her boyfriend because she believed it was his destiny to be with someone else!!!!), but here she's jealous and petty and refuses to mix with non-witches. That ain't right. Cassie is still cowed by Faye, completely disregarding the friendship they developed in the original trilogy. Minor characters have lost all depth, they're wheeled on to do their bit and remind us that they still exist then wheeled right off again, for example Suzan shows up about three times during the story to eat cake and be busty. The plot was very bland. Hunters are targeting the witches but the circle doesn't seem that interested in finding out more about this, they're content to sit around waiting to be killed. There's a nauseating sub-plot involving Nick and Cassie's much-exaggerated romance. The gang don't have any fun together which was a big part of the original books; they were always off to dances and having pizza parties and roofie-ing delivery boys.
So it seems the L.J. Smith massive were right to boycott this crap. Avoid if you value your Secret Circle memories/time/sanity.
I came to this novel with an open mind, ready to embrace it.
UNFORTUNATELY IT COMPLETELY SUCKED.
Seems to me like step one of writing a sequel to a book someone else wrote would be to read the originals but from what I can tell, the person who wrote this did not read the original trilogy. Main characters change completely or else devolve to earlier versions of themselves. Diana was always classy and could get along with everyone, she is noble and selfless (she broke up with her boyfriend because she believed it was his destiny to be with someone else!!!!), but here she's jealous and petty and refuses to mix with non-witches. That ain't right. Cassie is still cowed by Faye, completely disregarding the friendship they developed in the original trilogy. Minor characters have lost all depth, they're wheeled on to do their bit and remind us that they still exist then wheeled right off again, for example Suzan shows up about three times during the story to eat cake and be busty. The plot was very bland. Hunters are targeting the witches but the circle doesn't seem that interested in finding out more about this, they're content to sit around waiting to be killed. There's a nauseating sub-plot involving Nick and Cassie's much-exaggerated romance. The gang don't have any fun together which was a big part of the original books; they were always off to dances and having pizza parties and roofie-ing delivery boys.
So it seems the L.J. Smith massive were right to boycott this crap. Avoid if you value your Secret Circle memories/time/sanity.