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After so many years of staying away, of never speaking of the place, she’d parted this world with only one wish—that her ashes be buried on Saoirse Island. The book is well written but this is almost entirely a love story. The most magical thing that happens is the leaves changing overnight. Besides that, you get thunder at opportune times and the presence of starlings and other little things that any story would have to set a tone. There’s a couple other magical things, but i found this book in the fantasy genre and that’s definitely not what this is. Similarly, if you’re looking for a thriller as it’s also listed as, this is not for you. Only the last few chapters are suspenseful. The major content of the book is the main characters pining after lost love. Again, the love story was well done, but it took the MC till 3/4 of the book before she started wondering who may have killed her best friend. Before that, it’s sort of hard to be interested in the murder mystery because the MC thinks only about her love interest.
Class. I hadn’t thought about my classroom on campus for weeks, and the view of the orange-hued wooden risers in the light streaming through the tall arched windows made me feel even farther away. “Not until next semester. I took a leave to take care of my mom.” A deeply atmospheric story about ancestral magic, an unsolved murder, and a second chance at true love Forgetful spells, such as a spell to forget someone or forget me spell belong to a class of spells that are commonly referred to as life spells. These are forgetful spells that help us to forget the things in our lives that cause us pain and suffering. Forgetful Spells Wanting a fresh start, August and his mother, Eloise quietly and abruptly leave Saoirse leaving behind them scars from bad memories and the disdain from their former townsfolk. August told no one of their departure and no one cared except for Emery — the girl that held August’s heart. In a blink, a single moment, every summer in the orchard, every storm over the dark sea, every night in the fishing cabin was entombed inside me like a body beneath a shroud, sealed away from the sunlight. It was for that very reason that I hadn’t believed it when I read the handwritten letter folded into the will, just days after I watched my mother take her last breath.
Sure thing.” The door opened again as I leaned into it, and I swallowed hard when I spotted the tipping masts of the boats in the harbor. “Better go. I’ll probably lose service any minute.” I am always skeptical when a YA author ventures into the adult territory because it might be a source of tone problems, and unfortunately it was the case with this book. The main characters (August, Emery, Dutch) are in their mid-thirties, but their voice still sounds very young to me. Additionally, the voice of the side characters (who are slightly older) almost blends in, which renders the story very monotonic. To be entirely honest, I did not expect to fall for Spells for Forgetting as much as I did. I have been following Adrienne Young’s YA writing for most of her career, and really enjoyed her books, especially in regards to writing multiple points of view. As this is her adult debut, and her first book that isn’t set in a secondary world, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect – and found a story that is both dark and comforting, a disconcerting and cosy read. Spells for Forgetting is character-driven rather than hugely fast-paced, focusing on evoking the atmosphere and relationships to present events in their most powerful form. And the island, the landscape, becomes a character of its own right. The setting of Saoirse island is the best part. It gives gothic feel. Magic runs deep in the island. It was interesting to read about legends, superstitions, and how magic worked and how only women on the island have magic in their blood. Island has small tight-knit secretive community, who didn’t like outsiders or tourists even though their life depends on them. They takes care of their own and like to keep things unchanged and old-fashioned. Everyone is in everyone else’s business, there are no secrets, lots of gossip, prying eyes and nature that might make one feel suffocating and even worse if you get on people’s wrong side. I didn’t understand the mindset of people half the time but it’s the people who made the story eerie and creepy more than the island itself.
The atmosphere is great tho, i like the idea of the magical island where apple grows and trees changing color in a night and people still practice witchcraft and the island is oftenly rain and gloomy. I think it’s the only thing i love from the book despite all the disappointment i feel
Read Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young
I bit down, following the stark outline of the island with my eyes until it disappeared into the sea. There were a hundred different ones I could think of, but only one I gave a shit about. In this article, my plan is to explain what forgetful spells are. When we talk about forgetful spells, many people have this idea that we are talking about spells that will make you not forget things and how to prevent memory loss in old age. Well, this is really not all that these spells can do. What are forgetful spells? But at the same time, the return of August acted as catalyst. It forced her to make decisions, confront her feelings, live unafraid of what people say and think for once, and find out why he left, what happened all those years ago. I have to say, she was force of nature in last 30%. I admired her the way she confronted everyone and forced everyone to answer her questions, the way she figured out what happened to Lily and why it happened. She knew her heart but August leaving her behind broke her and all her actions came from that- dating Dutch, her refusal to accept Dutch’s proposal, keeping him hanging, not trying to live for herself or find a future outside the island. I get her suffering, how islanders didn’t make her life easy too. They kept her under scrutiny for years and how hard it was now again on the return of August.
This was such a fantastically atmospheric read. A small town mystery, an island that seems almost sentient, and witches, plus a bit of second-chance romance thrown in, this had all the hallmarks of a great fall read, and I was not disappointed. The magical realism captured in the story aids in subtly highlighting the strange beliefs the families hold dear and enhances the flavor of the moodiness that the author has wonderfully created. One can feel the autumn winds and the coming winter in the author's beautiful writing. Told thru multiple points of view interweaving the past and the present with romance, deception, secrets, and lies, Spells For Forgetting has everything and more. Emery and August were such wonderful characters, both unable to move on and forget the love they shared, learning to trust each other the second time, and with the kind of past that hangs over their heads, it was particularly beguiling in intensity. With Emery determined to find the truth of their friend Lily’s death, the layers in the story untangle in bits and pieces luring the reader to read a little more to get to that unexpected ending. I want to thank the publisher "Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine" for the wonderful opportunity to read this novel and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone! What a wonderful and haunting story this was for me. Adrienne Young is a writer who certainly knows how to make simple words expressive and heartfelt without being too flowery and overdone. The atmospheric writing was beautiful and whimsical where the reader can envision the simple life and everyday functions on Saiorse. I found the characters very believable and felt all their emotions within each of their stories. I enjoyed that the book had several dark mysteries at it's core which will all be brought to light by the end of the book. Do not go into this book thinking there is a lot if magic and fantasy happening throughout the story or you might be a little disappointed. The mysticism is subtle and felt realistic which made the book so very entertaining. I'm so glad I was given the chance to read this novel as it was a wish book granted to me by the publisher.
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Mystery, twist and turns are good but I wasn’t surprised with most of the revelations. Like I said, I knew August was innocent, whatever happened with Lilly was related to him and Emery, and the magic is part of whatever happened… all surprises for me was in ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ that was revealed after the climax in last few chapters. It was most interesting part. I was curious to see what characters are going to do with the truth at the end and to my biggest disappointment it turned out very anti-climatic. It didn’t satisfy me and I was annoyed.
The writing itself- meh. It was okay. It was trying to be atmospheric and tense, but it just came off as super slow and boring. The characters felt very one dimensional and not really distinct at all. Each chaper was from the POV of a different character, all in first person perspective, and if it weren't for their name at the beginning of the chapter I wouldn't be able to tell who's head I was in. The individual voices were not distinct at all. If you're going to write different characters in first person I should be able to easily differentiate between them because their narrative voice (like the thoughts in their head) should be individual and different. And it felt very YA, and not adult at all. The main characters are supposed to be 32, but they act and sound like teenagers. And the pacing of this book... ugh. It took until 75% before anything of significance happened. You have to struggle through 75% of this bad writing and unremarkable characters before you begin to learn what really went down oh so long ago. Lush with secrets, magic, and a past that won’t stay where it belongs, this novel is (quite fittingly) spellbinding.”—JODI PICOULT, author of Wish You Were Here So the whole point or the motive/reason behind the death or why that person planned the event that lead to death wasn’t explored much. We don’t see solid history or legend that gives enough reason for the motive. I couldn’t buy whatever the reason islanders gave for their actions either. I mean can it be so big enough that they were willing to destroy two person’s lives and on the one hand they kept saying shit like, “we take care of our own”!! but they actually didn’t which is why I felt the end is very anticlimatic. I hated everyone not doing anything about the truth when they kept making it big point of hating August. Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group Ballantine and NetGalley for providing me with this digital advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own, honest thoughts about this book. Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young is a Genre Blend of Mystery-Thriller, Magical Realism, and Romance!Spells for Forgetting is a fabulous read, especially if you're looking for something with autumnal vibes, a moody atmosphere befitting the Pacific North West (PNW), and a murder mystery taking place in a small, isolated town where everyone has their secrets. A book begging to be read on the beach, with the sun warming the sand and salt in the air: pure escapism. A rural island community steeped in the mystical superstitions of its founders and haunted by an unsolved murder is upended by the return of the suspected killer in this deeply atmospheric novel. i couldnt put this down. this story is everything i love about books. ive always been a fan of AYs storytelling - she has such a unique and captivating way at creating immersive worlds and relatable characters. but this, her first adult book, is a total game changer.
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