“Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things” by Breanne Randall is an enchanting romantasy that combines magic, family secrets, and enemies-to-lovers romance. The story follows the three Petridi witches—Calliope, Thalia, and Eurydice—as they navigate ancient magic, family curses, and fractured bonds in the fictional town of Gold Springs, where they run a magical bookstore and teashop.

Calliope, the youngest, is rebellious and the only one actively using magic, despite its cost of lost memories. When she accidentally binds herself to Lucien, a rival coven leader, they must work together as an ancient evil awakens, forcing the sisters to reconnect to save their future. The book delves into themes of grief, self-discovery, and forgiveness, with richly drawn characters, cultural diversity, and unique magical elements, like Grim, a sentient grimoire.

Though heavy on romance, the story is thoughtfully paced and brimming with life lessons. With a potential sequel hinted, this book is perfect for fans of magic, strong sisterhood bonds, and vivid world-building.

2.5 stars rounded down: I love the premise of this one much more than I love the book itself. I was very intrigued by the idea of having to sacrifice a memory in order to use magic - it sets this apart from other witchy spooky season reads. The writing style was overly descriptive and repetitive, especially in the beginning, which made this a chore to get through.

This definitely gives a cozy vibe, very similar to the show "Charmed" with an almost identical family structure but relies too much on the comparisons that it forgets to be original.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m obsessed with this book. If you loved Breanne’s first book, you’ll love this one even more. The familial pangs were well written . It’s hard enough to have siblings without adding the pressure of magical curses into the mix. And Lucien?? It’s been a while since I fell in love with a fictional character, but here we are.

After reading and loving Breanne’s first book, I was so excited to get my hands on this one. She has a way of speaking on family connection and making it a part of the story that I adore. I love that it is just as much the story as the romance is. I hope in the rest of the series we see more of a connection with Elea. The magic system was so interesting in this book and I hope in the future the blend of light craft and shadow craft is explored more. I enjoyed the storytelling of the family’s history and I’m excited to reread when my physical copy arrives!

I really loved Breanne’s first novel last fall and this one was a great follow up! I absolutely love how cozy her writing feels an amazing read for fall time.

WOW. I honestly wasn't expecting to live this as much as I did. I loved her first book, it was one of my top books for last year and WOW does her sophomore novel follow it up with a bang.

So much to love here, especially as a Greek. All of the cozy witch vibes get doubled because it's Greece, and baklava, and all the foods that remind me of home and comfort. All their names are fascinating too if you know the mythology behind it.

But it's giving serious Greek girl Charmed vibes, but kind of mixed with Sabrina the teenage witch. The Aunts, Grim, the kitty cats, the way the magic worked, the mystery. It's just so good at every turn.

And then there's what I wasn't expecting, the freaking shadow daddy! LUCIEN COMING IN HOTTTT 🥵🥵🥵

Anyway, definitely a top read of my year and I'll be buying the book when it debuts to put on my shelf. It's that good.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not for me. I requested this to read in October, as I always like to stock up on "spooky stories" to get me in the Halloween mood. This wasn't quite what I expected, and not my favorite.

There's a lot of good stuff in here. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and the history of the characters, and how mythology played such a big role. The author does a great job of immersing you into the setting. That said, I struggled to like the main character, which made it hard to want to finish the book, she seemed a lot like a YA protagonist rather than an adult.

For those seeking an atmospheric, autumnal tale of witch sisters, look no further than “Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things.” Calliope and her sisters hold a rare type of magic, and a curse. They must sacrifice a memory each time they access magic. The mysteries of their curse begin to unveil when a warlock from a rival coven appears in town. The writing style was beautiful and the descriptions were immersive. Personally, I struggled to connect with this book. The pacing was slow and I didn’t feel invested in the characters’ lives, romance, or plot. While it may have not been the right time for me to enjoy it, it could be a great story for what you are looking for.

DNF AT 52%.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Well isn’t this just a cozy little slow burn magical romance. 3 sisters that happen to be witches have the difficult task of protecting the power that resides in The Dark Oak. Every time they use magic, they must sacrifice a memory. The main character Calliope bothered me often with her willingness to discard memories to do any little task. It felt lazy. But otherwise it was a really cute story with some good life lessons.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance release copy in exchange for a honest review.

What a unique and wonderful work this is. I enjoyed it thoroughly and I think I want to read it again just to enjoy the world once more.

A cozy, magical read! Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things explores the legacy of generational magic, the bonds of sibling relationships, how prejudices infect our lives, and the lengths we’ll go to protect those we love.

Randall’s writing is incredibly descriptive and pulls you right into her world. I loved the uniqueness of the Petridi sisters’ magic - forced to sacrifice their memories for spells, and the grounding of their family’s legacy in Ancient Greek myths. All of the characters were extremely well developed and the LGBTQIA+ representation was seamlessly woven into the plot. While most of the story is from Calliope’s perspective, I loved how Lucien’s POV was interspersed throughout the story, providing his view when I wanted it (needed it) most.

This story is perfect for lovers of magical reads with small town charm and romance subplots. While the main conflict was resolved, the ending was open-ended enough where i could easily imagine a sequel. Please give us more Calliope x Lucien!

Thank you to NetGalley, Dell Romance, and Random House for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was hard for me to get into but that does not mean that it’s not a good book. I am a mood reader and may have just not been in the mood for a fantasy book at the time.
I do plan on going back to this book once I’m in the mood for fantasy to try to read it again.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an advanced copy of Spells, Strings, and Forgotten things!

I don’t think that this book is for me. The pacing of the book felt a little weird and the author (from what I read) spent more time describing the scenery than some of the more important aspects of the book. I had such high hopes because the concept was so interesting and melancholy but overall I had to DNF by page 50. I did like the LGBTQ representation though!

Also, I got the ick immediately when the MMC called the FMC “little muse” literal seconds after meeting her.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: March 04, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

LOVED THIS BOOK. Every aspect of this book was beautiful. I was thrown into the magical world from the very beginning and I didn’t want to emerge even by the end of the book. The author has such a way using beautiful words to describe everything when she writes so that not only you can visualize it all but you can smell and taste and feel all the things. Breanne is one of my favorite 2024 authors and I quite literally cannot wait for more to come out. The characters are so incredibly developed and I enjoyed every one of them and the world building, backdrop for our story, beautiful. We get banter, magic, mystery, a curse, family secrets, bonds and family ties in this book, it’s just co wonderful and cozy. All of the praise from me. Also, recipes…..the icing on this beautiful pastry.

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: Banter, Magic, Mystery, Curses, Family Secrets, Cozy

Large thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell

This was the perfect book to start off Fall. It was a really great LGBTQ+ representation and had some really good witchy/ enemies to lovers vibes! It had the perfect small town vibes, and an easy to understand magic system/ world building! Highly recommend picking up a copy when it comes out. It's definitely sucks it doesn't come out in October/November 2024 as it would be perfect for Fall!

*Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things* by Brianne Randall is a whimsical dive into a magical world. The book follows the journey of Calliope “Callie” and her 2 sisters, all Lightcraft witches who are struggling to cope with their mother’s disappearance. For every spell a sister uses, a memory is exchanged as payment. Randall has a talent for creating a setting that feels cozy yet mysterious, making the reader want to explore every corner of its magical elements. Their writing is rich with imagination. Every meal was described so well I felt like I could taste it! It’s a perfect book for sensory readers!

If you enjoy a blend of fantasy Pride & Prejudice, *Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things* is a cozy, magical read that will leave you wishing for a bit of enchantment in your own life. After reading this, I need to add Charmed to my watch list and create some of the recipes included in the back of the book! Thank you NetGalley for providing an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys

- enemies to lovers (Lucien has my whole heart)
- magic
- odes to mythology
- Charmed
- Pride and Prejudice
- family curses

I’m obsessed with this witchy, enemies-to-lovers romance between Calliope and Lucien! The LGBTQ+ representation feels so authentic, especially since we all have someone in our family or friends who can relate. The magical vibes and dynamic characters pulled me in, and I’d love to see how all the couples end up—especially with the mystery surrounding her mom. Fingers crossed for a sequel!

I have not yet read Breanne Randall's debut, a mistake I plan to rectify immediately, because I really loved Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things! (And not just because of the adorable title.)

I was really in the mood for a witchy book with a strong romance subplot, and this book delivered. It has so many of the tropes that I love: reluctant-allies to lovers, ancestral magic, curses, witches, memory magic (specific but I love it), small town setting, I could go on and on. This was just a perfect book for me, so of course I adored it. The characters were fully realized, the romantic leads had sizzling chemistry, and I loved the inter-personal family dynamics explored throughout the novel. This was also a very queer-normative world, which I really appreciated.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a witchy good time, or a contemporary romantasy for spooky season.

Thank you so much to Random House and Netgalley for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

🧵Book Review 🧵

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

Publication: March 4, 2025

Rating: It was okay!

This was the perfect book to read leading up to Halloween! We have spells, witches, shadow wielders and family curses. I will say that I had a harder time connecting to the story due to the writing style. There were a lot of descriptions which made the plot feel slower than it should have been. I also loved the inclusion of our FMC and her best friend!

For fans of:
🧵Third person POV
✨ Singular POV
🧵Small town
✨ Family curse
🧵Sacrifice memories for Magic
✨ LGBTQIA+ rep
🧵Nonbinary character
✨ Enemies to lovers
🧵Bound together
✨ Descriptive writing