✨(eARC) Book Review✨

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall

This book feels difficult to explain succinctly, which I think is partly because it suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. So, I’m pulling part of the description directly from Goodreads:

“Sadie Revelare has always believed that the curse of four heartbreaks that accompanies her magic would be worth the price. But when her grandmother is diagnosed with cancer with only weeks to live, and her first heartbreak, Jake McNealy, returns to town after a decade, her carefully structured life begins to unravel. With the news of their grandmother’s impending death, Sadie’s estranged twin brother Seth returns to town, bringing with him deeply buried family secrets that threaten to tear Sadie’s world apart.”

So, the novel seems to want to be a magical realism, small town romance, which it achieves to some extent. Sadie and her relationship with her grandmother is lovely and entertaining. I found the bakery she runs selling foods that have magical elements to be especially charming. Yet the combination of the fantasy elements with the small town story didn’t always mix smoothly. I often found myself confused about how the magic fit into the world—did everyone in town know about it, or just this magical family? How many other magical families were there?—and the dialogue occasionally felt unnatural.

Ultimately, I was a little let down by this one. I think it had great potential, but didn’t quite deliver. I think what it comes down to is a lack of significant world-building. In a way, it almost felt like reading a sequel in a fictional world that I should have already been familiar with.

That said, the story it tells is still pretty entertaining, and I enjoyed reading it. This one isn’t high on my recommendation list, but I’d be excited to read more by this author in the future. Thanks to @netgalley and @alcovepress for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This one is out now!

📖: (3/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️

"The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic" by Breanne Randall presents an intriguing premise: combining heartbreak and magic in a contemporary setting. However, despite its potential, the execution falls disappointingly short. The narrative lacks coherence, with a disjointed plot that struggles to engage readers from the outset. Characters feel one-dimensional, failing to evoke genuine empathy or interest.

Randall's attempt to blend elements of romance and fantasy feels forced, resulting in a narrative that lacks believability and depth. The pacing is erratic, with abrupt shifts in tone and direction that further disrupt the reading experience. Additionally, the writing style lacks polish, with awkward prose and clichéd dialogue that detract from immersion in the story.

While the concept of exploring the intersection of heartbreak and magic is intriguing, "The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic" fails to deliver on its promise. With its unfocused plot, underdeveloped characters, and lackluster prose, this novel earns a disappointing 2/5 rating. Readers seeking a compelling blend of romance and fantasy would be better served looking elsewhere.

DNF at 37%, and I don’t DNF lightly. Life is too short for books I care this little about.

The main character is a “pick me” girl, and I’m tired of hearing about how she’s so clumsy in this way that’s supposed to be endearing (but it’s not). And she steals a dog?!? That definitely has a collar on! And no one thinks this is a big deal (herself and the dog’s owner!).

The combination of Christianity and magic is weird to me. The grandmother isn’t likable. I started reading some other reviews and I don’t think I’m missing much with this one. It’s just not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I don't want to make this too long, but everything that was promised from the marketing and the premise did not happen in my eyes. I found everything about this insufferable and had to DnF around the 20% mark. SUCH a shame because I wanted to love it. It should've been the perfect cocktail of everything I love in a story — love, magic, witches, political intrigue. However the inconsistency, and the weird religious tone seeded throughout this made me feel uneasy.

The story was initially captivating, but stalled for me quite a bit at the midpoint. I'm sad to say I didn't end up loving it as much as I'd hoped. I can see how others would enjoy it, though!

A charming and delightful novel that had me falling for magic, feisty grandmothers, and delectable foods: bonus points for the recipes. The characters were beautifully well-rounded and the romance spot-on. Great novel, Breanne Randall!! Can't wait for more.

1 star…
Wow this book was a complete mess. A little bit of every genre but lacking foundation and character development. I only finished it to see where the heck it would go. Definitely not worth it…

Sadie and her twin, Seth, both inherited magic from their mother. Grandma Gigi raised them when her mother left them. Gigi imparts wisdom, love, potions, and recipes to Sadie. What do you do when a beloved dies and you learn a family secret that could mean death for another close to you. Can Sadie and Seth break the curse? Only family, love and acceptance can help.

A cute twist in cozy low fantasy romance. I loved the characters and found them relatable and the story really does deliver on that Gilmore girls vibe!

I love a witchy read as much as the next gal - so this one was high on my list. The magical, atmospheric cozy fantasy vibes absolutely worked for me, and were exactly what I was looking for! But what didn’t work was just how… crowded the story felt. There was a LOT going on, and as a result, I couldn’t really get invested in any one piece of it. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for whatever this author writes next, but this one was only ok for me.

This one is a big nope for me. It’s a religious book disguised as a witch rom com! There was a lot of church and god talk in there, way to much for me.

This was a very cute, witchy romance. It was full of emotion, and left me both tearing up and laughing out loud. As Sadie navigates the danger of falling in love, giving her first heartbreak a second chance, and getting her heart broken by her grandmother's diagnosis through adventure, family, and most importantly -- cooking! While I enjoyed this story immensely, my favorite part was the recipes sprinkled throughout the pages.

‘The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic’ is truly a lovely and unexpected read. Full of small town charm and poignant family dynamics, the story is whimsical and heartfelt and altogether an enjoyable atmospheric read.

Firmly rooted in a cozy small town and largely based around complicated family dynamics and long-time-coming reunions; comparisons of this book to Gilmore Girls are very warranted- If you’re a fan I’d definitely recommend. The story centers around Sadie, and her reluctance to love anyone, for fear of giving away the power to have her heart broken. The writing evokes a strong sense of homecoming and comfort, even while dealing with some heavy topics. I loved the incorporation of recipes throughout in particular.

I’d never heard of this author before, but having read this I’ll be happy to tell people to go ahead and give this a shot. It’s perfect for a cozy day in and I’ll be looking out for any further books Breanne Randall decides to write.

This book was heavily marketed and I was seeing it everywhere. I was very excited to read it but it honestly fell flat for me.

3.5 stars! I am such a sucker for any book that has themes of magic or a curse, and this premise sounded so good. It was atmospheric and so fun to read as the leaves outside were starting to change, giving me all those cozy Fall vibes. It was entertaining and I loved the added theme of baking.

*many thanks to alcove press and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

I struggled with this book all around. I was expecting cute cozy cottage-core just based on the cover and the blurb. I thought it would be reminiscent of Lana Harper books or even Erin Sterling. Unfortunately what I got was not... that. It read quite slow and was a lot darker than I expected (biggest pet peeve is when books don't market their TWs correctly - it bums me out). Unfortunately it wasn't the cozy read I was hoping it would be, and didn't really deliver in other aspects, thus the rating.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alcove Press, and Breanne Randall for an advanced e-copy of The Unfortunate Side Effects of Hearbreak and Magic in exchange for an honest review.

Fun light-hearted fantasy with a dash of romance. Super readable and extremely engaging. A great book for readers who want to dip their toe in the fantasy genre but don’t want to get bogged down in complex world building and magic systems.

I enjoyed this witchy story. I follow the author on social media and I got myself super hyped, it didn't quite live up to my expectation, but overall I enjoyed it! I recommend if you like family drama stories, small towns, and witchy reads.

I like picking up books that weave real contemporary life with magic as if it being part of certain people's life makes perfect sense.
This was a lot more serious than I anticipated. Most of the emotional weight comes from the lead protagonist and the secret she carries. Sadie comes from a line of magically gifted people. There is a transactional sacrifice that everyone has to make to keep their magic once they reach a certain age. Giving in on one would mean losing the other. Sadie has been working with her magic and keeping busy. She has a lot of twists in her future that she is unaware of when the book begins.
It starts with the return of her childhood love who left when she didn't mean to follow. Then her grandmother revals something she has been holding close. This precipitates a family reunion and a lot of things happen once more and more secrets come to light.
It is ultimately the story of a family, and the fact that Sadie does not have to do anything alone. I guessed parts of the other half of the narrative, the more traditional in books of this genre. I felt like I would have appreciated this book more if it was split in two halves. I wanted more time to bond with the people that we encounter. I was not as invested in the ultimate outcome of what was unravelling by the time the final solutions came to fruition. Especially since it turned much more serious with more at stake than I anticipated going in, based on the language in the writing.
It is a debut, and a good one at that and I would recommend it to fans of the genre. I look forward to what the author will write next.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

This was quite slow for me, and I sadly had to give up on it about a quarter of the way through, despite trying to push through. I did really like the world that the book was set in, but the story itself didn't do it for me.