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T*Witches #6
Double Jeopardy
In the thrilling climax of this 6-book arc, T*Witches Camryn and Alex finally meet their birth mother. Unfortunately, she is physically and mentally broken; far from the powerful witch they imagined her to be. As more and more family secrets are revealed, the girls discover that there is a heavy price to pay for these secrets, one which neither they nor Ileana cannot prevent being paid.
183 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2002
7 people are currently reading
448 people want to read
About the author
H.B. Gilmour
66 books54 followersH. B. Gilmour was a bestselling author of children's books. She grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with her mother and the extended family and fondly remembered writing her very first poem for Arbor Day when she was just eight years old. As a teenager, she moved to Florida to live with her father. She attended college there and then moved back to New York City.
Gilmour’s first publishing job was at E.P. Dutton. In 1964 she joined Bantam Books where she worked as copywriter, editor, and copy chief and as an associate director of marketing. She was married to Bruce Gilmour in 1968. She had a child, Jessica, with him in 1970. They were divorced in 1972. Her first novel "The Trade", a trashy paperback about the publishing business, was published in 1969.
She wrote novelizations (including Saturday Night Fever) and children's books (including Muppets books) while working full-time at Bantam and raising a child on her own. She published her second original novel "So Long, Daddy" in 1985. The artwork for the dust jacket of the hardcover release includes a photo of her daughter, Jessica. Her third novel was "Ask Me If I Care", a book about a teenage girl who gets in with the wrong crowd.
In 1992 she joined the book division at Scholastic, leaving in 1995 to pursue writing full-time. She focused her energy on books for "tweens" and children which is what gave her the most joy.
She met John Johann, whom she would later marry, in 1992. They later moved to Cornwallville in upstate New York where she happily tended to the garden she never had in the city until her death. She died on June 21, 2009 of pneumonia due to complications from lung cancer. She is survived by her husband John, daughter Jessica, stepchildren Wendy and John, Jr. and step-grandchildren Reef, Riley, John Jr. and Jasmine.
Gilmour’s first publishing job was at E.P. Dutton. In 1964 she joined Bantam Books where she worked as copywriter, editor, and copy chief and as an associate director of marketing. She was married to Bruce Gilmour in 1968. She had a child, Jessica, with him in 1970. They were divorced in 1972. Her first novel "The Trade", a trashy paperback about the publishing business, was published in 1969.
She wrote novelizations (including Saturday Night Fever) and children's books (including Muppets books) while working full-time at Bantam and raising a child on her own. She published her second original novel "So Long, Daddy" in 1985. The artwork for the dust jacket of the hardcover release includes a photo of her daughter, Jessica. Her third novel was "Ask Me If I Care", a book about a teenage girl who gets in with the wrong crowd.
In 1992 she joined the book division at Scholastic, leaving in 1995 to pursue writing full-time. She focused her energy on books for "tweens" and children which is what gave her the most joy.
She met John Johann, whom she would later marry, in 1992. They later moved to Cornwallville in upstate New York where she happily tended to the garden she never had in the city until her death. She died on June 21, 2009 of pneumonia due to complications from lung cancer. She is survived by her husband John, daughter Jessica, stepchildren Wendy and John, Jr. and step-grandchildren Reef, Riley, John Jr. and Jasmine.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 26, 2009
I read all these books about 4ish years ago (I think). It was right after the last one came out..anyways, they are WAY better than the movie!
April 29, 2025
Double Jeopardy (Updated)
Dylan and the Barnes come in arguing over something Dylan doesn’t see the big deal about. Cam and Alex are waiting for a message from their long-lost mother and not sure how it’ll come. Weeks have gone by since they were promised it would come. Cam and Alex walk into the argument and find out Dylan was stopped by the police for kicking over trash cans and dumping garbage all over the street.
He says he was trying to figure something out and got frustrated. Dave points out he was cutting. The twins try to find out what’s going on but Emily and Dave tell them to stay out of it and go to their rooms. Lately Dylan has been getting into trouble all over the place and his grades weren’t looking too hot. Emily is heard blaming all the time Dylan spends on the computer. Dylan says it never occurred to them that he could be doing something important.
Cam “sees” Dylan about to throw Emily’s priceless vase and they both rush downstairs. Alex uses her powers to make the vase turn around and Cam catches it.. Dylan storms off to his room. Alex goes after Dylan. She sees him writing to someone named KC, but he snaps it’s not her business. He changes his tone and just says it’s private and he just needs to be left alone.
When she gets back in her room, Cam tells her that Beth got her permit and they’re going out for pizza. Alex reminds her their supposed to be waiting but Cam says they’ve been waiting a month (scratch that all their lives). She can wait on them tonight. The twins catch a bad smell and all of a sudden sitting at their desk is Thantos. Thantos remarks that they look like their father. The one you killed thinks Cam, but Thantos tells her he’s been cleared and had nothing to do with Aaron’s death. Thantos then takes credit for Bree leading them to their mother. When Cam tells him he’s not that powerful he sends them flying backwards.
Thantos tosses some mandrake and valerian into the candle’s flames and they see Dylan trapped. Cam realizes he’s in a dumpster. Cam panics and Alex tells her Dylan is safe in his room. Thantos tells her it was only an illusion but accidents do happen. Thantos tells the twins he can help them see their mother soon. Cam says she wants to see her mother more than anything, he tells her be careful what you wish for. Because of all the hard truths Illena’s learned, she finds herself helpless with no magic when a camp fire breaks on the beach. She saves the teenagers and children the best she can by getting them to roll into the water.
Karsh gets a vision of a gaunt figure in a funeral cape with a terrified expression staring at him. Then it’s gone. The picture drops and glass shatters. Karsh knows what it means and gathers up five sacred stones. He performs “The Calling” and sees Ileana and knows where she is. While distracted, Tsurs and Vey ambush him wanting revenge.
They demand to know where Ileana is. Karsh tries to reason with them. He tells them their anger is misdirected. Ileana didn’t do anything other than open the door for the truth to finally come out. But Tsuris says it’s just a scheme to smear their good name and cheat us out of what’s owed to us. Even tho moments ago Karsh was feeling strong, the premonition took something out of him. Tsuris knocks Karsh down. Vey tells him to stay down. They tear up the place. Before everything goes black, he hears his stones tumbling from the table and skidding across the floor.
Both twins are distracted at PITTS. Amanda and Sukari are talking about a girl in Dylan’s class named Kenya Carson who came to school with a black eye and some people have suspected of being child abused. The twins get out of there. Cam wants to check on Dylan to make sure Thantos didn’t make the vision happen. Alex says he’s ok. They talk about whether Thantos was telling the truth about him being the only who can get them to see Miranda and why he wants them. Ileana told them to “bring them over to the dark side” and if he can’t do this to kill them.
They talk about what they think Miranda will be like. Cam thinks sweet and gentle. Alex thinks fierce and strong. They talk a little bit about when Then they feel and smell the presence of Thantos. He tells them to go to Mariner’s Park if they want to see Miranda. NOW! As they reach the oak tree and the moon goes down just as the sun comes up, they smell pine, lavender, and rosemary.
They find out Miranda lost her powers-except mind reading-. The twins’ questions are fast and furious. Miranda starts to cry and for a minute they see into her soul. They all embrace. Alex’s defense come down. She realizes that loving one doesn’t make feelings for the other any less. Cam thinks of how even tho she was born to this woman her heart is still with Emily. Cam and Alex came away knowing that Miranda's meltdown the day of their birth, the day Aron was murdered, had left her so broken, so helpless, that she had accepted Fredo DuBaer's terrible lie — that her infant twins were also dead. Thantos had never contradicted his brother. Only recently had he given Miranda the miraculous "news" — her daughters were alive, found and together. Miranda assumed Thantos had not known that before *from the book*.
Miranda thinks Thantos “saved her” by sending her to Rolling Hills. Weirdly she says I thought I’d killed you, but she doesn’t elaborate. Miranda is relieved the twins were cared for, but is surprised to learn that Ileana is their guardian. The twins find out Thantos is her father and they feel sympathy for her. Thantos told Miranda when he found out they were alive he watched them for a while. Cam thinks more like stalked. He also told her they’d accepted their destiny. The twins thinks he meant to be witches, but Miranda says that and more. She compliments their skills. Told to her by Bree.
Cam asks will she be going back to Rolling Hills. She says now that she sees their safe, she wants to go back to Coventry but she can’t transport herself. Alex says she can come with them to Cam’s but Cam says it’s not the right time and Miranda agrees. She says she’s not ready. She needs to rebuild her strength and renew her skills so she can be the mother they deserve. And to give them time. Alex and Cam offer to do the transporter spell and she’s amazed that they can do it without being initiated.
Before they send her, Cam asks if they’ll see her again and she says whenever they need or want her near, she’ll be there. They wonder what they should call her-neither are ready to call her mom- and she says Miranda and she’ll call them Alex and Cam. A police car is there when they get home. Dave and Emily are frantic because Dylan is gone and then the twins weren’t there. Dave asks if they have any ideas where he is. Alex sees that the dumpster was behind “The Candle Connection”.
Cam gets Jason to take them there. Alex says she’ll stay behind and then asks Cam to sense who’s in the bushes. It’s Kenya Carson. She says she came to see Dylan and got freaked when she saw the police car. She didn’t know why she’d ducked behind the bushes. Then Alex hears a weird click-clashing noise. When Alex mentions she hears the sounds of a computer Kenya says I can’t believe he told you and takes off. (We find out she has a bandaged knee, a sore cheek, and a bruised eye). Cam finds the dumpster in her vision. Dylan isn’t there but she finds his earring. When the twins see each other, they decide it’s time to put in a 911 to Karsh and Ileana.
Karsh has heard the twins but can’t come too them. He’s writing down what Ileana and the twins will need to know about their destines. But he might can help them find Dylan.. He finds Dylan limping and lost in the words near a graveyard and sends the vision to Cam. Then he gets a knock on the door and it’s Miranda. She inquires about his bruise and then comments on seeing her babies and how proud she is at how they’ve grown. Then they talk of what she remembers of the night Aron was killed.
Karsh tells her she told him to take the babies. She asked for a moment alone and when he came back, she was gone. They find the twins home and then they searched all of Coventry for her. Miranda says it’s all blank. She asks do they have time. He says they have as much as they need and they talk long into the afternoon. Thantos basically lied and told her she went mad and the twins were stolen and that he’d find them if it took him forever. After a while she accepted the inevitable. Karsh doesn’t tell her the truth. She’s still weak. He tells her she’s come back at the right time. The twins will need their mother for their upcoming initiation She says she’s not ready and asks that he keep guarding them. Just as he’s about to tell her who their real guardian is.
She storms in demanding to know why Karsh wasn’t watching her cottage and it got trashed. Then she sees Miranda and falls to her knees weeping. The twins find the email on Dylan’s computer (to KC) and it says: RideBoy fell for it. I’m meeting him tonight. Same time, same place you did. Kenya tells him not to go. He’s psycho. Cam and Alex decide it’s time to have a chat with Kenya. So, they trick her to think she’s meeting with Dylan.
They ask her who Ride Boy is. Alex slips her lucky stone and Cam offers her some cocoa and they have the desired effect. They then recite the Truth Inducer Spell. The story comes out. Kenya met a guy who was supposed to be young and snowboard savy in a chat room. They wrote back and forth for a couple of weeks and he said he wanted to meet her. She knew it was a bad idea to go somewhere alone so she insisted on the mall. She was waiting to meet him behind the Candle Connection where he supposedly worked. This van pulls up and this old, ugly, grown man that reeks of cigerette smoke gets out. He tried to get her to get in his van and take a ride with him.
When she said no, he grabbed her arm and tried to shove her in. So, she starts to scream and shout to let her go. So, he threw her down and that’s how she chipped her tooth and got scraped up. He looked at her, got in his van, and took off. She called Dylan and their other friend Robbie to come get her. She told them she’d been trying new tricks in the parking lot. Finally she told Dylan the truth and he went berserk. He was going to trap RideBoy by setting up a scam to get him to meet him. Cam starts to get a vision and Alex hears a raspy voice mention some numbers. Cam sees the location where Dylan is and Alex hears the coordinates. Just as the T’Witches are figuring out that Dylan must have caught up with RideBoy and he dumped him in this swampy area, Thantos surprises them and
tells them Miranda sent him to help them and shows them how to use the Situator Spell to track Dylan’s location. While visiting Aron’s grave, Miranda tells Ileana the story of her parents. Her father meet her mother and feel in love. Her grandmother didn’t approve. She consider Leila and the Hazlet of low status and vowed she wouldn’t let the marriage take place. But Thantos went against her and Leila said she’d have nothing to do with the baby. Beatrice died in childbirth and Leila convinced him to not have anything to do with her. So, he gave her over to Karsh to watch. She reminded him of everything he wanted to forget.
Ileana finds out the twins have called for her and Karsh didn’t go to them. Instead, Miranda sent Thantos. Ileana gets out of there quickly. She didn’t hear the commotion that turns out to be Vey and Tsuris. The twins realize they’re at a cemetary and a voice tells them if they love him to go back. They then find Dylan unconscious and bleeding. When he comes to he says he’s ok but the guy is going after another victim, but he got his hat and license plate. Karsh places his papers in one of his hollowed out books and starts to go to help Illeana. Vey and Tsurus decide to follow him.
Cam and Alex see everything that happened with RideBoy and Dylan inside his hat. Ileana comes to the rescue, but the twins have already handled everything and called the police. She breaks down and says she’s ashamed. They didn’t need her. She says they won’t have to worry about her for long. She’s leaving Coventry. Cam takes this to mean they’re being dumped. Karsh arrives and Ileana realizes what the funeral robe means and hints with her to read the book Forgiveness and Vengence. Vey and Tsuris show up and Karsh holds them off and tells Ileana to go home. Only she pleads not to leave. Then the brothers come after the twins and they decide to bash them with rocks. Only Karsh breaks their hold and they take him down with the same rocks.
Alex runs the twins off with flaming branches. As Karsh dies, he tells them “Children all is written,”
My Thoughts:
AI wouldn’t let Thantos being my father make me lose my powers. I don’t care what “title” people in your family hold if they don’t act like then you don’t have to consider them that. Just don’t give it any energy. I sure haven’t. B) Miranda are you kidding me? That’s WEAK! You’re taking up for a man that let his mother manipulate him and who can’t be held for his actions because of grief? YES! Life is FULL of hurt and pain, but you don’t abandon someone that needs you because of it. That makes you a COWARD! So, Thantos and Miranda in my opinion are one in the same. I got Miranda was grieving over her husband but couldn’t she have just given the babies to Karsh or one of the Elders. It made a lot more sense in the tv movies because there was a threat and I’m glad this was added because otherwise the books made it look like she just gave her new born babies away. D) You can NOT make me believe that these two idiots who have no magic what-so-ever killed this man by stoning him to death. But years later what I *can* see is (because this happened to my uncle) when Tsuris pushed him to the floor he might have hit his head and caused his brain to bleed. This could have weakened him and thrown off his magic. Would damage to the right side of the brain (since it’s the creative side) make you lose your magical abilities? Now I’m wondering if T’Suris actually bashed him in the head with the rocks and this *always* would explain why he went down like he did. Because otherwise Karsh could have just turned *them* into rocks.
Dylan and the Barnes come in arguing over something Dylan doesn’t see the big deal about. Cam and Alex are waiting for a message from their long-lost mother and not sure how it’ll come. Weeks have gone by since they were promised it would come. Cam and Alex walk into the argument and find out Dylan was stopped by the police for kicking over trash cans and dumping garbage all over the street.
He says he was trying to figure something out and got frustrated. Dave points out he was cutting. The twins try to find out what’s going on but Emily and Dave tell them to stay out of it and go to their rooms. Lately Dylan has been getting into trouble all over the place and his grades weren’t looking too hot. Emily is heard blaming all the time Dylan spends on the computer. Dylan says it never occurred to them that he could be doing something important.
Cam “sees” Dylan about to throw Emily’s priceless vase and they both rush downstairs. Alex uses her powers to make the vase turn around and Cam catches it.. Dylan storms off to his room. Alex goes after Dylan. She sees him writing to someone named KC, but he snaps it’s not her business. He changes his tone and just says it’s private and he just needs to be left alone.
When she gets back in her room, Cam tells her that Beth got her permit and they’re going out for pizza. Alex reminds her their supposed to be waiting but Cam says they’ve been waiting a month (scratch that all their lives). She can wait on them tonight. The twins catch a bad smell and all of a sudden sitting at their desk is Thantos. Thantos remarks that they look like their father. The one you killed thinks Cam, but Thantos tells her he’s been cleared and had nothing to do with Aaron’s death. Thantos then takes credit for Bree leading them to their mother. When Cam tells him he’s not that powerful he sends them flying backwards.
Thantos tosses some mandrake and valerian into the candle’s flames and they see Dylan trapped. Cam realizes he’s in a dumpster. Cam panics and Alex tells her Dylan is safe in his room. Thantos tells her it was only an illusion but accidents do happen. Thantos tells the twins he can help them see their mother soon. Cam says she wants to see her mother more than anything, he tells her be careful what you wish for. Because of all the hard truths Illena’s learned, she finds herself helpless with no magic when a camp fire breaks on the beach. She saves the teenagers and children the best she can by getting them to roll into the water.
Karsh gets a vision of a gaunt figure in a funeral cape with a terrified expression staring at him. Then it’s gone. The picture drops and glass shatters. Karsh knows what it means and gathers up five sacred stones. He performs “The Calling” and sees Ileana and knows where she is. While distracted, Tsurs and Vey ambush him wanting revenge.
They demand to know where Ileana is. Karsh tries to reason with them. He tells them their anger is misdirected. Ileana didn’t do anything other than open the door for the truth to finally come out. But Tsuris says it’s just a scheme to smear their good name and cheat us out of what’s owed to us. Even tho moments ago Karsh was feeling strong, the premonition took something out of him. Tsuris knocks Karsh down. Vey tells him to stay down. They tear up the place. Before everything goes black, he hears his stones tumbling from the table and skidding across the floor.
Both twins are distracted at PITTS. Amanda and Sukari are talking about a girl in Dylan’s class named Kenya Carson who came to school with a black eye and some people have suspected of being child abused. The twins get out of there. Cam wants to check on Dylan to make sure Thantos didn’t make the vision happen. Alex says he’s ok. They talk about whether Thantos was telling the truth about him being the only who can get them to see Miranda and why he wants them. Ileana told them to “bring them over to the dark side” and if he can’t do this to kill them.
They talk about what they think Miranda will be like. Cam thinks sweet and gentle. Alex thinks fierce and strong. They talk a little bit about when Then they feel and smell the presence of Thantos. He tells them to go to Mariner’s Park if they want to see Miranda. NOW! As they reach the oak tree and the moon goes down just as the sun comes up, they smell pine, lavender, and rosemary.
They find out Miranda lost her powers-except mind reading-. The twins’ questions are fast and furious. Miranda starts to cry and for a minute they see into her soul. They all embrace. Alex’s defense come down. She realizes that loving one doesn’t make feelings for the other any less. Cam thinks of how even tho she was born to this woman her heart is still with Emily. Cam and Alex came away knowing that Miranda's meltdown the day of their birth, the day Aron was murdered, had left her so broken, so helpless, that she had accepted Fredo DuBaer's terrible lie — that her infant twins were also dead. Thantos had never contradicted his brother. Only recently had he given Miranda the miraculous "news" — her daughters were alive, found and together. Miranda assumed Thantos had not known that before *from the book*.
Miranda thinks Thantos “saved her” by sending her to Rolling Hills. Weirdly she says I thought I’d killed you, but she doesn’t elaborate. Miranda is relieved the twins were cared for, but is surprised to learn that Ileana is their guardian. The twins find out Thantos is her father and they feel sympathy for her. Thantos told Miranda when he found out they were alive he watched them for a while. Cam thinks more like stalked. He also told her they’d accepted their destiny. The twins thinks he meant to be witches, but Miranda says that and more. She compliments their skills. Told to her by Bree.
Cam asks will she be going back to Rolling Hills. She says now that she sees their safe, she wants to go back to Coventry but she can’t transport herself. Alex says she can come with them to Cam’s but Cam says it’s not the right time and Miranda agrees. She says she’s not ready. She needs to rebuild her strength and renew her skills so she can be the mother they deserve. And to give them time. Alex and Cam offer to do the transporter spell and she’s amazed that they can do it without being initiated.
Before they send her, Cam asks if they’ll see her again and she says whenever they need or want her near, she’ll be there. They wonder what they should call her-neither are ready to call her mom- and she says Miranda and she’ll call them Alex and Cam. A police car is there when they get home. Dave and Emily are frantic because Dylan is gone and then the twins weren’t there. Dave asks if they have any ideas where he is. Alex sees that the dumpster was behind “The Candle Connection”.
Cam gets Jason to take them there. Alex says she’ll stay behind and then asks Cam to sense who’s in the bushes. It’s Kenya Carson. She says she came to see Dylan and got freaked when she saw the police car. She didn’t know why she’d ducked behind the bushes. Then Alex hears a weird click-clashing noise. When Alex mentions she hears the sounds of a computer Kenya says I can’t believe he told you and takes off. (We find out she has a bandaged knee, a sore cheek, and a bruised eye). Cam finds the dumpster in her vision. Dylan isn’t there but she finds his earring. When the twins see each other, they decide it’s time to put in a 911 to Karsh and Ileana.
Karsh has heard the twins but can’t come too them. He’s writing down what Ileana and the twins will need to know about their destines. But he might can help them find Dylan.. He finds Dylan limping and lost in the words near a graveyard and sends the vision to Cam. Then he gets a knock on the door and it’s Miranda. She inquires about his bruise and then comments on seeing her babies and how proud she is at how they’ve grown. Then they talk of what she remembers of the night Aron was killed.
Karsh tells her she told him to take the babies. She asked for a moment alone and when he came back, she was gone. They find the twins home and then they searched all of Coventry for her. Miranda says it’s all blank. She asks do they have time. He says they have as much as they need and they talk long into the afternoon. Thantos basically lied and told her she went mad and the twins were stolen and that he’d find them if it took him forever. After a while she accepted the inevitable. Karsh doesn’t tell her the truth. She’s still weak. He tells her she’s come back at the right time. The twins will need their mother for their upcoming initiation She says she’s not ready and asks that he keep guarding them. Just as he’s about to tell her who their real guardian is.
She storms in demanding to know why Karsh wasn’t watching her cottage and it got trashed. Then she sees Miranda and falls to her knees weeping. The twins find the email on Dylan’s computer (to KC) and it says: RideBoy fell for it. I’m meeting him tonight. Same time, same place you did. Kenya tells him not to go. He’s psycho. Cam and Alex decide it’s time to have a chat with Kenya. So, they trick her to think she’s meeting with Dylan.
They ask her who Ride Boy is. Alex slips her lucky stone and Cam offers her some cocoa and they have the desired effect. They then recite the Truth Inducer Spell. The story comes out. Kenya met a guy who was supposed to be young and snowboard savy in a chat room. They wrote back and forth for a couple of weeks and he said he wanted to meet her. She knew it was a bad idea to go somewhere alone so she insisted on the mall. She was waiting to meet him behind the Candle Connection where he supposedly worked. This van pulls up and this old, ugly, grown man that reeks of cigerette smoke gets out. He tried to get her to get in his van and take a ride with him.
When she said no, he grabbed her arm and tried to shove her in. So, she starts to scream and shout to let her go. So, he threw her down and that’s how she chipped her tooth and got scraped up. He looked at her, got in his van, and took off. She called Dylan and their other friend Robbie to come get her. She told them she’d been trying new tricks in the parking lot. Finally she told Dylan the truth and he went berserk. He was going to trap RideBoy by setting up a scam to get him to meet him. Cam starts to get a vision and Alex hears a raspy voice mention some numbers. Cam sees the location where Dylan is and Alex hears the coordinates. Just as the T’Witches are figuring out that Dylan must have caught up with RideBoy and he dumped him in this swampy area, Thantos surprises them and
tells them Miranda sent him to help them and shows them how to use the Situator Spell to track Dylan’s location. While visiting Aron’s grave, Miranda tells Ileana the story of her parents. Her father meet her mother and feel in love. Her grandmother didn’t approve. She consider Leila and the Hazlet of low status and vowed she wouldn’t let the marriage take place. But Thantos went against her and Leila said she’d have nothing to do with the baby. Beatrice died in childbirth and Leila convinced him to not have anything to do with her. So, he gave her over to Karsh to watch. She reminded him of everything he wanted to forget.
Ileana finds out the twins have called for her and Karsh didn’t go to them. Instead, Miranda sent Thantos. Ileana gets out of there quickly. She didn’t hear the commotion that turns out to be Vey and Tsuris. The twins realize they’re at a cemetary and a voice tells them if they love him to go back. They then find Dylan unconscious and bleeding. When he comes to he says he’s ok but the guy is going after another victim, but he got his hat and license plate. Karsh places his papers in one of his hollowed out books and starts to go to help Illeana. Vey and Tsurus decide to follow him.
Cam and Alex see everything that happened with RideBoy and Dylan inside his hat. Ileana comes to the rescue, but the twins have already handled everything and called the police. She breaks down and says she’s ashamed. They didn’t need her. She says they won’t have to worry about her for long. She’s leaving Coventry. Cam takes this to mean they’re being dumped. Karsh arrives and Ileana realizes what the funeral robe means and hints with her to read the book Forgiveness and Vengence. Vey and Tsuris show up and Karsh holds them off and tells Ileana to go home. Only she pleads not to leave. Then the brothers come after the twins and they decide to bash them with rocks. Only Karsh breaks their hold and they take him down with the same rocks.
Alex runs the twins off with flaming branches. As Karsh dies, he tells them “Children all is written,”
My Thoughts:
AI wouldn’t let Thantos being my father make me lose my powers. I don’t care what “title” people in your family hold if they don’t act like then you don’t have to consider them that. Just don’t give it any energy. I sure haven’t. B) Miranda are you kidding me? That’s WEAK! You’re taking up for a man that let his mother manipulate him and who can’t be held for his actions because of grief? YES! Life is FULL of hurt and pain, but you don’t abandon someone that needs you because of it. That makes you a COWARD! So, Thantos and Miranda in my opinion are one in the same. I got Miranda was grieving over her husband but couldn’t she have just given the babies to Karsh or one of the Elders. It made a lot more sense in the tv movies because there was a threat and I’m glad this was added because otherwise the books made it look like she just gave her new born babies away. D) You can NOT make me believe that these two idiots who have no magic what-so-ever killed this man by stoning him to death. But years later what I *can* see is (because this happened to my uncle) when Tsuris pushed him to the floor he might have hit his head and caused his brain to bleed. This could have weakened him and thrown off his magic. Would damage to the right side of the brain (since it’s the creative side) make you lose your magical abilities? Now I’m wondering if T’Suris actually bashed him in the head with the rocks and this *always* would explain why he went down like he did. Because otherwise Karsh could have just turned *them* into rocks.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2020
Once again, the back cover book blurb is incredibly off-base and borderline misleading - did the writer of it even read the book, or did they just cobble something together from a rough outline of the plot?
Miranda. The mother Cam and Alex never knew they had. A magnificent witch from the most powerful family on Coventry Island.
REWIND.
Locked away in a sanitarium the twins’ whole lives, Miranda is broken. Physically and spiritually. And her freedom comes with a price. Cam and Alex will have to part with something that means more to them than they ever imagined.
And for once, their guardians can’t help them.
The DuBaer family seems to be the most powerful family on Coventry Island, for one, and Miranda only married into it, even though she also comes from an as-yet-unnamed powerful family with a long history. Miranda is, however, broken - but not quite so broken as she used to be. Now at least she’s able to face her children, a reunion which is just as layered and complicated as one would hope after all that has transpired in this family. But that whole bit of “freedom with a price” and what Alex and Cam have to part with? Misplaced and misleading. The only other thing which is 100% accurate (the first being how Miranda was locked away in a sanitarium the twins’ whole lives) is that for once, the twins’ guardians can’t help them. Ileana is reeling and powerless after having her whole world overturned upon learning who is her father, and Karsh is busy bustling about at home writing down what the three young witches will need to know about their future, secrets that he has kept for a long time, secrets which he will not have time to tell them directly, for reasons only he seems to know. (Though it’s pretty easy to tell that he’s .)
There is a LOT going on in this book. Family reunions (Miranda and the twins), Ileana struggling with the loss of her magick and the weight of who her father is, Karsh writing down secrets he won’t be able to tell the young ladies in a strange burst of energy, and finally Dylan getting into some sort of trouble with the police and worse. It jumps around a lot between these various threads, and while it isn’t hard to follow, it does make it seem haphazard and chopped together. Miranda is literally popping up in places she cannot get to on her own, while Thantos is stepping in to answer the twins’ calls for help as he’s never done before, all because Miranda asks him to. I mean, it’s nice to see Thantos get some layers to him, now if only Cam, Alex, and Ileana would open themselves up to reinterpret his actions. What Karsh has to say will likely clarify this a lot, and be much more credible to the young ladies more than what Miranda could ever say given her past breakdown and seclusion.
As much as there are comparatively nuanced scenes, like the difficult reunion between the twins and Miranda, each twin responding to her quite differently (even though it involves a hug-fest), there are also ones which are over-simplified/overkill and just don’t make sense. Specifically, when Thantos surprises Cam and Alex on the way home, the girls give the unknown “predator” (thinking him to be someone else) a few good hits with foot and geography text, he goes on the super-defensive by turning them into a mouse and a cat with the instincts to match - and that’s his first reaction to their defensive attack! Sure, he soon turns them back and scolds them for their less-than-warm-welcome, but it was massive overkill, and really only serves to reiterate how powerful Thantos is and reinforce how scary he is made out to be. There’s a whole lot of over-reacting and subsequent misinterpreting of events in this family, I’ll give it that.
Ileana gets a little more complex too - we’re told that she was actually quite serious romantically with Brice Stanley, and seeing him vouch for Thantos as a character witness basically broke her heart. What I found more engaging about her was that like Miranda, the shock she suffered all but stripped her of her magic - so apparently witches and warlocks can lose their power following traumatic events, with no certainty that their power will ever return to them.
As for the teen-relevant-warning of the day/ book, in this case it is “don’t trust strangers you meet online” in the classic scenario everyone hears about: older man masquerades as teen to attract a teenage girl, lures her to a semi-private location to kidnap her and who knows what from there. Dylan takes the lead on this sub-plot, at least initially, by trying to take matters into his own hands. He’s quickly in over his head though, and it will only be with Cam and Alex’s help (and them getting some un-requested-but-much-needed help from Thantos as Ileana and Karsh are too preoccupied with their own issues), that he stands a chance of getting out of this and the bad guy getting caught.
Oh and we learn that Fredo’s sons, being the sons of a warlock and a non-witch, may have inherited their father’s magick but since they are untrained, they are unable to use it, which lends itself to imply that magick ability relies more on being inherited than it “appearing” - and one non-magical parent can pretty much completely ix-nay the magick-ay especially without training. Yet, Sara and Dave, the protectors Karsh chose for Alex and Cam, both have some level of intuition, almost-magic, and I’d say Dylan has inherited some too, if his desire to help others extends deeper/further than the event in this book. So is magick truly only inheritable? Or can “sensitive” lines garner enough power over generations to blossom into full witch/warlock abilities? Can a witch or warlock be born to a Muggle family? (I defend my use of “Muggle” in that Alex and Dylan still use the nicknames Harry and Dudley between them.)
I don’t know about this series, it’s really just sort of average overall so far, with a few stronger books and mostly barely-average books. I’m kind of glad there’s only four more books left in this re-read. Even my brain is storing these books as passing things, not worthy of taking up too much memory for too long. Could this be why I remember basically nothing of this series from when I read it 18 years ago, when there are other books that I do at least remember some things from with a similar distance between them, even ones I have not picked up to give my memory a jog at all? (I remember a scene from The Seventh Tower quite clearly and I haven’t read that since it came out.)
Typo:
For any of us. Not yet.” I want to be part of your lives. - page 61 - remove the excess closing quotation marks
Miranda. The mother Cam and Alex never knew they had. A magnificent witch from the most powerful family on Coventry Island.
REWIND.
Locked away in a sanitarium the twins’ whole lives, Miranda is broken. Physically and spiritually. And her freedom comes with a price. Cam and Alex will have to part with something that means more to them than they ever imagined.
And for once, their guardians can’t help them.
The DuBaer family seems to be the most powerful family on Coventry Island, for one, and Miranda only married into it, even though she also comes from an as-yet-unnamed powerful family with a long history. Miranda is, however, broken - but not quite so broken as she used to be. Now at least she’s able to face her children, a reunion which is just as layered and complicated as one would hope after all that has transpired in this family. But that whole bit of “freedom with a price” and what Alex and Cam have to part with? Misplaced and misleading. The only other thing which is 100% accurate (the first being how Miranda was locked away in a sanitarium the twins’ whole lives) is that for once, the twins’ guardians can’t help them. Ileana is reeling and powerless after having her whole world overturned upon learning who is her father, and Karsh is busy bustling about at home writing down what the three young witches will need to know about their future, secrets that he has kept for a long time, secrets which he will not have time to tell them directly, for reasons only he seems to know. (Though it’s pretty easy to tell that he’s .)
There is a LOT going on in this book. Family reunions (Miranda and the twins), Ileana struggling with the loss of her magick and the weight of who her father is, Karsh writing down secrets he won’t be able to tell the young ladies in a strange burst of energy, and finally Dylan getting into some sort of trouble with the police and worse. It jumps around a lot between these various threads, and while it isn’t hard to follow, it does make it seem haphazard and chopped together. Miranda is literally popping up in places she cannot get to on her own, while Thantos is stepping in to answer the twins’ calls for help as he’s never done before, all because Miranda asks him to. I mean, it’s nice to see Thantos get some layers to him, now if only Cam, Alex, and Ileana would open themselves up to reinterpret his actions. What Karsh has to say will likely clarify this a lot, and be much more credible to the young ladies more than what Miranda could ever say given her past breakdown and seclusion.
As much as there are comparatively nuanced scenes, like the difficult reunion between the twins and Miranda, each twin responding to her quite differently (even though it involves a hug-fest), there are also ones which are over-simplified/overkill and just don’t make sense. Specifically, when Thantos surprises Cam and Alex on the way home, the girls give the unknown “predator” (thinking him to be someone else) a few good hits with foot and geography text, he goes on the super-defensive by turning them into a mouse and a cat with the instincts to match - and that’s his first reaction to their defensive attack! Sure, he soon turns them back and scolds them for their less-than-warm-welcome, but it was massive overkill, and really only serves to reiterate how powerful Thantos is and reinforce how scary he is made out to be. There’s a whole lot of over-reacting and subsequent misinterpreting of events in this family, I’ll give it that.
Ileana gets a little more complex too - we’re told that she was actually quite serious romantically with Brice Stanley, and seeing him vouch for Thantos as a character witness basically broke her heart. What I found more engaging about her was that like Miranda, the shock she suffered all but stripped her of her magic - so apparently witches and warlocks can lose their power following traumatic events, with no certainty that their power will ever return to them.
As for the teen-relevant-warning of the day/ book, in this case it is “don’t trust strangers you meet online” in the classic scenario everyone hears about: older man masquerades as teen to attract a teenage girl, lures her to a semi-private location to kidnap her and who knows what from there. Dylan takes the lead on this sub-plot, at least initially, by trying to take matters into his own hands. He’s quickly in over his head though, and it will only be with Cam and Alex’s help (and them getting some un-requested-but-much-needed help from Thantos as Ileana and Karsh are too preoccupied with their own issues), that he stands a chance of getting out of this and the bad guy getting caught.
Oh and we learn that Fredo’s sons, being the sons of a warlock and a non-witch, may have inherited their father’s magick but since they are untrained, they are unable to use it, which lends itself to imply that magick ability relies more on being inherited than it “appearing” - and one non-magical parent can pretty much completely ix-nay the magick-ay especially without training. Yet, Sara and Dave, the protectors Karsh chose for Alex and Cam, both have some level of intuition, almost-magic, and I’d say Dylan has inherited some too, if his desire to help others extends deeper/further than the event in this book. So is magick truly only inheritable? Or can “sensitive” lines garner enough power over generations to blossom into full witch/warlock abilities? Can a witch or warlock be born to a Muggle family? (I defend my use of “Muggle” in that Alex and Dylan still use the nicknames Harry and Dudley between them.)
I don’t know about this series, it’s really just sort of average overall so far, with a few stronger books and mostly barely-average books. I’m kind of glad there’s only four more books left in this re-read. Even my brain is storing these books as passing things, not worthy of taking up too much memory for too long. Could this be why I remember basically nothing of this series from when I read it 18 years ago, when there are other books that I do at least remember some things from with a similar distance between them, even ones I have not picked up to give my memory a jog at all? (I remember a scene from The Seventh Tower quite clearly and I haven’t read that since it came out.)
Typo:
For any of us. Not yet.” I want to be part of your lives. - page 61 - remove the excess closing quotation marks
April 23, 2023
(BAD SPOILERS!)
I started reading this series when I was a kid, I’m 25 now, and I realised recently (in a bout of nostalgia) that I never finished it. I was not prepared for Karsh’s death 😭😭😭 Haven’t felt a characters death that badly in years 😭💔
And the way he died?? He put on his funeral robes. Knowing he was going to his death. Went to help his daughter, his charge, his real family Illeana, knowing that she was broken and powerless after learning about Thantos. He went to save the twins, his fledgelings, more his kids than anyone else’s tbh. And Tsuris and Vey!! KILLED HIM!! The same way they tried to kill their cousins?! 😭 The same way their father killed his brother?! 😭 And Karsh accepted his face. And now Illeana can’t even take care of herself, nevermind them. And Alex, poor Alex his favourite, his beloved, is so alone. And Cam is just lost. And he’s left them. And they don’t know what to do. He didn’t deserve it 😭😭 Teenage me is soo broken right now.
I started reading this series when I was a kid, I’m 25 now, and I realised recently (in a bout of nostalgia) that I never finished it. I was not prepared for Karsh’s death 😭😭😭 Haven’t felt a characters death that badly in years 😭💔
And the way he died?? He put on his funeral robes. Knowing he was going to his death. Went to help his daughter, his charge, his real family Illeana, knowing that she was broken and powerless after learning about Thantos. He went to save the twins, his fledgelings, more his kids than anyone else’s tbh. And Tsuris and Vey!! KILLED HIM!! The same way they tried to kill their cousins?! 😭 The same way their father killed his brother?! 😭 And Karsh accepted his face. And now Illeana can’t even take care of herself, nevermind them. And Alex, poor Alex his favourite, his beloved, is so alone. And Cam is just lost. And he’s left them. And they don’t know what to do. He didn’t deserve it 😭😭 Teenage me is soo broken right now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2023
Read: October 21, 2023
Review: October 21, 2023
3/5 Stars - Liked It
Review:
The writing of this series has improved from the first book, while still written in a style that would have related to 2000's kids.
I find the main plot/mystery is not real important. It more serves to showcase the twins magical skill development as well as to learn more about the characters. We are finally starting to get some answers here and learn more about everyone. The other characters stories were actually more interesting than the twins in this book.
The book started off somewhat slow, but ended strong. These books are not groundbreaking, especially as an adult, but I like them. The T*witches books are just a nice, light, easy, enjoyable read. I never finish the series when I was young, I am glad I am now reading the entire series and looking forward to seeing how they end.
Review: October 21, 2023
3/5 Stars - Liked It
Review:
The writing of this series has improved from the first book, while still written in a style that would have related to 2000's kids.
I find the main plot/mystery is not real important. It more serves to showcase the twins magical skill development as well as to learn more about the characters. We are finally starting to get some answers here and learn more about everyone. The other characters stories were actually more interesting than the twins in this book.
The book started off somewhat slow, but ended strong. These books are not groundbreaking, especially as an adult, but I like them. The T*witches books are just a nice, light, easy, enjoyable read. I never finish the series when I was young, I am glad I am now reading the entire series and looking forward to seeing how they end.
June 22, 2020
The action in this book was non-stop until the end. The character development was compelling, and the action helped bring it out. I highly recommend this book and this series.
December 29, 2024
It was so sad and intense and this was the darkest one so far i cried so much and beware their is a lot of triggers regarding violence and kidnapping etc
June 23, 2025
A sad ending to the arc of the first 6 books. Looking forward to seeing what the final 3 have in store.
November 27, 2017
In Double Jeopardy, Alex and Cam are finally meeting their biological mother, Miranda. Ileana is dealing with the discovery that the supposed-evil-guy she's hated all her life is her father. And Karsh is preparing for something - something that will change the lives of his charges forever.
This is another short installment to the series that mostly deals with family. On the Barnes' side, Dylan is skipping school and getting into trouble he usually doesn't get into. Trying to help someone in deep danger may lead him spiralling into a trap the twins have to get him out of. His parents are upset, naturally, and trying to figure out what's gotten into him.
However, the main story arc focuses around Miranda, Thantos, Ileana, and Karsh. And of course, the twins, who are finally meeting their real mom face to face and dealing with their thoughts on where she's going to fit into their lives. Ileana is facing the stone-cold truth that her dad is actually Thantos, a guy who she still believes has a lot to do wtih Aron's murder. Readers are led to believe two different stories on it, Ileana - who thinks Thantos manipulated and lied to Miranda when he told them the twins were gone. And Miranda, who still believes in the best of what Thantos has to offer. Even Karsh mentions that the story is more complicated than it seems because there's some sort of curse involved (I don't really remember what the curse is, it's been so long since I've read this whole series).
Anyway, the one thing that bugs me about this in the series is that in this particular book, it mentions that the girls don't want to get Dave involved because he would be in danger. But at the same time, isn't he technically their guardian? Slightly magical or what not, or enough to make Karsh think he was responsible enough to protect one twin? So I'm really confused at why suddenly they don't think he can help them. Or you know, trust him enough to tell him WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIS SON.
Regardless, there's a lot of family drama in this one. And now Karsh is gone, leaving all his charges to deal with their grief on their own. They've got a nice little soap opera happening right now. It's pretty messed up.
Anyway, I'm off to the next book.
This is another short installment to the series that mostly deals with family. On the Barnes' side, Dylan is skipping school and getting into trouble he usually doesn't get into. Trying to help someone in deep danger may lead him spiralling into a trap the twins have to get him out of. His parents are upset, naturally, and trying to figure out what's gotten into him.
However, the main story arc focuses around Miranda, Thantos, Ileana, and Karsh. And of course, the twins, who are finally meeting their real mom face to face and dealing with their thoughts on where she's going to fit into their lives. Ileana is facing the stone-cold truth that her dad is actually Thantos, a guy who she still believes has a lot to do wtih Aron's murder. Readers are led to believe two different stories on it, Ileana - who thinks Thantos manipulated and lied to Miranda when he told them the twins were gone. And Miranda, who still believes in the best of what Thantos has to offer. Even Karsh mentions that the story is more complicated than it seems because there's some sort of curse involved (I don't really remember what the curse is, it's been so long since I've read this whole series).
Anyway, the one thing that bugs me about this in the series is that in this particular book, it mentions that the girls don't want to get Dave involved because he would be in danger. But at the same time, isn't he technically their guardian? Slightly magical or what not, or enough to make Karsh think he was responsible enough to protect one twin? So I'm really confused at why suddenly they don't think he can help them. Or you know, trust him enough to tell him WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIS SON.
Regardless, there's a lot of family drama in this one. And now Karsh is gone, leaving all his charges to deal with their grief on their own. They've got a nice little soap opera happening right now. It's pretty messed up.
Anyway, I'm off to the next book.
February 10, 2016
This is book 6 in the T*Witches series. This is perhaps the grimmest so far. There's abduction and murder, Dylan being kidnapped, an apparently powerless Ileana, and a major character who dies, murdered by Fredo's two sons.
Which brings up one thing that bothers me. Alex and Cam are going to Dylan's rescue, knowing that the guy who took him is a baddie. Granted, they are witches, but they seem to forget that they are also humans. They take no weapons with them at all, period. Nothing.
Why do characters in these type of situations fail to realize that they need as many means of protection as possible, and that putting all their eggs into one basket might not be the smartest way to go. If they had even had as much as BB-guns on them they could have prevented the death of the major character; instead, they were both roughed up by the two thugs and were unable to do anything to counter them, much less severely injure them.
Further, they get back home and think only of problems they may encounter. Taking the fight to the enemy, eliminating or at the very least severely hurting the two thugs does not even get one seconds worth of thought.
At the very least, it should have dawned on Alex and Cam that they might have been overestimating their abilities to defend themselves with their magic.
Which brings up one thing that bothers me. Alex and Cam are going to Dylan's rescue, knowing that the guy who took him is a baddie. Granted, they are witches, but they seem to forget that they are also humans. They take no weapons with them at all, period. Nothing.
Why do characters in these type of situations fail to realize that they need as many means of protection as possible, and that putting all their eggs into one basket might not be the smartest way to go. If they had even had as much as BB-guns on them they could have prevented the death of the major character; instead, they were both roughed up by the two thugs and were unable to do anything to counter them, much less severely injure them.
Further, they get back home and think only of problems they may encounter. Taking the fight to the enemy, eliminating or at the very least severely hurting the two thugs does not even get one seconds worth of thought.
At the very least, it should have dawned on Alex and Cam that they might have been overestimating their abilities to defend themselves with their magic.
August 30, 2017
Teen me: 5 stars
Adult me: 5 stars
*For the first book in a "child/teen/middlegrade/nostalgic" book, I am going with the rating younger me would have gone with, then if I read on in the series, I will rate the books what adult me believes it should be rated. If the book is a stand alone, I will go with whatever rating I feel most comfortable giving the book. Please note, I do not really think books should have an age limit. People should read what they want to regardless of the intended age group, except for kids reading erotica or something, of course.*
--
I really liked this as a teen and I have not read it as an adult yet, but I would like to believe that my feelings and rating would be the same. I will see upon a reread.
Adult me: 5 stars
*For the first book in a "child/teen/middlegrade/nostalgic" book, I am going with the rating younger me would have gone with, then if I read on in the series, I will rate the books what adult me believes it should be rated. If the book is a stand alone, I will go with whatever rating I feel most comfortable giving the book. Please note, I do not really think books should have an age limit. People should read what they want to regardless of the intended age group, except for kids reading erotica or something, of course.*
--
I really liked this as a teen and I have not read it as an adult yet, but I would like to believe that my feelings and rating would be the same. I will see upon a reread.
November 15, 2011
I like how the authors are always able to connect all of the plot threads. Equal time is given to each one and they all accomplish something, apart and together. This book brought up a few questions and frustrations towards certain characters, but it's great because the story is always moving.
September 1, 2013
1.5 stars
This is book 6 of the T*Witches series and I am SO glad I don't have any more of this series to read. It was SO bad. If you've come this far in the series then quit now before you waste any more of your time on these books.
This is book 6 of the T*Witches series and I am SO glad I don't have any more of this series to read. It was SO bad. If you've come this far in the series then quit now before you waste any more of your time on these books.
July 21, 2013
Pretty dreadful book. Annoying slang from over a decade ago that just seemed dated. Didn't enjoy reading this at all.
October 13, 2020
This one always makes me cry.
May 25, 2021
Official Rating:
5/5 stars 🌟
5/5 stars 🌟
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews