I read this for spooky season and it was sweet and refreshing although I wanted more from this. The love story was a bit lacking for me.

What a cute romance. I loved the two main characters and their friends. I liked the setting. I liked the twist in the main characters backstory and seeing her heal slowly over everything. A really cute story. I liked the narrator.

The first thing I want to comment on is how much I LOVE that the chapters go through the Major Arcana of a Tarot deck and it sets the overarching theme for each chapter. It was really well done and helps with not only understanding each card but also how those cards themes pop up throughout life and can assist with self reflection. I also immensely enjoyed the way the main character's back story unfolded as she healed from what happened. I really enjoyed this book overall and will be recommending it to young queer witches.

very witchy, very gay. literally just such impeccable vibes but also ~~complex character backstories~~ and a good amount of teenage drama? this was also one of those audiobooks where you can just fall into the story so easily and get attached to the characters and the plot even if you aren't completely focused on it. consider me impressed.

A fun and cute YA queer novel with an interesting magic system and enjoyable characters. We have gotten it for our collection and it is consistently popular.

I usually love urban fantasy books with sapphic witches but this one didn't work for me. I did not care for the love interest, the main character gets with the love interest even thoigh she still has feelings for her ex, and of course her ex was very toxic. And despite this being a book about witches, they really felt like normal teenagers.

I listened to a voicegalley copy of this book, so I cannot comment on the final audiobook or the narrator's abilities.

It took me a while to get into this book, I believe this was because it was a voicegalley. Once I got into the book I enjoyed it. The main character has a lovely arc throughout the story and learns a lot about herself, and her beliefs about how others perceive her.

Was cute. Comforting. A bit wobbly at times? I enjoyed it but it felt like it needed something more...

3.75 Stars. I received both the e-book and audiobook ARCs in exchange for my honest opinion.

So, this was an interesting read, to be sure. This is a bit of a mystery with a hint of an unreliable narrator that challenged me when I read it. Eleanor is a sympathetic narrator when the story begins with her having become pariah at school because of a dramatic falling out with her best friend and first love, Cloe. She also self medicates by smoking marijuana to get away from the bullying and the fact that her mother is dying and Eleanor has to be the sole source of income in her family. When she meets and makes friends with a young woman named Pix, she slowly starts to open up.

This isn't as bad in the audiobook, but because a lot of Pix and Eleanor's early interactions revolve around Eleanor's magic shop and tarot cards, sections of the book are themed after the meaning of most of the cards themselves. I feel like it breaks up the narration a little too much, and I lost some of the tension of the slow reveal of what happened between Chloe and Eleanor the year before.

What makes it really good, though is that slow reveal and the decisions that lead up to the event that changed Eleanor's life forever. I don't want to give away anything, but I believe the book does challenge the idea that a protagonist must always be a hero or good person. After I finally knew what happened to Chloe and Eleanor behavior leading up to that event, I'd say that it really complicates things. You have to decide if Eleanor's actions were understandable, if wrong and very much misguided, or if you lose your sympathy for her. I believe the book wants the reader to be, at the very least, understanding, but it might be a difficult ask. It will come down to the reader's willingness to adjust their expectations for Eleanor.

For folks who enjoy mysteries and complicated protagonists, I think this will be a great book to pick up. I do not think that the reveal will appeal to all readers though, as Eleanor is revealed to have been unhealthily obsessed with Chloe and she made some poor decisions because of it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was given the chance to listen to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
***
Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches by Kate Scelsa is a sapphic contemporary YA novel following 17 year old Eleanor, living in Salem. She is prickly and cynical following an event that had happened the year previously. When she meets Pix and her coven Eleanor faces the events of the last year so she can hopefully move on and start over with her life.
I liked that this book wasn’t a magical take on witches but modern day, think Wiccan/Pagan. I also liked that each chapter started with a tarot card, a description of the card and how it relates to life, that related to that particular chapter.
Overall I found this an alright read, not my favorite of the year but overall enjoyable. It has a slower pace to it, and there was an uncomfortableness to it for awhile as it delved into her previous relationship and how it went sour and because Eleanor blames herself so much for what went down it made me question how reliable her take on things were but if I move that out of the equation, especially with the reveal at the end, my appreciation for the book went up higher. It was a good book about healing and moving on and letting go of the past.

I was not expecting this book to draw me in the way it did. The idea of queer witches is not anything new, but the way Scelsa wrote Eleanor and Pix gave a new perspective to the genre. This past year I have read so many fantasy witch Sapphic novels that I was very hesitant to read a YA version. Having this title fit into a modern pagan world without actual hexes or spellcraft let me enjoy the book without comparing it to other current titles.

Toeing the line between fantasy and realism, Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches tells the story of first loves and what comes after. Eleanor learns that not everyone will care about you the same way you care about them. Sometimes you get used, but bringing that pain forward can hurt the people that do want to love you. This book could have taken place in any town, but having it set in Salem was just *chef's kiss*.

Elanor is Salem's self proclaimed biggest cynic. Surrounded by mass produced 'bad witch' merch and the glorification of one of histories biggest tragedies, let's just say she has opinions on the witchcraft of it all.
Then the store she works at gets a hand drawn Tarot deck in the mail, and she meets a cute girl named Pix, and Elanor has to reassess her views on witchcraft, and believing in things.
Overall this was a good book, the characters were well developed, the story had layers, it was just missing a little bit of the plot for me.
I also was hoping a book about witches in Salem would be a little more magical! It's classified as a 'fantasy' novel but it's 100% contemporary which was GOOD but not what I was expecting.

Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches truly begins with Eleanor working in Susan’s magical tourist shop in Salem, Massachusetts. In a city known for its magical history, or rather its anti-magical history, Eleanor and Susan are the two biggest non-believers. Susan, Eleanor’s unofficial Aunt/ parental figure, owns and runs the shop, which features kitschy t-shirts and witch paraphernalia. She is quite possibly my favorite character. Susan is unapologetically capitalistic about Salem’s history and the biggest cheerleader for both Eleanor and her mom when they arrive and begin to make a life for themselves in Salem. Her friendship with Eleanor’s mom is a thing of beauty and without her none of this story, the good or the bad, would have been possible.

When Eleanor arrives in Salem she is initially absorbed by Chloe, who pulls her into her orbit, thus beginning a tragic love story. As their story progresses we see some of the more challenging elements of queer romance and friendship exposed when Eleanor and Chloe’s complicated relationship remains out of the public eye, leaving Eleanor isolated to process major events. As the story progresses we transition often between the present as Eleanor discovers a new community of friends, like Pix and Ofira, and the past, where her mistakes are put on display and her complicated relationship is explained piece by piece. The contrast between these two periods could not be more clear. In these reflections, Eleanor is sucked wholly into Chloe’s life focusing only on her while in the present, Eleanor is discovering herself, finding acceptance and love for those around her. In the present, Eleanor’s new coven of witches features a diverse cast of characters from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, each of whom has a unique specialty based on their interests and skills. Although we only get to see glimpses of each of them they add an additional layer to the new community in which Eleanor is finding a home, and demonstrate to Eleanor the possibilities for her own life.

One of the best parts of Improbable Magic is how Scelsa considers the comparison between the public’s perception of Eleanor and Eleanor’s own perception of herself. When Eleanor arrives in Salem, she reinvents herself from antisocial nerd to cool, popular girl. After her experiences with Chloe and Harrison are made public, to a limited extent, she believes that the town of Salem and all its inhabitants have turned against her and because of this reshapes her identity to match this perception of herself. However, with the introduction of the tarot book, Pix, her coven, and her weed-dealer (who is a gem tbh), she begins to reconsider who she is both independently and in the face of public opinion. In this sense, Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches is a powerful coming of age story.

Ultimately, the improbable magic is actually quite probable and everything from believing, faith, witches, poultices, friendship, family, love, vampires, and community. Pix encompasses this best when she explains that she believes in everything. Eleanor doesn’t actually laugh in her face at this, but remains her cynical, skeptical, doubtful self. However, it is Pix’s belief in any and everything and Eleanor’s willingness to trust Pix’s belief that kickstarts her own embracing of magic. As their new relationship begins to blossom, Eleanor begins to learn both about herself and also how a relationship can and ought to exist. Meanwhile, the cards of the major arcana create a narrative lens for the story as Eleanor is exploring the handwritten guide to tarot she received at the shop and allowing herself to learn from each card.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ of five stars

CW: alcohol abuse, drug use, stalking

I appreciate that the author is very clear about relaying that Eleanor’s mistakes were wrong and that her actions were not okay. At one point Eleanor sits outside of someone’s house watching their bedroom window for weeks and I was like um, massive red flag, BUT then the author and Eleanor herself acknowledge that this was wrong. I think it’s especially important since we are getting Eleanor’s perspective as the narrator that she acknowledges that as normal or okay as her choices felt in the moment, they were wrong. I also think it’s important since this is a YA novel that it’s spelled out clearly that stalking is not okay! I can understand the desire to create a flawed character who learns from her actions, but I personally did not like this approach and felt that it seemed like an odd development from the initial description of her personality.

I loved this story. It will be the perfect autumn read!

Eleanor is lost. Until a mysterious letter with a manual and cards pushes her outside her comfort zone into a paranormal bildungsroman.

This is a life-changing feminist journey into how to deal with the pressures of living in a place you don't fit in while believing you can maybe make it through. Dealing with the heavy burden of past trauma and her mom's illness gets a bit easier when shared. "You're allowed to leave a situation that makes you uncomfortable."

"No one said it wasn't going to be complicated."

I love Eleanor's connection to Anne of Green Gables. And I liked how the cards had a chance to talk at the end of each chapter. And there are sneaky historical tidbits scattered throughout, if you're listening for them.

"Dreams.
Plans.
Memories.
Those things will rush right into the void that is boredom and cause you only pain."

Ultimately, don't be afraid of your dreams & memories. It's never easy, but maybe with a little magic, you'll make it through.

Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches is a great
sapphic young adult romance that also deals with tougher subjects.
This book does not have a whole lot of plot, so it was a bit slow at times. However, if you're looking for a character driven romance, this book is perfect! Eleanor's fight to overcome her past and open up to a new relationship is hopeful and beautiful.

Due to the synthetic voice the story was hard to follow and was really off putting. I will update this review once I am able to read the print version or get my hands on the real audiobook.

I liked this book, though it wasn't anything too spectacular. It's a sapphic YA about witches in Salem, MA, and it was good.

I've been to Salem a couple of times, so it was fun to read about it and be able to picture the places they were talking about. Yes, I have been to the fairly unremarkable and mildly creepy Salem wax museum, because, why not?

I liked the MC and I thought her overall story was well done. I liked how each chapter started with a different tarot card and that the chapter then followed that theme.

I got this as an audiobook, and I have to say, that it was the strangest audiobook I've ever listened to. It specifically says at the beginning that it is not narrated by a person, it is narrated by a computer, and you could tell. The intonation wasn't always quite right, the different characters didn't have different voices, there were bits where a human would have known to emphasize a word, but this strange narrator computer didn't. Overall, I would not recommend this as anything that should ever happen to a book again. Not quite uncanny valley territory, but definitely I-don't-want-to-listen-to-this-anymore territory.

This was a fun read and delightfully queer. It's hard for me to pass up queer magic users. so that's not too big of a surprise. 3.5 stars.

This was a book that delivered exactly what I thought it would. Its sweet, atmospheric and perfect for readers who want a Halloween story that isn't scary. This takes place in Salem and follows a girl who doesn't really buy into all the witchy stuff until she falls for a girl and becomes part of her coven. I really liked this romance. It was sweet and wholesome and the miscommunication was there but minimal. I also liked the friendships that developed and wish we saw more of them.

One thing I wasn't expecting from this book was how heavy our MC's personal life is. Her mom is sick, and she's still dealing with trauma from an experience at a Halloween party a year ago. I understood her sadness and cynicism, but thought it was maybe too much. There were a few grim moments that felt unnecessary. Also, the main character very clearly has a mental illness and never really confronts and deals with it. She also exhibits some stalker-y behavior that really should've been explored more. Also, a big part of this story that I didn't see coming was the amount of weed she smoked. She eventually acknowledges that she has a problem, but it takes up so much of the book. That being said, I think young readers will connect with her angst and I think we saw a lot of growth in her.

Overall, this was pretty fun. Its great for fans of Lana Harper's Payback's A Witch and Isabel Sterlings's These Witches Don't Burn. This book definitely has an audience and it will really work for them. I look forward to reading more from this author.

This is a beautiful coming of age story and finding oneself. I really loved this sapphic witchy romance.

Again, I really liked this book, but unfortunately, I was not found of the "stoner" talk. I didn't feel like that added anything to the overall story, but rather it took away from it by promoting usage in young adults. I realize that smoking pot and alcohol abuse is "real", but I feel substance abuse is an unnecessary element in a young adult book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Audio for the audiobook for review.

Tw: emotional abuse, substance abuse, bullying