All I could think as I was reading this story was that all the elements I liked have been done before and better. Just a bit of a letdown.

This was a really fun middle grade read. All Betty wanted was an adventure away from Crowstone where she has always lived with her sisters. But instead of an adventure Betty and her sisters Fliss and Charlie get given a set of magical objects but they come at a terrible price which is an ancient curse on their line where if they leave the island they will die by sunset. So the girls set out to break the curse and set their family free. This was a really fun mix of adventure, magic and family bonding with the sisters trying together to help their family and the world building was really great.

Thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Groups and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book in e-book form. All opinions in this review are my own.

Loved this fun, magical middle grade! I thought the plot was really cute and the characters were all extremely likeable.

Betty the middle of three sisters dream of adventure and when she finally takes the steps to venture away from Crowstone her granny stops her and tells her and her sisters of their curse. If they ever leave Crowstone they will die by sunset. Of course Betty can not just let her and her sisters live boring lives stuck in one place forever so she talks her sisters into trying to break the curse. The adventure if fun and I feel that readers 4th grade (maybe advanced 3rd graders) through 6th grade will enjoy the story and sisterly bonds. 3.5 stars for adventure and family bonds.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review. All spelling and grammar errors are totally my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for gifting me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I actually rated this 3.5 stars.

The magic system was different than anything I’ve read before. It was really interesting having three objects that only work for the one person they are each passed down to. And the curse is pretty intense, I’m not sure I would have the guts like Betty to try and break it. I’m pretty sure I’m never leave my house ever again for fear of traveling too far 😅

Betty was a bit annoying for the first half of the book because she really doesn’t think things through and is very bold and blunt and a little bit selfish. However, her character grows so much during the book and I’m kind of proud of who she becomes at the end.

Charlie was a cute little sister that added in little bits of comedy here and there, but I felt like Fliss was just there and didn’t really add much to the story (though she certainly didn’t take anything away either).

My favorite character was Colton, he had his faults (ok, like one REALLY big one), but I just connected to him the most and he was really sweet with Charlie (the 6 year old sister) which I thought was really cute.

Some parts of the book were pretty predictable (though I don’t know that they necessarily would be for younger kids), but the ending did surprise me a bit, which I wasn’t expecting.

The world building was really good, I had no issues envisioning exactly where they were at all times. And I thought for younger kids the morals in the story were really good: envy doesn’t get you anything, being brave is good, but make sure you think things through, keep your family close and love them forever.

This was such a cute, fun adventure and I’m looking forward to reading the second book to see what will come next!

Sisters Betty, Fliss and Charlie learn about a family curse that will kill them if they ever try to leave their island, but with the help of three magical items and stories of a witch who once lived nearby, the sisters are determined to break the curse.

This middle-grade fantasy would be a good fit for readers who've enjoyed the Nevermoor series by Jessica Townsend.

This book was very fun to read but also very grave. I enjoyed reading the funny and sad parts a lot. I especially loved the magic element. It gave the book a certain lightness. In this book, Fliss, Betty, and Charlie Widdershins set out to try to break a curse that they're under. They face many obstacles, but also make unlikely friends and you might be surprised at what happens in the end. This book is perfect for ages 9-12.

Three Widdershins sisters live in a dreary place called Crowstone, under the care of their grandmother. The middle sister wants to escape Crowstone and see the outside world. She secretly plans an outing with her younger sister. Her grandmother appears out of nowhere, takes them home, and reveals a family secret. ⠀
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The Widdershins are cursed to remain in Crowstone forever. Nine women from the Winddershins family met their death when they crossed the border. Their grandmother also gives them three magical items passed down from one generation of Widdershins women to the next. ⠀
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The magical items are a traveling bag that can take you anywhere, the Russian dolls that can make a person vanish, and a mirror that can show anyone in the world. ⠀
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The middle sister is determined to break the curse. With the help of her other sisters, she embarks on a dangerous journey that involves helping a criminal escape from the Crowstone jail. Will the sisters be able to break the curse?⠀
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I liked the fairytale kind of setting for the novel and the spunky sisters. I also liked the animal-loving nature of the younger sister, Charlie. I felt that the first-half or the novel was a bit slow and nothing much happened but I could not put down the book during the second half. This book is a great read anyway if you want to escape to Crowstone and embark on a magical adventure. ⠀

A cute and magical middle grade book. "A Pinch of Magic" reads like an updated and unique fairy tale.

Twelve year old Betty Widdershins yearns for adventure, but Granny will not allow her out of her cramped native land of Crowstone. Is she being unduly harsh, or could something else be going on? One night, Betty learns the awful truth, that her family is cursed, and any Widdershins female that leaves Crowstone will die the next day. Betty, along with beautiful older sister Fliss and mischievous younger sister Charlie, decides to break the curse (even though previous generations have failed). Using magical objects that have been handed down to them, they embark on a quest filled with hair-raising action and terrifying situations.

Loved the drama of how they would be able to break the curse in time, and also the sibling bond that developed between the three girls as they worked as a team. The ending was a bit of a letdown, as I had looked forward to the reunion with Granny and how she would respond to the breaking of the curse, but it does make sense within the context of the story.

This was a interesting book filled with magic, prison escapes, and a curse! The story follows three sisters as they try to break the curse upon their family that states that if they ever try to leave their home they would die the next day. The only clue they have is in a prisoner that their grandmother visits, and so they strike up a bargain with him, only things go terribly wrong. This was a fun middle grade book that definitely kept the action going. The main theme of the book is sisterhood and I thought that the relationship between the three sisters was interesting, especially with the dynamic of the curse on them.. Overall this was a great read and I really enjoyed it.
* Thank you netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A Pinch of Magic was a cute story about the magic of sisterhood, but it fell a bit flat. I liked the concept, but thought the world-building could've been more elaborate. Crowstone has huge potential to explore and I feel like I needed more! That said, the characters were great. Betty and her sisters were delightful to follow. Even the background characters like Fingerty shined.

I highly recommend this book!

A Pinch of Magic features a family relationship of three sisters and a grandmother who all live/work at the Poacher's Pocket on an island. One night, the middle sister tries to leave their town, resulting in her learning that all of the women and girls in her family are cursed. If they leave their town, they will die. The sisters go on a mission to save themselves as well as the futures of the girls in their family!

This was an engrossing story that I think is perfect for middle grade readers. It is well-written and will keep you interested if you read it. Like I said, I highly recommend it!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this eArc in exchange for an honest review!

E ARC provided by Netgalley



Betty, Fliss and young Charlie live with their grandmother in the inn and tavern that she runs. Their mother died when Charlie was born, and their father is imprisoned nearby. Betty is tired of her grandmother making her work so much and not allowing her to have much fun, so she decides to sneak off to a nearby fair on Halloween. She and Charlie take the ferry, and are shocked when their grandmother shows up and demands the ferry turn around. Was she really on the ferry the whole time? When they return home, their grandmother tells them that the sisters can't leave Crowstone because of a family curse that has persisted for over 100 years; they will die if they are away past sundown. Fliss has been given a magic mirror when she turned 16; it allows her to see people who are far away. This is one of the magical implements that accompanies the curse. Betty is in control of a set of nesting dolls that can make her invisible, and Charlie will eventually get the carpet bag that the grandmother currently wields. Betty is determined to defeat the curse, and starts her investigation into this process by traveling to the prison to visit someone who is NOT their father. Colton claims he knows how to defeat the curse, but the grandmother is unwilling to meet his demands. With Charlie's help, Betty breaks Colton out of the jail, but only after mistakenly also releasing another prisoner. Betty manages to uncover more of the family history, but it is Charlie who decides to harness the carpet bags powers to travel into the past to free the sisters once and for all. Will they really be able to overturn the curse and make it back to their own time?
Strengths: This has an interesting setting; it was modern enough that there were automobiles, but clearly not quite anywhere in the real world. There is a helpful map at the beginning. I loved the idea of the magical objects, and the girls are all able to hold onto them even after they solve the curse. Charlie is a great example for why younger children shouldn't have magical powers. This is a great choice for readers who like sisters who learn magic, as in Meriano's Love Sugar Magic series, and it also had a bit of a feel like Morrigan Crowe as well.

Weaknesses: Like Rushby's The Mulberry Tree, the girls manage to change something in the past that drastically changes the present. In both books, it seemed odd to me that there weren't more implications for having done this. I guess I'm a big believer in the butterfly effect.
What I really think: This was a solid tale, and if this were a stand alone, I might purchase it, but A Sprinkle of Sorcery and A Tangle of Spells are already in the works. I just don't have the readers.

A Pinch of Magic is a delightful, fast-moving adventure. Three sisters bear a curse placed decades before on the girls in their family. They are gifted with magical items that help them unravel the meaning of the curse. This highly descriptive and, thanks to the map, easily imagined story moves at a pace that insures the reader will eagerly move through the tale.

Exciting, sometimes spooky tale about a set of sisters who discover they are cursed to live on the set of islands on which they were born. The curse comes with a bit of magical ability however, and soon the three sisters are determined to use their little bits of magic to undo the curse and right a past wrong. Readers should note that the plot includes a number of dark elements (parental death, parental incarceration, suicide, and execution) and that the inclusion of a six year old is NOT an indicator that this book is appropriate for the younger set.