The Secret Circle, Volume I: The Initiation

By: L. J. Smith

Narrated by: Devon Sorvari

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.

©1992 Lisa Smith and Daniel Weiss Associates (P)2011 HarperCollinsPublishers

Not what I expected

I decided to listed to theses books because the show was cancelled. I quickly realized the stories are completely different. Even basing the book just on its own its not that great as the reviews claimed. I feel that the show had a better story line.

Wonderful story

The biggest disappointment in this story is that it has a non+ending in order to lead into the next book in the series. other than that, it's a fantastic read!!

I loved this book. the narrator was right on point

It started out kind of slow but got pretty good very quickly. It is a fantasy, drama, love spell all cast into one book.

So different to the tv show

What did you like best about The Secret Circle, Volume I: The Initiation? What did you like least?

I wanted to read this because the show ended so abruptly, I had no idea how different the book is compared to the show. Finding out there are 12 members of the circle and Faye is not the worse or most bitchy member/ Cassie's strong feelings of sisterhood and friendship for Diane was an eye opener.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Not much really, it would have been nice for there to be more spells in the first book. I think the book could have gone on a bit longer to have more of an impact

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I liked the narrator, cant fault her.

Do you think The Secret Circle, Volume I: The Initiation needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes, but I cannot seem to find it

I loved the books series

I loved the book series when I read it, now I can listen to it.

Good story, but annoying lead character

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Not sure. If I did, I would do it with caution.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would DEFINATELY made Cassie less of a whiner and lighten up on her obsession with Diana. It makes her annoying and creepy and I personally wouldn't want to try to befriend someone like her based on this book.

Any additional comments?

Cassie, our leading lady, is WAY too tantrum-y and horribly judgmental in the early parts of this book. I actually got ticked off at her and the way she described her Gramma. What a b****.

Glad to have, but overdramatic narration

I've been a fan of the Secret Circle since the 90s, and was thrilled to have an audio version. Sorvari has a perfect, sulky teenage voice, which would seem great for delivering this somewhat melodramatic trilogy. Her reading speed is perfect; neither too fast or slow.

Given how over the top the narrative already is, I wish Sorvari had read more evenly. She delivers ferocity, sulkiness, and drama, but does so in ALL instances, even for ordinary sentences, like, "Cassie's grandmother stood up." Does a sentence like that really need to be read with such intensity? Haha-funny lines, like those of the Henderson brothers, are also strangely sarcastic instead of slapstick. Sorvari pretty much delivers the entire book in this one way, and it becomes monotonous.

This sulky delivery also doesn't fit the protagonist's personality. Cassie is shy, ethical, and earnest, not at all bratty or rebellious, as Sorvari would have you believe.

As for the book itself, I read this when I was 10 and have reread it since then. But hearing it through someone else's voice revealed unintentionally silly it can be! There are plot holes that go unaddressed: Doesn't anyone think it's weird Cassie arrives exactly when she "needs to"? Wouldn't they be even slightly suspicious? And for the trilogy as a whole: Isn't it odd how little say Adam has? The romantic decisions are made entirely by Cassie, and he's a Romeo-like doll, never choosing but being told who he's allowed to be with. To Smith's credit, he does set up certain crucial scenes and this is a female-centric world, but he nevertheless seems flat and unappealing. (Nick, on the other hand, is much more interesting b/c he has a backstory.)

Most gratingly, there is an absurd amount of attention paid to how beautiful and frightening Faye is—it is repetitive and even embarrassing. I skipped over those paragraphs and paragraphs of how golden her eyes and skin are and blablabla, but you can't do that in an audiobook.

So much potential but comes up short

Unfortunately this book is just about a whiny teenage girl half way through and it's a struggle to continue to listen .... The tv Series had a better story line in my opinion ... I won't be buying the next book it's just too painful to continue

Amazing, couldn't put it down!

This was such an amazing book. So different from the TV show and so much more detailed and in depth! Fantastic storytelling!

Interesting

I listened to this book because of CW series rendition of The Secret Circle. I had no idea it was originally a book until I saw a comment on youtube. The series give you an idea of what the book itself is about but the stories are quite different in a lot of sense.

The narrator first and foremost is very much suited for this genre I must say, she did do a pretty fair job of the book itself. My only thought (slight problem really and it's just a personal thing) however is that the narrator though suited for this genre from the get go makes me think that this is a teeny romance novel. That is (in a sense) what the book is, however I believe with a different narrator it might have felt more than that.

As for the story, it is far different from the series in many ways. The number of characters in the circle itself, the description of some of the characters, the make-up of the families and the very motive behind how or why the circle was formed. I find some aspects of the story a bit trivial and annoying (teeny love stories are a bit overplayed to me in general). I have always thought that teenagers in love, forbidden love and the likes are a bit overplayed at best and impractical in real life (alas, this is fantasy). The story itself though is fascinating, there are so many unanswered questions and twists and turns that the novel can take. I am without a doubt intrigued as to how the book series will continue.

Overall, the book is a good listen. If your into Teeny Fantasy Romance novel or if your able to put up with that aspect of the book then this is a good book to listen. I am not too looking forward to the love story aspect of the book but I am not going to give up on the book just yet, there is enough in this book to make it a very very good listen....