Spells, Strings and Forgotten Things

the magical new novel from the NYT bestselling author of The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic

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Pub Date Mar 06 2025 | Archive Date Feb 27 2025

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Description

From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic.

In the small town of Gold Springs, Calliope Petridi and her two sisters carefully guard the secret of their magic and the price they must pay to practise it: memories. Luckily, all Calliope wants to do is forget: the mother who left without a trace, the sisters from whom she feels increasingly distant, and most of all, the way the love of her life shattered her heart two years ago.

But when an ancient evil awakens, the fragile thread that holds the sisters together breaks. As their magic slowly begins to fade, Calliope accidentally binds herself to the handsome leader of a rival coven infamous for their ruthless pursuit of power. Battling the sizzling chemistry with a man she can’t trust, Calliope must confront painful memories of her past, dark family secrets, and ancient magic in order to protect the town and all she loves.

But will she have anything left of herself?

A witchy, modern day Pride and Prejudice meets Charmed, SPELLS, STRINGS, AND FORGOTTEN THINGS is a thrilling tale of romance, magic and sisterhood.

Perfect for fans of:

  • Witchy romance
  • Small-town settings
  • Enemies to lovers
  • A dash of spice…
  • Stories of sisterhood 

From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic.

In the small town of Gold Springs, Calliope Petridi and her two sisters carefully...


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9781035912216
PRICE £4.99 (GBP)
PAGES 368

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Average rating from 19 members


Featured Reviews

Cosy, witchy vibes that are perfect for this time of year! I loved the characters and the storyline and I was fully hooked from the very beginning! A wonderfully created story!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC

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Thank you to NetGalley & Random House Publishing for the ARC (my first ARC!!!) 🙌✨

SS&FT follows the story of the Petridi sisters, three Lightcraft witches, in the aftermath of their mother’s suspicious disappearance and her constant warnings that they need to protect their town. However, a coven of Shadowcraft witches have other plans, and their leader Lucien will stop at nothing to succeed. Will the sisterly bond between the Petridi sisters be enough to protect themselves & their town? Or will their own stubborness cause their downfall?

This book is the epitome of a Charmed x Pride & Prejudice witchy fantasy, which I didn’t initially gel with, but I was enamoured by the end! The sibling relationships throughout the book are so well written & realistic (and reminded me so much of mine & my sisters bond), the romance (the best romances have a shadow man love interest duh!) had me giggling and crying at one point, and I loved the inclusion of the family recipes at the end of the book.

A perfect book to get me in the October mood - Spells, Strings & Forgotten Things is out March 2025 🪄🧵

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An action-packed witchy romance with cosy small town vibes (and a dash of spice?) Yes, please!

I feel like it took me a while to get through this one. It took a few chapters for me to really get into it, but I enjoyed it all the same.

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This is one of the best books I’ve read in a while. I love the story, setting and the characters.

I love a good witchy book and this ticked all the boxes.

It reminded me of the TV show ‘Charmed’ with a mixture of ‘Practical Magic’.

I can’t wait to purchase a physical copy of this when it’s out in the UK.

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I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and publisher.

This is the latest book to join the cosy magical fantasy ranks, a wonderful genre that I hope we get more of! In this book we have three sisters battling against a hereditary secret and protecting their community from a historical evil. We have small town community, baked goods, woods, family bonds giving all the cosiness. But we’ve also got witches, magic with a cost and legacy feuds.

I really liked the setting in this one. The house, the woods, the small town. The way the heritage of the sisters shapes who they are. I also found the magic system intriguing. The sisters have to sacrifice a memory every time they want to use magic, leading to discussion about how does memory shape identity and knowing who you are. This was a magic system I don’t think I’ve seen used before and it brought a new lens to magic with a cost.

The feud between the two factions of witches was pretty interesting too. The history behind this and the long term ramifications of the descendants of those originally feuding was well explored and added some great colour to the book.

The vibes with this book were great and the way it looked into sisterly relationships was lovely too. The relationship between the three sisters is really central to the book and how bonding, trying to understand each other and working together can only make things better.

There was loads I loved in this book, the only thing that didn’t quite work for me was the romance. It went way too fast from enemies to lovers and some of the ‘spice’ felt a bit incongruous with the cosy nature of the book.

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"Hope doesn't have to be a blazing fire...Sometimes, it's just a flicker in the darkness, but it's enough to guide us through."

I was given an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this so much I was slightly dismayed when I realised it isn't out for months! I was looking for some witchy reads to fill my October tbr, and this absolutely fit the bill.

I loved the relationships between the characters, particularly how Calliope and Lucien grow throughout the story. The representation of magic itself was intriguing and original, even if it did take me a few chapters to fully make sense of it. It can be difficult to keep witchy novels from feeling cliché, and this one had some really unique takes that blended cozy romantasy with the sinister supernatural.

If you're looking for a supernatural mystery (and one that pays homage to Greek mythology!) this is well worth a read.

Books with similar vibes - The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson, and Hex and the City by Kate Johnson.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book. A gorgeous 4 star read book from me. What an exciting plot, vivid storytelling and relatable, rich characters. I could put this book down – absolutely loved it.

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In the small town of Gold Springs, Calliope Petridi and her two sisters carefully guard the secret of their magic and the price they must pay to practice it: memories. Luckily, all Calliope wants to do is forget. But when an ancient evil awakens, the fragile thread that holds the sisters together breaks. As their magic slowly begins to fade, Calliope accidentally binds herself to the handsome leader of a rival coven infamous for their ruthless pursuit of power. Battling the sizzling chemistry with a man she can’t trust, Calliope must confront painful memories of her past, dark family secrets, and ancient magic in order to protect the town and all she loves.

I adored the characters so much, especially Calliope and Lucien - I related to them both in different ways and I loved learning more about them as the story progressed. They both made me reflect a lot on my own life and they will hold a special place in my heart. I loved the familial relationships - both blood and found - they were definitely one of my favourite parts of the book and I love how central to the plot it is. The side characters were great additions to the plot and I was intrigued to know more about them. I grew so attached to the characters and my emotions definitely suffered as a consequence.

The atmosphere that Breanne manages to create within this book was another favourite part about this book - the vivid descriptions that were used to create such powerful imagery was beautiful. I felt so immersed in the story and found it hard to put the book down. I appreciated how much information we got about the magic system as I definitely had a lot of questions about it but it was so fascinating to learn about and it helped me to be more immersed in the story.

At first, the pacing was a little slow whilst the scene is being set up, which is to be expected but once you get into it and the pacing increases, it was so easy for me to lose myself within this book. I loved how everything played it and I was interested and enjoying it the whole time.

I loved the writing style but I knew that I would as I loved Breanne's debut so I had high hopes for this one too. It was truly so beautiful and I cannot wait for Breanne's next book.

Thank you to Aria and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book, in exchange for an honest review.

⚠️ CWs: injury detail, alcohol use, cursing, blood, grief, sex, derogatory language; mentions biphobia, transphobia, death, bigotry, murder, bullying ⚠️

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A cute, magical romantasy with a sprinkle of spice. I thoroughly enjoyed this book; the story, the characters, the themes, the magic, and last but not least, the enemies-to-lovers! It took me a minute to get into, but once I did, I had a blast.

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I really enjoyed Breanne Randall's first book so was excited to read her latest offering. When Calliope inadvertantly ties her magic to shadowcaster Lucien she must work out how to repair the tie with her two sisters and protect the shadow oak and their town.
I loved this magical story of overcoming fear and stepping into your own power.

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Quite an easy read to be honest. Really easy to listen to and get immersed into the story. I enjoyed it so much I’ve read it twice!

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Spells, Strings and Forgotten Things is a must read book for every season. I loved the way it was written. So so beautifully written. Loved every single second of it.

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