I'm a fan of Breanne Randall. This is an excellent cosy fantasy I thoroughly loved and enjoyed.
Please, another one soon.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A dash of cosy, a dash of spice and a big heap of great worldbuilding! The romance was a little insta-love for me, but the rest of it - the mystery, and the fact that we are with sisters, made up for it!

“Their mother had warned them of many things. Always reinforce the enchantments around the Dark Oak from the safety of the Altar at midnight on every equinox. Stay away from shadowcrafters. And when three bad omens occur in a row, run. Because it could only mean one thing…The Dark Oak was awakening.”

Spells, Strings and Forgotten Things is the follow up to The Unfortunate Side Effects of Hearbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall. I finished the first book in a day so this second in the series was a must read.

Calliope and her two sisters are witches, but their magic comes at a price in exchange for each spell they must sacrifice a memory. For her sisters the price is too high to pay, particularly after watching their mother abandon them when they were younger.

Calliope, on the other hand is more than willing to sacrifice a few painful memories to practice magic and carry out the task their mum left them with: to uphold the protective magic surrounding the Dark Oak.

For Calliope, their mother’s warning is still fresh in her mind.

“Where magic gathers, there will be those who seek to claim it. Protect your bond at all costs. It’s the only thing that can save you. Never trust a shadowcrafter, do you understand?”

When we met the witches their bond is stretched almost to breaking point. Calliope is seen as reckless by her sisters, the eldest, Thalia, sees Calliope as reckless with her magic and never uses it herself, her other sister, Dissy is too fearful to practice regularly. Calliope is left to call on the help of their Grimmoire ‘Grim’, the sentient spellbook she turns to for all things magical.

When strange things begin to happen Calliope realises the protective enchantments surrounding the Dark Oak are weakening but her sisters are unwilling to believe her. In desperation she decides to strengthen the enchantments alone, but when things go wrong she accidentally binds herself to darkcrafrer Lucien Deniz. A notorious and ruthless practitioner whose presence in the town can only mean trouble.

Spells, Strings and Forgotten Things has strong echoes of the Phoebe and Cole relationship in Charmed. This second book seemed to me less of the homely, Practical Magic vibe of The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic and contained more of the darkness that could sometimes occur in episodes of Charmed.

I enjoyed the emphasis on the bond between the sisters in this book, the relationship between them felt very real. I didn’t find myself quite as invested in the romance in this second book but for me the romance is often secondary to the story and in this case that won over. All in all, it was an enjoyable read.

A little bit cozy, a little bit spicy. I enjoyed the relationships between the sisters, and the lore of this magical world.

I wanted to like this book so much, unfortunately it fell a little flat. I couldn't become invested in the romance because it didn't feel natural to me. The spicy scenes were thrown in and felt cringe to read, rather than romantic. It also took me a while to get into the story but I persevered to see how it all came together at the end.

The worldbuilding in the book was truly fabulous and gave clear indication to where the story would lead whilst also keeping me guessing. I loved the traditional witch coven type fantasy within the book in addition to the conflicts of magic types and war between good and evil within the story. The detailed description of romance did slightly slow the story down. However, overall I enjoyed the mix of worldbuilding and plot within the book.

Such a fun read - full of cosy witch vibes, with some romance elements. A fun easy binge read! I adored the characters and found it overall heartwarming

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc!

This book was interesting enough to hold my attention while I was reading but I didn’t immediately want to keep picking it up!

Overall it was a good read

2.75 ⭐️

I read the authors book The unfortunate side effects of heartbreak and magic and loved it.
I was so excited to see another book was coming out from this author. Starting reading this I didn’t get the magical feelings and interest that came with said other book.
This book seemed more a Young Adult book, but saying that the sex scenes dispelled that theory for me.
There were parts of the book I preferred like the Grimoire book, and would have liked there to be more around the tarot card shop.
I wanted to love it as I did the authors other book, but sadly this book was not for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

Very overly descriptive writing, I felt like the author was trying too hard to be magical and whimsy. So unfortunately this one wasn’t for me and I DNF’d

I’ve been struggling to review this one as I’ve been swinging between “I didn’t really like this book” to “I liked it”.

I liked a lot of the elements in this book, particularly the mystery of the sisters and their family — why did their mum disappear? How did their family become cursed? What’s the secret behind protecting the tree? I also really liked the magic system and how it was different for Lightcrafters and Shadowcrafters. I thought it was interesting how they both essentially pulled from the essence of themselves, just in different ways with different consequences.

I think the romance is where I become stuck. While Calliope and Lucien did have some nice moments, it was way too insta-lovey for me and I couldn’t buy it. Also, at times it felt really icky with how much Lucien was keeping from her. And while the book clears up that a lot of serious consequences (like death of characters) weren’t directly because of him, I still struggled to see how Calliope could so easily forgive someone she’s only known a few days, after all the deceit. I think because of this, me not really buying in to the romance which was a very large part of the book, I didn’t enjoy it as much.

I thought there was some interesting open ending questions, so I probably would pick up another book, if there were to be one, out of curiosity — although I can’t say I’d be rushing to grab it.

This book took me a long time to get into. Honestly it was kind of one of those books that didn’t pick up until the last 100 pages. And while I did enjoy that climax, I felt that it was a bit too much effort to get through most of the book before I really started to have fun.

I did like the emphasis that this book had on relationships and family. If there are more books, I might try the next because I want to see where the families go from here. I feel like there aren’t so many books that have an emphasis on familial relationships.

I missed the recipes interspersed between the chapters from the author’s first book, so I was really happy that when I got to the back of the book, there were some there. Food is so important to the characters in this book, so I’m really glad that there were some included.

As I said, I will read on if there are more books in this series, but I didn’t enjoy this as much as the author’s previous work.

Overall I enjoyed this book, though there were things I didn’t like and felt I needed to push through at times and thus am giving it a 3.5/5.

If you’re looking for small-town witchy romance with a shadow daddy, and emphasis on sisterhood this may be the book for you.

I loved the vibes of the book for the most part. There was lots of witchy details with their shop, the food, the tea and the picking of odd witchy socks that I really enjoyed (I love that the author includes actual recipes at the end for the things they were cooking throughout the book). The concept of sacrificing memories to perform magic is great, and I enjoyed how the different sisters reacted to this and made different choices. I thought the dynamic between the sisters was well written and realistic. Overall I enjoyed the characters and their dynamics and was happily reading without much issue till about 70% where I felt everything happened a bit too quickly and lot’s of things felt like they were just put there for convenience.

One thing I’m really, really sad that I wasn’t a fan of was the Pride and Prejudice element. As a MASSIVE Pride and Prejudice fan I really thought I would enjoy it. But I felt like there was a miss match between the pride and prejudice-esque language/phrases and the modern day (one does not say ‘you have bewitched me body and soul’ whilst wearing jeans). I ended up cringing every time I noticed a reference. I think there is a difference between taking inspiration from pride and prejudice, creating a Mr. Darcy coded character, vs having the character say things that Mr. Darcy actually says and orchestrating scenes from Pride and Prejudice just because. It was all a bit meh. I do understand why the author tried though, as Pride and Prejudice is fantastic. But having the words ‘taciturn’ and ‘shadow daddy’ in the same book just doesn’t fit. I felt the spicy scenes in this were a bit out of place. Going from Pride and Prejudice level professions of love to sudden modern day spicy scenes was a bit jarring. But generally speaking I liked Lucien and Calliope.

One thing I will NOT forgive is the misuse of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. There is a scene where Lucien comments on Calliope being messy and she retorts with a ‘I didn’t know you had OCD’ type comment. This is utterly unacceptable and I’m surprised it’s been published. I myself have OCD and I can GUARANTEE you that it is NOT the same as wanting things neat and tidy. If it’s something you want/like/prefer it is NOT OCD. This is offensive and fuels the misunderstanding of this debilitating disorder. The author and the publishers should know better than this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for giving me a digital advanced reader copy in exchange for this honest review #Netgalley

The three Petridi sisters - Thalia, Eurydice and Calliope - are witches. Modern urban witches with the power of three .. and a curse that makes them forget a part of themselves whenever they use their Lightcraft magic. After their mother's disappearance, they are tasked with using their magic to protect the Dark Oak Tree from Shadowcrafters - the antithesis of the Lightcraft witches. But that same disappearance has left Thalia and Eurydice afraid to use their magic, and only Calliope determined to keep the shadows at bay.

When the strings of magic around the Tree start to fray, Calliope must work with the Shadowcrafters to break the curses and restore the balance of magic before it's too late. But can she move past he long-held prejudice of the Shadow magic?

I really enjoyed this book - while there are some sombre moments, the book itself is lighthearted and most definitely un-serious, with sentient books and mismatched socks. In true cosy fantasy style, tea and food are inextricable linked with the cosiness and magic of the tale. The Petridi sisters are of Greek heritage, and there is plenty of delicious Greek food included in the story, and lots of wonderful sensory descriptions to immerse the reader.

The cast of characters is incredibly diverse, with Queer romances, non-binary characters, BIPOC characters and characters from countries other than America. The lore feels solid, and the magic believable. Really enjoyed reading this one!

~I recieved the ebook version of this from NetGalley.~

I also listened to this as an audiobook narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, who did a wonderful job of bringing this large cast to life with all of the different voices and accents. Well worth the read!

I previously enjoyed 'The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic' although it was far from perfect. And just as I hoped, the author has certainly grown in her writing. I do think it could have done with some further edits, maybe tighten up plot points and reduce it by about 50 pages.
That being said, this was basically Season 3 of Charmed (The Phoebe/Cole saga) x Pride & Prejudice- and don't worry, they will not let you forget this. "Prejudice" was mentioned about 20 times at least.

This had the same magical realism as the first book, akin to Alice Hoffman's writing. 3 sisters, named after Greek Muses, who have a curse- every time they use magic they must sacrifice a memory, the significance of the memory equal to the difficulty of the spell. Enter dark broody "Shadow Daddy Mr Darcy", Lucien. His heritage is French/Turkish and he's a shadowcaster bad boy. Together, Calliope, her sisters, and the new shadowcaster must save the town and the sisters, and also his own sister too while we're here.

The book struggled with a similar issue as the author's first book - it didn't know what it wanted to be. There were elements of romantasy thrown in and it just felt perfunctory and only there as it's the flavour of the season. The writing is fun and evocative but gets bogged down in repetitiveness. That being said, it was better than the author's first book and if you're looking for more Alice Hoffman-style writing, love Pride & Prejudice and Charmed, you might enjoy this one.

Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things delivers an atmospheric blend of magic, mystery, and self-discovery. The story’s unique premise and lyrical writing draw you in, and the characters have intriguing depth. However, the pacing feels uneven at times, and some plot points could have been more fully explored. While it doesn’t entirely cast an unforgettable spell, it’s still an enjoyable read with a charming, otherworldly feel.

Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things is a cosy fantasy novel with an emphasis on love, family, and… quirky millennial-isms? We get it, she wears odd socks, but did you really have to describe every pair she chooses?!

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately it missed the mark for me. There was a lot of over explaining when I would much rather learn things about the characters and plot in a show-not-tell kind of way. I just found myself a bit bored; whilst the story itself had high stakes I just couldn’t bring myself to care as it all felt so predictable.

There were several moments which felt like the author was really trying to make the book relatable and quotable, which just cringed me out - like the line “when all else fails, bread fixes everything” (or something to that effect). It was an ick sorry.

2⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Hold onto your enchanted spoons, folks, because Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things is a book that is as rich in magic as it is in heart, mystery, and—dare I say—deliciously tantalizing food. Breanne Randall has crafted a masterpiece here, blending ancient magic, family drama, and sizzling chemistry with the kind of details that make this reader want to jump into the book and join the characters for dinner. I was already enchanted by page one, and by the end of it, I felt like I had been swept away to the town of Gold Springs—and I never wanted to leave.
Let’s start with the absolute powerhouse that is Calliope Petridi. Calliope is the kind of protagonist who will make you want to hug her, cheer her on, and shake her by the shoulders all in one chapter. She's complex, raw, and relatable in a way that feels almost... personal. As a Greek multilingual myself, I adored the authentic, natural way Randall wove in Greek phrases and culture. It was like I was hearing a family member speak, and it brought added depth to Calliope’s character. You can almost taste the bitterness of her past—her mother's disappearance, the fracturing of her relationship with her sisters, and the heartbreak of love gone wrong. But it’s this heartbreak that makes her journey of healing and self-discovery so rewarding.
But let's talk about the magic—oh, the magic! Calliope and her sisters must pay a steep price to wield their powers: memories. And as the threads of their magic begin to fray, so does their bond, leaving them vulnerable to an ancient evil that’s been lying dormant far too long. The magic system in this book is intricately woven, and Randall gives just enough detail to keep you captivated without overwhelming you with jargon. It feels alive like you can almost reach out and feel the crackling energy between the characters. Plus, there’s a delicious slow burn between Calliope and the handsome leader of a rival coven—Lucien. The sizzling chemistry between them had me holding my breath, not sure if I wanted them to kiss or kill each other (maybe both?). Lucien is a perfect blend of charming, dangerous, and just enough of a mystery that you can’t help but keep turning pages to figure out what makes him tick. And at the top of all that a multilingual himself, muttering spells in Turkish.
What really sets Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things apart, though, is the heart of the story: family. As Calliope and her sisters fight to hold onto their magic and uncover the secrets of their past, Randall explores themes of loss, healing, and the cost of holding onto (or trying to forget) what makes us who we are. It's a powerful exploration of memory, of how much we’re willing to sacrifice for love—and just how much it can take to rebuild from the ashes of broken things.
And now, let’s talk about the food. Yes, Randall's magical touch doesn't just end with the plot and characters—she knows how to make a Greek meal sound as enchanting as a spell. The references to Greek cuisine are so detailed and mouth-watering that I found myself looking up recipes in the middle of the night (you can practically hear the sizzle of olive oil). But here’s the cherry on top: the book includes the actual recipes at the end! I mean, I was already sold on the plot, but now I’m practically drooling over the thought of making Basil Lemonade Martini and Orange Fairy Tea Cakes in my kitchen. Someone, please tell me I’m not the only one planning a Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things dinner party...
In conclusion, Spells, Strings, and Forgotten Things is a magical, heartfelt, and utterly captivating novel that I simply couldn’t put down. It’s got everything: powerful family dynamics, sizzling romance, delicious food, and a magic system that will keep you hooked from start to finish. Breanne Randall has managed to weave all these threads into a story that feels both timeless and deeply personal. I finished the book feeling like I’d just experienced something special—and trust me, you’ll want to experience it, too.
Five stars—no question. Now, excuse me while I attempt to make that Orange Fairy Tea Cake. Wish me luck!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 3 stars
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Spells, Strings and Forgotten Things tells the story of three sisters, who are witches. They sacrifice their memories in exchange for power and have to save their town.

“Where magic gathers, there will be those who seek to claim it.”


I won a physical proof copy of this book during YALC in November last year and learned about this book then! I read the synopsis and found it very intriguing and was excited to jump into this story.

The magic system was very interesting to me. While I wouldn’t want to sacrifice my own memories, I very much liked how that worked. It made it interesting to see what choices the characters would make.

The writing was pleasant to read and easy as well. The pacing was steady and fitting for the story itself. The plot was rather straight forward and also quite predictable, which didn’t make it that interesting for me to read.

I had a bit of a hard time connecting with Calliope, the main character. While I felt for her and liked her determination, I wasn’t really charmed by her or any of the other characters.

I liked the sisterhood and emphasis on family best in this book. I also think that was the main factor and incentive for all that happened in the end. There was a romance subplot, but I think the story could’ve easily done without that.

While the plot was action-packed and a bit chaotic towards the end, I still feel like a lot of unnecessary information was given and some parts were over-explained. Not sure as well how this would be a trilogy, as it did feel as if the story was finished.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Spells, Strings and Forgotten Things but wasn’t blown away by it.

I really enjoyed this magical story filled with sisterhood, cosy vibes and a lil bit of spice! This is my second Breanne Randall read and I loved every minute of it ✨