Of some of the magic books I have read most have the same plot however this one is different. Tons of imagery to picture all the scenes. A slow burn romance.

What Became of Magic has the vibes of a Seanan Mcquire book, totally whimsically dark with thick interwoven magical world-building and relatable characters. I loved seeing out heroine come into herself, find her power, without truly sacrificing love and friendship.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC! I was so excited to read this book for spooky season. Unfortunately this book was not for me. I found it confusing and felt like I must have missed something like a previous book or world building. The characters were frustratingly pretentious and spoke in riddles - to be fair I think this was intentional and this book just wasn’t for me.

This book started off slowly and I really wasn't sure where we were going with Aline becoming the outcast in school, unseen by her own parents, and finding a bookstore that embraced who she was and made her felt seen. However, the story got there and we got to journey with Aline as she discovered who she was and found her self worth.

Caitlin Kelly did a good job narrating this story and I will look for more book narrated by Caitlin in the future.

I received an advance e-audiobook compliments of NetGalley and the publisher.
Paige Crutcher has an on-trend book in What Became of Magic. 3*** rating. It is written for a younger adult. Character is quickly developed from high school, but I did not get the sense that the (quickly jumped over years to adulthood) actually showed any maturity in the main character for rest of book.

This was a intriguing story of magic , that follows Aline from childhood to adulthood. It was a bit confusing at times , the charaters were unique as was the story itself .

I love books with magic in them, I think they can really go any which way. I enjoyed this book at the start. I liked Aline and her powers and the friend she had. Once she got to Matchstick I was still following along in this world and enjoying it. but about 3/4 of the way through it just got to be a bit too much all at once. I feel like there was so much crammed into the ending it was hard to stay with it. I would have like to see this as a series, where it could have become a little more in depth on all that was happening.

✨ Review ✨ What Became of Magic by Paige Crutcher; Narrated by Caitlin Kelly

Aline doesn't fit in as a child, but realizes she can see ghosts. With the ghosts guidance and three women who own a bookshop, she slowly culls her powers to help ghosts find the things they need to pass on. As she gets older, she's pulled to the mysterious world of Matchstick where she sets off on a quest to save Magic.

I found this a lot of fun to listen to and felt like a different take on witches and magic. It's hard to say much without giving away the story but it's a great way to ease your way on in to spooky season!

I enjoyed this book but it was really complicated to listen to in the audio format. It regularly switches POV from the main character to a constantly rotating POV of a side character without signaling it's switching POV...and while it's written in 3rd person, it was hard to juggle these switches. I also felt like I kept missing important details because of the audio.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: fantasy, women's fiction
Pub Date: 26 Sep 2023

Read this if you like:
⭕️ witches and ghosts and magic
⭕️ magical mysteries
⭕️ quests

Thanks to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press and #netgalley for an advanced e-copy of this book!

Thank you Macmillan audio and NetGalley for an arc of What Became of Magic in exchange of my honest opinion.

This book started with a good premise but as the story develops it just became so convoluted that it was hard to follow the events and conclusions..
First we start with our FMC as a kid/teen learning that she can see ghosts and at some point can also control nature elements when she gets angry to the point secasses an accident. This last event led her to seek the help of these 3 sisters that lived in her town. Then we have a huge jump in time and our FMC is an adult taking care of the store of the 3 sisters that sort of disappeared for a few days. She then try to find where they are and end up in this mysterious town. Out of the blue she discovered that there is a huge threat to all the magic world (which btw, I don’t know she was aware of that even as an adult) and she is the only one that can restore magic and save the magic beings.
It felt that there was not a smooth connection between times and all these revelations appeared without a proper introduction.

There is a romance in this book that actually got me invested and their chemistry saved the book for me.

Overall I thought the plot was truncated and convoluted, which left you trying to figure out for a long time what was going on

What Became of Magic
Author: Paige Crutcher
Publication Date: 09/26/2023
Publisher: Macmillan Audio

This is a perfect witchy story to add to your TBR this spooky season! Aline is a young witch who is able to communicate with ghosts and has been quietly helping others for years until she turns 30. When she is seen using her magic powers, she is invited to the mysterious town of Matchstick, which has lost its magic and only Aline can help to find it.

I received What Became of Magic as an audiobook ARC and had a great time listening to it. I liked the narrator a lot; she did a fantastic job. The vibes of this book were definitely witchy, making it a great fall read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and for giving me the opportunity to listen to this audiobook and been able to review it.

What Becomes of Magic has the loveliest cozy witch vibes! I adored meeting little Aline and watching her grow as she discovers her powers. I loved her relati on ship with her little friend and the bookstore sisters. However, it seems things shifted in a way that left me lost about 1/3 through the book and I kind of remained lost from then on. I still feel like the cozy witchy vibes are great for an autumn read, just be ready for twists and turns along the way!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy

I listened to the audiobook for "What Became of Magic" and while I enjoyed the narration, it became clear that this story leaned more towards the Young Adult (YA) genre rather than adult fiction.

Starting with Aline helping lost spirits was intriguing, and then the transition to Matchstick's mystical world to rescue Magic, her destined lover, kept me interested in the story. Even though the romance aspect felt a bit forced. At times, the writing style left me feeling a bit lost, especially with the use of riddles and puns, but some people may enjoy that.

The world-building was intricate, brimming with details, and you really understood the magic system in Matchstick.

Overall, "What Became of Magic" offers an enchanting mix of elements, but the romance might not click with everyone. If you fancy a cozy fall read with a touch of YA fantasy, give it a try!

I don’t know if I’m out of sorts or this book is choppy but I am struggling to stay in the story and follow.

2⭐️

Aline has always been a little different. As a child she had a difficult time making friends. After a botched sleepover and discovering her magic she meets a young ghost named Dragon. Aline take solace in a bookstore where two odd witchy ladies teach her to care for her abilities. Now In her 30s after her only friends disappear Aline is thrust into a journey to save and repair the world as she knows it.

I enjoyed meeting Aline and the beginning of her sad story. I can relate a lot to being that odd girl in school. However after about 30% of the book and into Alines adulthood this book started to lose me.

The book is in third person but we have a ridiculous amount of POV that just seemed unnecessary. The plot lines and subplot lines were all over the place. We get Aline’s story and Dragons then there is talk of legends and the sun and the moon. Magic is magic but there is also fates. It’s witches and ghosts and just too much. Most of it was confusing and hard to follow. Also the use of the word magic was way overused.

The ending was wholesome and I’m glad Aline got her happy ending. I’m definitely sad/happy about Dragon. Overall this just wasn’t for me. I would’ve enjoyed it more if it was just a magical adventure to rescue her friends.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review the book What Happened to Magic.

Perfect for heading into spooky/witchy season!
This is a sweet story of young witch Aline who can talk to ghosts and send lost souls where they’re supposed to go. The book follows as Aline lives a quiet life helping others for years until she turns 30. When someone sees her using her magic powers, she’s invited to the mysterious town of Matchstick to help find what she’s been told is lost magic. But little does she know, Magic is a person — and they’re everything the other has been looking for.
This is a story of friendship, romance, loss, and finding the magic of the every-day, though at times, all of the new additions sometimes made the story hard to follow.
Caitlin Kelly was great at narrating and bringing the young and old voices to life.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This releases on 9/26.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this book - a witch who can talk to ghosts and helps them reunite with the keys to send them home? Sound interesting! However, this book really ends up being more about Aline learning more about magic and being pulled into an evil witch's scheming and trying to find a way to...save the world? I guess?

I'm going to be honest, I read this whole book and still don't really understand what happened. The plot got really confusing and convoluted (once we got to the actual plot) and there were so many characters that I really couldn't keep track of most of them. At one point towards the end a new character is added and I truly could not tell you that character's name and I finished the book less than an hour ago.

The romance was also...weird? Aline falls in love with...Magic. No, I'm not joking. Magic both is a man and is...magic. He is also occasionally referred to as "Magic the first" because there are ...multiple magics? and then the evil witch....murders those magics? Honestly this is the best I have for the plot - I hope to god that other people understand it better than I did. I can read a high fantasy novel that I understand more than I understood whatever happened here.

The vibes of this book were definitely witchy and fall - if that's your vibe for the season, you may like this! I enjoyed using this book to get into the fall season. The plot unfortunately didn't work for me. I thought the writing was good, if a bit flowery at times.

I liked the narrator a lot! Even though I wasn't vibing with the plot, I appreciated her narration and kept listening partly because of it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Aline is a witch who can talk to ghosts, has kept it a secret since a slumber party when she was in middle school, and chooses to be invisible while she uses her powers to help lost souls reunite with the keys to send them home. Finding solace in a bookstore and three women who run it, she discovers the book of Mischief, and her powers are enhanced.

I received What Became of Magic as an audiobook ARC and I was able to start and finish it in one sitting. The narrator did a fantastic job, bringing this story to life and held my attention. It's whimsical and definitely different from any witchy book I've read before. I had a hard time star rating this one because there were elements I really loved, and others that didn't quite work for me. This is my first Paige Crutcher book, and I can see myself reading more books by this author in the future. If you're looking for a witchy book that isn't like any other, consider giving this one a try! its out 9/26/23.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and giving me the chance to listen and review it honestly.

Happy reading!

I wish I could have loved this. I was *so* excited about the premise and adored the cover, too, but I feel it fell short of its promise.

For a good while I was just confused by what the other was doing with Aline - the book begins with her as a student and, even when she was allegedly in high school, her perspective read decidedly more like a sixth grader.

I double checked that this isn't MG (that wouldn't have been a dealbreaker, I love MG!) and it's not. It also misses the whimsy of MG, despite the very much mentally-younger-than-her-stated-age protagonist.

When the protagonist's juvenile style of thinking continued into the portion of the book where she's allegedly 30 (but she's reading as 13 or 14, at most), I thought perhaps she isn't juvenile she just thinks in a non-neurotypical way? I searched the internet if she's meant to be autistic or has another neurodiversity, but nothing about that either. It's also never spelled out in the book (but at first I thought maybe the author didn't want to feel like she had to announce the neurodiversity). Nope. Just a really weirdly non-adult POV, in an adult story.

I felt for Aline, but I didn't connect with her. I think the author was trying to do something interesting with the remove from which she writes, but the execution just fell flat/short.

The novel is written as a riddle, or in that general style, making it put-downable (if I were capable of putting a book down... I just can't DNF).

It was an interesting premise, but unfortunately the book couldn't deliver.

Thanks, NetGalley and St Martin's Press, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Aline is a witch we can talk to ghosts, but it’s a talent she keeps hidden. She lives a happy, fairly normal life until she discovers the book of Mischief, a book that will magnify her powers. When those powers are noticed, she’s invited to a town that doesn’t appear to exist, A town that has lost its magic and only Aline can help find it. Curiously, Magic is a person, something, Aline doesn’t know, a person that has been waiting a very long time for someone like Aline. Tremendous fun.