The Secret Circle by L.J. Smith

The Secret Circle: The Initiation and The Captive Part I TV Tie-in Edition by L.J. Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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.


My take: This series (although I've only read the first book) strikes me as the kind of series that appeals to those who love Sookie Stackhouse and True Blood and Charmed. The setting is Massachusetts in a town called New Salem. The legend is that the real witches of Salem realized their perilous circumstances and left shortly after the erroneous witch trials to start a new town. The story sets up New Salem in a sociological way. All residents are descendants of either the original witches or their servants. Within the the Club, there are two dominant leaders; Diana and Faye. Faye is mean spirited and uses her powers to torment. Diana encompasses light. For now, Diana is the leader but her hold is precarious.

So there is a new girl in town, our protagonist, Cassie. Cassie does not know she is a descendant of the Salem witches. Not only that but she meets a mysterious boy on a different beach that seems to connect with her in a nearly physical (not sexual) way.

The book is mostly setting up the story. Conflicts occur and it is clear that there is a strong Good vs. Evil dynamic and Us vs. Them. There is the love interest but it is mostly set up as the forbidden love. I will be anxious to read the next two books and to watch the series.

Fun premise. Interesting conflicts. But I also LOVED Charmed.