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.

Okay, I feel silly saying it since heartbreak is in the title, but this book made me cry way more than expected! It was definitely cozy and sweet, but phew! Lots of tears!

Encanto meets Practical Magic, each member of Sadie Revelare's family has a unique form of magic, and a unique curse. Sadie is cursed to lose her magic after four heartbreaks. She's already had two, so when her ex comes back to town and her beloved Grandmother shares her cancer diagnoses, Sadie does everything within her power to keep herself and her magic intact.

Despite the tears, it's a cozy read with lots of cooking (recipes break up each chapter!), magic, and family. It's best accompanied with a pot of tea and a plate of cookies.

Actual Rating: 3,5 ⭐️

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic is a very solid debut novel.

Plot

When Sadie Revelare's grandmother passes away from cancer, she experiences four heartbreaks and a major turning point in her life. When Jake McNealy, who caused her first breakup, reappears, her life falls apart. Her estranged twin brother Seth brings with him family secrets and poses a threat to Sadie's entire life. Sadie must choose between love and magic when her affections for Jake resurface and her grandmother's health worsens.

The plot of the book was fine. I think the only thing I didn't like was the pacing. The pacing was really off. Some of the chapters dragged a lot and were more longer than necessary. However, I still enjoyed the story and the ending was a open end, so if the author wants she can write a sequel.

Characters

Sadie Revelare

Sadie was a really good character. Because of her curse, she never lets people approach her, because she doesn't want to have another heartbreak. However, she is really intelligent and the reader can see how much she loves her grandmother. She does everything she can to save her. I love the growth she has during the novel. For a standalone, the character grows a lot.

Seth Revelare

For me, Seth was the opposite of her sister. Sadie is way more serious than Seth, but Seth also suffers a lot, because of his magic. He is still a great character, that truly loves his family. I really loved the banter between him and his sister.

Jack McNealy

Jack is the first boy that Sadie loved. He was a really sweet and funny guy, but I wish the author could have given him more depth, but I still enjoyed this character.

Gigi Revelare

Gigi was Sadie and Seth's grandmother. She was such a great character. She was really funny and sarcastic in the beginning of the novel, which I really loved. She is a strong and brave woman, who truly loves her family, especially Sadie and Seth.

Florence

Florence is Sadie and Seth's mother. She was a very mysterious character. At the end of the novel, I still don't know her very well and I still have a few questions about her, but if the author decides to write a sequel, I think she would be a very important character.

Writing

For a debut novel, I really loved the writing style. It was really good and the descriptions provided by the author were really amazing.

World-Building

I think the author made a good job in the world-building. Every witch has their own magic and their own curse. It was really interesting and I think the author explained this part very well.

Romance

Sadie and Jack were cute together. They have some sweet and cute moments together, however, I wish the author could have developed their relationship more than she did. I had a problem with the pregnancy and the fiancé plot, because I think this wasn't necessary and it was just there to create more tension between the characters.

Final Thoughts

As I said, I think it was a good solid debute and if the author decides to write another book about this characters, I will read it.

I LOVE that this book is like a mix of Practical Magic + Gilmore Girls + When In Rome by Sarah Adams! It's giving all of the witchy fall vibes that we want year round PLUS the small town that we learn to know and love! I really enjoyed getting to see Sadie, the FMC, use her magic to interact with the family home, her garden, and her café! I don't know that theres a lot of things better than a small town book with all of the adorable side characters, shops, and sense of community!

Also the mixture of a slow burn + second chance + small town romance is AMAZING! But, I also loved that the romance seemed to be more of a subplot, giving the readers more space to focus on the magic and family and everything else happening in Poppy Meadows! BUT was the romance an amaizng addition and something I REALLY wanted to see play out? OF COURSE! But I was also equally/more intrigued in what was going to happen to Sadie because everything in the beginning of the book was pointing to something baddd happening!👀

This was a really fun read and I can't wait for everybody to enjoy this book while relaxing in the chill fall air with all of the leaves on the ground, it will be perfect!

Imagine having magic but being followed by a curse. I mean, things have to have balance. Right?

Sadie was a Revelare, which meant she belonged to one of the founding families of their small town. It also meant that she had magic in her blood. Her magic came with four heartbreaks, which she always thought was a fair price to having magic.

Back to her family... I love them all. Gigi, her grandmother, is stubborn but loves all her children and grandchildren to pieces. Her multitudes of aunts and uncles that have their own brands of magic. Magic that ranges from knowing how to fix anything just by touching it to inviting whimsey and wonder into your life(aka sparkles). Sadie's talents lie in food. Something she bonded with her Gigi with as they shared similar magic. The many relationships that Sadie has throughout the story were well thought-out and written. I enjoyed each interaction.

Speaking of relationships, there is Jake. Her young love. Her first heartbreak. He returns back to their hometown and that stirs a whole lot of emotions for Sadie. This isn't the center conflict in the book, but some romance is happening in the background.

The story focuses on Sadie and the secrets that Gigi laided upon their family as she succumbed to cancer. Some of those secrets threated the life of those she loves the most. Sadie has to navigate this all while holding everything together and making sure everyone else is taken care of. The plot is more character driven than anything else, but I enjoyed the layers to each character and exploring them throughout the book. It was a joy to watch Sadie grow and to lean on the people she loved. The whole vibe is very Practical Magic and a little The Very Secret Society of Witches. So if you loved either of those vibes, I am sure you will enjoy this book.

Plus, the recipes at the end of each chapter are to die for and the correspondence for what each recipe is for is a nice magical touch. I definitely recommend the peach and walnut muffins. 10/10

The book’s description really appealed to me and I was excited to read as I love cozy, witchy books with family and a little romance thrown in. At first, I really liked the feel of the story and writing but as it went on, I started feeling like there was too much going on and I couldn’t always follow what felt like a scattered storyline. I also had a hard time with the whole Jake storyline. I didn’t feel the connection there so it was difficult for me to get behind them as a couple. There were times as well, where the description was a little too much.

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic is a fun book filled with lively information about magic, spells, herbs, and recipes. The characters are intriguing and the story is a solid family drama with some surprises. I scored a point down for the unnecessary language that detracts from the story and makes one of the characters seem quite verbally abusive. Not my favorite way for grandparents to talk to and talk about their grandchildren.

Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.