A great cozy fall read! Perfect for fans of paybacks a witch and the ex hex. Read if your looking for a small-town witchy romance.

Impractical Magic was a sweet and perfectly autumnal story that went perfectly with September. I really enjoyed the setting and the magic. Our FMC held most of my qualms in that she was just too whiny. There could have been a better will-they-won’t-they, imo. I really enjoyed the sibling interactions! I wish that Violet’s story would have been wrapped up better, 3.5 stars!

I am thankful to have gotten the eARC for free from Netgalley and Avon Books UK so I can leave my voluntary review.

The description of this book tells exactly what it is. It like Gilmore Girls, Charmed (the original) and Hallmark Movie had a baby. It’s the last adjective that makes things a little problematic as it gets repetitive and there was a bunch of content that seems like filler that just doesn’t need to be there.

The romance was sweet but It could have been fleshed out a bit more.

But the book is really sweet and a great read for the fall season. If you’re a fan of those two shows it is a great nod to them even if the mentions of Gilmore girls gets a little old after a while. However if you’re looking for a magical palette cleanser this would be a great addition to your TBR!

It comes out October 1st!
My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

I was excited to read this book as I loved the title, cover and blurb. If you love stories about magic this is the book for you,

Scarlett returns home to Oak Haven after 10 years away. She fled to San Francisco after the death of her Father for which Scarlett blamed herself.

Oak Haven is no ordinary place. It’s a magical town that’s not on any maps and anyone who finds it forgets their visit the moment they leave, Scarlett returns home to find magic in trouble and she needs to work with her sisters and Mother to fix it before the magicians take over.

Magicians versus witches as the oak grove is under seized and magic runs amok. Can the witches save the town? Will Spam take over the kitchen? And will the two of them ever get together? A fun ride to find out.

Impractical Magic promises to bring you all the witchy, fall, Gilmore Girls energy, and on that, it definitely delivers. My favorite thing about this book was, without a doubt, the quirky, small town New England setting. It truly felt like a warm fall hug, which was exactly what I was looking for to kick off my fall reading. However, I did have a hard time with some of the other aspects of the book...

Impractical Magic centers around Scarlett, a late twenty-something who left her witchy hometown—and her mom, two sisters, and will-they-won't-they best friend—10 years ago and has not been back since. When strange things start happening and her older sister asks Scarlett to return home, Scarlett of course agrees, and the sisters work together to save the magic in their hometown. This sounds like an interesting premise, and there definitely were moments where I was interested in the story and the overarching magical lore. But those moments were bogged down by, well, a not-so-likeable main character and the other storyline focused on Scarlett reconnecting with her family and with Nate, her childhood almost-boyfriend. I appreciate that the author tried to include some deeper, emotional moments, but the tone just didn't fit with the overall fluffy feel of this book, and Scarlett's constant back and forth with Nate ended up feeling more frustrating than a romantic "will they won't they." (And this definitely wasn't marketed correctly: In my opinion, there's no grumpy x sunshine to be found in their relationship. It's more like basic nice man x slightly sarcastic witch lol.) In the end, I think the author was trying to do too much; this felt a bit like three books in one, but even with that and the fact that some parts in the middle dragged on, it never quite felt like the characters were given enough space to really develop and move past the stereotypes (oldest daughter, middle daughter, etc.) and become well-rounded, interesting characters.

This book also has a looooooooot of real life references. I don't always mind this, but by the end of the book, it did get to be a bit much. We also are led to believe that this book takes place in the same world as Harry Potter, and non-magical people are indeed called "muggles," which felt a bit too silly for me.

Overall, if you have some time to spare and are looking for a fun little read to get you in the fall mood, I would recommend!

I had a fun time reading this. It is very halmark and sometimes that is what you need! I had a great time. The writing style is alittle hard for me to get thought and feels very forced at times but i can look past it for a fun read.

thank you netgalley and publisher for a copy!

This was the perfect read for the start of fall! I loved all the small town Gilmore Girls vibes and am always a fan of a character having to return to a home that they were trying to get away from! The plot was amazing, I was gripped from the start! As for the romance, I LOVE a good second chance and this one did not disappoint! I cannot wait to see what's next for Emily Grimoire!

I feel disappointed writing this because the premise sounded right up my alley, but I didn’t enjoy my time with this book. The writing felt both forced and removed, and I really struggled with the dialogue, which was in issue given that the book is dialogue-heavy. The characters felt a bit flat to me, as well, and I didn’t really feel connected to them. I did love the fall, witchy vibes of the book. It is extremely cozy and entering into fall is the perfect time to read a book with these vibes.

I love a good fall time spooky book, and I really wanted to like this book. Unfortunately I DNF'ed at 40% as I was simply unable to get into and stay in the story. I felt that while it was a good story line and had great potential it read more juvenile than I had hoped, and the use of certain popular terminology that originates in other stories was quite off putting to me. I think this would be a good YA fall read however it wasn't quite what I had personally hoped for,

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for providing an advance ready copy in exchange for my honest review.

Let me start by saying that this book was cute and I enjoyed it. If you’re looking for something lighthearted and cozy, Impractical Magic is a great choice - the imagery used to describe the town and its magic, especially during autumn, is perfect. And so many of the town’s characters are lovely.

That said, the main character is extremely unlikeable, as is her family for the most part. Scarlett’s self-blaming and guilt is too much of a focus and really doesn’t allow her character to develop beyond that. I can’t remember any other descriptors of her, other than this constant self hatred. With that, the family’s resentment toward her is also a bit extreme. These negative feelings seemed out of place in a book where the scenery was so lighthearted and cozy.

This book is also a bit long, in my opinion, and it started very slow. I wanted more details about the history of the struggles with magic, the main conflict and plot line, the magicians, etc. The book really picked up toward the halfway point, but then it felt rushed when things started to get interesting. I found myself thinking that there was a lot of detail in areas that weren’t moving the story along, but when I wanted details about the magicians and the trees, they weren’t there.

Last thing I’ll say is that there were some cringey parts that felt a bit like the author was trying to prove relevance or knowledge of current trends, in a “how do you do fellow kids?” kind of way. Some of the pop culture references just felt really out of place to me.


All in all, I really did enjoy this as a light fall read and I would recommend it to friends, with the caveat that the atmosphere and peripheral characters are what make the story.

I was so on the fence about this second chance magic tale. The author does a pretty good job of world building. Set in a magical New England town, that no one can remember once they leave the town limits. Because magic. The romance focus on Nate and Scarlett. She ran away after a spell went very wrong and he is her non magic (only women are magic here) ex best friend. She left just as their friendship was becoming more. But there is trouble in town, so at the behest of her sister she is back. This is all wonderful and charming. The characters have nice banter. Her mother is kind of emotionally abusive which but not in a plot driven way. And it is ultimately Scarlett’s emotional life is where it broken down for me. There is a “I did something unforgivable” trope, that for me after awhile, I think, you should get some therapy or something. And then the final act becomes a bit fable like. It is a light spooky season read. But not a great one. (I did appreciate the author acknowledging she doesn’t know anything about Mandy Patikin’s life - read it and you will know) I read an ARC.

I'm so sorry, I really struggled with this book. I couldn't get into it at all, I felt there was too much dialogue that didn't need to be there and the plot just felt a bit all over the place.
I don't know, maybe my head just weren't in it?
I'm so grateful for the opportunity to read this, it just wasn't for me.

A fantastic book about a young witch that returns home to find the magic in her quaint little town all screwed up. Scarlett must find herself and realize she is the answer to fixing the magic.

This book is a quaint little read and is full of witches and a little bit of romance. I'm ready for the movie or tv show.
I definitely recommend this book.

Loved this cozy fall, witchy read!

Scarlet goes back to her witchy hometown, Oakhaven, as her sisters think there is something wrong with the magic. Loved the family dynamic, lots of magic and fun.

A great witchy read to add to your fall tbr!!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-arc of Impractical Magic by Emily Grimoire, in exchange for my honest review!

2⭐️’s

In this story, we follow our FMC, Scarlett Melrose, as she returns home after a decade away after receiving an urgent phone call from her sister. The magic of her hometown, Oak Haven, is acting up and they need her help. Oh… her lifelong bestie/crush will be there too.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. It had the potential with the whimsical themes and fall setting but, I couldn’t get fully invested.

Our FMC, Scarlett, was too immature for me, the plot continued to just…not develop, and I overall did not feel connected to any character. They were just simply there and we didn’t know much about them.

I enjoyed Nate and his relationship with Scarlett, but again, could’ve seen more of! (also, how many times did she decide to leave him and come back two seconds later lol)

This story would probably benefit from more editing as the plot is not bad! There were just more filler moments than I would’ve liked and the magic/town didn’t make a lot of sense. I needed more exploration of characters/relationships/history as well as overall world building! (even the slightest amount bc I know this was meant to be a fluffy whimsical fall read)

This is such a cute read and just in time for fall! Scarlett's sisters summon her back to her hometown to help figure out what has gone wrong with the magic around town. Scarlett dreads going home, but knows she has to help. She runs into an old flame and has to navigate avoiding Nate while trying to help her family and the town. This is a cute, fluffy fall read. Loved it!

Thank you to Avon BooksUK for the ARC on NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Scarlet Melrose is called back to her hometown Oakhaven by her sisters as something is wrong with the magic in their hometown. What follows is a really fun and cute Halloween/Fall read.

I enjoyed this novel, for fans fiction with Halloween, Witch or fall vibes

Thanks to Avon books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this campy Fall read. The small town of Oakhaven and all its whimsy added a lot of fun to this seasonal read. I enjoyed the book and it felt like a great transition into Autumn, but there were a couple things that stopped me from really loving it: there were parts where Scarlett was really unlikable (all the side characters were fantastic tho), and the reveal of the mystery antagonist/motive was unsatisfying. But still a great October popcorn read that has me craving cider and apple picking!

This book was really fun for the time of year. It was giving me Halloweentown vibes in all the best ways. Small town that has a spell upon it and scarlet is coming home after being away for awhile. Has something from her past she needs to heal and this spell over the town. Second chance romance thrown in as well! I really enjoyed this!