I absolutely loved everything about this book and really hope there is a sequel! When I want to keep track of a series, I always mark it on my calendar to make sure I don't forget about it, as there are so many other books out there. I will be putting this on my calendar to look for a sequel, or even just to see what else this author is writing.

Lucien is part Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice) and part Rhysand (A Court of Thorn and Roses series). You know he is up to something, not sure exactly how evil it is, but you love him anyway. It's so easy to ignore all those red flags in books that you would be yelling at your friend about in real life. But, really, besides all the evil planning and everything (lol), he had less red flags than so many other characters I read about this year. I ranted in quite a few reviews about that. Lucien was pretty great that way.

I definitely could tell that the author was a fan of Pride and Prejudice, with a few casual quotes from the book (nothing you will notice unless you know the book). They never refer to the book, just use popular quotes in conversation. I would not say this is anything like Pride and Prejudice, other than Lucien reminding me a bit of Mr. Darcy. I am sure tons of readers will disagree with me on that point. Not even sure what it was, just a feeling.

Calliope is attracted to men and women, so if you have any issue with any same sex attraction, here is your warning. Really is sad that I need to include that, but I hate for the author to get lower ratings because people get upset because there are gay characters in the book.

Loved the book so much! Thanks so much to NetGalley for the free kindle book. My review is voluntarily given and my opinions are my own.

Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things by Breanne Randall was interesting because of the curse on magic to forfeit memories for spells. There were so many rules and sometimes they became confusing and contradictory.

Calliope lives with her sisters in her Northern California town, having been tasked by her mother with protecting their town and their powers...even if it means she must work with Lucien, a Shadowcrafter despite her mistrust and fear of his magic.

In addition to being an incredibly entertaining read, the book asks who we are without our memories. In order to perform magic, Calliope must relinquish a memory - the more emotional, the more powerful the magic. The book forces the reader to consider what they would trade for magic, especially magic that protects other people. I also really loved that the book had witches who were strongly connected to their Greek heritage. It's a diaspora that is much less represented in fantasy, and so really made the book stand out by all the mentions of Irish-influence mythology (some better appropriations than others.) The book handled it very well, and some of the descriptions of their Greek food - and baked goods - made my mouth water. I was desperate to come visit their tea shop/bookstore.

Ultimately, Calliope and Lucien form a relationship that makes both of the two better -Calliope becomes more open and accepting while Lucien becomes more compassionate. I really enjoy romances where they help each other grow. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed The Spellshop or other cozy fantasies.

This book is marketed as Pride and Prejudice meets Charmed, but I didn’t quite feel it lived up to that comparison.

The character and plot development were painfully slow and it was very hard for me to keep reading. I get that it’s being set up for a sequel, but it fell short of holding my attention.

Who hasn’t, at some point in their lives, wished that they could trade a sour memory for a bit of magic? That’s what Calliope must do in order to use her magic. She slowly gives up memories, pieces of herself, to be able to use her magic.

Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things has it all:
There’s a dash of enemies to lovers
A sprinkle of spice
A splash of Chosen family
Delicious recipes that make you feel like you are in the book; sitting at the dinner table with Calliope and her sisters and so much whimsy and magic.
4 stars- I gobbled it up until the early hours!

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC. Opinions are my own!

I loved the layers of this story. The layers of their sisterhood and how they had to come back together and trust in each other. I enjoyed watching them all come to terms with their magic and find their happiness. I loved the layers with Lucien. I wanted the tiniest bit more from their story but their ending was beautiful. And the layer with his family and coven and the betrayals.

3.5

I loved the sisters bond with each other and all the secrets they were discovering. The love interest was on the fence about. I was having a harder time getting through this since at times it flowed and then other times my brain realized it was third person and I would get confused. There were times I had to reread sentences cause I wasn’t sure who was talking.

But overall I enjoyed this book

I liked Breanne Randall’s first book, and I loved her second! “Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things” loved up to the Charmed-meets-Pride and Prejudice marketing. I enjoyed the character development, the plot, and the setting and dialogue. Overall, this was a tight romcom/fantasy novel with an interesting magic system and interesting stakes!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for an ARC of this book. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.


I really struggled to get into this book. It wasn't awful in any way, but it wasn't great either. If it wasn't an ARC, and I wanted to make sure it got a fair review, I would have DNF around 30% in.

The pacing was all over the place, and I struggled to really like any of the characters. This book is also very trope and cliché heavy. It felt way overdone.

I do love the story itself and the interesting world, but it wasn't enough to make up for the flaws for me.

A generational curse, slow burn enemies to lovers, sisterly bonds tested. I really don’t want to give too much away, Calliope/Opie is a witch but to use her magic she must give up a memory for every spell she casts. How many memories can she lose before she loses herself and how many memories is she willing to give away before the shadows take over? The banter between Opie and Lucien is just ::chefs kiss:: I just wish the epilogue was longer.

I wanted to love this story, as it has so many elements of stories I am drawn to including mystical elements, family, found family, enemies-to-lovers. However, this one was a miss for me. Too much of the story drug on, and I found myself not caring about the Forbidden Forest, the Dark Oak, or the outcome for ANY of the characters. The slow burn was painfully slow. This is clearly set up for a sequel, but it would be difficult to convince me to attempt reading it. If I read the phrase "Little muse" one more time, I was going to throw my phone against a wall. Similarly, WE GET IT--the MMC smells of apples and amber. It was unnecessary to include that in every chapter.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book but it just wasn’t for me. I had a hard time getting through it. I like the idea of the story/plot but the execution kind of fell flat for me. It felt like certain aspects were over explained or really drawn out - and others, like character and plot development, were lacking.

The spicy scenes were well written, I think, but the lead up to them was kind of abrupt and out of no where. I guess not really believable which makes it hard to be sucked into the story.

I like the first book by this author, but unfortunately this one was more of a miss for me.

There were many things I enjoyed about this story. It was well written and the magic system that was created was throughly designed to withstand the flow of the story. The backstory following the coven was very well done and it helped intertwine the main male lead as well. Strong focused plot, you knew exactly what the story was about. Sometimes it can get muddled, very impressed with the clarity.
Only “big” problem: The main female’s self sabotaging ways, were definitely not my favorite part. I found myself yelling at her more than anything.

Overall, I did think this is a fantastic start and foundation to this series.

I really wanted to love this, but I could not get past the overly descriptive writing and odd dialogue. Unfortunately I had to DNF about 20% of the way through. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As you follow these adorable three sisters through the discovery of their family history, protecting the town and its history, and their own love stories - you will uncover much more than expected! Overall, this is a cute and cozy story line that has queer characters as well as cultural differences. I enjoyed the story overall but I wish that I was more drawn to / emotionally invested in the characters. I found myself wanting to finish the book because I enjoyed the story but I found myself taking multiple breaks. I think this story has more depth than presented and some of the steamier scenes seemed forced or out of place in a way.

A book about sisterhood...say less. A book with sisterhood and a shadow daddy of a man...say more. I liked Randall's last book and this one did not disappoint.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book.
I really struggled to get into this book. I ended up DNFing this book because it did not capture/keep my attention. I really wanted to love this book as the story seemed very promising.
I struggled to connect to any of the characters, which is why this book lost my interest. I just could not continue to read this book any further.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I found this book beautifully written to intertwine lost and found family with the battle of light and dark culminating in choice and love not in birth right.

The premise of 3 sisters bond slowly deteriorating as family legacy and trauma effected each differently and then outside forces testing the fabric of their bond and magic in general really brought into focus what is needed to overcome obstacles and choose the path forward. I found it very unique that while the sisters had to sacrifice memories in order to utilize magic, which was necessary to restore their bond and save their town and family, we also saw old hidden family memories and secrets emerge to help heal and redefine magic.

The symbolism of ancient wrongs righted with the sisters forgiving each other and themselves along with finding love and trust in Lucien and Elea really tied everything together nicely. I could see there being room for additional books but also felt happy with how the story ended and leaving the reader to create their own theories on what happens next as the characters together find a path forward.

Title: Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things
Author: Breanne Randall
Genre: Fantasy/romance
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, magic has a price, light vs dark magic
Format: eARC
Rating: 4 Stars

Summary:
Spells, Strings, and Forgotten things centers around three Lightcraft witches, our FMC Calliope, and her two sisters, Thalia and Eurydice. Calliope is strong willed, feisty, and unapologetically herself. The sisters are the guardians of the Dark Oak and the magic within it. As the town and the magic of the Dark Oak are jeopardized, the sisters’ bond/relationships are tested as they face the difficult battle of wanting to abide by their mother’s wishes (to not use magic) and becoming their true selves and embracing their magical abilities. They know all magic comes with a price. In order to do magic, they have to sacrifice memories. The bigger the magic, the bigger the memory needed.

Lucian our MMC, is a Shadowcraft witch. He is mysterious and grumpy. Lightcraft and Shadowcraft are sworn enemies. Lucian and his coven have their own agenda and reasons for wanting/needing the power of the Dark Oak and they won’t let anyone, even the sisters guarding the oak to stand in their way.

Bonded together by accident, can these two born enemies build their trust and work together to save the ones they love?

Thoughts:
I was hooked from the beginning! I enjoyed the unique magic system, the action-packed magical scenes, and the overall character development. I loved the growth of the sister’s bond, the humor, and the slow burn, witty banter between the FMC and MMC. The recipes were a nice added touch too!

Great for readers who love small town vibes, magic, witty banter, and enemies to lovers. This book is available on March 4, 2025.

Thank you to Breanne Randall and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this eARC in exchange for my honest review. Reviews posted to NetGalley and GoodReads.

ARC provided by NetGalley for a fair and honest review

This was a very cute story, and I think it would’ve received a higher rating if I was just a bit more into modern romance. This was a great palette cleanser between fantasy books but there wasn’t a whole lot of high stakes that kept me coming back to read for hours at a time. I will continue this series, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a cozy, light read.