This was a sweet, quick read, that I enjoyed a lot. Characters were developed well enough that as a reader I was invested in the outcome of the story. I love books that include receipes!

Overall, I'd give this book 3.5 stars. While it's written well, I personally wasn't a fan of the story. The book follows Sadie Revelare, a young woman who has always believed that the curse of four heartbreaks that accompanies her magic would be worth the price. However, when her grandmother is diagnosed with cancer with only weeks to live, and her first heartbreak, Jake McNealy, returns to town after a decade, her carefully structured life begins to unravel.

As Sadie's estranged twin brother Seth returns to town with deeply buried family secrets that threaten to tear Sadie's world apart, she realizes that her grandmother has been the backbone of the family for generations, and with her death, Sadie isn't sure she'll have the strength to keep the family, and her magic, together.

As feelings for Jake begin to rekindle, and her grandmother growing sicker by the day, Sadie faces the last of her heartbreaks, and she has to decide: is love more important than magic?

While the book has a strong plot, it wasn't my cup of tea. However, if you're a fan of books that explore the complexities of family relationships, love, and magic, you might enjoy this one. The characters are well-developed, and the story is engaging enough to keep you turning the pages. Overall, I'd recommend giving it a try if the synopsis piques your interest.

Thank you to the publisher for the free arc.

When I see a book regarding witches and witchcraft I'm always in, especially when there's an urban setting.
The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic uses these elements with mastery, binding them with tea, oilments, perfumes and, most of all, baking. Plus, it was absolutely interesting seeing how magic can be introduced in real life as a concrete part of it.
Another thing I really appreciated was the relationship between Gigi and her nephew, and the chemistry between Jake and Sadie. I love them since the very first moment he appears. And the garden? I adored it was presentend as a living thing.
Unluckily, other aspects didn't convinced me likewise.
The plot has too many elements in a too short amount of pages and some holes. The result is that lots of them haven't been fully developed and I lost interest in the novel. Same applies for the characters. Too many people and relationships that could have been deepened more. The final resolutions share the same problem: too fast, too simple, and I didn't like how that sort of love triangle (that could have been avoided) had been managed.
Anyway, with ups and down it was an enjoyable reading. I suggest you to give it a try!

This was pitched as Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls, which isn’t inaccurate, but it gave me different expectations. We follow Sadie, who runs a cafe in a small town. Sadie’s magic enables her to incorporate herbs in baked goods and other food to imbue them with some power (based on the magical correspondences of the herbs).

The inspiration from Practical Magic is evident and quite cosy. There is a strong sense of family and hereditary magic. Going into this, I was expecting the wit and humour of Gilmore Girls, but was disappointed. Instead, the Gilmore Girls inspiration seems to be more related to the small town vibes and the amount of drama and messiness that was in the show.

Some aspects of this were really enjoyable - it’s always heartwarming to read about a close-knit family, and the descriptions of baking and cooking put me in a baking mood. Each chapter also ends with a recipe for a cake, meal or drink that was referenced in that chapter, and the recipes look delicious for the most part.

Where this didn’t work for me was in the characters. We’re in Sadie’s head for the whole book, and quite often she seems to do, say, and think stupid things which got quite frustrating. I didn’t connect to any of the characters, and I found some of the side characters irritating. I found the motivations and behaviour of the romantic interest, Jake, to be unbelievable (for reasons that would be spoilers).

I would recommend this if you like a lot of messy drama and some magic. then this would be a good pick. If you’re after a book with the quippy dialogue of Lorelei Gilmore, then this will probably disappoint. I point this out because that was what I was hoping for (it’s what I enjoy from Gilmore Girls), and having the wrong expectations affected my enjoyment of the book, which is a shame.

Content warnings for cancer, attempted suicide, death of a family member.

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

Loved this book so much! Didn't really see the Gilmore girls comparison but if you are a fan of practical magic for sure this book is for you! Loved the recipes at the chapters end.

This was very cozy and reminded me of a tight hug after a rough day. The story has some magic and witchy stuff sprinkled in but not too heavy. I also like little surprises at the end of each chapters!. The pace was a bit slow for me, but it kept my interests (the surprise end of each chapte helped)
Thank you netgalley for ARC. I truly enjoyed this book!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25, 🌶️

this was such a cozy + magical read!

This book was very well written & with such lovable characters sprinkled in with the right amount of laughter!

I really enjoyed Sadie’s character + her growth throughout the book! Her love for her grandmother was so precious! & so many moments in this book my heart ached for Sadie! I loved how involved the side characters were in the book, you really got to understand the characters from a different perspective in a way!

The ending had my emotions all over the place & I was so happy with how this story wrapped up!

Will be adding this authors future books onto my list!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

I was very excited about the premise of this book. I appreciated that the author was able to portray a cozy, fall vibe throughout. At times I felt as those the plot was staggered and that the events in the book did not seem to fully relate back to the plot. I enjoyed the recipes in between chapters and thought that this gave the book a way to connect with the reader. Overall, I believe that this book would have benefited from having more direction with the plot and staying focused to the storyline. The book was okay for me, but unfortunately not what I had expected!

Hands down the best book I’ve read all year!

I kept hearing “this book felt like a hug” and couldn’t imagine what that would feel like. Now that I’ve read Seth and Sadie’s story- I can tell you it is 100% true!!

For fans of anything witchy and warm - for those who love small town stories, characters with big hearts, and those looking for a story that perfectly wraps itself in a bow - THIS IS FOR YOU.

When the tagline read, "For fans of Gilmore Girls and Practical Magic" I knew this would be the perfect book for me.

This is such a cozy read, the characters are fun and likeable! I struggled to put the book down the magic in the book mixed with the amazing characters just sucked me in. My favorite character in the book was definitely Gigi, she was so spunky. I also loved the way food was the cornerstone in this book. I loved the little recipes included within the book, such a sweet and personal touch.

Honestly, this is the perfect fall read! I can't wait for you all to read this one, it'll be released September 19th.

Nooooope. This didn’t work for me and I had to DNF at 25%. Nothing was terrible, but everything was just subpar and I had no motivation to continue reading. I don’t particularly like Sadie, I am somehow not really interested in the folklore of her family’s magic/curses. The writing was over the top. Simile on top of simile again and again. Just couldn’t get into it. Also the love/hate between her and Jake was lacking in passion of any kind. I felt nothing. 2/5

While the book as fairly decent, I think it falls in trying to live up to the hype of being compared with Gilmore Girls and Practical Magic. That was a mark that was sorely missed in my opinion. That said, it was a fairly quick and decent read.

I really wanted to like this book as much as so many of the other reviewers obviously have. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for me. The author was clearly heavily inspired by Practical Magic, as advertised, but lacked the readable prose. Every place and person was described in what felt like pages and pages of scents and emotions. At first, this was engaging, but over time it made me want to read ahead and figure out where we were, or why this character was receiving all these flowery descriptions. Often, the dialogue felt unnatural, and there were so many plots it was hard to keep track of what was happening and why it was important.

I liked the inclusion of recipes, but sometimes they felt ill-timed. For example, when a chapter ended with a cliffhanger, it was hard to shift to reading a recipe written in another character’s voice. Here's hoping that

I was excited by the concept of the book, and did feel the author created such a cozy, fall vibes read that gives you all the warm fuzzies. I especially loved how magic was represented in food and recipes, as I feel there is so much everyday magic in making and sharing food with people, and I thought this connection was well woven into the story (also, recipes after each chapter? Yes please, I can’t wait to make them!)

I think this book would benefit from a more focused storyline—there were so many threads to follow, and so many characters that were introduced that we had to remember and care about (I found myself often reading a name and having to take a few minutes to scroll back to figure out who they were) that I found the story less impactful. Because so many elements were included, none of them were explored enough, and issues were resolved too easily. It made the struggles of the characters not hit as hard and was difficult for me to care deeply about them and what they were overcoming.

I really enjoyed the initial set up and vibes of the book, but the crowded and messy storylines unfortunately took away a lot from the reading experience for me.

“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.”

When I saw this described as Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic, I was hooked. This was such a cute, cozy book. I loved the storyline, I adored the characters, and I wish I was a resident of Poppy Meadows.

Breanna included a recipe at the end of each chapter and I thought that was such a sweet and unique addition since so much of the book revolves around the power of food.

I’ll be collecting spoons everywhere I go from now until forever.

I found this to be a slow burner, for the first handful of chapters I considered not completing and then the plot opens up and I was hooked. It’s more of a mystery than romance and I did love the inclusion of recipes between chapters. I didn’t get the Gilmore Girls vibe some have mentioned but there is definitely a dark side of the Good Witch in there. Glad I stuck with it.

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic is an endearing and heartwarming novel. I felt entertained and uplifted by the charm! Read. This. Book!!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this e-book ARC!

I loved so many things about this book! The humor, the heart, and the recipes are just a few of the ingredients that make this story magical.

Sadie Revelare is comfortable with her life in Poppy Meadows, the small, diverse town where she owns a cafe with her grandmother, Gigi. Sadie’s baked goods are renowned for their deliciousness and her special (magical) ingredients solve little problems. Sadie loves her magic, but it comes with a curse. She is destined to suffer four heartbreaks, with each worse than the last, after which she could lose her magic entirely.

Sadie has already had her heart broken twice. The first time was nearly ten years ago, when her first love, Jake McNealy, left town and didn’t look back. The second happened when her twin brother, Seth, left the year before. Sadie’s third heartbreak is revealed when Gigi falls ill. Sadie must protect her heart in order to keep her magic, but that becomes more difficult when Jake returns to settle in Poppy Meadows.

As Gigi is dying, family flocks to Poppy Meadows, and secrets are shared, including why Sadie and Seth have never heard from their mother, Florence, who abandoned them as children. Gigi protected them but her death unleashes a dark curse and Sadie must risk another heartbreak and her magic to save her brother.

This book is as sweet as the recipes at the end of each chapter! I love that each recipe has a particular magical quality, such as Mint Julep Ice Cream (to clear out the past and start over) and Carrot Cake Cookies (which will humble the eater and remind them of their roots). Everything is well thought out - the story, the rules of magic, the recipe ingredients, and the characters. This is a perfect story for anyone looking for a little magic and a reminder of the importance of family and community.

All Revelare family members have magic, but they all have curses. And what happens when Sadie's curse is almost at full-swing, she learns her grandmother Gigi has cancer, and her relationship with her twin brother Seth is unbelievably strained?

This book had all the necessary witchy/cottage-core vibes and I loved it. It showed the importance of family, believing in one's self and the importance of dreaming and wanting things about yourself. And how, even if the times get rough, that there is still hope. It also emphasized on the importance of therapy and mental health in everyone's life, and how it was open and unstigmatized (which I loved). Another cute fact, which I haven't seen in any book, was that after every chapter, there was a cooking recipe, and each one of them had a special purpose (e.g. for courage, for an energy boost, for grief etc.) and I feel so inspired to try some of those, because they certainly looked delicious!

Character-wise, I actually liked most of them. Gigi is the kind of grandmother that takes and speaks no nonsense, with the wisdom of somebody who has experienced and lived through a lot, who has also made a lot of mistakes, and that showed how the matriarch was vulnerable. As for Seth, I didn't like him at the beginning, but through the progress of the book, I learned to understand his feelings properly, and I didn't hold a "grudge" against him. Raquel, sweet sweet Raquel, she is one of the greatest friends, with so much patiece and she is always there for SAdie, and for that I'm grateful for her. Now about Jake, I'm not really fond of him, because he hurt the one whom he loved, but he tries to get better, and I think that is what's important. Lastly Sadie: she was probably the most complex character, being the MC, but I loved her. She tried pushing everyone away because of her curse, she is an amazing cook, she's a knowledgeable individual. She changed so much throughout the book, and she did it for herself; and for that I salute her.

It was an incredibly sweet book, and I wish I had it in a physical copy to annotate the heck out of it. And I really wish that Sadie continues to being happy, and I really wish I could see a spin-off of Gigi's past, that would be so interesting!

Thank you NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review! The book comes out on 19th of September, stay tuned!

This book had me on the fence. It was well written with interesting details and an idea that seemed to be engaging. However I found the main character to be difficult to empathize with and the root causes of the problems could have been solved with some clear conversations. I also felt that I missed part of the world building that would have more clearly explained Sadie’s motivations. Y found her choices to be frustrating although the recipes included within the book were a fun touch. Overall it was well worn but not engaging for me.