The haunted, ominous, and immersive atmosphere had me hooked from the beginning. Saiorse, small town vibes, rooted in folklore and tradition with a tight-knit community who believe in superstitions, with a magic feel- right up my street! I loved the short snappy chapters with multiple POVs. Young's writing is beautiful and poetic. This is my first Adrienne Young book and now I'm excited to read more.

I saw another review of this book that said 'it has the kind of magic that seeps into your bones' and I don't think I could have put it better myself. The atmosphere on the island of Saoirse is phenomenal. You almost feel as if the island is calling to you like it does to the residents. Adrienne Young has done such a good job of making the reader feel part of the secrets of the ancestral magic passed down through families. Amazing!

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this one and the whole premise of it! I have enjoyed everything I've read by Young so I honestly don't know why I kept putting it off!

I loved the characters and I loved the magic and mystery of it all! This is definitely one that had me hooked and eagerly turning the pages. I also loved how dark it was at times in comparison to her other novels! The haunting atmosphere of Saiorse Island was just amazing and perfect for this time of year!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the vibes of this, the setting. However, it just wasn’t an all round winner, I didn’t love the characters, I didn’t feel any real chemistry, it was giving a lot while not giving enough at the same time.

I am just wholeheartedly obsessed with Adrienne Young’s writing style and fantasy worlds and this one was no different.

Spells for Forgetting has an edge of magical realism. It was captivating and uncanny to read and it left me completely unaware of where the story was going.

I fell in love with Emery and August, complex and flawed as they are.

This has solidified Adrienne Young’s stance as one of my forever autobuy authors.

I really wanted to love it the way I loved Adrienne Young’s other books but unfortunately this was a bit of a miss for me.

The setting was promising and the first 50 pages were very atmospheric. But I think that the marketing of this book as well as its cover and title let it down. I could barely classify this in the fantasy genre, to me it was a contemporary mystery with the slightest hint at something more supernatural. It is definitely a 180 from her previous books and I don’t think that it was the right way to go.

The story is developing at a snails pace and unfortunately I had to be over 200 pages in for anything at all to happen or be revealed. It all also happened in a very plain way, with some characters spilling the beans after not saying a word of it for 15 years… It didn’t make much sense.

I also think that the different POVs didn’t make much sense. We would get mainly Emery and August’s thoughts but all of a sudden a side character would have a whole chapter just to let us on what is going on, right before our MCs discover it in the next chapter. It killed the suspense and we end up reading twice the same thing, once because we’re being told what happened and another time through a flashback or by having the events unfold in front of us. It just made the pacing feel even slower and repetitive and a plot that was already thin was stretched even further.

I didn’t mind the characters in this book but they were definitely not memorable in any way. I was mostly disappointed by the lack of atmosphere and eerie feeling we were promised in the very first pages which dissipated very quickly and only made an appearance once towards the end of the book to explain a very small detail. It was quite disappointing.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad book but there is very little I will remember and the writing is the only thing I really found nice. The storytelling and plot were however weak and I do hope that the author will stay away from these types of books and go back to a bit more engaging narratives.

A wonderful winter read from the always brilliant Adrienne Young. There is nothing better than a novel set on a creepy, magical island than for it to be completely filled with fantastic atmosphere. The story that Young takes us into is winning and dark and will send a chill up your spine every time you think of home.

I could not put this book down and nearly read it in one sitting. Definately a change of pace to her other books, but a change for the better withe her story telling and immersive worlds.

2.5 stars
I feel like Spells for Forgetting didn't really know what it wanted to be. Everything felt so messy and the fantasy elements fell so flat. I enjoyed the small-town setting but the plot was so slow that it all felt quite boring. Fortunately for me, I was invested enough in finding out what actually happened that I soldiered on to the end, but I can totally see why people would DNF earlier on.
I was hoping for something as good as Fable but it turned out to be much more dull. Far too much drama over some apples.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I really liked the premise for this book - mystery with a hint of magic - a perfect read for darker autumn nights.
I found it interesting that the mystery was held together by the magic of the island and the way each chapter readers learned bits of information from different characters in order to be told the whole story - something which it turned out even the characters couldn't have known.
Overall I really liked the story and the setting of the book. A great read for cosy nights in.

Really enjoyable read. Given the title I was thrilled that this was a really magical read. The idea of magic and Lore was woven so deeply into each page that it really did come alive. The Island of Saoirse was beautiful and haunting....and very much the main character in this story.

This is a very heart wrenching read that reduced me to tears several times. It focuses so heavily on lost time and death but that doesn't become overwhelming because at the same time feels that it is about love and hope.

August and Emery were wonderful and very deep characters. We saw so many of their flaws throughout but even with the magical aspects, they never stopped being human and feeling very real.

There is a few surprises and a few things that definitely stretch the credibility of the story but if you don't think about them too much and just be absorbed into the narrative, it's a very enjoyable story.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I don’t understand how Spells for Forgetting was written by the same author as the Fable duology, Saint, Sky in the Deep and The Girl The Sea Gave Back - these listed works are consistently enjoyable with strong female leads, cute romance, strong action and effective world building. Sadly though, this latest work is nothing like that and I’m both disappointed and confused by this.

The plot is pretty simple - the book starts with August Salt on a ferry back to Saoirse Island, his former home 14 years ago before he left with his mother - now he returns to bury her ashes. August is hesitant to come back because this island holds a lot of pain for him. The island has some (emphasis on some) magic to it, essentially thrives off of an apple orchard, an orchard that burnt down 14 years ago when also Lily Morgan, one of August’s friend was found dead - and he was the main suspect. Following persecution, August left with his mother without even saying goodbye to his girlfriend, Emery. 14 years later and he has to face the girl he loved, the rumours, and what really happened to Lily Morgan.

Now you’d think a book with Spells in the title would be about magic, but it barely figures, and the spell in the title is only briefly referred to (and dismissed). You have some tea leaf reading and 2 spells throughout the whole book. There’s no explanation or exploration, I mean you would think, seeing as they have an actual spell book there, that a truth spell, a revealing spell etc, could have helped the investigation into Lily’s death, but it’s just not talked about. This is not a book about magic.
This also isn’t a book about mystery and investigation - despite Lily being their friend, it takes August and Emery about 3/4 of this story to actually look into her death (and the whole 14 years before that where Emery is just fine with the unexplained death of her best friend and doesn’t look into it) and, when they do, it’s not for justice but to help protect August. There is no investigation, the truth just sort of slowly trickles out before a rushed, disappointing and quite obvious reveal.
Essentially this is a book about a 2nd chance romance which is fair enough if 1) the marketing of this book didn’t say otherwise and 2) there was any sign of love in this book. We are told, not shown but told, that Emery and August had a great love as teenagers until he just left. Emery searched for years to find him to no avail and since has entered a toxic relationship with the remaining person in their original friend group, Dutch. Dutch and Emery argue, he proposes and she always turns him down, their relationship (if you can call it that) is mostly just sex because her heart is stuck on August and she can’t settle for anyone who isn’t him. I mean I’m pretty sure there’s a bonding spell included in this though which makes you wonder how much of this is love but anyway. The problem is, in the flashback scenes, as this book is written before the fire and death of Lily and present day, you don’t feel the love really between these 2, Emery is protective, they hold hands, they kiss etc in the water, but it doesn’t feel like a great love. Now cut to present day and there’s even less of this, there’s no chemistry, no sexy build up, no real emotion beyond their own personal traumas and history. They were 18 when August disappeared and haven’t spoken for 14 years (!!) but now they barely talk, they are different people and you don’t learn who these people are behind a brief catch up. For a book to be shaped so tightly around a romance, the romance has to be electric, this ain’t it.

Emery isn’t a developed character, she has stayed where she was when August left her, you’re told she’s special because she has a star in her eye (it’s never explored, she does nothing extraordinary in this book), she learns magic (but does none), she has no passions or ambitions. Emery’s entire character revolves around August, if you cut a slice down her every layer would be him - which makes a dull character and an unhealthy person. Emery hates that the entire island is full of lies, but she lies. Emery is 32 years old and just avoids her problems - she basically stops speaking to Dutch the moment August appears and yes, Dutch is a douche but it’s so immature to just avoid conversations. When Emery finds out her Dad and late Mum knew all along where August was, she then becomes cold and distant with her Dad for trying to protect her - but totally glides over the fact August knew where he left her all those years ago and didn’t even write, he didn’t have to include a return address even. There’s another secret of August’s that comes out and again the implications are barely processed, she’s just moon eyed and mindless over this guy, she hides evidence that would implicate him even though in her POV she isn’t 100% sure he’s innocent, she steals a police file on Lily’s death - now she could have stolen this in any of those 14 years if she actually cared about why her best friend died, but it’s only when it effects her love that she steps up. The relationship is incredibly one sided, despite following an argument, Emery is there for the burial of August’s Mum and holds his hand and defies everyone she knows for him - meanwhile he left her alone to look after her father after he received severe burns in the father, couldn’t write or face her when he snuck back, she mourned her mother’s death alone and her best friend’s. And I’m sorry, I get that he’s had an awful past but just confessing that you’re a coward and that you’re sad and sorry also doesn’t negate your own actions/inactions and August does a lot of things wrong and the relationship doesn’t feel balanced. For me it was just difficult to root for this relationship where 1 half has gone off and lived their life and comes back and picks up exactly where they left off because the other half has just basically sat there waiting and done nothing else but wait.

I feel like I should love August because he has gone through a lot - there is a theme of abuse in this book, with August’s father abusing his mother, and his grandfather abusing August. In many of the pre-fire scenes August has bruises from his grandfather, is threatened, it’s referenced that he’s assaulted by another character, and he’s an outcast. BUT there’s just nothing to this guy. Coming back to the consist theme of abuse, both August’s father and grandfather were physically abusive. At one point, August physically assaults someone who says something derogatory about Emery. He doesn’t just hit the guy once but multiple times he punches this person in the face - the fact he sees red and resorts to violence, the fact he comes to Emery with bloody knuckles, is not addressed. He just says something flippant about what happened, he says later that he’s not like his Dad, there’s no doubt or worry or self reflection, and the red flag in his behaviour is just ignored. Other than this, again his character is just Emery.

This book has at least 6 different POVs and 2 timezones, before and after the fire. The POVs are from characters that, without the name at the top of the chapter, you would not be able to identify they have no real difference between them and they don’t really contribute enough to the plot to warrant being included. Bearing in mind that the timezones are 14 years apart also, August and Emery talk exactly the same - 18 year old and 32 year old people do not talk the same, as anyone who cringes reading an old facebook post or tweet can attest to. I’ve mentioned previously that the main 2 characters are immature in how they are written and behave, however again there is just no identifiable way of distinguishing the time zones beyond whether Lily is alive or not.
Back to the writing and the plot is pretty slow, I mean the plot doesn’t decide what it wants to be until the last quarter of the book where you find out what happened to Lily, the rest of the book is kinda aimless, the truth of Lily’s death isn’t being looked into, it’s just a lot of August and Emery looking at each other across roads surrounded by chapters of people talking about secrets because *everyone* on this island has a secret.
I hate being so negative about this book when I ordinarily love this authors work, maybe that’s why I’m so disappointed. But i also don’t love how the other characters are portrayed. You have multiple people who are loving and paternal to Emery (and even August), you spend time with them in their POV and they seem generally ok functioning people, and then suddenly, as the need to protect the island becomes stronger, they become dastardly villains capable of anything. Every character turns on someone, some of it is blind love (literally Emery would run over her own father if he stood in the way of August) and some of it reads like a switch and feels irrational and unrealistic.

Without spoilers there are huge issues of accountability, the book ends on another time jump (which feels pretty cute, naive and frivolous) and you’ll still be left with questions. This book was, at least for me, dissatisfying for an author usually so enjoyable. Thank you NetGalley though for the copy in exchange for an honest review. I’ll still read anything Young writes, this was just a rare stumble.

I love Adrienne Youngs writing and this was an enjoyable read if a little predictable. I truly ended up disliking a lot of the townspeople which made me root for the main characters even more.

As a fan of Adrienne Young's YA writing, her adult debut was one of my anticipated reads.
Spells for Forgetting was an atmospheric witchy mystery in an island setting that started to feel very claustrophobic as the story progressed.

Fourteen years after the unsolved murder of his friend Lily, August Salt returns to the island where he grew up to bury his mother's ashes. He reconnects with Emery Blackwood, who is the only islander who hasn't suspected him of her murder. But the past resurfaces, powers on the island stir, and Emery, August and all the islanders must confront history.

I really enjoyed the different elements - the sentient island, the natural magic, and the idea of the islanders acting as judge and jury. Due to the setting and overall feeling that permeated the story, I think this would appeal to people who enjoyed the movie The Wicker Man, or the novel The Lighthouse Witches.

I’ve never read this author before, but it seems she’s built up quite a following for her YA novels. This was her first story aimed at adults. It’s an intriguing tale set on a remote island, and follows a man returning to his hometown island after being driven out of town years before under suspicion of murder. He’s reunited with old friends and lovers, and old secrets of the community come to light as the mystery unfolds.

Where this book seems to have divided readers is that it straddles multiple genres. It seems a lot of people were looking for more magical elements than the book offers; while there is a hint of mysticism and some spells, at its heart this book is a small-town mystery drama. But if, like me, you enjoy a small-town mystery drama imbued with a little magic, you’ll likely love this.

Absolutely loved this book! The atmosphere and the mystery sorrow ding this small island was hauntingly beautiful. Young’s writing is immersive and captivating. Can’t wait to read more!

Preliminary 5-star review. Will post a full review and adjust the rating accordingly after I finish the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

My expectations for this book played a HUGE part in my overall enjoyment of it. I did end up liking it more than I originally thought I would, but it definitely was not what I was expecting.

Spells for Forgetting is the story of Emery Blackwood, whose life was changed after the death of her best friend Lily. The accused was the love of her life, August Salt, who left their island home, putting both it and Emery behind him. Only now he's back, and with his return, secrets and betrayals that have been deeply hidden are about to be brought into the light.

I did find this one initially hard to get into. Spells for Forgetting has a slow start, but the pace does start to pick up and I found myself intrigued by the many mysteries within. The writing is beautiful, both the atmosphere and vibes are pitch perfect and I enjoyed uncovering all the different layers of the characters.

Where this one failed a little for me was that I wanted more magic. I would hesitate even to call it magical realism, its more just a second-chance romance with a murder mystery woven in and I found once I left behind the expectation that this would be more magical, I did enjoy it for what it was.

I would definitely read more by Adrienne Young going forward, she is a wonderful writer with some gorgeous descriptive work. Definitely recommended to all those who prefer slower-paced books rich in atmosphere.

Many thanks to Netgalley & Quercus for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We read this one for bookclub and I just couldn't get into the story..
I loved the Fable series from Adrienne and I was really looking forward to reading this one, but somehow it just didn't grab me. I DNF'ed it at like 80%. It was a true struggle to get to the 80%.

I didn't get the whole "oh woo me" vibe from august and Emery just really annoyed me from the start.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free ARC in exchange for a review!

To start with, I just want to emphasize how wonderfully eerie and atmospheric the writing in this book is. From page one, it is just gorgeous.

I really enjoyed both August and Emery's POVs and slowly learning about what had happened between them all those years ago. The other random POVs I cared less about, as they were usually one off chapters of POV from a side character and there really were a lot of them. I don't think they added enough to warrant all the extra POV switching. I would have been happy with just Emery and August.

The flashbacks were really interesting, and I really enjoyed the Veronica Mars-like mystery of who killed Lily? There were lots of hints but also twists and I was genuinely interested, but this is definitely a slowburn plot book. Lots of atmospheric character driven stuff, but no so much plot. The interest in Lily's death didn't really kick off until almost 3/4 through the book.

Also, the magic/witches. I love both of those things, but I wasn't really sure why it was here. It was there but not super important and had almost no bearing on the plot or mystery until the very, very end, and even then it wasn't a whole lot. I wish it had been more tied in from the beginning rather than tiny hints.

Finally, I felt that the reveal at the end was sort of lame? Why August had been accused of the murder and who really killed Lily all felt like a sort of let-down. There was a huge slowburn build to the climax, and it was pretty disappointing. It didn't match the tone and feeling of the book for it to essentially come down to <spoiler> capitalism and a mean granny </spoiler>.

I wish the beautifully spooky writing and intricate characters were matched by a better, more driven plot and a more explosive reveal. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for Goodreads.