Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches

By: Kate Scelsa

Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski

Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

A witchy, atmospheric lesbian contemporary romance set in Salem—from the acclaimed author of Fans of the Impossible Life. Perfect for fans of Nina LaCour and Becky Albertalli.

Seventeen-year-old Eleanor is the last person in Salem to believe in witchcraft—or to think that her life could be transformed by mysterious forces. After losing her best friend and first love, Chloe, Eleanor has spent the past year in a haze, vowing to stay away from anything resembling romance.

But when a handwritten guide to tarot arrives in the mail at the witchy souvenir store where Eleanor works, it seems to bring with it the message that magic is about to enter her life. Cynical Eleanor is quick to dismiss this promise, until real-life witch Pix shows up with an unusual invitation. Inspired by the magic and mystery of the tarot, Eleanor decides to open herself up to Pix and her coven of witches, and even to the possibility of a new romance.

But Eleanor’s complicated history continues to haunt her. She will have to reckon with the old ghosts that threaten to destroy everything, even her chance at new love.

Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches is an atmospheric and romantic coming-of-age about learning to make peace with the past in order to accept the beauty of the present.

©2022 Kate Scelsa (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

OOF. So much teen angst

the descriptions of places put me right back onto the streets of Salem, it felt like I was walking right next to Elenore.
The author did such a great job conveying all those deeply felt emotions of a bad break up and the adter affects, while the narrator really translated that. There were times when I had to stop listening because it dragged up too clear memories of similar emotions.

The narrator did an excellent job of performing each of the characters.

I got lost in the story and felt the gamut of emotions as I went through each heart wrenching detail of Eleanor’s life. Starting each chapter with a major arcana key was brilliant! I learned more about the deck than I have in previous self-study. All around well done!

intriguing and atmospheric

Really great story and compelling characters! I loved the personalities of all the girls in the coven, and Eleanor was (unfortunately? fortunately?) very relatable. Well written and well worth a listen!

Good story line and happy ending.

Good story line that has enough interest to keep you hooked. Sweet and cute happy ending. Well read.

Accurate depiction of teenhood... unfortunately

I enjoyed this audiobook and I like the author's prose. However, I think there is a thin line between being cynically relatable, and being downright whiny. But here's the thing, it is a -SPOT ON- depiction of being a teenager: the anxiety and expectations that come with it, the drama, the relationships, etc. And I definitely applaud the author for capturing this perfectly. But it's also what makes the book a little unbearable about halfway through for me. I both sympathized heavily with the main character and simultaneously wished she would stop being SO incredibly dramatic. This dichotomy made it hard to rate the book as it wasn't a bad thing, but it did make it a little harder to enjoy personally for me. If I could rate it 3.5 stars I would, but I bumped it up to 4 instead of 3.

I would recommend it. If you don't mind the overwhelming teenage angst, it's a pretty good story. The characters feel real, and the author's writing is great. The narrator was good as well.

The book is very enlightening and healing

The books focus on healing from past trauma and getting over mistakes was very nice to listen to. The chapters being tarot cards was a nice touch and made me feel very seen.

Cute concept, poor execution

While I enjoyed the coming-of-age story and the backdrop of Salem, MA…the story focused far too much on the bully and we barely got to see much in way of the other characters (like the lead love interest). I honestly don’t really think there was much of a story and I kept waiting for *it* to happen—but before I knew it, the credits were rolling.

So Many Feels...

This was wonderful. I'm not going to lie, some parts were really hard for me and my wife. So please be aware of the Trigger Warnings I have listed below. Like the Wheel of Fortune card, this story brought up things we had not fully gone through or that needed to be seen through new eyes. This might be the biggest lesson this book presents and it shows us we do not always see things clearly.

The main character Eleanor is a teenager that has gone through a lot. She like many teens does not know how to truly handle her emotions. This is not helped by the fact Eleanor was lied to and manipulated by the person she cared about the most; then she was bullied by those that saw her as competition and then abandoned by the one person she thought would always stand up for her. Someone she deeply and blindly loved.

A coven of witches moves into Salem and Eleanor is invited to join. As she is accepted into the coven, she begins to heal. She even has the new potential for love, the girl who introduced her to the coven. At the same time that Eleanor is introduced to the coven, witchcraft, and how magic works, the commerciaized witch shop that she works at receives a handmade booklet on the Tarot. She starts learning about the Tarot with this little booklet as a guide. The Major Arcana guide Eleanor through to see things differently.

I would also like to mention that the use of witchcraft and paganism in this book was done beautifully. As a practicing witch and pagan, it was so refreshing to come across a book that actually portrayed the spiritual beliefs properly. Magic truly is about intention and the focusing of the mind. Everything done in preparation, during, and after ritual is done to help focus energy for a particular purpose.

The narrator Stacey Glemboski was excellent, especially with a story that has a lot of conversant Dialog. She also portrays the emotions of the characters extremely well. She is definitely one of my favorite narrators.

One last note is about the marijuana use. I do agree that the way Eleanor was using was not ideal or healthy, but I also feel that there are so many far worse options. I did feel that the author was giving marijuana use a negative vibe. I have chronic pain and use weed to help with my medical condition. I hope that others will still be able to see that marijuana does not always have a negative connotation.

Overall this was a wonderful books and I'm glad my wife and I were able to take the journey together.

Trigger Warnings: trauma, mental health, unhealthy relationships, homophobia, homophobic remarks, bullying, underage drinking, underage drug use, marijuana use, attempted rape, concussion, coma.

truly magical

a beautiful love story dealing with the complexities of queer romance in a more modern time. the narration was immersive and beautiful, I really felt Eleanor in the performance and it uses the audiobook medium deliberately and lovingly.

Not much witchery

Teenage story of being different then acceptance and love and healing
Characters are well developed flows well