Spells for Forgetting: the spellbinding magical mystery perfect for longer nights

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Spells for Forgetting is a story with an unsolved mystery at its core, surrounded by hints of the practice of magic from one generations to the next, and a second chance at romance. The island setting and menacing residents give an eerie, dark tone to this Fall seasonal read. The writing itself- meh. It was okay. It was trying to be atmospheric and tense, but it just came off as super slow and boring. The characters felt very one dimensional and not really distinct at all. Each chaper was from the POV of a different character, all in first person perspective, and if it weren't for their name at the beginning of the chapter I wouldn't be able to tell who's head I was in. The individual voices were not distinct at all. If you're going to write different characters in first person I should be able to easily differentiate between them because their narrative voice (like the thoughts in their head) should be individual and different. And it felt very YA, and not adult at all. The main characters are supposed to be 32, but they act and sound like teenagers. And the pacing of this book... ugh. It took until 75% before anything of significance happened. You have to struggle through 75% of this bad writing and unremarkable characters before you begin to learn what really went down oh so long ago.

Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young | Goodreads

The magical realism captured in the story aids in subtly highlighting the strange beliefs the families hold dear and enhances the flavor of the moodiness that the author has wonderfully created. One can feel the autumn winds and the coming winter in the author's beautiful writing. Told thru multiple points of view interweaving the past and the present with romance, deception, secrets, and lies, Spells For Forgetting has everything and more. Emery and August were such wonderful characters, both unable to move on and forget the love they shared, learning to trust each other the second time, and with the kind of past that hangs over their heads, it was particularly beguiling in intensity. With Emery determined to find the truth of their friend Lily’s death, the layers in the story untangle in bits and pieces luring the reader to read a little more to get to that unexpected ending. Wow! If you are looking for the perfect Fall, atmospheric, suspenseful and heart wrenching read - this is it!! Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group Ballantine and NetGalley for providing me with this digital advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own, honest thoughts about this book.August left the island he was born on, along with his mother, fourteen years ago after a devastating fire at the orchard and the murder of his classmate and friend, Lily. A murder he was suspected of being involved in. But when he left the island, he left broken hearted, something no amount of time seems to be able to heal. He’s only returning now bearing his mother’s ashes, granting her last wish to be buried on the island. This is the discussion post for Spells for Forgetting. Please do not discuss any other books in this post. The story takes place on Saoirse Island, which is a magical version of one of the San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest. Emory hasn't seen her high school boyfriend in 15 years, and he reappears on Saoirse to bury his mother on the island. Emory's best friend was murdered in high school, and that unsolved crime haunts the island and its inhabitants. When the ex shows up, Emory finally starts trying to solve her best friend's murder. (If you think this sounds like Veronica Mars, you would be right - but with a 15-year-old cold case. The best friend's name is even Lily!)

Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young: 9780593358535

An island off the Washington coast welcomes tourists Spring through Fall with its abundant apple orchards planted centuries ago. It's what keeps the island alive. Quaint shops, rumors of folklore and ancestral magic are additional lures calling out to curious visitors.I'd been eighteen years old. I'd known nothing about suffering or responsibility or loss, but somehow, I'd known this soul-deep king of love that I now wondered if most people never found. It cut open a vein in me that never stopped flowing.” Emery might have stayed on Saoirse but her heart left the moment August did. Her life has been frozen in time for over a decade and August’s arrival stirs up all the unresolved feelings she could never let go of. Yet whilst Emery is conflicted about August’s return, the rest of the town isn’t. They want him gone before his presence causes any more harm. As the seasons change and strange happenings start to occur, the islanders are prepared to take matters into their own hands to make sure August Salt disappears once again – perhaps even for good. From the New York Times bestselling author comes an evocative, compelling novel of ancestral magic, an unsolved murder, and a second chance at true love. Oh my…what in the world…. Spells for Forgetting was exactly the story that a book craving soul like me wanted to get lost in after all the turmoil and struggles of the daily grinds of life and I have half a mind to binge read all her published works. Lush with secrets, magic, and a past that won’t stay where it belongs, this novel is (quite fittingly) spellbinding.”

Spells for Forgetting: the spellbinding magical mystery

What a wonderful and haunting story this was for me. Adrienne Young is a writer who certainly knows how to make simple words expressive and heartfelt without being too flowery and overdone. The atmospheric writing was beautiful and whimsical where the reader can envision the simple life and everyday functions on Saiorse. I found the characters very believable and felt all their emotions within each of their stories. I enjoyed that the book had several dark mysteries at it's core which will all be brought to light by the end of the book. Do not go into this book thinking there is a lot if magic and fantasy happening throughout the story or you might be a little disappointed. The mysticism is subtle and felt realistic which made the book so very entertaining. I'm so glad I was given the chance to read this novel as it was a wish book granted to me by the publisher. I feel like I didn’t learn anything anything about the two main protagonists. I kind of know how they felt about certain things, however ask me to describe their personalities and I’ll literally just stand there going “uhhhh…I can’t 😕” This is a powerful affirmationthat, when coupled with the right ritual acts, can help you manifest a real change in your life starting from your inside. An island full of secrets and mysteries. A murder years ago that still haunts the town with a love that could be deadly to all involved.I really enjoyed Fable, so I was very excited to get this book on Netgalley. This is Adrienne Young's first adult book, but the core of the story is very YA, and the book seems confused about what it wants to be. Is it a mystery? Magical realism? It doesn't do either well, so I ended up disappointed. You may like this book if you enjoy atmospheric reads. The problem is that there's not much under the surface. From New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Young comes a deeply atmospheric story about ancestral magic, an unsolved murder, and a second chance at true love.

Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young needed Spell for Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young needed Spell for

I love mysterious islands. LOST is still one of my all-time favorite television shows. And while Spells for Forgetting is very mysterious, it’s more magical. I couldn’t help comparing it to The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater as I read. The autumn setting, the otherworldly island, the love story. Adrienne Young’s adult debut is the immersive read you won’t want to miss this fall! I want to say this book is actually good. I thought the story was intriguing enough to let me finish the book. It’s definitely one of those books that gets better as it progresses but might bore you a bit for a while. It was the time of year when the veil between worlds was thin, and in that moment, I could feel the tingle of the Otherworld tiptoeing lightly up my spine.” The problem with this book is that Emory and August (omg), our star-crossed lovers, are both very boring people who have not done anything in the years they've been apart. The most interesting parts of their lives happened to them as teenagers, and since then they've been going through the motions. VERY minor spoilers: As adults, they're even incapable of solving the crime. Instead of having Emory and/or August solve any part of the mystery, there are about seven additional perspectives added to the mix to reveal vital pieces of information. This makes the whole thing pretty unsatisfying and makes it feel like a YA book, because the teenage years and memories are the best parts of the story. I'm not sure why the time gap is necessary - it would have been much better as a contemporary teen mystery. Or you could give it a couple years if you wanted a time shift. (Like Veronica Mars!) I don't believe in these characters as thirty-somethings. I did like the mythology and magic of Saoirse Island, and it only took me a couple days to read this entire book. I wish the magic had been more prevalent and the characters had been stronger. There's some good stuff in here. It just didn't work for me.While my enjoyment of this book was a 5/5, I can't in good conscience give it higher than a 4⭐ because of three reasons: Every autumn, when the crowds filled Main Street, I would watch out the window of my mother's shop and imagine him appearing in the stream of faces. More than once, I even thought I saw him. It took longer than I wanted to admit for me to realize that I couldn't cut him from me. That some part of him had been fused to places I couldn't even see.” Fourteen years ago, Emery, Lily, August, and Dutch were the best of friends. That is until Lily dies under questionable circumstances. August is the prime suspect in the investigation and the whole town on Saoirse is behind that allegation. In the peoples’ minds, August is guilty. About the plot, I have realized that small-town mysteries like this are probably not for me (see The Lighthouse Witches). However, I still do think that the plot in this book is very predictable, and almost follows a narrative structure that is repeated over and over again in this genre. I appreciate Adrienne Young wanted to branch-out from YA to Adult genre but sorry to say this book felt more like a YA book than Adult book despite all the characters are in their 30’s or older than that