Spells for Forgetting: A Novel
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “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
A deeply atmospheric story about ancestral magic, an unsolved murder, and a second chance at true love
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: She Reads
Emery Blackwood’s life changed forever the night her best friend was found dead and the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her. Years later, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence on the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and running the family’s business, Blackwood’s Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics & Tea Leaf Readings. But when the island, rooted in folklore and magic, begins to show signs of strange happenings, Emery knows that something is coming. The morning she wakes to find that every single tree on Saoirse has turned color in a single night, August returns for the first time in fourteen years and unearths the past that the town has tried desperately to forget.
August knows he is not welcome on Saiorse, not after the night everything changed. As a fire raged on at the Salt family orchard, Lily Morgan was found dead in the dark woods, shaking the bedrock of their tight-knit community and branding August a murderer. When he returns to bury his mother’s ashes, he must confront the people who turned their backs on him and face the one wound from his past that has never healed—Emery. But the town has more than one reason to want August gone, and the emergence of deep betrayals and hidden promises spanning generations threaten to reveal the truth behind Lily’s mysterious death once and for all.
A deeply atmospheric story about ancestral magic, an unsolved murder, and a second chance at true love
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: She Reads
Emery Blackwood’s life changed forever the night her best friend was found dead and the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her. Years later, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence on the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and running the family’s business, Blackwood’s Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics & Tea Leaf Readings. But when the island, rooted in folklore and magic, begins to show signs of strange happenings, Emery knows that something is coming. The morning she wakes to find that every single tree on Saoirse has turned color in a single night, August returns for the first time in fourteen years and unearths the past that the town has tried desperately to forget.
August knows he is not welcome on Saiorse, not after the night everything changed. As a fire raged on at the Salt family orchard, Lily Morgan was found dead in the dark woods, shaking the bedrock of their tight-knit community and branding August a murderer. When he returns to bury his mother’s ashes, he must confront the people who turned their backs on him and face the one wound from his past that has never healed—Emery. But the town has more than one reason to want August gone, and the emergence of deep betrayals and hidden promises spanning generations threaten to reveal the truth behind Lily’s mysterious death once and for all.
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Community Reviews
Originally reviewed on Cyn's Workshop
Adrienne Young weaves together a fantastical story, a magical mystery that is perfect for fans of Practical Magic, luring in readers with a chilling atmosphere and an unsolved murder that has haunted the shores of this island.
Storytelling
What I loved so much about this novel was the atmosphere. Here we have a small island that is a tight knit community. A community that blames August for the death of one of their own a decade ago, the girl who was one of his friends, one Lily Morgan. And it reunites him with his former love, Lily Morgan’s best friend, Emery.
Young did such an amazing job building up the haunting atmosphere and tension between the characters and the town, going between not only Emery and August, but also building up the mystery with interludes by other characters and segments of what really happened the night Lily Morgan died.
We get to know these characters, their past relationships and how they fit together now. They’ve all changed, and with the mystery, the magic, the spell crafting that slowly unravels within the story, it hooks you in.
Alongside the haunting unraveling of death of Lily and the dark mysteries held by the community on this island, we also have the mounting romantic tension between Emery and August. You want to root for these two, for the years they lost when the community turned on him. But, even so, there are times you as the reader wonder if he really did it.
Final Thoughts
Spells for Forgetting is a wonderful haunting mystery, filled with long lost loves and a dark mystery that threatens both of them.
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Tumblr | Spotify Podcast | YouTube | BookBub | Goodreads+ | LinkedIn
A magical mystery, Spells for Forgetting is as alluring as the tense romance between Emery and August.
Adrienne Young weaves together a fantastical story, a magical mystery that is perfect for fans of Practical Magic, luring in readers with a chilling atmosphere and an unsolved murder that has haunted the shores of this island.
Storytelling
What I loved so much about this novel was the atmosphere. Here we have a small island that is a tight knit community. A community that blames August for the death of one of their own a decade ago, the girl who was one of his friends, one Lily Morgan. And it reunites him with his former love, Lily Morgan’s best friend, Emery.
Young did such an amazing job building up the haunting atmosphere and tension between the characters and the town, going between not only Emery and August, but also building up the mystery with interludes by other characters and segments of what really happened the night Lily Morgan died.
We get to know these characters, their past relationships and how they fit together now. They’ve all changed, and with the mystery, the magic, the spell crafting that slowly unravels within the story, it hooks you in.
Alongside the haunting unraveling of death of Lily and the dark mysteries held by the community on this island, we also have the mounting romantic tension between Emery and August. You want to root for these two, for the years they lost when the community turned on him. But, even so, there are times you as the reader wonder if he really did it.
Final Thoughts
Spells for Forgetting is a wonderful haunting mystery, filled with long lost loves and a dark mystery that threatens both of them.
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Tumblr | Spotify Podcast | YouTube | BookBub | Goodreads+ | LinkedIn
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 4 stars
This is an atmospheric and enchanting read that I didn't want to put down. I love Adrienne Young's writing style as it flows so smoothly, making her books enjoyable for me to read.
I really liked how this book had a little of everything; young love, a mysterious death, and a hauntingly magical island set in the Pacific Northwest.
It's told from multiple POV's and moves between past and present but is easily followed.
This is an atmospheric and enchanting read that I didn't want to put down. I love Adrienne Young's writing style as it flows so smoothly, making her books enjoyable for me to read.
I really liked how this book had a little of everything; young love, a mysterious death, and a hauntingly magical island set in the Pacific Northwest.
It's told from multiple POV's and moves between past and present but is easily followed.
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