Prepare to be completely captivated by this amazing book! From the moment I started reading, I was absolutely hooked on the heartfelt story and the relatable characters. I connected with Sadie, the main character, as she faced a challenging curse and dealt with her grandmother's failing health.

This book has it all - magic, romance, and family dynamics - all woven together in a way that kept me engrossed from beginning to end. The author's writing style is so engaging that I couldn't put the book down, even staying up late into the night to keep reading. While some parts were predictable, it didn't take away from the overall enjoyment of the story. The cozy atmosphere and exploration of love and loss make it a truly captivating read.

If you're in need of a heartwarming escape with a touch of magic, I highly recommend diving into this book. It's a perfect blend of emotions and escapism that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Don't miss out on this delightful read that will truly capture your heart.

Stars Hollow quaintness and charm meets the magic I loved in Matilda and The Secret Society of Very Irregular Witches to create the perfect new story. Sadie has always been gifted with the Revalere magic, and she’s eager to put it to good use in her community. She runs the cafe with her grandmother, Gigi. When bad omens continue to find Sadie, she’s worried about what it could mean for her life, her magic, and ultimately, her curse. The Earth always demands balance. When an unexpected tragedy brings the long gone family back together, Sadie struggles to let them in, fearing heartbreak again. To survive, she learns that they must lean on each other and their gifts to bring them out the other side. After all, family is the most important thing.

I loved this story- the quirky family members, the charming townspeople, the magic that soothes the town! This book is infused with humor and heartbreak, in cohesion.

Even better, each chapter ends with a delicious recipe. I immediately stopped and made the rum soaked peach muffins. Curling up with a muffin and this book did, in fact, soothe my soul.

There were bits and pieces of this book that I liked and some parts were just boring. I found myself doing a lot of the skimming over the internal monologue of the FMC Sadie. I didn't really like her as a character. I will say once it got to about 75% through it was interesting and I was along for the ride! I just wish it would have got there sooner.

This book is big on family, friends, and love and gives that small town feel where everyone knows everyone. There were times where I was SHOCKED at how things were playing out and other times it was predictable.

I do also realize now that this isn't really a book I'd pick up on my own because from the time I requested it to now, my taste has changed.

I'm still very thankful for NetGalley, Breanne Randall and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

on goodreads: 7.12.23

The premise of The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic really appealed to me and I saw the author online likening it to Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls, two things I love. I don't really get the Gilmore Girls reference in the end. Sure, it takes place in a small town, but none of the neighbors feel either absurdly funny or like real people in the way that the townsfolk of Stars Hollow Felt.

I feel like the comparison to the book version of Practical Magic hits the mark though, unfortunately not in a good way. I love the Practical Magic prequels but the original novel can't hold a candle to it's movie adaptation. The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic felt like a first draft by a young writer just getting started. It's characters were one-note, it's drama wasn't well-plotted. Our main character feels like a placeholder of a character, she's a bunch of character traits (i.e. controlling, type-A, self-absorbed) but she's not a real person. The titular heartbreaks are introduced in a way that made it heart to connect with. Her high school boyfriend leaves town after she magically compels him to tell her he wants to stay with her forever, her brother leaves their small town to find himself, her mother is quite literally forced to stay away from her for her whole life, all of these seem to be written as ways to make Sadie defensive and cold, but they're all pretty understandable.

Undoubtedly to me, the worst parts of this book were it's trying-too-hard-folksyness. There were so many uses of absurd phrases and cursing that I couldn't keep from rolling my eyes. The townsfolk (Lavender and Lace anyone?) are written as quirky secondary characters but they're not compelling and I didn't feel like the town itself played a part in the way that the premise suggested.

One thing that I thought the book well was the introduction of Gigi's journal entries and recipes. I loved that initially it wasn't clear who was writing them and eventually we realized it wasn't Sadie but Gigi. I don't normally love chapter breaks with recipes or songs or letters, they always feel like they pull you away from the larger narrative, but I felt like it worked here.

All in all this wasn't the title for me but I'm sure many will enjoy it. If you're a fan of witchy novels or family drama, you may find this an easy and engaging story.

After hearing so much about this book on social media I was afraid it wouldn’t live up to the hype….I was wrong. It was such a fantastic look at how everyone copes with grief and loss differently and the varying stages of dealing with said grief. The importance of denial and acceptance, which can often be overlooked, were really highlighted and I found that so refreshing. This wasn’t just a love story (which was there, just more in the background), it was a story of self -discoverment and coming to terms with change. I feel like I was one of the first few people to catch onto this book when you were just posting about it as a morsel of an idea and have been along for the journey ever sense.. It was so rewarding to finally read it and feel the magic and love you put within its pages. My favorite part was easily the recipes. I can’t wait to try them out!

A cute little magical realism romance for those who don’t shy away from casual church with their Wiccan spells. I’d recommend to my closed door romance readers, and look elsewhere for more racy readers.

This was a really solid debut! I love the witchy romance trend right now and was definitely intrigued by the premise of this one. Despite being pulled in by the romance, the family relationships were really the strong point to me of this book, and I especially loved the relationship between Sadie and her grandmother. The romance felt a little drawn out at times, but I was happy with the conclusion! Overall, a fun read.

This book gave off Hallmark movie vibes, if you are into that this book is for you. I like the added recipes at the end of the chapters.

Things that confuse me the mix of Christianity and magic. It felt clumsily put together, the author wanted both in the world, but didn’t know how to tie them together, they just were. I don’t know where this book is going to be marketed, so that could change my perspective of that mash-up.

There was no romance in this book. Hot and heavy kissing was the extent. The main male interest excuses are weak and lame. He would rather be honorable because he wants to fit into a stereotype, than be happy?

Things I didn’t like: slow pacing, no build up to anything, no suspense, no risks. It all felt very safe, “hallmark movie”. The characters contradict themselves. The main character was a afraid to open her heart to people because she didn’t want her heart broken, but people described her was loving and caring. Her brother is going through a lot of pain, so he is very closed off, but opens up immediately to his estranged mother.

It wasn’t my type of book.

3.5 stars! To be fair, maybe I’m just not the right target audience. This was definitley a cozy read. For me, the writing just is hard for me to be interested in. It took forever for me to get into this. That is not to say the writing is bad, and I know that there is an audience who loves this type of cozy writing! I enjoyed the plot and the characters quite a bit.I find myself skimming when the writing focuses more on descriptions and metaphors than on plot, however. I think that kind of comes with being written in 3rd person.

Around the 30% mark the story started to pick up some for me. I like the way that world building is done. I wish we’d had more descriptions about everyone’s magic, besides just Sadie’s. Sadie has an affinity for food and plants. Her food literally makes things happen (clarity, luck, happiness, etc.) I liked the second chance romance portion of this, and wish there had been a little bit more focus on Jake and Sadie! I really don’t like the (spoiler alert) trope in fantasy where women always seem to loose their powers! I hope that if there is a second book it focuses on Sadie’s journey to get her magic back! I liked Gigi’s character - she was wild and loving and fun. The perfect mix for a grandparent.

Overall I enjoyed this, I guess I’m just not the right audience for cozy!

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic is billed primarily as Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic, and that feels quite apt. I would also add a comparison to The Good Witch, which is absolutely praise, as far as I am concerned. In this story, we follow Sadie, a twenty-something baker who also just so happens to be a green witch able to infuse magical intent into her baking. Magic in her family, however, is always accompanied by a curse, and Sadie's curse is heartbreak. Because of her curse, Sadie has given up on love and resigned herself to a live with her loving grandmother, that is, until her grandmother's health fails. Now, Sadie must decide between being the person who fixes everything all of the time and opening herself back up to heartbreak, especially as an old flame comes back to town.
Now, this book knows both what it is and what it isn't.
It is:
- a cozy story centered around food as magic and featuring a recipe between each chapter.
- an exploration of grief and finding one's place in a world that is falling apart.
- a gorgeous character piece, with each featured character feeling so real and perfect.
- a deeply addictive read that I stayed up until after 1am to finish.
- a story that filled up my heart, smashed it to pieces, and then painstakingly glued all of those pieces back together again.
It is not:
- a groundbreaking work of literature with unexpected twists and turns.
- an incredibly steamy romance, but not completely chaste either.
- a fluffy, feel-good story. There are moments that feel a bit fraught and some dark themes are explored.
If you come into this story in the right mindset and with the right expectations, it is absolutely outstanding. I am so excited to keep reading this author, and will unequivocally pick up anything they write going forward.

Easy fun read.
Full of all the witchy fall vibes!
Even a few recipes too; I saved a few to try!
:)

Thank you for allowing me to read!
(NetGalley ARC)

Thank you to Alcove Press for the ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book has all the cozy witchy vibes that you could possibly expect. A slow burn, second-chance fantasy romance that was heart-felt and bingeable from start to finish. The magic in the book was lovely. I loved the use of food and spices and how each ingredient has different purposes to manipulate emotions and behavior (similar to the magic from A Magic Steeped in Poison). And the fact that every chapter ended with a recipe that was used in that chapter. I felt like it offered a way to really bring parts of the book to life.

This book did a great job tugging on heartstrings and bringing a lot of emotions alive. It was sad at times but also cozy and comforting. The ending itself was left a little open so if Breanne wanted to continue this into a duology or series she could do so with ease. I really have nothing bad to say about this book. It will be a great fall read, just in time for its release in September. And a perfect read for fans of Practical Magic.

Advertised as “Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls” I thought this was going to be an immediate love. Unfortunately, I had to DNF at 53% in. The storyline felt very lazy taking very key plot lines from both Practical Magic and Gilmore Girls and the author failed to create a unique enough spin on them.

The book is based here, near Mount Diablo but the characters and town had such a very small town southern charm it felt sorely out of place for Northern California.

The writing started off very flourishy and descriptive (came off overdone at times) then quickly fell off a few chapters in. Making it feel over written yet underwritten at the same time.

What made me finally DNF. The MMC, Jake, comes back into FMC, Sadie, life and has a secret to tell her while also coming close to kissing her multiple times finally tells her he’s engaged and his girlfriend is pregnant. Sounds an awful lot like Christoper getting Sherry pregnant while still wanting to be with Lorelai. Personally not my favorite storyline, why pick that one to draw inspiration from?! Also Sadie’s grandma’s name is Gigi, the same name as Christoper and Sherry’s daughter. Come on!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the advanced copy to read!

3.5⭐ Very cute and cozy read. I would say it's more Practical Magic and Encanto than Gilmore Girls. Same small-town vibes with the love curse and the witchy/magic family.

The story was intriguing but I felt it was lacking in some parts. Most of the characters were just a little forgettable but overall it really does give you that small-town, everyone knows and loves everyone. There is a part at the end that I didn't care for, but it's more of a personal preference that I dislike seeing in a lot of fantasy books I have read. I absolutely loved the recipes that were used as chapter breaks and can't wait to try some myself!

Overall, I think it's a good debut novel from Breanne and I am interested to see where she goes from here!

“Hold on to hope no matter the cost, because as long as there’s hope, everything else is just the unfortunate side effects of heartbreak and magic.”

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publishing team for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic follows Sadie, since a young age she’s known that her magic comes with a curse: four heartbreaks, the next worst than the last; and if this curse becomes real she’s going to lose her magic. The book starts with her in her late twenties dealing with all the walls she’s built up in her life because of this. What happens when her biggest heartbreak comes back into town and messes up her meticulously organized life?

<img src="https://gifyu.com/image/SW9mn" width="500" height="400" alt="bookaesthetic"/>

“𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧.”

❥ World-building 5/10
❥ Writing-style 5/10
❥ Romance 6/10

I absolutely loved the first 30% of this book. It gave me cozy fantasy vibes; the tone and writing of the book was beautiful. But around the 34% mark, the tone completely changed and the writing started to be too repetitive for me. I wanted to love this so badly, but that plot twist k* worded the book for me.

Is it a bad book? Absolutely not. I can see a lot of people enjoying and loving it. In my opinion, the romance is the best part of this book. But it just didn’t do it for me.

“𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐬. 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.”

꧁My favorite quotes from this book꧂

“But life isn’t that simple. It’s not black and white like that, Sade. It’s messy and hard and breathtaking. And those are the things that knock the rough edges off. That makes life worth living.”

“She thought about telling him that knowing what you want is its own kind of curse. Because when else are you so aware that you’re never going to get it? Not knowing meant possibility and dreaming and hopes.”

I always knew that food is magical. I loved this book. The great writing and the engaging story make this a perfectly cozy read.

Fair warning—I’m not the right audience for this book. A pity because I really wanted to love it.

“For fans of Practical Magic and Gilmore Girls,” makes me think sisterly bonds, sassy mentor figures, a love curse, a small town with a colorful cast of characters, snappy dialogue, and sizzling chemistry with the romantic lead. Totally is my cup of tea.

This story hit some of those notes. The mentor has moments of sass, there is a love curse, and the town is small, but unfortunately the the sibling bonds, memorable cast, witty dialogue, and romantic chemistry I was hoping for aren’t there.

The story started out promising, with signs something nefarious was on the way and magical baked goods.

The first sign this book wasn’t for me was Sadie’s church attendance, which didn’t make sense. Christianity has a history of leading witch hunts and executing alleged witches. Given that the religion still frowns on witchcraft today, her accepting the church and vice versa while openly practicing magic didn’t ring true without a compelling explanation.

The second sign was Gigi insisting that they’re not witches, they just use magic. It’s a weird distinction that seemed arbitrary. Besides, what’s wrong with being a witch?

The third and final sign was the book’s attitude toward SA and how precious children resulting from SA are (reminded me of the pro-lifer “gifts from God” mentality). I was troubled by Sadie dismay over the predator responsible getting his just deserts, especially since she was entirely unfazed by the trauma he inflicted on his victim.

Since the values of the characters clashing with my own kept taking me out of the story, I DNF a third of the way through at Chapter 7. This book is may be a better fit for readers who enjoy strong Christian overtones in fantasy books, like the Narnia series.

The recipe inclusion was a cute gimmick, but their placement messed with the pacing. This wasn’t a book that had me craving the food mentioned, unlike Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe and Legends & Lattes, so including the recipes at the end of the book might have been a better choice.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

What a delightful read! Describing The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic as Practical Magic & Gilmore Girls is spot on! This was such a lovely cozy read, and would be perfect for fall with a cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.. The characters were fun and likeable, and I could imagine them perfectly, almost as in a movie or tv series.. I also enjoyed the recipes that broke up the chapters, and am looking forward to trying a few. For readers who love magic and witchy stories, this book is for you. I highly recommend this book, and am looking forward to more from Breanne Randall. Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my review. 3.5/5 stars.

I LOVED this one!

This was the perfect cozy read for me right now. I loved the characters, and the storyline. There were a couple of things that were a little bit predictable, but not really the main mystery/problem to be solved.

I will definitely be looking for more from this author.

This was such a lovely cozy read. I went in basically blind but had been drawn in by the description and the cover. I hope the person that created the cover knows how beautiful it is. I was obsessed with it. I really enjoyed the characters. This was an easy and quick read. If you love magic and witchy stuff then this book will be perfect for you. I highly recommend this book. I can't wait to read more from Breanne Randall.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for allowing me to read this ARC in advance for my honest opinion.