Happy Publication Day! 🎊
Spells, Strings and Forgotten Things by Breanne Randall!

This book was the complete package! It was everything I look for in a romantic magical fantasy novel. I don't want to say that it started slow, but the suspense and the action definitely built up as the story progressed.
Being that this book is the first of a series, it did end with some unanswered questions, but it did not end in a cliffhanger! I am looking forward to book 2!

Thank you netgalley and random house publishing for the ARC 📖

What a cozy and magical read! This is the first book I have read by this author and it was so much fun. The setting and the world building were great and the characters, especially the shadow daddy MMC were amazing and complex and complicated and made for a very entertaining read.

ARC Review

Thank you to Breanne Randall and Random House Publishing House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wow! I loved this book! I want more of Calliope and Lucien! This book had me laughing, crying, and swooning! The banter between Calliope and Lucien was delightful! Full heart eyes for Lucien and the things he says 😍😍😍

My favorite relationships were the siblings! The growth if the Petridi sisters as a unit was fantastic!

This book releases March 4, 2025 (TODAY) and I highly recommend!

I absolutely loved The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic; so as soon as I heard that Breanne Randall had another book in the works, I knew I had to add it to my must read list. Although Spells, Strings, and Forgotten things also embraces all things magic, it has a different vibe from Heartbreak and Magic. Think Charmed with dashes of Pride and Prejudice and The Craft.

Randall has created a new world filled to the brim with magic, delicious treats, and swoon worthy moments. This story follows three sisters, Calliope, Dizzy, and Thalia, who are not only in charge of protecting their little town but must also protect the balance of magic at its core. They navigate their daily lives with forgotten memories while bringing joy to the town with their exquisite shop, Tea & Tome. I would love to get lost in Gold Springs!

Some of my favorite things about this read:
* slowburn
* shadowdaddy
* generations of sisterly bonds
* pull to protect family
* delicious tea and food
* enemies to lovers
* family curses
* Recipes!

Thank you, NetGalley, Breanne Randall, and Random House Publishing for sharing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Breanne Randall promised Charmed meets Pride and Prejudice vibes, so of course I was IMMEDIATELY here for it, and she 100% delivered.
Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things is a fantastic enemies to lovers, forbidden romance book with an interesting magic system and characters you’ll love and feel connected to.
The world building and magic system were both well done without being too complex and I adored the small town vibe of Gold Springs. I can see myself spending many an afternoon at Tea & Tome.
There was just the right touch of friction to the story without being too tense and I loved the attention that was called to putting aside learned prejudices and biases to see beyond them.
The romance was a nice slowish burn, building from enemies to reluctant allies to lovers and I enjoyed the characters’ banter throughout. The sarcasm and quick wit of their jabs at each other, with the underlying notes of attraction made for great chemistry.
I’m incredibly excited to see where this series goes! This was a great introduction to the world and I want more of it.
Thank you to the author and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Dell for this review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am not a big reader of fantasy, but when I do have my interest peaked it's definitely by something witchy and romantic like this one. This felt very cozy, and I appreciated the powerful, meaningful sister relationships that made up the story. This is listed as the first book in a series and I'm absolutely curious as to what future books might hold!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book & give feedback.

I was enamored. I pre-ordered it for release day! I loved the cozy vibes so much. Definitely gives Gilmore Girls meets Charmed.

The way the magic works in this world is super unique and I really liked that element.
Its low spice which was actually a great palette cleanser for me.

Overall, I would recommend this book to my audience & can't wait to share the physical copy when I get it!

DNF’ed at 20%

I might come back to this book, so I’ll be leaving this at 3 stars since I do find the overall storyline intriguing. This book is a really interesting form of witchcraft, where to practice- one must offer a memory as form of payment. The author writes in a light manner, and it truly lives up to its “charmed” inspired theme. I would definitely recommend reading this in early fall! Overall, I think this story has so much potential, but that I’m just not the target audience.

Thank you Breanne Randall and Penguin Random House publishing for gifting me an advanced reader copy of this novel. I am grateful for the opportunity to review this book prior to its release.

ARC from Netgalley
I absolutely loved Charmed growing up so I was very drawn to this book. It really gave me all the feelings I got while watching the show. The writing is so beautifully descriptive throughout and really made me picture this little world. The very beginning was a bit slow for me but the magic system for the three sisters being tied to giving up their memories was so interesting. I also adored the Greek references with the names and “little muse.”

I loved the depictions of both families and the friendships as well. Sisters being such a motivation for both leads was so touching. And I loved the line about adult friendships being hard. I felt so seen.

On to the parts that had me sobbing. I am a SUCKER for the FMC crying and fighting the MMC until she gets tired and sobs in his arms. And the ending had me an absolute mess when she lost her memories of him to save his sister.

Overall really enjoyed myself! 4.5/5

Seeing this described as “Charmed” meets “Pride and Prejudice", I went into it fully expecting to love it. I’m sad to say it missed the mark for me. I honestly didn’t care for Calliope which made it hard to stay invested. It felt like there was too much going on at times and there were points where it felt a bit drawn out. I did however, love the small-town, cozy vibes. If Tea & Tomes were a real shop, I’d be a frequent visitor!

Spells, Strings and Forgotten Things is told through the dual POVs of Calliope and Lucien which I enjoyed. I do wish there'd been a little more from Lucien's POV though. I really liked Lucien but was disappointed with the romance despite wanting them to end up together.

I was intrigued by the way the sisters magic worked. They have to sacrifice memories to cast spells and the bigger the memory, the stronger the spell. I could definitely understand why Thalia preferred to ignore her magic. Calliope however, sacrifices memories left and right.

There was a lot that reminded me of Charmed so I can definitely see the comparison there. While I wasn’t Calliopes biggest fan, I did like Thalia and Eurydice and knowing this will be a trilogy has me curious about where this story will go!

Spice: 🌶️
Overall: ⭐️⭐️
Format: ebook

I recently received an advance reader copy (ARC) of Spells Strings and Forgotten Things by Breanne Randall. When I first read the description and requested the ARC from NetGalley, I was really intrigued. A book focused on magic and sisters relationship with magic was really interesting! Unfortunately the plot felted rushed and really struggled to read through this book. I picked this ebook up over 2 dozen times over the last 4 months and each time I really had to work to keep my attention. The plot picked up towards the end but still made me work for the end.

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

Thank you to Breanne Randall, Dell, and NetGalley for the advance digital copy. All opinions are my own.

2.5 stars

I read The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic last summer and fell in love with it. It transported me and captured my senses, so I was delighted when I finished that book and found out that Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things was available as an ARC. Unfortunately for me, this one fell short of my expectations.

Let's start off with the positives, though! Randall's sensory descriptions were still excellent and in full force throughout this novel. And I loved the recipes at the end! It definitely felt atmospheric and would probably be a great fall read. However, if I saw Calliope's hair described as "honey wheat" one more time by the end of the novel, I would have lost it.

Unfortunately, the rest of the story was a bit flat. I didn't buy the romance between Lucien and Calliope, I didn't buy the motivation behind the "villain", I didn't buy the sisters' relationship with each other. A lot of the characters didn't feel fully fleshed out to me. I didn't attach to any of them or find myself rooting for their success. The pacing didn't feel right for me. It took me a LONG time to get into this story, and even then, I didn't care all that much. The end felt rushed and like a lot of loose ends were just "magically" wrapped up. I feel like this book maybe needed more worldbuilding at the beginning and more character backstory. I just wasn't invested.

Take my opinions with a grain of salt as I really had to force myself through this one at points. I hope there are readers out there that love this story!

A touch of Charmed, a sprinkle of Practical Magic, and a little bit of The Spellshop and you've got Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things! A cozy read for those who love witchy tales, shadow daddies, and LGBTQIA+ representation.

This book is fine. It feels like an assortment of romantasy stereotypes held together by a genuinely compelling form of magic. The nonbinary and bisexual representation is nice, as well. The plot itself is just an absolute mess, and the writing style leaves a bit to be desired, but all in all it’s a fine book.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Breanne Randall for an e-arc of this book. I have provided my honest review of this copy.

Creativity with a twist of witchcraft broods through this book, as I found the whole system of a memory for magic to be genuinely unique. And the split society of witches really was a great way to build up the clashing prejudice to eventual seeing through the reader that both sides are both light and shadow in their own way. Especially when understanding Calliope, she seems to extend herself in this morally grey area but deems herself better than most of her peers simply due to her care of magic.

I did find that the perspective felt unrelatable and selfish, which the narcissism also seemed intentional as when one loses memories of oneself, you lose a sense of who you are. But something about this novel also felt formulaic. I felt that the eventual relationship with Lucien felt forced, lacking strong chemistry and simply lived up to the standards of popular book tropes today.

But the overall premise was enjoyable from the small town in danger to the witch and magic system, it had potential for an even better backdrop with improved human connection.

Great story!!

In the small town of Gold Springs, California, The Petridi sisters are Lightcraft witches. They have always guarded their magic. Because if one was to use her magic, the price of it would be to lose a precious memory. Right before their mother abandoned them, she made her daughters promise to guard the sacred tree in the forest and to never practice magic. The three sisters, Thalia, Calliope, and Eurydice, promised to abide by her wishes, thinking that she'd return and explain more about the curse on their family; but she never did. The one thing that was drilled into the girls was to never get involved with a Shadowcrafter. Their magic was dark and evil. The girls' magic was completely different.

Calliope was always the rebellious one. Her mom left when she was only 10 years old and the pain she suffered from her leaving was unbearable. All she wants to do is forget about the pain of everything bad that had ever happened to her. So one night, she goes to the basement where her mother practiced magic and found the family Grimoire. The book helped Calliope cope with her life by teaching her magic while losing precious memories in the process. She hid it from her sisters at first, then she stopped caring and they found out. She figured sacrificing a few good memories was worth the magic. But when her mother left them, her mind was fading away from all of the memories she'd sacrificed throughout her own life.

When Calliope feels dark magic in town, she races home after a night out. She goes to the tree to check on it and accidentally binds herself with a Shadowcrafter coven leader. Lucien's family is infamous for their ruthless pursuit of power, by any means possible. Nothing good can come from this binding, especially now that her magic is weakening.

Lucien didn't expect to become bound to the beautiful witch, but it will definitely help his plans go faster. He needs the magic of the tree for himself. But he doesn't tell Calliope that. When she finds out the truth behind his intentions, she's furious. History has shown that the curse started because of a family betrayal between both of their families.

Now they need to work together to fight an evil stronger than both of them, while giving in to the feelings they both have for each other.

A must read!!

*I received a complimentary copy of this ARC via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine & Dell for this ARC.

Overall, this book fell flat for me. I was so ready to love the premise - the idea of giving up memories to do magic was so intriguing - but the dialogue felt weird and forced to me, and the pacing was a bit off. I also can't really stand the flowery language. If I have to read another metaphor about how the air smells like secrets and broken promises, I will lose it.

I think readers who love the witchy vibes, slow burns, prose-ish writing, and unique magic will enjoy this.

Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls? First in a series - Three witchy sisters in a Stars Hollow vibey town (which I hear is being made into a tv series?)

I have a little mixed bag of feelings on this book. I'm confident that this book is going to land in the laps of readers who devour and LOVE this book. I struggled a bit with the magic in the book. I feel like the "strings" and "forgotten things" had me wanting to make a bulletin board of notes with strings to follow what was happening. At times, I felt like I wasn't following all the connections or magical things and that made it a bit challenging to keep engaged.

I did like the sisters bond/relationship overall and I did like some of the character growth. I liked the tea shop they ran and the recipes at the back of the book. I really liked Elea as a character and appreciated her view on the spells and her relationships.

I'm gonna round my 3.52-3.75 to a 4⭐

First and foremost as always thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. This was an incredibly good read! The story was beautifully written and the characters were flushed out really well! Definitely worth the read!

Out the gate I knew I'd love the relatable sisterhood dynamics and how the magic system is set up. I thoroughly enjoyed giving up memories in order to use magic and I zoomed through the first few chapters with ease. Then it slowed down. I'm not sure where I had begun to struggle with keeping interest but it wasn't until the last quarter of the book that I finally zoomed back through its pages.

Each character is distinctly unique and I really love the struggles they faced. I thoroughly enjoyed Calliope's bond to Lucien and appreciated the build of their relationship. The banter was amusing and charming. I do think that the plot could have gone much more in depth to the trauma the girls experience(d), dipped below surface levels in their relationships (both familial and romantic), and there were quite a few questions throughout the story that I'm unsure if it's meant to continue in future installments or will be left behind as fluff.

I do love a cozy witchy vibe with interesting magical systems (or curses) and I'm hoping book 2 achieves more when it comes to in depth plot and more exciting twists. Since this is book 1 I feel like it does a good job setting up the world and potential for what's next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC copy!