Spells Strings and Forgotten Things is a dark cozy fantasy, if we can invent a new subgenre.

Calliope and her two sisters, Thalia and Eurydice, run a book and tea shop. Most people don't know that they are witches and keeping the town safe by binding the Dark Oak in the forest. The sisters are Lightcasters, using nature to fuel their spells, while Darkcasters use their soul. The sisters are actually special Lightcasters but not in a good way. There is a curse on their family that means they have to sacrifice a memory to perform magic.

Each sister has sacrificed something - Thalia refuses to use her magic, Dissy lives in fear of everything, and Calliope has lost many of her memories. The sisters have lost their strong connection to each other. When a Shadowcaster, Lucien, shows up in town, she is both drawn to him and repelled by him and what he represents. He saves her one night when she makes a huge mistake, binding the two of them together. His coven is here to take the power from the Dark Oak, but Lucien believes it is for a good cause, saving his sister.

This book is a little spicy, and definitely dark at times. But it still feels cozy as you see the power of sisterhood.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.

Honestly, I struggled to get through this book. I enjoyed the thought behind a curse on sisters that created a unique magic system. Otherwise, this book was too long and too repetitive for my tastes. Some of the nicknames used had me cringing and I have never in my life referred to my sisters as I was talking to them as “sisters.” I pushed through to the end of this book to give it a fair chance and the ending was the best part. This just wasn’t for me.

This book was a fun read, but I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that at times, the plot did drag. It seemed unnecessarily drawn out in the middle of the book as things were building to salvage the situation with the Dark Oak.

You could see the romance between Calliope and Lucien coming from page 1, and I was totally ok with that. There is a strong Pride and Prejudice/Mr. Darcy vibe with Lucien, despite Calliope being kind of immature for her age. She reads as much younger character than she is. My favorite aspect of the book is the relationships between the women in this family-- the sisterhood and the aunts. Plus, Grim! Yes, a book might be my favorite character.

Overall, this was an easy, enjoyable escapist read. I went in with no expectations. Yes, there are places/plot devices that didn't quite work for me, but I'd recommend it to someone who is looking for some romance and fantasy/witch stories.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found myself lost in the first two chapters of the book. It was redundant and I truly felt I was reading the sentences multiple times to even grasp the content of the plot. I felt like many times it was so repetitive and there was too much detail given even to help understand what was going on.

As I got to the end of the book, I finally understood but it was too late to redeem the content I had already lost during the rest of the book. This is my first book by Breanne Randall and I believe in second chances but I probably will put this series as a DID not complete based on the fact alone that i truly did not like the book.

I love this book. It was exactly what I wanted and what I didn’t know I needed!!

I love the magic system and how everyone had their own twist based on their culture. It was so refreshing to see the spells in different languages, Greek, Arabic, French, and Turkish.

I really enjoyed the sense of sisterhood. It was so real. How they fought but were viciously loyal to one another. Each sister had their own kind of role to play. I love how they knew they could depend on each other even when things aren’t perfect.

While the love story is more of a side plot, it hit me so hard. The theme of being deserving of love as a whole, not just pieces of yourself.

While the main character irked me at the start, I loved her character development. At first, she came off immature and unappreciative but as I got to know her, I really came to love Calliope.

The story ended without a cliffhanger but open for a second book. If I could make a request, I would love to have the POV’s of the other two sisters in the next book(s).

Additionally, I was pleasantly surprised to find recipes in the back of the book!! And they were recipes of things I had highlighted so I could look them up later!!

A cozy story about healing, memories, and magic, with a side of enemies to lovers. This one started a little slow for me, but the pay-off was absolutely worth it.

Things I loved: the witchy magical realism, small town vibes, inclusive cast of characters, and how the sisters’ bonds evolved. And no spoilers, but the epilogue had me kicking my feet. 💕

If you enjoy books like The Ex Hex, The Spellshop, and Legends & Lattes, add this to your TBR!

Thanks to NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for access to the ARC!

#SpellsStringsandForgottenThings #NetGalley

A witchy story about sisters. Set in a small town, this is the tale of Calliope, who is changing things up, especially once she meets Lucien. There's a fair amount of worldbuilding (always helpful) but it feels a tad overdramatic in spots. Thanks to netgalley for the ARc. For fans of the witch-y genre.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC copy.

This book follows Calliope, a twenty something witch who is cursed to sacrifice memories to fuel her magic, as she attempts to convince her sisters that there is a threat in their little town. Along the way she finds herself bound to a rival coven leader with his own agenda to claim power.

“I would say I’d die for you, but what’s the point in that? I would live for you.“ <<< excuse me, sir. My heart just burst.

The first few chapters of this book takes some time to digest. There’s world building and characters being introduced which can be a bit wordy at times. However, once we are introduced to the MMC, I started to become more invested. The banter, the cozy vibes, and the little bits of spice that do not take away from the plot are wonderful. I am so ready for the next book!!!

This book is one I’ve had to reflect on my review for a little bit. There was a lot that I enjoyed with this book, but there were also some stumbling blocks that were hard to overcome. Starting with what I enjoyed — I loved the relationship between the sisters. They clearly had a strong bond in the beginning; however, they were merely coexisting. Throughout the story, those bonds have to be re-evaluated and strengthened to truly understand each other, their various sacrifices, and what they want in life. I also enjoyed the dynamic between Calliope and Lucien. I’m always a sucker for enemies to lovers so watching their dynamic play out was equal parts interesting and heart wrenching. I also enjoyed the characters having to reflect on previous prejudices and overcome them. Where I struggled with the story, though, was the overall plot. The main plot kept getting lost and tangled in some of the side stories. The pacing was also off. It felt too drawn out for much of the book and then all rushed together at the end. There were also a lot of telling moments over showing, which isn’t my preferred story format. Overall, I found the story interesting and really loved a lot of it. Given that this is the first book in a series, I’m hoping some of my issues will be improved in the next book.
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Overall rating: 3.5⭐️

I received an advanced copy for review. This is my own opinion.

First off, I want to say how much I love the practical magic vibe we have going here. The sisters’ relationship was frustrating at times, but that made it all the more real.

This book will be perfect for fans of Sarah Addison Allen or Alice Hoffman.

I didn’t finish this one BUT BEFORE YOU GO AWAY know that I enjoyed everything I did read, I just think this specific book would hit better for me as an audiobook. And I plan to listen to the audio.

I flipped through and rated 4 stars based on what I think I would’ve rated. Again, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to a friend looking for a practical magic vibe! I’m just weird and sometimes need audiobooks 🤷🏻‍♀️ thanks to Netgalley and Random House | Ballantine for the arc. I look forward to picking this back up once the audio is out!

This book was just ok for me. I love the concept, but the execution didn’t really work. Unfortunately, this is one of those reads where it’s really difficult to pinpoint what I didn’t like. I did enjoy the sleepy, small town witchy vibes! I think maybe the prose was a bit too flowery for me…like sometimes, it was just so over descriptive that I missed what was actually happening? If that makes sense? I never really came to care about the characters either and the romance felt very quick and forced to me. Maybe this is all just a me problem…I can see this story working for a lot of people, and I hope those people find it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced digital copy to read and review.

Oof.

Just like a good writer can fully flesh out a story and characters within a novella, there are authors who overwrite and overembellish their story to the point that the plot gets muddled and the characters cannot breathe.

This book needed a different editor, one who could say, "look, 25% of the book is just repetitive and useless descriptions" because holy crap, this was bad.

So much wasted space on belabored details and not enough to make the main character well rounded.

All vibes, no substance.

This witchy read had such a great premise - a witch able to do spells by giving up her own memories?? There were things I loved and things I didn't love, leaving me with a solid 3 star read.

I loved the magic system, the sisterly bond, and the fiery personality of our main character. The small town was cute, and points for a unique system using memories and bonds.

I didn't love the love story, where I didn't feel any chemistry and things felt forced in for plot's sake. The pacing also felt off, with the middle section absolutely dragging on for me. I was left with unanswered questions as well- maybe this will be a series, and the next book would answer them? Regardless, this one was unfortunately not for me.

Thank you to Dell for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This had all the elements and story ideas for a great book, but it fell very flat in the execution.

The biggest issue I had was the dialogue which had me actually cringing at times. It didn’t feel like actually conversations real people would have.

The relationships didn’t have enough depth and that includes the three sisters. We didn’t get to SEE their bonds and dynamics, it was just hastily told to us but I would’ve loved to see the memories of the sisters growing up. At the beginning of the book, it honestly felt like they didn’t even know each other.

Do not get me started on the romantic relationships in this book because even the main one between Calliope and Lucien was about as deep as a kiddie pool. And to make it worse, Lucien was the primary guilty party of the cringey dialogue.

The town is a big part of the story along with being the setting, but it just did not feel real. And the people were like cardboard cutouts of small-town shop owners from every small town TV show/movie. The world-building was just shaky and unclear.

Overall, I loved the diversity in this book and the general plot with the curses and that’s about it.

Three sisters, taking care of each other after their mom left and vanished. However, not before giving them a secret they had to keep and a dire warning about magic. Two take it to heart completely, one, well….she is going to use what her mom did leave behind to guide her and try to figure out what happened. On top of that, Calliope had her heart broken, and she wants to look for answers why there as well. Don’t we all? Even when we should just say good riddance! LOL The sister dynamic and birth order plays out here. I also love the bond and relationship they have. Even something as simple as a morning routine made me want to be a part of this sister group with Thalia, Calliope, and Eurydice.

The small town charm adds to this story. Like any small town, you are going to have some interesting people, and this is no different. While the sisters might not be part of a coven, they do have community. Sweet Calliope is a bit of a mess, and can cause an issue when trying to be helpful. I identify with that, for sure. The love interest aspect is a grumpy vs sunshine trope, with some fun banter. I’m dancing around that part since it’s not mentioned in the book description. So, with the sisters, some chaos, small town charm, and magic, you definitely can see where you can get the comparison to Charmed, Pride and Prejudice, and Gilmore Girls vibes.

If you are looking for deep fantasy, that’s not what this is. It does have world building for the cozy town and family dynamic, and then the magic introduced. So, more cozy with some tension with the magic woven throughout the story. I loved that. I REALLY wish NetGalley let you do half stars. I’ve marked it 4 here, but truly I feel like it is a 4.5 stars. It is difficult to explain without sharing spoilers, but there were some things that felt rushed near the end and some things that just didn’t seem like it would really happen (even with magic). It certainly wouldn’t stop me from reading it, recommending it, or gushing over it.

Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things releases on March 4, 2025. This book and Breanne are destined for great things. If you haven’t read her first book, The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic, pick it up as well. The books aren’t a series, but I loved that book as well.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, NetGalley, and Breanne for the opportunity to get an eARC to review and give my honest opinion.

Thank you so much to Dell & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to start by saying that I think I'm just at a point in my "reading career" where if a romantasy doesn't draw me in with something unique (like world building, magic system, truly fleshed out characters, etc.), it just doesn't work for me. More often than not these days, too many components feel copy & paste.

I will say that I did enjoy the diverse cast of characters. There was a good bi-sexual rep in our fmc Calliope, as well as a non-binary rep in Danny, her best friend. The sister trio is probably what ended up saving the book for me in the long run, especially towards the end. Their bond was a consistent thread that wove its way throughout the story and held it together in my opinion. It probably could have focused entirely on them and I would have been a-okay with that. And while I always do love me a dark and brooding shadow daddy, Lucien's relationship with Calliope felt rushed and inauthentic. But this is my positives section so I'll speak more on that in a minute. The town itself was cute and cozy. The sisters' own tea shop/bookstore is honestly every girlie's dream job lol. And the premise that they sacrifice their memories to perform spells, while inconvenient, played out well in the story. While I thought this would be more of a fall read, it actually took place in spring which works well with the timing of the book's release. The recipes sprinkled throughout the book added to that cozy factor, and there's even several of the recipes at the back of the book, which I thought was a nice touch.

It wasn’t until about 60% of the way through until the story started to pick up for me. The first portion’s pacing was awkward—it was slow for the majority of it (which is fine!) but then would pick up randomly and then slow back down. I think this is why I struggled with the romance aspect of the story. I wasn’t really convinced by Calliope and Lucien’s connection, other than the fact that they were bonded, but then suddenly, they’re in love after spending a few library sessions together. The smut, while there wasn’t much of it, felt jarring and again, rushed. There were indeed cute interactions and highlightable banter, but not enough to convince me of their connection. Lucien’s coven doesn’t get much page time and therefore felt underdeveloped. Other plot points seemed too convenient for the progress of the story and the explanation of certain aspects too simplified and served on a silver platter.

I definitely think there is an audience for this book, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me.

Breanne Randall does a great job of exploring different sibling dynamics in this one. The Petridis sisters are so different and act like true siblings, but are also very disconnected at the start of the book. It creates a great over-arching plot for the rest of the book.

I also loved these characters. Calliope and Lucien have this great push and pull and fantastic chemistry. Eurydice and Thalia shine almost as much as Calliope even though they are side characters in this story. The three of them have a great little community that is a shining part of the book.

It took me a while to get into this story and get used to the writing style. Overall, the book moves very slow and there are a lot of description and explanations. The magic system is explained well, but there's a lot of background and build up to the plot. I think you realistically need to give it 100 pages to see if the book is for you or not.

While it took me 4 tries to get into this book, I enjoyed it once the plot started to develop. I think the ending was a little rushed and could've used some fine tuning, but overall a fun read with a dash of spice!

Tropes: enemies to lovers, shadow daddy, sibling dynamics, forced proximity, small town, and dual POV.

3.75 stars
This was enjoyable for the most part. It was fast-paced and easy to read, with a good enemies to lovers romance which is always my favorite trope. I think the cozy magic, romance, and LGBTQ+ rep were the best parts of this book. The side characters, the plot, pretty much everything else just fell flat. This was pretty cringy at times and I could’ve done without the excessive amount of terms like “shadow daddy.” Have we no shame? I get that the author wanted to have the readers laugh because they’re in on the joke but come on… Anyways, I liked a lot of aspects of this and had a good time reading so anything 3 and under feels too low. Might change my rating later but 3.75 feels right for now.

**3.5 STARS**

Content Warning: violence

+ This book gave me a combination of vibes of different shows/movies like Charmed, Practical Magic and Pride and Prejudice. Three Petridi sisters, Thalia, Calliope and Eurydice, who’s mother left them, are conflicted about magic. They have a history in their family as being Lightcraft witches and their purpose is to protect the Dark Oak, a tree that is holding enormous power. Out of all the sisters, only Calliope still practices magic, but they are cursed because using magic requires sacrificing a memory.

+ I love the sisters and their bond even though it’s complicated and they fight. It’s real. Calliope is the main character and she is the wild one. She’s bi-sexual, she’s a free spirit, impulsive, messy, and chaotic. But she loves her family and will do anything to protect them.

+ The romance is great because Calliope accidentally binds herself to a Shadowcrafter named Lucien. He’s gorgeous, worldly, powerful, her total opposite and he too loves his sister and will do anything to protect her. Their romance is full of bickering, and tension, which makes the spice all the more satisfying. He comes off as a Mr.Darcy with some of the way he professes his feelings to Calliope (which I loved because I recognized but weird because Lucien is not Mr. Darcy). And the ending is totally from the Pride and Prejudice movie!

+ There is a diverse cast of characters in this small town, which was fun.

~ There were too many times things became convenient in the story. Like spells just came to the sisters (the ones who haven’t used it in years), because it’s rooted in them – which is great but believable? Not sure about that. There were a lot of things the characters didn’t know but then everything happened to work out.

~ The ending gets a little wild and had too much going on. I honestly didn’t understand the “strings” at some point but I went with it. And no, I would never forgive Malik, if I was Lucien! Like how can your friend betray you and then all is well afterwards?

Final Thoughts:

Calliope embodies exactly how I felt reading this book – kind of wild. I love the small town vibes and the sisters’ bond. I enjoyed the romance between Calliope and Lucien with their opposites attract, her being messy and him needing control. She’s sunshine and he’s grumpy so I loved them together. But the story had a lot going on especially at the end and I found some things happening that was a but too convenient. For the most part, I found this story really entertaining because it was kind of chaotic and yet a little bit cozy at the same time, if that makes sense.

*ARC REVIEW* I loved the author’s first book and this one didn’t disappoint either. Very “practical magical vibes following 3 sisters accepting their fate, magic, and each other while fighting to save their town and legacy. They learn to live and love life again after so much sacrifice. Mild spice, shadowdaddy vibes too. The writing is just the right amount of descriptive without feeling too “filler”-y. Thoroughly enjoyed, such a feel good read!