I was really excited about this book and thought it looked like the perfect fall read. Unfortunately, there were a lot of things that I found wrong with the plot, characters, and writing. While the writing style tried to read like Gilmore Girls, it didn't come across the way I think the author wanted. I had a lot of questions about the FMC's relationship with her family and wasn't buying the romantic relationship because while they used to be best friends, there was nothing between them that seemed like they knew each other very well. I wish the relationship with her family was expanded on and there was more about the friendship growing up.

I will still recommend this book on evelynlainebooks (Instagram) because while I didn't love this read, someone else might!

I really wanted to like this more than I did but I had a really hard time following and getting into the story. The plot was good and I liked the romance but it felt a little flat and lacking. I did enjoy the fall cozy town vibe though.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books UK for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

Eeeeep I wanted to like this one but it was bad, really bad. Sorry publisher and netgalley. I just wouldn’t waste your time. The characters are annoying, the writing is not so good, and merrp.

Scarlett Melrose is a witch, one that ran away from her hometown and her entire family 10 years ago, she hasn’t been back, until now. After a phone call from her sister basically summoning her back to her hometown to help with the current crisis, of magic going wrong. Scarlett wants to get it over with and slink back to her life. It isn’t helped at all by her could have been something, maybe, one day, old flame she almost had with Nate, who’s aged magnificently in the 10 years since she left. Things go from bad to worse after her fix goes horribly wrong. So can Scarlet actually help solve the problem with magic?

I will admit I loved this book, it was fun, it was a great story with magical mayhem and all those great small town vibes. I loved that the town was a giant secret and had the forgetting spell. The magic system was great, well explained throughout the book and fairly simple to follow.

I will say my favourite bit of the book was the characters, they are fab and actually I think I enjoyed them all even the one I got bad vibes from. My favourites were obviously Scarlet and Nate but I also loved Zanir and Aphra just as much.

The storytelling was great, It is well paced with good dialogue scenes mixed in. I did guess where the books was going and I had my suspicions on some characters, which all played out as expected, but I didn’t go into this wanting to be surprised about the storylines direction. It was a joy to read and in the beginning I really enjoyed the cute nods to other magical books / systems from other fictional works. Such as the title. However these little nods quite quickly turned into something that felt a bit more forced and in one instance there was a whole chapter dedicated to a single quote from Gilmore Girls, I totally get that it was a big inspiration for the book and it’s setting and contents, However I feel this chapter was very much played upon to meet that reference rather than being a very important piece of the puzzle. Another instance saw a very intentional addition to the end couple chapters where another reference is placed. This also felt like it was mentioned to meet a quote rather than nicely rounding the story being told out. So I have docked my rating down to four stars as this book could have been epic without the forced references. While we are on the subject, I have my suspicions that Emily Grimoire is possibly a pen name, although I could be totally wrong, the opening page of the book is her life story and it has a very, striking resemblance to that of a rather famous character from a TV show called Emily.

With all that being said, this book is a wonderful autumn/ Halloween read and its release will be perfectly timed for October 1st. I highly recommend for any romance readers who love a small town vibe and witchy characters. It was very good and a great, easy read to enjoy.

I try not to DNF ARCs but I just couldn't with the writing style. A bitt too juvenile for me. The witchy, fall vibes were there. But the romance and writing were just lacking.

This was an adorable and enjoyable read for the fall season! I loved the cozy, small-town atmosphere and the magical, witchy feel. It’s an ideal pick for autumn. The romance was charming too—though it took a bit to draw me in, I ended up really loving it. Super cozy! I'll definitely recommend it!

Thanks NetGalley and Avon Books for the ARC of this book.

This is a super cute romantasy with a few romcom and finding your way home vibes. The writing was really nice and I appreciated the authors storytelling style. The characters were well rounded for the most part. The reason this is a 4 star read for me is there were just so many unresolved threads at the end of the story for something not billed as first book in a series. I was left with so many ‘but what about’ thoughts at the end I was sure there would at least be an epilogue but no the book was just done. It doesn’t distract from the story, and if you aren’t the type to care that every little thing is wrapped up you probably won’t even notice.

This book features Scarlett and her family; her coming home and finding herself (and obviously saving the town). Her struggles to fit in and forgive herself featured prominently and was presented in a relatable way. The love interest started off feeling a little one dimensional but as the story progressed his own story was fleshed out and I grew to really love him.

This was a super cute read and overall I recommend.

1.5 Stars

I really struggled through this book, it just was not for me. The characters all felt toxic and none of them were likeable to me.

I think this tried too hard to be Gilmore Girls but just came off as un-funny and unlikeable instead of the endearing and charming writing Gilmore Girls fans love.

I found everything really drawn out, somewhat confusing and convoluted and the ending was the nail in the coffin for me.

Again, this was not for me and I did not enjoy it.

Thank you Avon Books UK and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and Avon Harper for the ARC of this booking exchange for honest feedback.

This book is going to be a solid 1.5 ⭐️ for me. While the premise of the story had so much potential, and when I first started it, I referred to it as "Halloween Town, with curse words." Which I still kind of stand by because the world building in the beginning describing what the town was like, really has you feeling kind of homesick for a place you've never been to. But once the story starts, it's lacking. I ended up DNF'ing at 60% because I had no motivation to keep reading. Most of the reasons why I can't divulge because it would have to include spoilers and I can't do spoilers until the book is out, but I'll do my best below.

I can't stand the FMC or most of her family, especially her mother.
It still needs a lot of editing (which I can get passed if the book is interesting to me, but this wasn't)
The on again off again/will they won't they relationship in this book is very emotionally immature and lacking chemistry
It feels like they tried to force magic into everything, and it didn't really work.

🔸️Pros- The town itself sounds wonderful
🔸️Cons- See above
🔸️Favorite Character- Aphra
🔸️Least Favorite character- So many
🔸️Would I read it again? No
🔸️Would I recommend it? Probably not
🔸️Will I continue the series? I don't know if it will be a series, but I don't think I would if it was

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: October 01, 2024
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

Do you love a cozy read you can devour while sipping on a hot pumpkin spice or hot cocoa 👀…this book is for you. I absolutely love this time of the year when spooky season books start coming out and when I saw Impractical Magic I jumped so fast at the opportunity to read it. This book was so fun and so very cute! I truly love the writing style of our author and this was my first book by them. The backdrop for this couldn’t be better and I loved watching our characters grow and develop throughout the book. I will continue to read more to come out by Emily Grimoire. Definitely a book I’ll be recommending and needs to be on your TBR.

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: Cozy, Small Town, Second Chance, Witches, Grumpy Meets Sunshine, Gilmore Girl Vibes

I wanted to love this one because I love love love Charmed and Gilmore Girls but the execution just wasn't there. I didn't feel like this family even liked each other at all and the romance felt non-existent. I had been debating DNF-ing but kept thinking it would get better.

It did not help that there was a Donald Trump reference made that really turned me off.

2.5/5 stars

A quick paced rom-com style book, with. a dash of witchery.

The classic fall vibes are here - autumn leaves and pumpkin spice. While fun, it almost feels too in your face, like the author was trying so hard to invoke those vibes without it being necessary.

The idea of the town that remains hidden because non-witches forget after they leave is a neat idea (and the exact reason why is silly and whimsical in a good way). However, I felt like much of the plot didn't make much sense in the context of the story. Why are is the Melrose family responsible for fixing everyone's magic messes. Why are the three sisters the ones responsible for fixing the magic this time, especially if one of them supposedly can't use magic as well. The family dynamics feel flat, like they were creating drama simply to have something to fill the book.

The writing is dialogue heavy, which can make it hard to follow sometimes, as all the characters seem to have similar ways of talking. It is also packed with pop culture references, which is fine but can sometimes be distracting and I feel will make this story age very quickly (sorry, but we should not be using "muggle" in current rom com books, not with how terrible a person that author is).

A fast, silly read if you are looking to get into the mood.

This book had all the elements I normally enjoy—witches, magic, a quirky small town, strong family ties, and a sweet love interest. However, despite all of that, I just didn’t love it.

Plot overview: Scarlet returns to her magical hometown after 10 years of running away from both her powers and her family, burdened by guilt from a traumatic event. Her family calls her back because something’s gone wrong with the town's magic, and adventures ensue as they try to solve the mystery of the broken magic.

Despite all the promising elements, I struggled to connect emotionally with the characters or the story. The concept of non-magical people forgetting the town’s existence was interesting; and while the mystery plot added some intrigue, I found myself not fully invested in the outcome.

That being said, the writing was good, and the town had a fun, quirky vibe. Perhaps if I’d picked this up at a different time, I would have enjoyed it more. So if you're in the mood for a light, magical Autumn read and you like the sound of this story, this might be one to consider.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a lot of potential but it reads like a first draft. It felt like there were so many scenes that would move the story forward but they weren’t fleshed out enough. The book is very cozy so I loved that but at times it feels like the author was writing more to meet a “vibe” than give the reader a full story.

The FMC was also very unlikable. I think there needed to be more backstory about why she felt the way she did about Oak Haven because her attitude about being home read more “bratty” than “regretful about the past”.

I definitely think the author has potential and I would probably read another book by her.

When Scarlett is summoned back home to the idyllic, enchanted home of New Haven after 10 years, she is forced to confront her feelings about the way she left, while helping her family restore the magic of the town that has mysteriously gone haywire.

I enjoyed the quaint, small town New England Autumn vibes in this one - complete with witches, quirky magic, family drama, and plenty of Gilmore Girls breadcrumbs. I do think the overall message in this one could have used some work though. The casual magical-elitism feud between the witches and magicians that was never really resolved kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe this was set up for a second book, but I didn’t love that the town is so against outsiders or people who don’t use “real magic”. With the entire plot being centered around preserving the magic of the town and keeping it safe from “normal people” who might ruin it’s charm, all of the non-magical residents who are essentially in cozy-prison and can’t leave the town without risking amnesia (but why would anyone want to leave, right?), and everyone in the story continually making Scarlett feel bad for moving away, I just felt like we were headed in a direction thematically that I wasn’t a huge fan of.

I thought the side characters felt a bit one-dimensional at times, specifically Nate’s character. This made the romance fall a bit flat for me. I also found Scarlett to be emotionally immature and self-centered and was not a fan of how she treated Nate or her family.

While this novel did deliver on the fall vibes, it was just an OK read for me. I didn't really like the main character and the whole plot felt rushed. All the characters and storylines felt underdeveloped and it just felt like the author was trying to to check off boxes of what she felt would sell (Gilmore Girls, Pumpkin Spice Cafe, cozy fall read).

Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫
Is this book a fall read? Yes.
Does it have Gilmore girl vibes? Sure.
Does it have potential? Yes.
Do I love the cover?Absolutely!
Yet, I did not enjoy this book. It almost felt like the author had a deadline, and therefore, the book was rushed. I did not enjoy the FMC. The writing took some getting used to. With all honesty, this was almost a DNF for me.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and author for the ARC of this book, and the opportunity to provide an honest review.

I'm very grateful that I was able to receive an ARC of this book. The premise of the book was very intriguing for me (not to mention how beautiful the cover is). Unfortunately, the book read more like a first draft in my opinion. The writing was a bit juvenile and the dialogue felt stiff. I think this book would be much better with a couple more rounds of editing. The plot definitely has potential!

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books UK for my ARC copy.

I loved this book I think it's the perfect Autumn read. I really enjoyed watching the relationships grow throughout the book and loved all the witchy vibes. This will 100% be added to the Fall Reads I recommend to people.

If I could picture the perfect Fall, cozy read to snuggle up with it would be this book. I loved the chaos and the magic and loved following the town in their attempts at fixing the trouble. Maximillian’s character was so clever and had me giggling every time he changed his accent.

Watching Scarlett and Nate figure out their relationship was so enjoyable. You can’t help but fall in love with Nate’s patience while he waits for Scarlett to figure out where ‘home’ was.

I LOVED the ending! It had me frantically turning the pages, and if you read it you will know why! A whole YEAR???!! Sheesh!

I recommend this book absolutely 100% go get it. And then snuggle up next to a fire and enjoy the calamity that lies within these pages!

Thank you NetGalley and Emily Grimoire! I am happy to leave this review that is solely my opinion. <3