This book has magic & mystery and is one of the most descriptive books I have ever read. It even has fun, delicious sounding & useful recipes at the end of each chapter!

I love the spunky sass of Gigi. Her quick witty remarks & tips and tricks-make her a lovable character from the get-go (and made me miss my own Grammy extra).
MC Sadie seems to be on the merry go round of bad luck. She is as sweet as Rory Gilmore, and as warm hearted as Sally Owens. I found myself connecting with her easily-because she is so worried with helping everyone else 24/7.
The author has a way of weaving her words so that you can actually feel the emotions of the characters as they feel them & you can feel the vibes of each situation. Like when all the aunts and uncle get together, I could feel the love and excitement of a Revelare family gathering!

This book is about love & family & grief. It’s about daring to be who you really are and to love without fear.

Overall, this was a wonderful, heartfelt debut novel! I enjoyed this ARC!

This book came at such a good time. I love a good comfy, cozy, small-town, witchy book and this book did not disappoint! I enjoyed the characters and how relatable they were. The way magic was incorporated was nice and very approachable. But my favorite thing about the book was all the wonderful recipes included at the end of every chapter; it's such a nice way to feel a connection to the book. Definitely will be purchasing this book when it comes out.

This is such a cozy story! I wouldn’t say it’s particularly memorable, but it was definitely enjoyable. I think it would make an excellent book club book - especially if everyone made one of the included recipes to all share when you meet to talk about it.

Thanks to Breanne Randall, Alcove Press and NetGalley for an eARC of The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic in exchange for an honest review.

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic was a cozy, witchy read that gives you the feeling of sitting in an adorable bakery with your pastry and latte. Although I feel like I have read similar witchy books (female witch with a broken heart from her childhood sweetheart finds solace in creating baked goods for her town infused with helpful magic and needs to break the curse on her magic and family) Randall has probably the best imagery and storytelling abilities of any of the similar stories I've read. I felt fully immersed in the story, characters and small town, and I immediately felt a deep connection to Sadie.

The story was a bit slow at times to me, and while I understood the reasoning behind putting all of the recipes in the story, I would probably never go back and use this book as a cookbook. I also didn't love the religious angle, but that is simply a personal preference that other people may really enjoy.

Overall, this was a good read, and I give it around 3-3.5 stars.

A cozy fantasy/supernatural love story. It could be shorter but the author repeats information constantly as if the reader has forgotten what was read, often only in the last several pages. The main character has magic in her hands that flows into her baking and garden creations. And that garden is torched over and over, poor garden. But, magically, the garden is re-creatated as if nothing happened. My favorite was the lemon tree that threw lemons at people to make a point or help a recipe, interesting flexible lemon tree philosophy.
Magic happened because of the many women in the Revelare family but with a curse on the twins, Sadie and Seth. Gigi, their grandmother and sole caregiver, is a gentle soul but a few huge hidden secrets.
Some choices of the characters left me rather speechless but in cozy stories, the reader wants a good ending for as many as possible and the author provides that good ending.

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic is marketed as Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls and it does not disappoint...plus it comes with recipes!

We meet Sadie Revelare, she runs her bakery alongside her grandmother Gigi, incorporating magic and enchantment into all of her recipes. Sadie's world is turned upside down when her beloved Gigi is diagnosed with cancer, her estranged twin Seth returns, and her ex-boyfriend Jake moves back to town.

The author did a great job creating memorable characters, especially Gigi, she was feisty, and I loved her. Overall, the book was a heartfelt and cozy read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy!

Breanne Randall's The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic promises heartbreak and delivers in the form of four foretold heartbreaks for the protagonist, Sadie. The first heartbreak rears its ugly head after a decade when Sadie's first love, Jake, reappears in Poppy Meadows. The second heartbreak is the disappearance of Sadie's twin brother, Seth, from her life a year prior. And the third comes when Sadie's grandmother reveals that she is dying. From here, with the backdrop of an idyllic small town a la Stars Hollow, the story unfolds, revealing old family secrets and a challenge that could lead to Sadie's fourth heartbreak.

This book is filled with magic, baking, rules, and a community that works together to help each other. I can see the comparisons to Practical Magic and Gilmore Girls, so fans of these stories should give it a try. I didn't find myself as emotionally invested in the story as I wanted to be, but it has solid vibes and interesting characters. The recipes at the end of each chapter were my favorite part- I can't wait to try some!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I did not like the premise of her curse and could not get into the story. After not touching this for two weeks, I tried to start again but still couldn't be engaged. If you like cozy magic books, you might want to give it a try, but I have other books to read.

3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove for an ARC of this book.

This book is very whimsical and witchy, but unfortunately the pacing was all over the place. The first half of the book felt so disconnected with random jumps between dialogue and narration that were very jarring to me.

The second half, once the plot line was revealed, was much better, but still not enough for me.

Oh also the main romance gave me the ick.

I did add an extra half star for the inclusion of recipes in this book. I plan on making one, and I’ll update my review to let y’all know if it’s any good. Just got to decide what to make.

Cute premise. It's easy enough to read and follow along. Unfortunately, I don't see it being successful with our libraries.

I'm not personally a huge fan of witchy books and stopped after chapter 1.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove for the ARC.

3.25/5

I wanted to love this book so much! It’s pitched as practical magic meets Gilmore girls and the plot does deliver on that premise. However, the pacing and dialogue just felt rushed and honestly a little young. I feel like the author had so many ideas that it came out of the gate like a bit of a context tornado that heavily leaned on dialogue. I found it hard to really get into the story as a result, which is a shame because the plot is cute.

I’ll pick up a later book by this author, and if you can get passed a bit of context dumping, you might enjoy this more!

While I loved the idea of this, I found it a little confusing. The random inclusion of magic, in a book that didn't really read like a fantasy, didn't feel like it fit. I also didn't feel connected to any of the characters in particular. I thought the one "plot twist" was a big unrealistic as well.

I wanted to love this book. With the promise of Gilmore Girls and Practical Magic fell flat for me. I ended up DNFing early on in the book.

I think this is a case of the book is just not for me.

This book definitely gives Practical Magic vibes with the family dynamic and willingness to do anything for those you love. I loved our MC Sadie, and Gigi was such a great character, she was a spitfire and had me cackling several times. The relationship between Sadie and her twin Seth was very complex but you could feel their love and respect for each other.

I honestly didn’t realize how sad it was going to be which I guess is stupid considering Heartbreak is literally in the title but I think this book handled grief really well.

I also loved the little recipes between each chapter!

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of the Unfortunate Side effects of Heartbreak and Magic.

Sadie is a little bit magic and helps people by adding ingredients to her cooking with surprising results.
I loved the recipes dotted through the book.

Sadie has already suffered through some heartbreaks and is tested with a few more during the story. I found it a bit dark and also found the amount of swearing a bit unnecessary imo. Lots of repetitive points which became a bit wearing. On the upside there are lots of positive family and friends relationships involved.

Not my favourite book of the year but an ok read.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for an eARC in exchange for a review. Welp, I did not enjoy this one and that’s okay. Some people will. It was too cutesy for my tastes and the characters just… existed. The grandma was my favorite, but even she fell flat. I wish she would’ve gone more in depth with the characters and the actual magic they possessed. Overall 2/5 ⭐️.

I will preface with the fact that I heard a lot of buzz about this book before reading it and unfortunately found it overhyped. Overall, I felt that there was too much trying to be done in a relatively short book. This made much of the plot and character development flat. I found the main character, Sadie, to be childish and naive. Many of the big "revelations" to Sadie were glaringly obvious. I think perhaps this would have worked better as a series so that more development could have been done.

I ran to request this ARC the minute I heard the concept of Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic.

This book has it all. It has magic, a complicated family dynamic, an ex reappearing with a storied history and lingering feelings, and everything you need for an enchanting, enthralling story. Breanne Randall does an amazing job of capturing you instantly and making you feel like you are a part of a big, dysfunctional, magical family.

This book was written for you if:
1) You like the idea of a witchy, warm novel
2) You are interested in a love story that is not just limited to romantic love
3) You are looking for a quick, cozy read that you can dive into while you bake one of the recipes found within these pages!

I did enjoy The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic. While it did definitely seem to be fluffy, I still liked the characters and the plotlines. I think we will have patrons that will enjoy it, so we will be purchasing for the collection.

This was an enjoyable read. It was pitched as GILMORE GIRLS x PRACTICAL MAGIC, and I definitely felt the family connections and small town influences. However, I wished for more of the banter and humor of GG, and more of the stakes of PM.