a hauntingly beautiful tale of second chances
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller, Romance
Release Date: September 27th, 2022
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Pages: 352
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
PUBLISHER’S SYNOPSIS
”A rural island community steeped in the mystical superstitions of its founders and haunted by an unsolved murder is upended by the return of the suspected killer in this deeply atmospheric novel.
Emery Blackwood’s life was forever changed on the eve of her high school graduation, when the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her best friend, Lily. Now, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence among the community that fractured her world in two. She’d once longed to run away with August, eager to escape the misty, remote shores of Saiorse Island and chase new dreams; now, she maintains her late mother’s tea shop and cares for her ailing father. But just as the island, rooted in folklore and tradition, begins to show signs of strange happenings, August returns for the first time in fourteen years and unearths the past that no one wants to remember.
August Salt knows he is not welcome on Saiorse, not after the night that changed everything. 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 the 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 that span generations threatens to reveal the truth behind Lily’s death once and for all.
Evocative and compelling, Spells for Forgetting is a vivid exploration of lost love and the unraveling of a small town and its many secrets.”
MY REVIEW
Spells For Forgetting is a hauntingly beautiful tale of second chances.
It reads like the highs and lows of a symphony, the emotions palpable and the experience unforgettable.
With shadows looming in the background, you know the darkness is there, but not when or how it will strike.
The tension builds, raw and gritty, an ever-present feeling of bad things to come.
Just when you think you’ve figured out the mysteries of it all, the story morphs and suddenly all the puzzle pieces have changed shape.
The story gives and withholds its revelations in a perfectly paced balance that keeps you engaged and needing more.
Adrienne Young writes with words on a canvas, painting a visceral environment that entices all the senses.
She has a remarkable ability to illustrate characters in exquisite details, unveiled through their interactions with others and the world around them, without ever having to tell the readers a single thing.
The immersiveness of the story is never broken.
The descriptive language easily creates a visual experience. You will feel like you are right there with the characters, walking down Main Street as the seasons change in a quaint island town, ripe with gossip and rumor, where everyone knows everyone.
The cadence and structure of her writing is masterfully crafted. It creates a flowing storm of events that carries you through to the end.
This story ensnares you with its bewitching atmosphere and enthralls you in its darkly alluring plot of magic and tragedy.
It all unfolds from multiple perspectives that give its characters depth and understanding, as well as multiple timelines converging into the ultimate climactic display.
It is one that will latch onto your subconscious and live with you through the ages.
This book should be on everyone’s list to read.
Whether you like a mystery, thriller, contemporary, or fantasy, this book contains diverse features that will appeal to many types of readers.
Huge thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for blessing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback!
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