Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic

Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall

6 reviews

witcheep's review

adventurous emotional lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I struggled to get through this book a lot! I found it extremely difficult to take interest or actually care about the characters or the plot. This is because most of the events, thoughts and feelings are rather told than shown: I see no evidence for most of the claimed inner life. The plot goes all over the place, and even if the slightest hints of the main plot remain predictable throuhout the book, there seems to constantly be some random subplot event popping up. The book could have used some strong streamlining!

The one redeeming quality of this book is how it shows facing the death of a loved one and the consequent grieving; as mentioned in the acknowledgements, the author managed to write her own feelings of grief into the book in a way that the characters and the reader can also feel.

The overall vibe of this book is a confusing mix of attempted coziness (small town life, cooking, and gardening) and watered-down tenseness (bad omens, vague curses, and death threats). These two vibes clash in a way that cannot make a cohesive whole. Very vague magic system and magical rituals pulled from thin air when the plot needs a miracle don't help the immersion either: when every out-of-nowhere problem will have an out-of-nowhere magical solution, even the unpredictable becomes boringly predictable.

There is a similar confusion in the main character Sadie. She likes to think herself as having her life put together in her routines, but in reality she is very childish and stubborn to the core. She seems more like a teenager than a twenty-something adult.

It was just another dark thing she didn't want to look in the eye.

Sadie avoids everything she thinks is uncomfortable: escapes in the middle of conversations, refuses to accept facts she doesn't like, and avoids facing her own feelings. Her being as scatterbrained and stubborn as she is, results in narration that constantly grasps to insignificant reminiscing and loses the point of the current events. A considerable amount of the story feels like unnecessary and repetitive filler that aims for cosiness but lands on pure boring rambling. There were also multiple points in the narration when I was lost on what or who the part was talking about; for example a whole paragraph talking about a she that is revealed to be someone else than was mentioned in the previous paragraph, or confusing dialoque tags.

This was not a book for me, and I'm frustrated with myself that I didn't just leave it unfinished.

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fancyjess_party's review

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

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heatherjchin's review

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

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chelsea_shelves's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was sweet and there was much I loved about it such as the matriarch grandmother character and the personification of the house and garden. The recipes were clever and the use of sensory language made for a cozy feel at the start of the book. Having said that I almost didn’t finish the book a couple times because I became bored with the pages of dialogue, repetitive language (ex “single lone”) and the love story trying to take center stage over the much more compelling family drama and coming of age story. It felt like the book was trying to do to much and it would have been much more powerful in its message and atmosphere in doing less, in letting the setting and natural complexity of the characters speak for themselves. It didn’t need so many subplots. Ultimately I’m glad I stuck it out because it really is a precious story with the right amount of magic. I would have preferred the novel to lean even more into the coziness it set up in the exposition. I kept feeling there was so much potential. With a little reworking and editing I feel this book could have been tremendous instead of just good. I do feel it would be perfect as a TV series.

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readwithria's review

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emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic was, unfortunately, not for me.

I went into this book thinking it would be similar to The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, and I was very wrong. I think the blurb made me overestimate how much romance would be in the book. This book is part fantasy, part romance, part family drama, part paranormal mystery, and part cookbook. Unfortunately, I don’t think any of those aspects were quite well developed enough for me.

There were some things that I really enjoyed. I liked the recipes at the end of each chapter. I liked the idea of the magic system (even though I have no clue how it works). I like the prose.

And then, there are the things that didn’t work for me. The pacing was a little all over the place. The MC’s best friend is a bit of a walking stereotype. The resolution to some of the mysteries and questions is a bit lackluster, and the romance is really lacking a spark in my opinion. Everything feels really drawn out, and I didn’t feel satisfied by the end of the book. I also wish this book had listed the trigger warnings at the beginning, as I don’t think it handled every situation with as much care and weight as I would have liked.

This last pain point is VERY much a personal preference, but I personally despise real-world religions in my books and there was far too much for my comfort. I was really tempted to DNF when I got the chapter that was spent entirely inside a church, but somehow I kept going and I’m not sure if I regret that or not. It’s a personal boundary that I really don’t like crossing, so I wish I had known that before going into the book (I hate DNFing ARCs, so I wouldn’t have requested it).

All in all, this book is more of a literary fiction book with a fantasy element than the cozy contemporary fantasy I thought it would be, and that’s not what I tend to like in a book. If that’s what you’re looking for, go for it! Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t for me. 2.75 stars.

Thanks to Alcove Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

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nrogers_1030's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak & Magic is something magical. I laughed, cried and felt every emotion in between. I feel like it could pull anyone's heart strings. It's been compared to Gilmore Girls and Practical Magic and I agree in a sense; it has characteristics of both, but it has a heart of its own. Ms. Randall has spun a story that is so charming, but real. The importance of self-care and being mentally healthy is a huge in this novel, but it's done subtly so it doesn't feel as if you're listening to a self-help lecture. I can't recommend this book enough. I loved the recipes included; it made you feel like you could bake something alongside Sadie. I feel the same way about The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak & Magic that I do about Legends and Lattes. I could reread this again and again.

Here's some quotes that held meaning for me:
“No, your problem, carina, is that it’s practically impossible for anyone to get in that heart of yours. And when they do, you love them forever. No matter what. No matter how much they shit all over you.”

'"Time ceases to exist for you in bookstores, and I am not sitting by for three hours while you get hot over books you have no intention of buying.”“But they need me,” Sadie argued.'

'"All the cousins there and endless games of hide-and-seek and secrets and sprinklers. Sticky watermelon fingers and sidewalk chalk. As the years went on, the memories stuck, but the get-togethers didn’t."' - This could have come from a page of my life.

"I will love you every moment of forever."

When your heart is split in two, you can’t be true to either piece. It’s like you’re two different people with one beating heart.”

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing an advanced reader copy of the book for an honest review. Any quote(s) used in my review have been uncorrected.

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