Spells for Forgetting
by Adrienne Young
Summary
A deeply atmospheric story about ancestral magic, an unsolved murder, and a second chance at true love.
Emery Blackwood’s life changed forever the night her best friend was found dead and the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her. Years later, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence on the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and running the family’s business, Blackwood’s Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics & Tea Leaf Readings.
But when the island, rooted in folklore and magic, begins to show signs of strange happenings, Emery knows that something is coming. The morning she wakes to find that every single tree on Saoirse has turned color in a single night, August returns for the first time in fourteen years and unearths the past that the town has tried desperately to forget.
August knows he is not welcome on Saiorse, not after the night everything changed. As a fire raged on at the Salt family orchard, Lily Morgan was found dead in the dark woods, shaking the bedrock of their tight-knit community and branding August a murderer. When he returns to bury his mother’s ashes, he must confront the people who turned their backs on him and face the one wound from his past that has never healed—Emery.
The town has more than one reason to want August gone, and the emergence of deep betrayals and hidden promises spanning generations threatens to reveal the truth behind Lily’s mysterious death once and for all.
My Review
3.5 stars
I didn’t hate this book, but I didn’t love it either. I listened to it as an audiobook, and it was wonderful. This is a multiple-POV story, and there are nine narrators in this audiobook. So we have a full cast, and they all did amazing jobs. It helped to have the different voices because there were quite a few characters to keep track of, which got a little confusing at times.
I feel so mixed about this review and a little upset because I wanted to like it more than I did. It’s also hard to review because the story feels like it didn’t know what it wanted to be – a fantasy romance, a mystery & thriller, or fantasy with magical realism. It felt all over the place and messy. It’s definitely a mystery but not a thriller. There is some magic, but it feels like an afterthought, and it just shows up randomly when it’s convenient for it to be part of the story. I wish there were more fantasy elements, more magic, and more thrilling scenes.
It is a bit boring toward the beginning, and it dragged on a little too long for my liking. Overall, the story could’ve been shorter and tighter. It felt like your standard progression of a mystery with a surprise twist ending, which I didn’t expect. But I wish there was more to the story. It felt very dramatic for a lackluster story and a very anticlimactic ending about some apples. Maybe if there were more murders, it would’ve been more interesting.
However, it is very atmospheric, as many other reviewers have also mentioned. It definitely gives you spooky, eerie vibes, which are perfect for a fall read. I loved the lush, lyrical prose. It is well-written and really immerses you in this island town. I loved the descriptive imagery and setting. I also loved the small town feel and close-knit community. If you like lots of secrets to unravel, people lying and betraying each other, and a mystery to solve, then you may enjoy this book.
The two main characters, Emry and August, were likable and relatable, and there was a second-chance romance between them, but I didn’t overly care too much about them. I wasn’t that invested in them or their rekindled relationship. There is quite a bit of language and one spicy scene, but it was pretty mild.
Overall, this book was just okay for me. It did feel disappointing for the hype it was getting. Again, another popular book that I didn’t think was that great – it’s getting to be a pattern with me. But I am interested in trying more books from this author. I heard her newest book is better than this one, so I may get it from the library.
I don’t know if I would recommend it, but I say give it a try if it sounds good to you. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t the best either. It was very middle-of-the-road for me.