Enchanted Secrets

Witches of Bayport #1

by Kristen Middleton

Kendra lives in the shadow of her twin sister Kala, who is not only thinner, but one of the most popular girls in high school. Kendra struggles with the death of her father, her ballooning weight, and taunts from the cruel kids at school. Then one day, she meets a mysterious stranger named Tyler, who introduces her to a world of magic and witchcraft that is both exhilarating and frightening.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Witches, Paranormal Romance, Ebooks

229 pages, Paperback

First published June 16, 2012

About the author

NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, Kristen Middleton, is from the Midwest and not only enjoys writing, but connecting with her readers. Kristen also writes gritty biker books under the name Cassie Alexandra. She is also involved with raising money to help locate missing and exploited children, helping other authors succeed by sharing what she's learned in the self-publishing industry, and volunteering resources or her time whenever she can. "Besides having a passion for writing, I adore children, suspenseful movies, watching Shameless and The Walking Dead, traveling, Moscato wine, Chianti Grill, Savoy Pizza, and meeting new friends."



















Kristen Middleton lives in Minnesota
Favorite Quote (Henry Ford)

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right."

Reviews

[Hope · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won a copy through the Goodreads' Firstreads program.

This book honestly just reads like fluff. There are a few interesting ideas throughout, but the story is missing patience. The author seems to rush through telling you everything, and spends no time developing characters or suspense. There are also many grammatical errors, even on the cover.

As YA fiction becomes increasingly popular, I feel authors need to step it up a bit. I was excited to read this, but the actual story just doesn't stay with you. I'm already forgetting...

[Lexy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that this book was good

[Laurie Franco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where do I even start??? I finished this book in less than two hours and I'm SO upset with the cliffhanger ending! I need book two asap!!!! This was an outstandingly written story that I could NOT put down. Both the characters and the storyline were so engrossing that as a reader you can't help but to fall in love and root for Kala and Kendra. Highly recommend this phenomenal book!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cover was fun, the description was accurate! Really I expected another so-so book about high school! Well it included high school, but I'm long out of high school and this not only turning the pages, but very entertained! I actually loved it!

[The Phoenix · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story itself was interesting. I felt that the female main characters at times sounded like little kids, rather than 17/18 year olds, so feel like some of the dialogue could have been written better to reflect their age. I do want to read the next book, so that is a positive. I recommend this to anyone who likes paranormal romance novels, but are in between books.

[Laura..devouring books like crumpets · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. Did not blow me away nor do i really feel the need to carry on with the series as i don't really care what happens to these characters, i have to say after reading Kristen Middleton's Venom series was disappointed.

This story focuses on a powerful family line of witch twins, the most recent being oblivious to the fact they are witches or their mum is, they find out, and take on the big bad.

Then it started getting confusing as to who was related to who, whose wand belonged to who. The cliffhanger would be incredible if i actually cared as the story was too fast paced to get a feel for any of the characters, everything happened in a day or two.

But it wasn't bad.

[Alicia Huxtable · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good reading

The witch thing is so over some but then you find an author who finds little things to add to The mix to make their story different from the rest

[Selaya Morton · Rating 4 out of 5]

O.K., not bad but a bit convoluted; the old saying "wheels within wheels" springs to mind. Witchcraft galore of course but it's tough, at times, to work out who's related to whom and who's doing what to whom. The twist at the end was a little surprising - hence the fourth star - but I think Book #2 might be worth a look. Watch this space.

[Book Wyvern · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were two things that I had problems with and that is why I took away those two stars. I liked this book, so maybe if the things I had problems with weren't there, it would've been a great book, I don't know. I just know that I'm not in love with this.

I really had a problem with how weight was dealt with. The main protagonist says that a size 14 is a little snug for her and she does get picked on and bullied by a few popular kids at school but, instead of becoming a kick ass witch and giving heavier people a chance to show that we can be badass too...she gets thin instantly. This could have been such an empowering book for girls that are insecure about their weight but I'm worried that this could lend voice to all the other messages that says you have to be thin to fit into the beauty standard. I'm worried that it could be really harmful.

The other thing I didn't like was that the defeat of the villain was very anti-climatic. She was built up to be this big baddie and that's how she's defeated? Really?

Those are really the only things I had a problem with, the weight thing really pushed my buttons because I struggle with it and most everything you read, they're thin and I was really hoping that this wasn't going to go that direction.

The writing was subpar, simple and slightly choppy but, overall it was a good read.

Thank you for reading my review.

-Sam

[Kel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enchanted Secrets by Kristin Middleton: ‘A modern day tale of romance, mystery, and witches.’ They got 2 out of 3, I guess that’s not half bad. Mystery and witches, yes… but not much on the romance front. I’m not complaining though.

Kendra and Kala are 18 year old twins in their last year of high school when things go awry. After finding out that the new boy is not what he seems and that they are the daughters of a very powerful witch that is also a twin, they have to find a way to save their mother who has a terrible curse placed on her. Tons of info about Kendra, you really get to feel for her plight and honestly want to see good things for her. At the end it got a little confusing with the lineage and who’s the daughter of whom. It leaves it wide open for the next in the series. It’s a quick easy read.

[Flamingcrystal Flamingcrystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast moving story and a great read.The story is about two identical twins, although Kendra is a little bit more visible than her other sister, Kala. An entranser, Tyler captures Kendra’s heart. Kendra bought a thinning potion at Tyler’s mom’s store, and within a few hours lost 30 pounds. Tyler’s mom is a witch. Kendra discovered that her mom, Adrianne, is not the only sibling but that she has a twin sister Vivian, who is also powerful witch. Vivian is desperate to kill Adrianne – the witches believe that if one of the twins die, the other twin gains all their powers. Vivian has a black heart and does evil things by using black magic. Adrianne on the other hand has a pure heart and she never uses any of her white magic in front of Kendra and Kala. I am looking forward to reading Enchanted Objects, the next book in the series.

[Big Book Theory · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story flowed nicely and I was invested in it after the first few paragraphs. The magic was believable. I love Kendra and in the first half of the story, I had to stop often because I was laughing so hard at her witty remarks. I snorted, I laughed so hard, in the bathroom scene after Kendra lost all that weight and her underwear - it was too funny. In the second half of the story, everything got serious and it had enough tension and suspense to keep me clicking the pages. Most certainly worth reading ♥

[Hyacinth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! This is truly a YA book. Books are like food, you will love one that someone else doesn't. The storyline about the weight struggle and peer pressure is so realistic. I was confused intially in the prologue but quickly got caught up to speed. Generational curses were running rampant along with witches, warlocks, and shape-shifters. Adrianne and Vivian were caught in the web of curses as were Kala and Kendra. So many secrets... The end of the book had me standing up screaming...literally! Man, what a ride! My sister was looking at me like I was crazy, lol!

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't love this book.

I was into the beginning, actually I was thinking "hey this book is pretty good" and I don't really know what happened. It sort of fizzled out and became quite an immature book to read. Its not a bad read, just the writing is immature and I'm not sure I want to continue on.

Story is great, if you're a teenager, read this book! If you're now not a teenager (I'm looking at all you fellow twentyteens) then I'd avoid. Its not for you most likely.

[Jasmine Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kendra meets the mysterious guy Tyler who turns out to be an enchanter and soon she discovers her ancestry of being a with deep inside her.

This book was amazing. As soon I read the first page I knew I could not put it down that first night. It had my heart and leaving me hanging and wanting for book two.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

Good book Kendra and Kayla are twins and are different. When a new boy moved to town Kendra and him form a connection and Kendra learns of her family's secrets. Good book kept me turning pages

[Wicked Lovely · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this quick read

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fairly fascinating plot but choppy writing, rushed scenes, and extremely uninteresting characters.

[Jaime K · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.9/5 stars

Kendra and Kala are twins who learn they are witches through an insane number of circumstances. And not only that, but they descend from a POWERFUL line (note: keep a close eye on the intro).

What I love:
- Unlike other things I've read from Middleton, Kendra says that "Kala held her virginity very sacred" and sticks with it. She's not fully straight-edge, but she is a girl who sticks to her values, and I cannot stress enough how much I love that.
- Kala has rose-colored glasses when it comes to how Kendra is & should be treated. The twins, though 'identical' are very different (in size and demeanor) and while Kendra (and mean peers) want her to be like Kala, people who matter don't care. And Kala ignores (or doesn't see) the glares others give her when she invites Kendra to spend lunch with her.

What I like:
- The math teacher is serious about no cell phones.
- Kendra takes a "thinning" potion to lose weight which is just very real.
- Witches and Warlocks and Shape-shifters each have different strengths and weaknesses, not only between groups but also individuals.
- Magic is not driven by words but intent. The wand is the instrument, but the witch & warlock need to actually DO the spell.

What I dislike:
- Kendra's friends are band geeks and braces-wearing people. It's ridiculous.
- Classes are mentioned generically. Seniors don't "take math." They take something with a NAME. Same with science, or even history.
- After Kendra does get thinner, nearly nothing about her weight is mentioned again, other than the fact that she looks more like Kala. This was one of her storylines and it just petered out.
- New boy Tyler's mom just lets Kendra take the thinning potion.
- The words of intent for magic can be finicky. So 'disappear' won't work but 'depart' will. It's too inconsistent for me.
- Everyone seems to be related to each other, in some way. It leaves for possibly weird situations.
And nearly everyone can teleport.

[Joyce · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wtf did I just read?

Ik vond dit boek in de playstore en sinds ik even niet wist wat te lezen wou ik het een kans geven. Ik had toen al moeten weten dat er wel een reden achter zou zitten waarom deze gratis was.
Normaal lees ik nooit een boek van een best wel onbekende auteur met nog een onbekendere titel. Nu weet ik waarom. De cover sprak mij niet aan maar hey, never Judge a book by it's cover (dat had ik in dit geval beter wel gedaan). Wat mij wel aansprak was de inhoud. Tovenarij, heksen, iets wat mij wel aanstaat!


Bij het lezen van het aller eerste hoofdstuk dacht ik meteen: ondanks dat het amateuristisch geschreven is, is het best wel leuk. Toen had ik mijzelf beloofd het uit te lezen tot het einde. Was ik even blij dat het ontzettend makkelijk geschreven is of het was weer een belofte aan mijzelf geweest om te breken.


Ik zou liegen dat het verhaal helemaal niets had. Er zat zeker weten potentie in en het had iets heel leuks kunnen worden ook. Daarom dat het net zo jammer is dat het slecht uitgewerkt is, dat alles maar op 1-2-3 gebeuren moet en dan nog maar gezwegen over hoe het is geschreven. Het zou mij niet verbazen dat een kind van tien het nog beter kan.


In mijn ogen is 1 ster de juiste uitslag.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

This book is definitely YA. As a parent, if my daughter were 12 or 13, I would be ok with her reading this EXCEPT for the focus on weight. Like others, I would rather Kendra was more of a "I don't give a sh*t what you think" person than one who runs off and cries then takes something dangerous to lose all of the weight miraculously. The book is easy to read too so nothing overly complicated. For a teenager, there is the cute boy factor and some mystery, but nothing overtly inappropriate.

I got the book as part of the bundle so will read the other 2 books to see if this focuses on something more than Kendra's weight and the resulting bullying. I don't know if there is an underlying theme around the focus on her weight, but again, I would rather she stayed heavy and mayhap as time went on, she did slowly lose it if that is so important to the character's development. Otherwise, can we stick to the part where they are trying to save someone's life while defeating the bad witches and learning to become a witch too?

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that the idea behind the plot was quite intriguing, imagine that you don't know the biggest thing about your mother, much less the secrets about your own self. There were a few problems with this book, a couple of which I felt could have been dealt with better. The main character, Kendra, has a little problem with her weight, but rather than working through things she takes a potion providing instant gratification. What does this say to the targeted readership? Secondly I found the battle with the evil Aunt rather an anticlimax, although there was a good hook at the end to pique interest in the follow on book.
So a book with both good and bad points, which became an average book.

[S B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw a lot of reviews that said it was boring, cliche, you know. I didn't read the reviews until after I had finished the book and was thankful. I actually did enjoy the story, yes, it could be called a bit cliche, finding out your the daughter of witch, having to defeat all the other bad guys, lives on the line, that really hot guy that is attracted to you even though you think you're "blah". Okay, yeah, seen it before. But since the ebook was free, and was short (under 200 pages) I decided to try it. I was mostly attracted to the ebook cover, which was "magical looking". I'd recommend the book to preteens, who might just be getting into reading and want something light and not a lot of plot.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

the audiobook sounded like it was read via AI making it boring and hard to distinguish each person in the book.

The ebook chapter titles cut weird at some places but that doesn't make or break this book.

What did it for me was the fact that the villain was meh and yet feared. I felt as of this was one big tella novella you see with unbelievably, dramatical series of events that was far shock value that all comes out near the end.

This book reminded me of Cassandra Clare's Immoral Instruments series. A similar ew, a similar fail of a great villain, and week characters.

I do think there is hope for this book hence the 2 stars. The world, how magic works and a few edits could help and the novella can stay.

[Rhonda Siserir · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is definitely a YA book, and I read it as such. It was a fun read about twin sisters who find out they are witches and end up facing a really bad witch who turns out to be ... you'll have to read to find out. I read this book off of Kindle. I was hoping to see Kendra become a bada** witch while a little heavy, but how many girls have dreams of having a magic potion to make them perfect??? I am heavy myself, so I understand why people are upset. However, the boy was attracted to her from first sight - and that was refreshing. It took about 2 hours to read. Easy reading and the witchcraft part was interesting. Loved the wand :)

[Holly Lenz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enchanted Secrets is a fun YA book about a high school girl who gets involved with witches and magic. I was happy to see a book with an overweight heroine, so I was a little disappointed when she took magic diet pill instead of learning to be comfortable with her weight. Still it’s a good story that should appeal to young readers. This is the first book in a trilogy, and the ending is a bit of a cliffhanger.

The narrator speaks clearly, but she is a bit monotonous and her character voices are lacking. Sometimes it’s hard to know who’s talking because everyone sounds the same.

I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I downloaded Enchanted Secrets as a free book from Amazon.

As an adult urban fantasy story, I would only give this a neutral, 3-star, rating, but if you are a young adult, looking for a fast-paced story, this book may be just the one for you. As I'm in my 50's, the high school, teenager angst and drama is not my thing, but I can definitely see this book would have an appeal to kids who want a good, clean fantasy read with strong characters. The last chapter wrap-up was way too much information about family trees and who's related to whom, but for the most part, I liked the read.

[Lenni Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was about how much I was expecting to like this book. So, I’m not sadly or happily surprised. I guess that in some cases that could be considered good. I really liked the character Tyler. I’d totally like a bf like him. Although, he and Kendra only knew each other for two days!!! How could you possible be in love with someone after knowing them for TWO days?!? Oh well, they were pretty cute and that’s all that matters, right?

This book was kind of cheesy and predictable, but it was a satisfying read.

[Donna Midgley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read and witches/paranormal story in sooooo long and i'm glad that i did decide to read this book when i came across it on Amazon.

Tyler is so mysterious and sees Kendra so different to everyone else in school. Kendra sees herself as average looking, fatter than the other girls which makes her plough through school as a loner but when Tyler turns up at school, everything changes for her.

My god, this book was good and i was gutted about the ending. I want and need more from this story. I hated that i ended up reading it so quickly. Big thumbs up from me.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full of surprises

Pretty fast paced. Exciting. Twists & turns.

I am confused about the timing though. From the time of the prologue to the time of the main story, the characters shouldn't be the age the author makes them. Simple math. Either the characters were meant to be a few years younger, or the time gap was meant to be longer. I'll blame the editors. They're the ones who messed up.