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5 Stars • 🩵 the book • Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young is a mystery with magical realism set on the fictional island of Saoirse. Emery Blackwood and August Salt, former lovers, are reunited after fourteen years when August returns to bury his mother‘s ashes. ⬇️

August returns to the magical island of his youth to bury his mother. But he has to confront the love he left behind, & the community that thinks he‘s a killer. There are more dark secrets to be unearthed than he expects.

I liked the atmosphere & the magic. But I think this should have been a movie, w/ multiple random POVs, out of order flashbacks. Every time I started getting invested, it felt like Young switched it up to confuse me.🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑

I adore this author. She pulls fantasy into a murder mystery with a side of romance in this one.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Saoirse Island is magic and witches practice openly. When Lily Morgan is found dead and the Salt family orchard, the island‘s lifeblood, burns, island life is irreparably changed.
August Salt and his mother flee the island in the shadow of rumors and Emery is left to pick up the pieces at the dual loss of her best friend and boyfriend.
14 years later, August returns and the island finally has to face its past.

“I didn‘t know it was strange, because Emery and I had just always… been. I didn‘t know that teenagers didn‘t usually fall into that kind of love, or that there was anything unusual about us at all. I just knew that she felt like air to me.”

I love this book and this chapter…

Happy Thanksgiving everyone 🧡

“There are spells for breaking and spells for mending. But there are no spells for forgetting.”

💔💔

I picked this up as part of my spooky season reading. It's not exactly that, but there is mystery brewing at every turn. It's interesting how the story unfolds. Even if the final climax is less intense than the mystery leading up to it. Recommend. #59-2024

#HauntedShelf #HexesAndCrows @Catsandbooks
#BookScavengerHunt #MagicalSparks

#wickedwhispers #spells
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#Spells ✨ #WickedWhispers 👻🦇🕷️🕸️🎃🍁☕️🌰

#BookNerd 🤓💙📚

I really wanted to be able to give this book a higher rating as it has been stalking me for a while.

When I finally broke down and bought it I tore through the book, finishing it in a couple of days. I really liked the story and it was an easy read.

For a book titled Spells for Forgetting there wasn't a whole lot of magic. It hummed in the background and was mentioned often but very rarely put into action. I needed a lot more magic.

Well my morning work sesh at the Starbucks in Barnes and Noble resulted in a little less work and a new book 🤣🤣🤣 I have had it on my TBR list for entirely to long.

There were tales that only the island knew.

Happy #FirstLineFridays !!

Adrienne Young is doing the interview with Alex Michaeledes! 😳😳😳

Read this one and I enjoyed the back and forth between timelines and perspectives. At one point from the island perspective. Magic? Some. Love? Yup. Straight up obsession? In spades. The ending/resolution was rushed. For the build up it was depleted fast. With little to no resolution. A book I enjoyed but was unmemorable.

I really loved this story, but I felt like it took a really long time for it to build up into anything. I definitely thought that the magic theme would have been stronger in the beginning. I loved the mystery and the twists and the characters. It was very well written and I definitely will read more by this author.

This reads like YA fiction, though I don‘t think it technically is. I can see how readers might really enjoy the atmospheric romance with a little magic, drama and mystery. To me it felt a bit confused about what kind of book it wanted to be plus there was a lot of mouth twisting and references to ‘all of this‘ by multiple characters. Aspects, such as the setting, did appeal to me but overall not my thing. 🤷🏻‍♀️

This was so well written, and I was completely engaged in the 14 yrs after-the-fact telling of 4 teenage HS seniors living on this witchy constricted island. I was also intrigued by the impact their families played in the story. At then the ending, I didn‘t see that coming!

Oct #BookSpin Category: Pub 2021-22 @TheAromaofBooks

My brother got me a kindle for my birthday so now frantically reading with Libby!

Overall, this was a good, quick, and fun read. Not much to say about it other than I enjoyed it. No love and no hate for it 3.5⭐️

I like stories set in my home region, the PNW, and this one was good. Atmospheric and magical without going over the top. But also, reflective of rural settings where the unwritten and unspoken is a heavy factor to the order of things.

This is a very atmospheric book, set on an island off the coast of Seattle. If you like books with a strong sense of place and vibrant location, this is for you! It‘s part mystery, part romance, part fantasy.
I have tried fantasy several times over the years, and so far the only fantasy (other than HP) that I like is by Adrienne Young. I don‘t know why, but I‘ll take it!

MacMillan gives “Spells for Forgetting” five big wheeks—which is the guinea way of saying this is a really neat book! It‘s quiet, mysterious, and handles generational trauma in a beautiful way.

I wanted to like this more than I actually did. I think Adrienne Young is a hit or a miss author for me. I absolutely loved her Fable series, which is why I picked this up. (Though looking at my goodreads it‘s the only 3 books I‘ve read of hers 🤦‍♀️).

Anyway, I did love the characters and the audiobook was read by multiple people, which was fun. However, something was just missing for me to love this book.

I hope this lives up to the hype! Sounds marvelous!!

🎧 📚 This book was exactly what I needed after a fantasy trilogy! More of a Where the Crawdads Sing than The Bone Shard Trilogy.

I quickly realized this was more of a murder mystery than fantasy. It has magical elements but it‘s more of a who dunit!

I loved it. It‘s a perfect palate cleanser after days of high fantasy. A fast easy delightful read - or should I say listen! Multiple narrators made this an amazing audiobook!

Wonderful
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️3/4

This was enchanting. I couldn't put it down. The level of mystery and magic was perfect. Another great magical island story and I can't wait for what Young does next.

My #Marchtbr I find I do so much better reading my own shelves when I have a plan for the month. And I'm so close at finishing the Amelia Peabody series which makes me a little sad, I'll just have to start them all over again.

#booked2023
#Pop23
#52bookclub23
#Serieslove2023
#Readyourtbr
#Aroundtheworld

I did end up getting 2 books from #BOTM since it is my birthday month and I got a free one.

This book was a fantastic start to the new year. A mystery and a magical love story. It was wonderfully atmospheric and kept a great pace.

#12booksofChristmas October 😄 I loved the atmosphere of this book!

#spellsforforgetting #Adreienneyoungbooks #book #bookstagram #bookaddict #bookworms #bookaddiction #goodreads #goodreadchallenge2022 @adrienneyoungbooks! How much I love your books is beyond words! You had me hooded since Sky in the Deep now you write this amazing book! I finished my 2022 reading goal and I couldn‘t be more happier to end the year with such amazing book can‘t wait to read Saint now

Spells for Forgetting is a tangled, yet orderly, web of a story; there are a lot of characters and a lot of connections between them that extends over time. The story is told from many people‘s viewpoints. I liked the supernatural elements of the story and how well they mixed with the natural, human elements and feelings. There were some surprises, and some predictability, but I still enjoyed the story and the mystery surrounding Saoirse Island.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ This book is about the power of secrets, the consequences of running from one‘s pasts, and the danger of prejudices. I recommend this book for readers who enjoy atmospheric mysteries and/or magical realism. However, this book is heavier on the mystery genre than magical realism. It‘s an engaging read that kept me turning the pages well past my bedtime. Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59559145

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Loved this magical story! This could be a movie! So atmospheric, the island mysteries kept me turning the pages. I enjoyed both Emery and August‘s characters. Was very nervous my heart would be broken. But I closed the book a happy girl!

I was hooked from the first page! Young writes hauntingly beautiful. The plot revolves around August and Emery, residents from the Pacific Northwest island of Saorise. Caught in the middle of a mysterious murder and fire fourteen years before, the story centers on the trauma that ensued afterwards and secrets that become unraveled. The only thing I felt could have been better was that the ending seemed rushed

Posting my November #BookSpinBingo card. One square is marked. I ended up DNFing Station Eternity. Plot and characters just weren't grabbing me.

The time just jumped from 2am to 1am on my phone. That gives me another hour to stay up late and read, right?

It's my birthday! If you want to throw some birthday engagement at my youtube, I won't tell. I generally try to talk about a specific title every Friday and then do other assorted bookish content like monthly anticipated, wrapups, adaption opinions, occasional hauls, or whatever happens to strike my fancy, and I would love for you to join along if at all interested. https://youtu.be/X6M153y2kig

Whelp, completed my pared down challenge but am still behind for the year in my head.

Here's my November #BookSpin.

I took this rainbow picture a few weeks ago when a few friends and I rented a lake cabin for the weekend. It was cold and rainy, but we got this beautiful rainbow on the lake out of it.

3¼⭐
I like that the author tried to go more adult with this book…she didn‘t quite get there but I appreciate the effort. The problem with SFF…is that it‘s really quite forgettable. It abounded with an atmosphere that had a grit-lit feel to it. But, ultimately it was difficult to connect to the characters..and it left me not really caring about their outcome. The cover is gorgeous, though & it did have a full cast of fantastic narrators.

A suspected murderer returns to his superstitious hometown where the murder he was accused of remains unsolved. I‘m glad I was able to grab this as a skip-the-line loan! 🥳🥳

#ScarathlonDailyPrompts #PhotoChallenge Day 20: #Murder #TeamSlaughter #Scarathlon2022

I loved Spells for Forgetting! Ok, with that out of the way I can explain why. It‘s so atmospheric and made me feel fall. Yes, it very much is a slow burn but it was perfect for me. I‘m not much into fantasy but this was just enough. A little magic but not thrown at you every page you turn. I enjoyed the unraveling of the mystery all though I figured out a little of it. Definitely one I will recommend to someone. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 #outstandingoctober

It‘s snowy out… yes you read that right. Here in northern Indiana we have an inch or so on the ground. It was nutty lastnight. Almost whiteout conditions. 😳 Anyway, I‘m curling up with my Theo (he‘s under my quilt) and trying to finish this book while the kid is at preschool. 😍 #OutstandingOctober

Really between a so-so and a pick for me, but the great audio narration tips it up to a pick.

I enjoyed the idea of a small island rich in witchcraft, and the mystery was a good one that I honestly didn‘t figure out ahead of the reveal. The writing wasn‘t bad at all, but the story just felt sort of superficial. I never really connected with anyone, but that may be due to book hangover from Fairy Tale. SK is a hard act to follow.😂

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I enjoyed the atmospheric Pacific Northwest setting, but this was slow and didn‘t have nearly as much magic as I had hoped. I liked trying to figure out the mystery and didn‘t predict the ending - it just took awhile to get there and lacked depth. 🎧

This is a book about an island with secrets, witchcraft and a poor guy who just wants to bury his Moms ashes and go back home.
#TeamMonsterMash #ScarathlonWordSearch #ScarathlonDailyPrompts #Magic @StayCurious
#WickedWords #Fall @AsYouWish
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#StabbyBingo #WrittenInThe2020s
#AutumnBingo2022 #BlueCover @Ann_Reads
#LittenListen #LittenListenBingo #SpellsPotionsOrWitches @aperfectmjk

#ScarathlonDailyPromts Oct 9 #Magic

Shockingly I own no books with magic in the title, which is wild considering I love fantasy. I thought Spells was definitely referring to magic right? I don‘t much about this book, I just received it in the adult fairy loot box. It is a very pretty book and I am intrigued.
#Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash