Secret Circle Vol I: The Initiation

it was okay. not for me. i couldn’t get into the story - but if paranormal/thriller is your thing and you like “older” books give it a try

Cassie Blake moved with her mother to New Salem. Her mother said they were moving in with Cassie's grandmother, at #12 Crowhaven Road, to take care of her. However, Cassie quickly learned that her mother and grandmother brought Cassie to New Salem for a different reason. Everyone, adult or student, feared the eleven people who belonged to The Club, aka The Circle. All members of the Circle lived on Crowhaven Road. Some members were nice. Some members were almost evil. Kori was suppose to join the Circle on her fifteenth birthday. Instead, she died. Currently there were eleven members, but a Circle was worthless without 7 girls and 5 boys. One more female was needed, Cassie. Cassie had no idea how dangerous being initiated into the Circle would be. Or how the evil ones in the Circle would snare her in a web of deceit and betrayal! ***** A stunning beginning to the trilogy! Down right enthralling! *****

The Initiation is just the first installment in an absoulutely compelling and exciting trilogy. It's just too good to describe and it gets even better in the second and third book! The characters are great and well developed. Unlike LJ Smith's other books, you will fall in love with BOTH the main male characters, Adam and Nick. You will fall in love with Adam in this book particularly, but when Nick's character starts to really develop in the second book onwards, you feel torn between the two, just like Cassie, the main character, is. Cassie is a great female lead, you feel like you're her. The love triangle between Cassie, the honest and strong-willed Adam and the sexy and brooding Nick is great. And although Adam is good, unlike other good guys in LJ Smith books, he's more...strong-minded, he's a leader but he's also mysterious and enigmatic, particularly in the beginning. All the rest of the characters in the coven are great, they all develop as the story goes on and you almost wish they were your own friends: biker-girl Deborah, ditzy Suzan, wise Melanie, friendly Laurel, sly Sean, wild Doug and Chris(the Henderson twins)and of course fiesty Faye and gentle Diana. My one complaint is Diana, you will find that she is such a dumb, wussy goody-goody! But maybe I just think that cos' I'm a lot like Faye. Anyway, this book and the other two in the trilogy are super! I'm a huuuuge LJ fan and I've got all her stuff, and before reading this trilogy I didn't think she could come with anything even better than her other books, but boy was I proven wrong! The Secret Circle is so good, that you'll be really upset when you reach the very last page of the very last book, you'll want more! I do, I want to find out what happens afterwards, with Adam and Cassie, and everything else. I hope there's gonna be a fourth book! You just have to read this trilogy, even if you're not into LJ Smith's stuff, you'll still love this. You'll get so drawn into the story that you'll actually feel like you're Cassie and that you actually talk to and meet the other characters and that you are in the actual place, New salem! THE ABSOLUTE BEST! Anyone who wants to talk about this and other LJ Smith books e-mail me, Candy, at: [email protected]! I'd love to hear from you!

I read this book many years ago and just loved it. The story was compelling with a touch of romance. I loved the main character so much I named my dog after her! The plot was wonderful and I loved the mystic theme. A great first book in an even better series.

I have just finished this book and I could not put it down from the time I started it to the time I finished. The book was incredible and L.J. Smith did and amazing job. I was so drawn into the story and I felt so emotional towards what the character, Cassie, was feeling. I can't wait to read The Captive and The Power! I have also read The Awakening and I loved that as well. I'm going to contiue to finish The Secret Circle saga as well as The Vampire Diaries. EVERYONE should read books by L.J. Smith!

If I was to ever become stranded on a deserted island then this is the book I'd wish to be stranded with, along with the other two books that finish the trilogy, of course. A friend of mine gave me the first book, "The Initiation" a couple of years ago and I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I took it and read it. I wasn't able to get the other books right away, and I was like a mad-woman searching high and low for these books. I finally got them and they delivered just as much entertainment as the first one. Cassie has just moved from sunny California to the an east coast city (perhaps 'city' is a stretch) called New Salem. She soon realizes that the people who live on her street and form a clique called 'The Circle' in her school are more than just a bullying gang, they are witches (yes, even the guys are witches)! Now as a member of this powerful Circle she begins to see life, nature, and love in a whole new aspect. But come to intrude upon her awakening is a dark force which has come back from the past. A past which is closer than any of the Circle could possibly imagine. I highly recommend any and all of these books to anyone who loves a great story with very well developed characters. 'The Initiation' is a great start to a wonderful set of books!