Spells for Forgetting: the spellbinding magical mystery, perfect for winter nights

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Spells for Forgetting is a fabulous read, especially if you're looking for something with autumnal vibes, a moody atmosphere befitting the Pacific North West (PNW), and a murder mystery taking place in a small, isolated town where everyone has their secrets. The plot is pretty simple, yes there is murder mystery who dun it type of story but it felt really simple and the plot moved so slow until almost 70% of the story, the characters act and think immature (gah i really dislike Emery) and there are too many POVs and changing so often that felt too similiar in narrative thus make me cannot seperate who is who and everything started to blend In this article, my plan is to explain what forgetful spells are. When we talk about forgetful spells, many people have this idea that we are talking about spells that will make you not forget things and how to prevent memory loss in old age. Well, this is really not all that these spells can do. What are forgetful spells? The problems with people who cast spells to make you forget something that you want to remember is that they are essentially taking your life away. If you can’t even remember who you are, where you come from, what matters to you, and your past or future, then you are as good as a person who is dead. Before casting a spell to forget bad memories I do not recommend this book to anyone. It was a waste of hours of my life, and I wish I had a spell for forgetting so that I wouldn't end up disgruntled just thinking about this book. I was semi looking forward to it, I liked the sound of the premise. However, this book did NOT deliver. Let's talk a few structural details first, before I get into the spoilers.

Narrator: Emily Rankin, Dan Bittner, Mark Deakins, Kimberly Farr, Ari Fliakos, Dawn Harvey, Carrington MacDuffie, Kirsten Potter, Oliver Wyman On the morning of August's return, Emery wakes to find all the trees on the island changed to fall color overnight. She knows this to be a sign that something is coming... 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. I’d grown up being told that the people on the mainland were different from us, but living among them was the first time I really understood it. Mom had gotten better through the years at blending in and appearing at first glance like other mothers. But she still spent the equinox in the woods and the solstice at the sea. She still whispered old words over her teacups and I’d caught her muttering a curse as we passed the front door of our neighbor’s house more than once. Though most of the story is focused on Emery I actually understood August much better and I had soft spot for him from the beginning. It was easy for me to figure out he didn’t have anything to do with Lily even though it was mentioned more than once that he did something that night he feel guilty about. It adds mysteriousness to his character and I couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. I would have left island ages ago if I was in his place. His grandfather was a cruel old tyrant who beat him and worked him tirelessly in the apple orchard that has been in his family. He made August’s life miserable and no one on the island helped him or understood him except Emery. I liked how he strongly believed nothing has changed and the island is still as poisonous as it was before he left. He saw people for who they are and he wasn’t wrong about most of them. I loved him for trying to make things better between him and Emery regardless of what the islanders said or did.

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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

A rural island community steeped in the mystical superstitions of its founders and haunted by an unsolved murder is upended by the return of the suspected killer in this deeply atmospheric novel. Evocative and compelling,Spells for Forgettingis a vivid exploration of lost love and the unraveling of a small town and its many secrets. Review of Spells for Forgetting I really enjoyed the author’s writing style and the dark, atmospheric setting. The author also did an excellent job at incorporating secrets, guilt, and betrayals in a way that connected the characters and created depth in their relationships. However, the first 30% of the book was painfully slow and honestly quite boring. Almost nothing happened, and it wasn’t until about 40% through the work that we began getting hints to the mystery and began to feel a sense of foreboding. A rural island community steeped in the mystical superstitions of its founders and haunted by an unsolved murder is upended by the return of the suspected killer in this deeply atmospheric novel.Adrienne Young's writing is absolutely breathtaking and this was an incredible, eerie, and mysterious novel that needs to be at the top of your TBR list!

But he wasn’t just a college roommate. He was a friend. Maybe the only one I had. He was also the only person I’d ever told about Saoirse Island, even if I’d never uttered a word about what happened there. “I mean it. Thanks.” This was such a fantastically atmospheric read. A small town mystery, an island that seems almost sentient, and witches, plus a bit of second-chance romance thrown in, this had all the hallmarks of a great fall read, and I was not disappointed. We see that it’s second chance romance from the beginning but we don’t get much romance! Like I said we see the emotional and romantic depth in character, not the actual chemistry before last 30% of the book.Narrated by: Emily Rankin, Dan Bittner, Mark Deakins, Kimberly Farr, Ari Fliakos, Dawn Harvey, Carrington MacDuffie, Kirsten Potter, Oliver Wyman Adrienne Young never disappoints me. I just love the way she can immerse her readers in a story and how she is able to vividly bring the scenery to life with her words. Spells for Forgetting is so different from her Fable series and wasn't what I was expecting, but I loved it, and for me it just showed her diversity as an author. This book has so many of elements that I enjoy, lyrical writing, highly atmospheric small town setting, secrets, interesting characters (especially Albertine) mystery, magical elements, and spells (although I do wish there was a little more magic involved). My only minor issue was the pacing with a slow start and an ending that felt a little rushed. 4 magical stars. Breathless excitement this one and fingers crossed I can get to the much acclaimed Fable that much sooner.