I found that I put this one down and had a very hard time picking it back up. It was missing something I think I expected it to have, but still enjoyable

I really enjoyed this a lot. It gave practice magic vibes with the emphasis on family and the importance of love. I liked watching the character growth throughout and enjoyed the emotional growth of Sadie throughout.

I think as super tickled by Gigi’s recipes at the end of each chapter. They were full of personality and made me want to get in the kitchen and bake something.

Something about this book just did not work for me, and I cannot place my finger on it. The atmosphere was nice but the world seemed under developed, the character dynamics were a bit off, and the dialogue felt stilted and awkward. I like some elements of this... but there was enough "off" that I had a hard time finishing it.

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall had a promising premise, blending romance, magic, and emotional growth. However, I found the pacing slow and some parts of the plot predictable. While the magical elements were intriguing, they didn’t feel as fully developed as I’d hoped, and at times, the characters’ motivations lacked depth. The romance had potential but didn’t fully capture my heart. Overall, the book felt like it had a lot of ideas but didn’t quite execute them in a way that resonated with me, earning a 2.5-star rating

I like magical realism, but I think this plot kind of dragged on and could have used some reworking/editing. I thought the premise was really interesting, it's very similar to Sarah Addison Allen's "Garden Spells" - and in my opinion this was a less compelling story, weaker writing, and flatter characters. The plot was a little predictable and overdramatized in a way that didn't really ring . I did like it, there are just a lot of things I would have changed about the structure of the plot to really love it.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this advanced reader's edition. Unfortunately, I will not be able to give it the time required to write a thorough review and will be unable to read it for this purpose.

Breanne Randall’ masterfully weaves Sadie’s magical abilities into this story, using them as a metaphor for the vulnerabilities and sacrifices that come with being in love. Magic isn't just a superficial plot device - it's personal, and tied to the characters and their emotional development. The author's prose is warm, rich, and really draws you into the small-town setting of the book. Pacing could have been better, but all in all this was a delightfully cozy read.

I started this book but ended up DNFing it when I started feeling the weird conservative vibes it was giving off. I like my witchy books with less judgement and not as much negative religion overtures.

This was supposed to be a lot of things that it wasn't. OUch. I hate to give bad reviews but this did not stand up to the hype and I will not be recommending it.

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic is a heartfelt and enchanting debut that blends the magic of family, love, and loss. Sadie Revelare’s journey, grappling with a family curse and the impending death of her beloved grandmother, pulls readers into a beautifully complex world where magic is both a blessing and a burden. The return of Sadie’s first love, Jake, and the reappearance of long-hidden family secrets add layers of emotional depth to the story. Fans of Practical Magic and Gilmore Girls will appreciate the rich, quirky characters and the warm, magical atmosphere. A captivating read for those who love heartwarming, witchy tales with a touch of bittersweet romance.

Perfect for those searching for a cozy fantasy. This witchy romance really was a great fall read and offered a good time with it's cozy setting and twisty romance.

This, unfortunately, was nothing like what I was anticipating. You tell me Gilmore Girls and Practical Magic - I think cozy, largely fun and lighthearted. Not only did this book bring up some heavy and serious issues but I feel like they were handled with a heavy hand. I absolutely didn't care for the twist with the reason why the FMC couldn't be with her love interest, in fact, that was rather disgusting behavior on a certain characters part. I did like seeing the entire family together, their interactions were eccentric and fun for the most part. I would've wanted to see more of that.

CW: Attempted suicide

Thank you to Alcove Press and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book! I've always had a thing for books about witches or people with magical powers, and this book was perfect for me. I appreciated the fact that there were so many facets to the story and they all came together perfectly in the end. I felt so many emotions for Sadie, Seth, and all of the family members--love, loss, reuniting, having to change, so many things. Please tell me there will be a sequel because I have to know what Sadie's mom finds out!

This was a cute and cozy witchy romance! A perfect read for fall when the leaves start to change. The romance was adorable!!

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book. Unfortunately this book missed the mark for me. It grabbed my interest because it was marketed as “for fans of Gilmore Girls and Practical Magic” but aside from being in a small town and there being a love curse, I wouldn’t think this book related to those show/book at all.
The writing was really chaotic. I found it inconsistent and it felt like the author was struggling to choose a central theme. I gave it a good effort but in the end I couldn’t waste anymore time on it and didn’t finish it.

This was an odd reading experience. It seemed like the book was almost trying to do too many things at once, covering all sorts of genres at the same time (family drama, cozy romance, small town story, mystery novel). This being the case, none of these were given the full attention that was necessary to make it shine. The writing was also overly flowery and length at times, using ten words where only one was needed. I also really didn't enjoy the romance.

I will say, I've seen several reviewers criticize the book's approach to witches and Christianity. I think these criticisms are a bit short-sited (also perhaps a bit forgetful of recent history when I think everyone would agree that it would be altogether better if Christians were a bit less concerned about witchcraft!). Instead, this take of mixing the existence of magic with faith makes sense to me. Usually, our understanding of witches does not involve a religious component. People are 'witches" simply because they can do magic. It's a talent or skill. A character's faith, however, is completely detached from these sorts of skills. It's like saying that someone who is a talented soccer star, can't have faith? There's no inherent conflict here, unless the reviewers are somehow agreeing that Christianity SHOULD hate magic?? Isn't this the right direction and one that should be praised? (I'm Lutheran myself, so no, it's not that "real Christians" would never be on board with this book's themes or whatever). That said, I do think the emphasis on not calling themselves witches left a fairly sizable question mark on the entire theme. What do they mean by "witches" if not magic users like themselves? I think there could have been some interesting conversations here, but as it stands, the book feels like it took this halfway, but didn't fully round out the topic.

3.75 stars/5, rounded up to 4.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I did enjoy this book, but it was not without fault. For a fantasy novel, I was surprised to find that much of the book centred around Christianity and faith in God. I was disappointed.

This story follows our main character Sadie as she tries to navigate her life around the curse of four major heartbreaks that came with her magic. She has always stood by her belief that her magic was worth the price, until her third heartbreak, her grandmother's cancer diagnosis comes as a major shock. As this is revealed, she finds out her first heartbreak Jake has returned to town.
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The storyline was cohesive and enjoyable but the resolution felt incredibly rushed. We are given a time frame to find a solution to the book's main conflict, and in my opinion, it felt a bit forced. The romance between Sadie and Jake was also marginally unrealistic. I didn't enjoy their storyline, but I enjoyed their friendship funnily enough. I felt they would've been better off as friends.

The sense of community and family is very heartwarming. The feeling is throughout the book and feels like the glue holding the story together. The family was my favourite part of the story, the relationships were very well written and the development felt natural. Raquel her best friend was one of my favourite characters other than the grandmother, her wit and kindness made her a great addition.

All in all, the book was okay but I have heard the recipes were plagiarised. I am very disappointed. 2 stars.

Good feel good magic, small town, fallish vibes book. I loved the realistic nature of the characters and the big family aspect. Also, the recipes sounded delicious.

This feels like it could have stewed some more and had a couple good rounds of edits. There's lots of first novel markers, lots of telling and a bit of confusion about what's going on in the plot

The writer nails the cozy fall vibes through the small-town setting and beautiful descriptions of food, but unfortunately the book doesn't really know what it wants to be: romance, family drama, witchy mystery? There are also some very jarring tonal shifts and casual mentions of very heavy topics.