Spells for Forgetting

A Novel

By: Adrienne Young

Narrated by: Emily Rankin, Dan Bittner, Mark Deakins, Kimberly Farr, Ari Fliakos, Dawn Harvey, Carrington MacDuffie, Kirsten Potter, Oliver Wyman

Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • “Lush with secrets, magic, and a past that won’t stay where it belongs, this novel is (quite fittingly) spellbinding.”—JODI PICOULT, author of Wish You Were Here

A deeply atmospheric story about ancestral magic, an unsolved murder, and a second chance at true love

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: She Reads

Emery Blackwood’s life changed forever the night her best friend was found dead and the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her. Years later, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence on the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and running the family’s business, Blackwood’s Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics & Tea Leaf Readings. But when the island, rooted in folklore and magic, begins to show signs of strange happenings, Emery knows that something is coming. The morning she wakes to find that every single tree on Saoirse has turned color in a single night, August returns for the first time in fourteen years and unearths the past that the town has tried desperately to forget.

August knows he is not welcome on Saiorse, not after the night everything changed. 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 his 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 spanning generations threaten to reveal the truth behind Lily’s mysterious death once and for all.

©2022 Adrienne Young (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“With magic, murder, and prose that reads like music, Spells for Forgetting weaves together an immersive tale on the Pacific Coast island of Saoirse, where love and pain both stick to the too.”―Chandler Baker, New York Times bestselling author of The Husbands

“A thrilling, rich mystery with exquisite twists, Adrienne Young’s adult debut will trick you, bewitch you, and leave you begging for more.”―Stephanie Garber, author of the Caraval series

“Tense, lyrical, and wholly romantic, Spells for Forgetting is as immersive a story as you could ask for. I could feel the salt on my skin, I could smell the smoke, and every page felt like a tentative step into a mist concealing all of Saoirse’s darkest secrets.”―Ruth Emmie Lang, Ohioana Book Award finalist

Been waiting for this release…

…since I’m from a rural community, and my, was this worth the wait. Atmospheric, eerie, rustic. I seriously could feel the wind off the sea and hear the whispers through the pines. It’s a story about modern witches, first love, and a murder mystery, all rolled into one. Both the author and the narrators pulled off multiple view points quite adeptly. Some of the “twists” were predictable, but still, watching how the author would specifically unfold them was entertainment enough in and of itself. Highly recommend for a perfect autumn read/listen, but probably for a slightly older audience than Young’s other books.

Slowwwwwww

I go through the reviews thoroughly before purchasing a book because I've been burned too many times. I don't understand the good reviews and am pretty disappointed. It was very slow moving, I skipped through a lot of the book without missing much, I honestly couldn't wait for it to end.

Her best yet!

I’ve been a fan of Adrienne since her first book came out! And I knew I’d love this book too but it exceeded my expectations! Especially in the second half when the story really picks up with the mystery and investigation aspect. I called most of the plot twists but that didn’t take away from the experience. The imagery is SO good as in all of Adrienne’s books! I think it’s the best book yet, with more plot and depth than any of her books so far. The characters are relatable and so fleshed out they feel like real people rather than fictional characters. Definitely excited for more stories like this from her!

Captivating story of love and betrayal

I absolutely loved this book. It was a great mix of magic, mystery and love. Wonderful narration! A must read!

Light on the magic...

Recommended as a natural segue from past titles I've enjoyed (Fairy Tale, some Gaiman, etc), Spells for Forgetting proved to be a bit out of place. While not at all unenjoyable, to say this is lush with magic is quite the bait and switch. More of a romantic drama, with a very light sprinkling of the supernatural, Spells for Forgetting proved to be a little less memorable. The performance was top notch and the story decent, but don't expect to find to many spells here. At least I won't have to remember the ingredients....

Dragged On

I wasn’t crazy about this one. It seemed to be more about the main character being lovelorn than anything else, which got extremely boring after awhile. I wish they had someone else narrate for Emery. Compared to the narrators for the other characters, the one for Emery was like listening to a CD for relaxation/meditation. Which to me, made the character very boring to the point of being annoying to listen to. The parts where Emery was telling the story seemed to drag on and always repeated the same feelings of heartache over and over. I wound up skipping through the last few chapters just to finally get to the parts that detailed what really happened and be done with the book.

It was ok

I really wanted to love this, but just was left wanting more. I was honestly very bored and had to make myself finish it.

What I did like was the sprinkling of magic, it wasn’t in your face but just enough. While it was slow going, I did not expect the ending. So that was a nice surprise.
The narrators did a great job. All in all, it was ok.

Perfect book for cozy Fall reading!

People keep mentioning that they were disappointed with the ending but I thought it had a really fulfilling and satisfying ending. I enjoyed not really knowing what happens until toward the end of the book. I saw someone on TikTok mention this as a cozy autumn read and I totally agree!

Can not stand the main female narrator!!

It’s painful to listen to the person narrating Emery! I am thinking of returning this one and getting it to read the old fashioned way - the story is good, but the breathy weird way this woman talks is SO off putting

Perfect Autumn listen

I really enjoyed this novel. I wish the mystical aspect was further explored but loved the twist