Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

I liked the idea of this but the execution fell short. The writing style was thick but also choppy. I’d read a paragraph and then start the next and it felt like a totally different chapter. I found myself re-reading parts. Not my favorite. 3 stars.

If you're a fan of The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling or The Very Secret Society or Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, then you'll love The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic, a debut novel about a witch named Sadie who has to choose between love and her magic.
Sadie has always known that she'll have four heartbreaks in her life, but she thought it would be worth it to keep her magic. But when her grandmother gets sick and her first heartbreak comes back to town, Sadie's life starts to fall apart.
Her estranged twin brother Seth also comes back to town, bringing with him a bunch of family secrets. Sadie's grandmother has been the glue that holds the family together, and without her, Sadie doesn't know if she can keep it all from falling apart.
As Sadie's feelings for her first heartbreak, Jake, start to rekindle, she has to decide what's more important: love or magic?
If you like books about witches, love, and family, then you'll love The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic. It's a warm and funny book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

It was a very fun book. I don't think it is quite like what I expected based on the pitch about practical magic and gilmore girls, but it was definitely a good read and a good laugh most of time times.

The love part wasn't that much interesting and it wasn't as smart as I imagined, I like the concept of gilmore girls, but I'm not a fan of the show so maybe that played a part in my opinion.

I held back on writing this review because I am not the right audience for this book - I'm not a fan of the small-town romance. I wanted more badass magic and less, "I'm just going to bake my feelings." The cover and the title led me to believe this was more of a modern romance - but this felt like it took place in a bygone era.

This is such a beautiful book about family, knowing yourself and dealing with all sorts of heartbreak. The vehicle of these observations about life is an idyllic small town with an undercurrent of magic, the family inheritance of our protagonist Sadie. My favourite part of the book is how family relationships and their complexities are portrayed. The love story and romance aspect with Jake is my least favourite part of the book, that is not to say their story is not well developed, it is still quite wholesome and key to the plot.
Finally, food, flavours and botanicals are a very large part of how Sadie practices magic. The descriptions regarding this magic are very evocative but become excessive after a point. I would recommend this book if you enjoy the themes of family and witchy magic, but be prepared for a slow read that you need to savour instead of a book that demands that you race through the plot to know the conclusion.

This was nothing like I thought it was going to be. I was told Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic and I didn't feel this book was as lighthearted as either. Sadie has a curse on her that when she has her heart broken four times, she'll lose her magic. So she's not willing to get close to anyone in case her heart gets broken. She spends the whole book pushing everyone away and everyone just takes her anger.

Things I did not like:
You can't just drop a suicide attempt on us in the middle of a book without a warning. I thought it was handled with a very heavy hand too. They care for her through an overdose and then just never bring it up again. My eyebrow was super high that she tried to overdose with drugged tea and then the recipe at the end of the chapter was for tea.

The hero's girlfriend lied about a pregnancy and tried to trap him with her to live their lives together. I thought it was a gross way to force issues into that relationship when they just could have grown apart.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book review/ ARC: The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall

3.75 stars, rounded up to 4

Small town vibes, magic and family ties - The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic is heartwarming and radiates that cozy fall feeling, where you want to snuggle on the sofa under your favorite blanket and warm yourself up with a cup of hot chocolate.

The story of the Revelare family is told through the eyes of Sadie. She and her twin brother Seth - both blessed (and cursed) with the family’s magical traits - were raised by their grandmother Gigi in Poppy Meadows. But long buried family secrets are about to unravel - and it will take love, grief, forgiveness and the ultimate sacrifice to right the wrongs of the past.

What I liked most about this book: Gigi. The unbreakable bond of a family. The magical house that comes alive on its own. Sadie’s love for baking (and the author’s decision to include a recipe after each chapter). The love between Sadie and Seth.

What fell flat for me: the romance between Jake and Sadie. The whole subplot involving Bethany felt strangely out of place, and didn’t add much to the story. And, come to think of it, the romance between Seth and Raquel too - I just didn’t feel much chemistry between both couples. The small town characters could and should have been more fleshed out.

It’s an enjoyable read, and as the weather gets colder and summer is truly ending, the witchy, autumn-y feel of this book might be just your cup of magical tea.

“Magic wasn’t always spells and curses and charms. Sometimes it was the comfortable silence of a good meal, and smiling eyes that met across the room and spoke more than words.”

Thank you @netgalley and @alcovepress for the gifted ARC. The book is out now!

Thank you to the Author; Alcove Press & Netgalley for providing me with this ARC. All opinions shared are my own.

I absolutely love a witchy read and Sadie's story was brilliantly written. Her quirky character is expressed so well throughout the book and I love the way she interacted with Gigi, Raquel, Jake, Seth and the rest of her unusual family. As the Author promoted, it really did have that heart warming Gilmore Girls feel at times and I enjoyed all the magical mishaps that occurred.

The story isn't all magic though; there is love, loss, fear and anger as we catapult through the unexpected twists that come with the Revelare family legacy. I appreciated Gigi's role in promoting the magic of Sadie and their family throughout the story and wish I had a large supportive family as they do.

A great read and I'll be looking out for future works by the Author!

This is easily one of my all time favorite witchy books that I have read!! It’s the perfect cozy, witchy read. And is very comparable to Practical Magic!

The writing is so amazing and so descriptive that you feel like you’re actually in the book.

My favorite part of this was how unique the magic system was and how they could manipulate emotions and behavior based on the food and spices that they gave to people!

I have nothing bad to say about this book. I binge read it in a day and cried pretty much the entire time. Idk why I was so surprised that this book would be sad when “heartbreak” is literally in the title 😂

I love this book so much and recommend it to everyone!

DNF at 41%. The story was engaging and the inclusion of recipes was clever. And the Stars Hollow-esque setting was delightful. But I struggled to connect with the character relationships, and the explanation of the curse just confused me.

My first spell bounding read of the season was The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic. This was a sweet story about family, dark curses, and love intermingled with a healthy dose of descriptive spells and scrumptious baked goods.

The story certainly gives off wholesome Practical Magic vibes. I really loved when the entire family gathered together. The Aunts and Uncles were hilarious and definitely some of my favorite characters. I also enjoyed the fun recipes scattered throughout the book. I’ve featured the Cherry Cheese Pie here—it was super easy to make and a delicious treat for the family! The romance was cute and closed door, but there was plenty of pining to keep you invested.

Randall writes beautifully and I appreciated her descriptive language, especially in regards to the house, garden, and cafe. What I am less a fan of is when something “smells like sorrow” or “tastes like the dashed dreams of our ancestors” (these are not exact quotes, but you know what I mean). Perhaps this is just PTSD from Caraval but these esoteric descriptions end up marring my overall enjoyment of the story.

So there you have it, a solid intro to witchy season with a fun story that will make your mouth water. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley and @alcovepress for the ARC.

I have some unfortunate news… This book is the only one out in the world that Breanne Randall has published. After you read it, many side effects will occur. Your heart will ache for more of her stories. Your eyes will mist at what you just read. Your palms will itch to turn more and more pages, and your brain will dedicate space to remember how magical it was to read her book. I have fallen in love with her writing. That is the unfortunate side effects of reading a book by Breanne Randall.

This book is the perfectly baked, warm, autumnal pie, that sits in the windowsill as the raindrops pelt the windowpane. I cherish this book. I was with Sadie in her bakery, baking alongside her, hurting when she hurt, and loving when she loved. Don’t even get me started on Gigi. Best grandmother ever, This is a story that slows down your soul to appreciate every little moment in life, and warms you up from beginning to end. And yes…Even with the heartbreak.

I was really looking forward to this book, but it ended up being a colossal disappointment. The biggest problem is that the marketing of this book is setting it up for failure. It should be marketed as a Christian-oriented death-in-the-family drama, but instead it’s being sold as a romance where “Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls.” The story may borrow certain plot wholesale from those titles, but that does not mean that it is anything like them. The story is apparently set in California, but the small town presented hits just about every Southern trope you can imagine. The characters speak primarily in cliche and aphorism. They are on the whole indistinguishable from each other and very flat in their characterization. The world-building and magic system is barely there and anything paranormal in the story could have been cut pretty easily. The story consists primarily of baking, going to a church, and family reunion scenes. It’s incredibly dull. I found myself skimming to the end. The romance is lackluster and the love interest is absent for most of the story. He shows up to have scenes that don’t make much emotional sense with the main character primarily to move along the plot and then disappears. The writing on the whole was repetitive and overwrought. I really thought this was going to be such a good read for early fall, but I feel like I was duped by misleading advertising. I’m sure that is an audience that will enjoy this book, but it is not being marketed very effectively so I doubt it will find its way to them.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

𝐴𝑅𝐶 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑅𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤
🧙‍♀️𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑈𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑆𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐🧙‍♀️
𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑒 𝑅𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑙𝑙
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

✨✨✨𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬✨✨✨

•𝑆𝑝𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑦 𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
•𝑊𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑦 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑎
•𝐶𝑜𝑧𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠
•𝑆𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒

♡ ♡ ♡ “𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙗𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚” ♡ ♡ ♡

✨Thank you to Netgalley for an arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ✨

What a warm & fuzzy witchy read to continue as fall is upon us! The first day of fall is *technically* this weekend and I’m so ready for a reprieve from the heat!

This story follows small town heroine / earthy witch Sadie who is reeling with heartache upon heartache. Add to her problems- a curse she must figure out how to stop on her own. Her time is running out to attempt to save her magic, family, and life as she knows it. Throw in a comfy, savory recipe each chapter and this was truly a delight 🥧

The characters are whimsical, flamboyant, and bit off their rockers but it added to the atmosphere for sure. It was more emotional than I anticipated.

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Beanne Randall is a great cozy fall book.

I loved the amazing witchy vibes. The characters were fantastic. This story has witchy vibes, family, romance and is such a great read.

The characters are well written and fleshed out. I really enjoyed the story and the dialogue.

another cozy read for the fall season! i see where the girl ore girls comparison stems from and i did enjoy this small town spirit of the story mixed in with the big and slightly crazy family AND the baking aspect? it was pretty fun and i didn’t particularly struggle to read it, plus the recipes included after each chapter were quite nice if you’re into baking and just added some mixed media to this book which is also pretty cool. now, the romance left me feeling nothing, it didn’t give much and i couldn’t care less, especially once something came between the 2. that ending also annoyed me, it’s a trope that’s usually found in ya fantasy and i absolutely HATE it ok? i get it, it’s a sacrifice but it’s always the FMC having to sacrifice it when here, it could’ve been another character. a solid read with fun characters and plot but nothing ground breaking or amazing either. just good vibes. 3⭐️

With the death of Sadie Revelare’s grandmother looming, Sadie feels that her carefully structure life is beginning to unravel. Her first love, Jake McNealy has returned to town as has her estranged twin brother, Seth. Seth brings with him his deeply buried family secrets and with her grandmother dying, Sadie is uncertain how life will be without her.
With elements of Practical Magic, this was a heartwarming read, with plenty of connections to family. I enjoyed the recipes interspersed in the chapters which gave the book a quirky feel. Whilst there is plenty of drama and some magic, some parts were quite repetitive and other aspects such as Jake’s secret, were drawn out. Overall, an interesting read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you enjoy magical realism, you will appreciate this book. Sadie and Seth are twins, living with their grandmother, following a long line in a family with magical powers. Sadie has four heartbreaks to experience before losing her magic, having experienced two already, the disappearance of her mother and her break up with Jake. The book could have used an edit, as some of it was repetitive and drawn out; there are recipes at the end of each chapter, which works for those who enjoy cooking and baking. This was just okay for me, a little too much on the magical side. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Unfortunately, I was not able to complete the read of this book, so I will not be reviewing it in my normal fashion, as I do not review books that I DNF. I unfortunately found the pace to be very slow and the plot predictable. I really dislike to give negative feedback, and I know that can hurt an authors success, so I will not post a review.

Sadie is cursed. Four heartbreaks and she will lose her magic. Magic that is at the heart of everything she does. She part owns a cafe known for its special goods which are baked with magic. She guards her heart to ensure that she will never suffer further heartbreak than when her true love, Jake, and her twin brother, Seth, left town. But when Jake returns to town, will she be able to resist him and keep her heart protected?

Jake loves Sadie. Always has and always will. He left their sleepy town to become a firefighter, but when he returns, he knows he can't avoid Sadie and he knows she hates him. But as Sadie's grandmother becomes ill Sadie starts to lean on Jake for emotional support. Then when Seth returns, Sadie starts to spiral out of control. How can she possibly protect her heart when Jake drops a bombshell, Seth talks about leaving again, and her grandmother resists all attempts to make her better?

This is one of the best witchy books I have read. Really, the only thing that could have improved it for me was more spice. The tension was there but it just never happened in the book. I loved the characters and how they developed through the book. I also really enjoyed the mystery around their mother and the curses. Just be aware that a family member does die and there is attempted suicide in the book. PS I want Sadie's family. They are great!

Big thanks to NetGalley and Breanne Randall for this early release copy in exchange for this honest review.