Reviews

Really enjoyed this until the end. Loved the atmosphere and setting. I felt like some characters actions didn’t feel believable and the ending felt a little abrupt.

bhavyn's review

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4.0

ғᴏᴜʀ sᴛᴀʀs

illyrian_wings's review

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1.0

I think I disassociated for the majority of this book, it could not keep my attention.

A whole lot of nonsense over some apples.

cscottrun's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

scorpiobookfairy's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

jinxei's review

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3.0

“There are spells for breaking and spells for mending. But there are no spells for forgetting.”

I always hear a lot of praise when it comes to Adrienne Young books, so when I heard she was writing a magical, mystery adult with romance I was excited to try.

However, maybe my expectations for this were too high.

The fall vibes were fantastic and it definitely makes a difference reading it with the right setting/vibes/mindset. The town and setting had that old Salem feel to it that seemed to aid to the mystery of the story, which was one of the few things that really caught my interest. I love mysteries and the overall tone made this a wonderful fall mystery.

But in there lies my issues. There seemed to be minimal magic use and the chemistry between the characters seemed to fall flat for me. Despite this being targeted as an adult read, the characters still felt very YA to me.

Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC copy.

blazieken's review

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mysterious tense slow-paced

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

1.5

The story definitely has atmosphere going for it, but that's pretty much it. I was so excited for it to take place in the Pacific Northwest, because I grew up there. It seems like the author did no research about the place, however. The culture of the PNW has been erased, and I was sorely disappointed that the 'magic' didn't have to do with the native lands and beliefs. There was no diversity at all on the island, as all the characters were white as Wonderbread. Every chapter reminded the reader that the town was close knit, insular and had been for centuries, which makes it seem as though this island's family tree was a wreath. The characters were flat and I connected with none of them. I expected to read a book about adults, but these thirty-somethings had the emotional capabilities of teenagers. The island itself didn't really seem like a real place, especially because it seemed like the only people on it were white haired and ancient, poster children for mid-life crises, or emotionally stunted 30 year olds. I would probably never recommend a book by this author.

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