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

There are no words to describe just how excited I was for this book. I have been a huge fan of Adrienne Young’s since I read her fantastic YA debut Sky in the Deep, and I have loved each and every book of hers I have read since. I was so excited to see that she was writing an adult book and I couldn’t wait to see how she did with an adult centric book.

Spells for Forgetting follows the story of Emery and August. August returns to the witchy island of Saoirse following the death of his mother. He left over a decade ago after he was wanted for the murder of one of his best friends, Lily. Lily’s murder still hasn’t been solved and August, and his ex Emery, find themselves thrust into a dangerous and magical past of what actually happened to Lily, and will they survive finding out.

When I picked this one up, I didn’t actually know it was a mystery / thriller kind of book. I had picked it up because I’m on a major witch book kick and it sounded like a perfect atmospheric read for autumn. Atmospheric is is! It’s such a cosy yet spooky setting and I really loved that. Honestly though… I’m left feeling really deflated and disappointed in this book. I really loved the premise, and the writing that is so authentically Adrienne Young! However, I was expecting the magic and the witch element to be much stronger in this book. At times I completely forgot there was supposed to be witches in here. It just felt like a normal contemporary thriller. But then there would be odd moments where a spell would be mentioned and it just felt strange to me. Like the author herself had forgotten that there was supposed to be magic and just added these odd moments in now and then to remind us.

Spells for Forgetting is a perfect mystery and thriller if you’re into those kinds of books. There are lots of twists and turns and I didn’t guess the ending at all. I usually do in thrillers so this is a novelty for me. However, honestly I ended up getting bored. I skim read the final 30% of the book because I just wanted it to be over. Usually I’m a pretty quick reader but this book has taken me almost 3 weeks to read… and it is by no means a thick book. I am such a huge Adrienne Young fan but I felt like this one was a little bit lackluster for me. I will be desperately awaiting her next young adult book, but I’m not sure if her adult books are for me.

“I know we’ve both had a life since the last time we were together, but I’m so tired of being without you. I don’t want to do it anymore.”

A slow burning mystery with a sprinkling of dark magic and ellusive love.

Soairse a remote island with a magical past is a close knit community of secrets lies and family feud spanning generations.

On the eve of their high school graduation the lives of young lovers Emery and August are changed forever when their friend Lily is found murdered in the smouldering remains of the Salt family orchard. The fallout rips them apart and forces August to flee the island.

He returns fourteen years later to bury the ashes of his mother, finding Emery living the quiet life she had sworn against in their youth. Can the truth about Lily’s death finally be uncovered and will Emery and August find away to rekindle their romance??

Spells for Forgetting is a beautifully written story filled with longing and deception. The narrative woven skilfully through the alternating povs with a cast of complex and flawed characters. I really liked Emery and August and the twisty plot kept me guessing to the end.

A departure for author Adrienne Young’s previous high fantasy YA it is the perfect read for spooky season.

Atmospheric and mysterious

This is a eloquently written, beautiful story with dynamic characters and an intriguing plot that kept me captivated throughout. It’s slow paced but detailed and compelling. Saroise Island, her inhabitants, the plot and premise all made for the perfect eerie and fascinating tale. I though it was brilliantly done.

My only reservation was the lack of magic - it was a great concept - something unique and truly refreshing but I felt it just wasn’t evident enough throughout the book (only at the beginning and end).

Nevertheless, I loved it! This book is perfect for the Autumn/ fall season.

4.6 stars

Thank you to the publisher for my gifted finished book and to NetGalley for my e-arc.

I’m so excited to receive an ARC via netgalley of this book, I’ve got a special edition on order when it releases so having the opportunity to read it early was a delight.

This book is a page turner, it’s both the right amount of enchanting and mysterious to keep you hanging on for more wanting to know what’s next. It does make you wonder what’s real and what’s not, as you go on the journey with the characters.

The character development and world building was incredible, and of course the romance was so beautifully written that you were rooting for the couple.

Well worth a read, amazing!

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

This was really entertaining. It had the right amount of mystery, romance and magic. My favorite book by Miss Young so far!
I loved the how the book was mostly focused on the murder mystery and not the romance and I love more how the story unraveled bit by bit at the end, giving us Saoirse’s secrets one by one and I couldn't be more happy about how things ended.
4.25⭐

**Thank you to Netgallery and the publisher for the eARC. These thoughts are my own.**

A character-driven plot that is heavily hampered by stagnant narrative voices and characterisations so blurred as to be barely indistinguishable.

2.5/5

I could not put Spells of forgetting down. It is everything I want in a book - enchanting, eerie, mysterious, and with magic lingering in the background, making you question what is real. All the characters were so well-developed - I felt like I really knew them. I could understand their feelings and beliefs really well, which made me feel like I was there, experiencing every moment of the story.

The description of Saoirse was brilliant. I loved that the island was a "she" and that it had its own soul, so to speak. I almost felt like it was another character, a living body, speaking to its people in mysterious ways - through the birds, the winds and the moon. The language of nature added so much, beautifully written and creating a real sense of the world. Impeccable, beautiful, skilful, magical writing.

Also, I adored Emery and August. I very rarely root so deeply for a couple. I almost cried at moments, I could feel their connection and emotions so well. And the ending gave me goosebumps.

I rarely fall in love with a book this much. I will definitely buy it when it comes out because this is one which I would be rereading time and time again!

This is the first ARC I’ve read, and I am so pleased I was given the opportunity to read and review it.

This book had the perfect balance of mystery, romance and magic. Once I got a few chapters in it was impossible to put down.

The combination of mystery and magic was enough to keep me wondering - was it magic or was it murder??? Every time I thought I was getting close to the truth - another piece of the puzzle would be revealed and everything I had figured out unravelled.

This is the first Adrienne Young novel I have read, and it definitely won’t be the last. I highly recommend it.

I was so excited to be accepted by netgalley, to read the ARC book Spells For Forgetting by Adrienne Young. I fell in love with Adrienne’s book when reading the Fable series, which is one of my favourite series. I love her way of writing and her amazing storylines. When I heard she was writing a debut adult novel, I was so ecstatic.

" 𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙄'𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙯𝙮. 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣'𝙩.

Wow this book is perfect for a halloween read. I really enjoyed this book, it was tad slow in some places, but it soon picked up and got really interesting. What I loved about Spells For Forgetting was the mystery and working out the secrets of the curious Saoirse island. Emery Blackwood this poor girl, to be quite honest I don't know how she stayed on that island, I seriously would have run. August bless his heart, my heart broke for him and Emery and I cried though some scenes in this read. There were some very touching scenes and my heart melted for them. I was definitely rooting for them to solve this chillin mystery. 

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙮𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙤 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮.

This was absolutely a hair-raising and spine tingling read that gave me the shivers, especially when one night I was reading it and we had a storm, which made the atmosphere even more real and spooky. My mind kept changing on who was causing all the trouble, which I loved a good thriller. I mean the ending I was like seriously OMG !!!!!!!!!!! I managed to work some of it out and I was proud of that. Really good thrilling suspenseful story of Adrienna’s that keeps you on the edge of your seat all the way through. Once you start you will be devouring this book to find out what the heck is happening.

There are no spells for forgetting.

Part murder mystery, part second chance romance, this magical tale has something for everyone. This book was a delight to read. I was intrigued by the mystery and found myself reading page after page unable to put this one down. I loved all of the characters and the multiple POV. The island setting brought an unsettling and atmospheric element to the story and the close knit town you just know is full of secrets.

I would highly recommend this easy to read and magical story of love, loss and secrets. I will definitely read more by this author.

If you loved the Cate Tiernan “Sweep/Wicca” series, you’ll love Spells for Forgetting. The story gave me thrills and chills and the suspense really helped shaped the story into a really great read out in time for Halloween 🎃

Actual rating is 4.5/5

“It was the time of year when the veil between the worlds was thin, and in that moment, I could feel the tingle of the Otherworld tiptoeing lightly up my spine.”

August is on his way back to Saoirse Island to honour his mother’s final wish, but it’s pretty obvious that he’s nervous about returning. It becomes apparent the island’s inhabitants are just as nervous about having him back and the town starts to whisper again about the girl he allegedly murdered. August is unfazed, focussing only on wrapping things up so he can leave the island behind for good, until he sees Emery again and his resolve begins to falter.

This one was actually recommended to me by a friend who thought it would be right up my alley, and man, were they right. Witchy, autumnal, and with a definite small-town craziness where nothing is quite what it seems and everyone seems to be guilty of something, this book had me gripped from beginning to end.

For a book about magic, it wasn’t brimming with it, but there was this persistent undercurrent of mysticism on the island that made it both enchanting and a little unsettling. I never knew what to expect and I loved that, especially when considering it’s a bit of a whodunit.

August and Emery’s undeniable chemistry and history is magnetising and for someone who doesn’t love a second-chance romance, this was one I’d get my pom poms out for. These two, along with the rest of the cast were all distinct and well rounded characters. Some, like Dutch, might’ve played into stereotypes a little bit, but I didn’t mind that when the prose, pace, and plot were all as well crafted as it was.

I also liked that the author didn’t hold out on any information at any point, but wove the story so skillfully that it literally kept me guessing about what actually went down, right up until the reveal. I loved the intrigue, the betrayal, the intensity of a love, and, most of all, the off kilter charm of this magical island – I’d definitely recommend it for autumn and the spooky season if you’re not big on horror.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This was such a spellbinding, creepy, gothic whodunnit! I was hooked from the start. August Salt is returning to the secluded and sinister island of Saoirse to bury his mother's ashes. He's returning after the events of a single night, fourteen years earlier, when a young girl was found dead in suspicious circumstances and the fate of the island changed forever. August's return to the magical island brings back the ghosts of the past, especially for his then love, Emery Blackwood. As they battle their heartbreak form the past, the island slowly starts to spill its secrets about what really happened that night.

Young's storytelling is so atmospheric and you can feel the strange magic of island just seeping out of the pages. I loved how dark and mysterious this novel was and I found myself unable to put it down. I just adored the connection and pain between Emery and August and how they had tried to cut the ties of the past. I loved how we got to see the different POV's of not only the two MC's but we get a glimpse of what's going on for the side characters too.

Spells for Forgetting is my favourite Young novel. I adored everything about this. It worked on every level for me. Thank you so much to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an honest review.

Well, I REALLY enjoyed that!

A bit of mystery, a nudge of romance and a smidge of magic a perfect recipe for snuggling up and just turning those pages.

I’m new to Adrienne Young and yes, there were a few things that could have done with tidying up, some things felt unfinished, the female and male lead voices sounded quite similar (making me looking back a lot to check which POV I was reading) and in my opinion it needed more magic. You’ve hooked your audience by putting the word ‘spells’ in the title so go big. This just means there is room to grow, after all this is Ms Young’s first adult novel and none of it took away the enjoyment of a story well crafted.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5

The perfect read for this spooky season! Incredibly atmospheric, set on a misty island retreated from the outside world, filled with that small town community of everyone knows everyone (more than you would like), with an undercurrent of magic running throughout. There are a lot of secrets on this island, the biggest of which involving the murder of a young girl fourteen years ago, as the boy who was suspected of the killing returns to the island to bury his mother.

There's a beautiful connection between August and Emery, who were in love fourteen years ago before he fled the island, and I absolutely adored seeing them together as the novel went on. There's multiple timelines going on in this book, flashing back to years, months, days, even hours before the death of the young girl, as well as multiple POVs, from various side characters such as Emery's dad, Emery's grandmother, even one chapter from the POV of the island itself. I really loved these additions as I felt that they opened up the island and the story very subtly each time, and I just love the way the plot unravels itself.

I do wish that the whole witchy, magical side of the island had been a bit more prevalent - the plot really focuses on this murder mystery, but I wish we'd seen more of the magic side of things too. However, I still loved it so much and would highly recommend curling up on a rainy day with this novel.

I really enjoyed Spells For Forgetting!
This was my first book by Adrienne Young and certainly won't be my last!
This book is very atmospheric and is perfect for Autumn!
I also really loved Emery and August! Their romance was so good!
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this eArc!

This was spectacular! A spooky murder mystery with amazing atmosphere and characters. 10/10 I loved this!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus for providing an eARC for review!

I was really hoping this would be an atmospheric, magic-filled read but instead it read more like a romance with a hint of mystery. After enjoying Sky in the Deep by this author I was excited to see what she would do with an adult title but I think this has fallen into the trap that many YA-turned-Adult authors seem to be facing - it just felt very boring and didn't have the chops to back up a character-driven plot.

I wanted more immersion into this island and its insular community, and without this I found the central mystery pretty uninteresting. The characters too felt flat - we'd have a big moment happen and they'd just kind of be like 'oh okay' and move on to their next little task in solving the mystery. A lot of this book was internal monologue or people just talking to each other, and I think it needed the characters to be more compelling for it to work. Emery in particular feels completely defined by the events that happened when she was 16 and doesn't feel fleshed out as a character apart from in the context of her love story with August. I also didn't think the characters read like 30-year-old grown adults, especially because the mystery hinged around decisions they made as teens and who was banging who. Also not particularly sure in an adult book where the characters are now grown adults we needed a scene of two 16-year-olds (one of them described as barely 16) banging that had the same level of descriptiveness that the adult banging scene did...

I felt like Young was trying to go for a sentient island vibe as well, but the magic element of this story was very under-utilised. It had a little too much magic to just ignore it, but not enough for me to feel completely satisfied calling it magical realism. I wanted more of the folklore and tradition promised in the blurb. It always frustrates me when authors write magic into their stories but then seem to like forget about it or just never develop it much more than 'it exists', and I think that more of this element could have made the central mystery and the setting a lot more compelling.

Overall I'm sure this is a fine book, but I just found it a bit boring as I could never get into the setting or the characters, even though the premise had so much promise. Perhaps fans of A River Enchanted might enjoy this, though upon reflection River does the spooky island thing better and also has separated childhood sweethearts so very very similar themes. This also reminded me at times of The Price Guide to the Occult and All Our Hidden Gifts. Maybe I need to stop reading Adult debuts by YA authors...

Very atmospheric and immersive. It was gripping from the very beginning. I knew what to expect from Adrienne Young from her YA novels but this one was much darker and I loved it. An exquisite read!

I really enjoy Adrienne Young's writing, but this particular read didn't really do it for me.

I found the pacing of this to be very slow, and the ending was very anti-climatic. I wasn't particularly gripped in the plot, even the lovely writing could win me over.