NEED MORE!!!! This book reminded me of the movie 50 first dates, yet both characters don't remember each other! I can't believe I waited this long to read Aislinn work!! They have a new reader out of me! Excellent work!!

Luna, a powerful witch destined for a role she resents, and Aoife, a non-magical girl craving privacy, are brought together by fate but torn apart by a memory-erasing spell that activates whenever they break up. In a romantic cycle of love and forgetting, they repeatedly fall for each other, only to lose their shared past—until they decide to challenge the magic that keeps them apart and fight to stay together.

I loved this. Approximately 2 chapters into this, I messaged some of my book friends to say that this was going to be a winner. Luna and Aoife are both fantastic characters who grow so much throughout the book. I’m obsessed with this plot, and the author executes it better than I could have hoped for. The writing is great. The book has kind of a somber tone, with a lot of snark and sweetness to it. Everything about this was wonderful. I truly had no idea where this was going and it surprised me all the time. Highly, highly recommmend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for a copy of this book. This review is honest and my own.

This was a very cute sapphic romance. I wished that Luna wasn’t so dry and showed a little more of her opening up through her character arc. Felt as though she was very reluctant to until someone pulled it from her. I also wish Aoife stood up more firmly to her parents and their invasive lifestyle.

I saw this cover and heard the premise, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on Spells to Forget Us. I also loved Aislinn’s debut and was looking forward to their future book’s. This is a really great book dealing with toxic family situations and having to do a lot of personal growth. This isn’t a capital-R Romance, but I still am really happy with the ending. The execution of cyclic relationship and the ways Aoife and Luna keep finding their way back to each other was so sweet. There were a lot of elements I really enjoyed, and I kind of hope we’ll see more in the world, maybe Mara finding their own relationship. Also, I’m intrigued by James and the ways he’s so good at persona and situations.

What a cute witchy romance. This is an opposites attract love story told from dual points of view. The characters, who struggle with self discovery and identity, are very well developed. They push each other to be the best versions of themselves. The people pleaser must learns to stand up for herself and the outcast must learn self love. I love the multiple meet cutes between Luna and Aoife. I would recommend this inspiring story about the bonds of loves.

For the first 100 pages of 'Spells to Forget Us' I was certain this would be a 5 star read. I loved the characters, loved the romance and loved the plot. But, throughout the cyclical nature of starting over and over again and meeting each other and learning about magic so many times I actually struggled with staying routed in one perspective.

When both perspectives were mixed chapter by chapter but were so significantly different, one a magical world the other one of complete normalcy spearheaded by the child of a family blogger - I found it ridiculously hard to remain in one world long enough to fully grasp the characters unique environment, plot and then quickly moving on from it to getting back to the romance.

And this story does have so so many elements I loved, I loved the romance, I loved Aoife's perspective in particular, I loved the Groundhog Day format - I just truly think the book would have benefitted more from either being solo POV or by having larger chunks of one character at a time, especially as we flicked through time periods AND places AND characters.

This story has a lot of potential, a great writing style and great characters so I am very excited to look for more stories from this author, this one just didn't work for me like I hoped.

I don’t know why it took me so long to finish this book but I’m glad I did because this was such a cozy fantasy story with a queer romance and angst and belonging! Will be a hit with readers!

I love me a witchy sapphic romance. I loved this book! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

It is wholesome goodness with angst and witchyness. Cool characters.
It did get confusing with the timeline, but it gets better by the end.
I wish there was more about the other supernaturals as well. Would be cool to learn.
I recommend! It was a fun time. Might have to reread one day.

-queer (bisexual and lesbian fmcs)
-witches
-supernatural
-strict families
-not just a pretty face

3.5 stars rounded up. This book was a solid read for the first half or so, but it lost me as it went on. I found the characters interesting from the start and the romance was really cute. The story just became too repetitive and frustrating for me as it went on. The ending was realistic, I guess, but wasn't what I was expecting. I did think this was worth reading though. It just could've been a bit happier and shorter.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

I love a good time loop story, and while this wasn't exactly that, the magical memory spells in this one still gave that vibe.

Luna is a teenage witch being groomed to take over her grandmother's leadership role in witch society. Aiofe is a regular girl who's the daughter of internet-famous parent bloggers. They meet by chance and start to fall in love, until their different worlds become too much and they break up. The problem? Luna has cast the witch-required spell that means Aiofe will forget about the existence of magic---and her---if they break up. But something goes wrong, and Luna forgets Aiofe too. The bigger problem? They're drawn together like magnets, leading to a cycle of repeated meeting, falling in love, breaking up, and forgetting.

I enjoyed both of these characters separately and together, and I really appreciated how the ending was done (no spoilers). There were some infuriating side characters in this, too, that made me grind my teeth along with the FMCs. I do wish there had been more info on the magical side of the world, because I was fascinated by what we were told. Overall this was a unique and multifaceted read that teens (and adults) will love, that touches on a lot of important topics. Thanks to Penguin Teen for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review!

Did this book make me enjoy the miscommunication trope? I'm just as shocked as you are. I loved this book. I thought the two main characters were incredibly well thought out and while there were times that the story felt a bit repetitive, there was always just enough of an increase in the stakes to keep me interested. I do think there were some pacing issues, mostly towards the end which felt rushed and didn't leave us with enough time for closure or like reflection on the story. But overall, I really enjoyed it.

A queer romantasy--many of my students will be all over SPELLS TO FORGET US by Aislinn Brophy. This book wasn't quite for me; however, that's not a reflection on Brophy's novel. I do intend to recommend it to students as a novel they will enjoy and as an exemplar text for when elements of a story need to be repeated while still developing characters/plot.

Spells to Forget Us is a gorgeous, queer, witchy love story that beautifully blends romance with themes of self-love and trust. Following Luna, a powerful witch, and Aoife, a non-magical people pleaser, the book explores their ups and downs as they keep finding their way back to each other despite the challenges they face. The unique magic system is fascinating yet easy to understand, and the portrayal of family dynamics adds depth to their journey.

This urban fantasy, romcom, and coming-of-age tale is full of humor and heart. Aislinn Brophy's writing shines as she develops vibrant characters who experience significant growth throughout the story. The cycle of forgetting and remembering adds a compelling twist, making it a perfect read as we head into the fall season. I can't wait for everyone to pick this book up!

First impression: I'll admit that I came for the beautiful cover...and stayed for the cute story inside. I mean, look at that cover. It's stunning, right? As someone who's not the biggest fan of miscommunication or time loop narratives, but is a huge fan of sapphic romance and contemporary fantasy, I was on the fence about how much I'd like Spells to Forget Us, but I really enjoyed it.

Told in dual POV, Spells to Forget Us follows two girls who are complete opposites, and yet fated to end up together. Luna is a witch poised to take over from her grandmother as head of Boston's magical council; cursed with incredibly powerful magic that exacts a toll upon her each time she uses it, Luna uses her hardened persona to keep everyone out. Aoife is a mundane (non-magical) daughter of family bloggers who's a lifelong people pleaser; unable to keep secrets in her home, when Aoife meets Luna, she is determined to keep this one special thing in her life away from her too-nosy parents. But when their worlds collide, it causes chaos...over and over and over again. Each time they break up, they're fated to forget each other, and yet get drawn together over and over again. Can Luna and Aoife break the cycle to get their happily ever after?

While at times, I felt the miscommunication was too much, I love how Brophy handled the loop narrative. Each time the girls break up, they get closer and closer to figuring out the things that are keeping them apart (Luna's hard edges, Aoife's people pleasing). I genuinely enjoyed being in each of their heads and seeing them grow. I also appreciated that this felt like a sweet spot in YA: the tiniest hint of spice, but mostly sweet, felt like this would be perfect for younger YA readers. It felt readable, nostalgic, and fun. I also really enjoyed the ending. I won't spoil anything, but it's very rare to see a romance end like this, and I appreciated that it did. Fans of HEAs or HNFs may not enjoy this, but I did; sometimes characters (and people) need to grow apart to eventually grow together, and this felt like a very mature end for our central couple.

Positive messages abound here, but never in a way that feels preachy or unrelatable. Like a queer Disney movie, if that makes sense? Anyway, I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to Brophy's next book!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Penguin, and Aislinn Brophy for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!

More sapphic romantasies set in the modern day please and thank you!

As someone who grew up in Worcester, I loved reading about familiar landmarks across Dorchester and Cambridge, tied together with all the quirks of Bostonian life from the notoriously off-schedule T system to the brittle chill of a New England winter, the setting of this book spoke near and dear to my heart.

I also feel that Aislinn Brophy did a phenomenal job integrating magic and modern, everyday life. Her magic system was well-fleshed out, the magical society and its hierarchal structure was complex (but easily digested through the lens of Luna), and the day-to-day intricacies of being a witch felt so thought out. I especially loved the portal elements and the letter sending moments throughout the story; the letters in particular felt true to how the evolution of technology will always have holdovers of older tech throughout society.

The main thing that didn't work for me in this story were the characters and their development. Luna and Aoife begin as really intriguing multi-faceted characters, each with their own struggles. I did really appreciate how Aoife's character in particular speaks to the toll that Influencer Parents' lifestyle exacts upon their children and how this ties into lack of agency.

However, as the story progresses and both Luna and Aoife become entrapped in a seemingly unbreakable relationship cycle, it feels that the any development completely stalls. The author tries to hone in so hard into the characters' emotions as a means of relatability that the characters have ceased to be people, solely defined by the Emotion they hold. And by the 50% mark the perspective chapters begin to feel repetitive, with the same thought patterns repeating themselves again and again. And to have all these issues abruptly begin to resolve itself within a single chapter, at the 85% mark no less, felt like such a cop-out.

I appreciated the final ending between Luna and Aoife, but I wish the change in character in both of them had been woven gradually throughout the story instead of being shoved in at the end as an afterthought. So overall, I liked the world-building and the setting of the story, but the characters just didn't do it for me.

I really loved the relationship between Luna and Aoife but this book suffers a bit by the lack of world-building and orienting the readers to the characters at the beginning. We drop into a story in progress which I think would be fine if the book was a bit longer, but a quick introduction would have gone a long way at the start. The premise of the world, the magic system and the politics are really good and I think a bit deeper than I typically see in a YA urban fantasy that is primarily a romance. I really rooted for these characters and their love. I found their banter to be cute and I would love to see more in this universe.

It does have a similar writing style to her first book but I think it is really unique!

I was excited that I got approved for this book and couldn’t wait to get started. It took a bit for me to get into it but once I did and the story began to flow I didn’t want to put it down. It touched upon some subjects that are often overlooked like kids with influencer parents and shady friendships. The ending was pretty satisfying and overall I thought it was a cute read. It was an interesting idea that worked and had me invested until the end. It seemed like it was written for a younger YA audience but still well done. Definitely would tell others to check it out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I liked this one a lot more than her debut but it was too long and the middle was a slog to get through with ruined the momentum for me.

Main reason why it wasn’t five for me was because I was so confused at first on how this worked still but nonetheless it was soooo good! Definitely recommend for a light fast read!

We have Luna who is the most powerful witch, who is feared by others and not wanting to be the next head witch council. Luna also has “baggage” with her past self and family who is very absent other than her cousin who’s the only on her side (for now! Will not spoil any more so you can read mwehehe)

Next we have Aoife who’s mundane and has always been in the spot light thanks to her influencer family and doesn’t have as much privacy thanks to them.

The two are complete opposites but run into each other again and again and again, thanks to the spell Luna casts that if they ever break up, Aoife will forget all about her. But instead Luna also forgets and the two go into this cycle of if they date again they recover all memories of their last attempt at dating.