by Adrienne Young
September 29, 2022
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Genre: Magical Realism, Coming of Age, Suspense Thrillers
ASIN: B09KXHWTFR
About the Author:
ISBN: 9780593358511
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.
Emory Blackwood lives on Saoirse Island, where she owns the family business Blackwood’s Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics and Tea Leaf Readings. Years ago, she planned to leave with the boy she loved, August Salt, when he left for college. Instead, August had been accused of murdering her best friend, Lily, and he left. Now he has returned, drawn back by her and maybe even the island. It is said that those who leave are always drawn back by the island’s magic. But it seems that there are those in town who want him gone, maybe this time for good.
Not just a tense mystery or thriller, this is also a paranormal/dark fantasy and romance. There are magic-spell using families that have lived on the island for centuries. The novel kept me hooked until I finished it one night. If this is your kind of cup of tea, you won’t need to read the tea leaves to enjoy the story.
I gave Spells for Forgetting 4 1/2 sheep.
Reviewed by Pamela K. Kinney
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.
Emory Blackwood lives on Saoirse Island, where she owns the family business Blackwood’s Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics and Tea Leaf Readings. Years ago, she planned to leave with the boy she loved, August Salt, when he left for college. Instead, August had been accused of murdering her best friend, Lily, and he left. Now he has returned, drawn back by her and maybe even the island. It is said that those who leave are always drawn back by the island’s magic. But it seems that there are those in town who want him gone, maybe this time for good.
Not just a tense mystery or thriller, this is also a paranormal/dark fantasy and romance. There are magic-spell using families that have lived on the island for centuries. The novel kept me hooked until I finished it one night. If this is your kind of cup of tea, you won’t need to read the tea leaves to enjoy the story.
I gave Spells for Forgetting 4 1/2 sheep.
Reviewed by Pamela K. Kinney
Adrienne Young is the New York Times, USA Today, and Indie list bestselling author of the Fable duology and the Sky in the Deep duology. She is a foodie with a deep love of history and travel and a shameless addiction to coffee. When she’s not writing, you can find her on her yoga mat, sipping wine over long dinners or disappearing into her favorite art museums. She lives with her documentary filmmaker husband and their four little wildlings in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.
