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

I really loved this multigeneration witchy story. I love how deep rooted the magic was and how close knit the family was even if they all left the town they grew up in. I really loved Sadie's character arc. How she went from pushing everyone away for fear of heartbreak and not wanting to lose her magic to giving up her magic to save her brother.

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krsb's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted mysterious 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

4.5

This book is about a lot of things, and Breanne Randall does them all very well. If I had to narrow this story down to only three words they would be: family, grief, and sacrifice. Magic is a very integral part of the story, and Randall uses it to tackle these topics in a way that doesn't take away from its warmth and draw to its readers.

In addition to their individual magic, each Revelare is born with a curse—and Sadie's is the curse of four heartbreaks. She's already had one, her first love who abandoned her a decade ago, and she's about to have the rest.

Almost all at once, her ex returns to town, her grandmother tells her that she has stage 4 cancer, and her estranged twin brother returns after a year without contact—all of which bring up deep family secrets that start to unravel everything Sadie knows to be true.

This book was so fun and the only reason I gave it a 4.5 is because the beginning was a little slow and hard for me to get into. But once things started moving with the plot I was reading for hours. 😭👍 Randall tells the story of a family coming together in the aftermath of the death of their matriarch—throughout which we follow their grief and sacrifices through the lense of Sadie Revelare, and how she learns to embrace love instead of fearing it.

Overall I loved this story, and it really did have that Practical Magic feel that it was marketed as!

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lyerk's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

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sillysammy13's review against another edition

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dark emotional slow-paced

2.0

I wanted more out of this book! The magic was cool and I love the cooking and recipe aspect of the book. I didn't give me the cozy fall book, practical magic/gilmore girls vibes. Also warning there is suicidal thought/ attempt of suicide in the book and they should have giving a warning

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that_awkwardbook's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad

Okay. I went in blind and I really shouldn't have done that. I wanted something fun and cute and that was not it .
This story is full of heartache , loss and grief. It is also full of family and friends, delicious food with recipes and hope and a sprinkle of sweetness.

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shayrain's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

Slow start, nice fall read, tugs at the heart strings even though it’s pretty predictable. It’s cute overall. I think other reviews about DNFing are a bit dramatic. The magic was light and the Christianity related more to being in a small traditional town than the characters themselves. Wasn’t overbearing in any way.

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averyboredsara's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

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