Erica’s Experience

Title: The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic

Author: Breanne Randall

Genre: Cozy Romance

Page Count: 320

Publication Date: September 19, 2023

Interested? Buy The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic

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Review

I fell for Breanne Randall’s pre-sale marketing, like 10,000+ other readers, and I cannot say I’m glad I did. Frequently when I am over-advertised a title on my Bookstagram account, I’m skeptical of the book’s merit. I’m worried it’s being overhyped for all the wrong reasons, so I’ll avoid it at all costs. But, Breanne Randall’s marketing of The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic hit all the right cords for me: a Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls book. I ordered it over the summer before any reviews had surfaced. What can I say? I rewatch Gilmore Girls every fall, Sandy B. in Practical Magic is my spirit animal, and I thrive on cozy fall vibes. However, I should have known from the vagueness of the description that something was off.

I always feel shitty giving bad reviews. Writers pour their heart and soul into the words they write and the ones that willingly put those pages out for the world to judge hold my utmost respect. However, I cannot in good conscience give this book a good review. I very rarely rank anything below 3 stars but, I am giving The Unfortunate Side Effects of Practical Magic a 2.5 (I round up on my GoodReads account since you can’t half-stars there).

Randall’s writing style is quite cheesy, leaning into baking-themed similes and metaphors from essentially page one. I chalked it up to the title being a part of the cozy genre. Both cozy romances and mysteries often lean heavily into one subject like baking, sports, cats, etc., and can go overboard. This was a writing flaw I was able to let slide. There were three true sins in this book that I couldn’t get past:

1. The book’s plot was muddled by a lukewarm and unnecessary romance between the protagonist, Sadie and her high school sweetheart, Jake.
2. The clear prejudice and fear of cities, demonstrated through Jake and his time away from Poppy Meadows, where the story takes place.
3. The weird Christian undertones throughout a novel about witches.

My first (and primary) issue with this novel is Jake–Sadie’s love interest. He is one of the most unnecessary characters I’ve read in a long time. He embodies all of the cliques found in the ‘ideal man’ stereotype. He’s introduced as Mr. Perfect-First-Boyfriend who breaks Sadie’s heart to “go and find himself”–showing he’s flawed. He comes back a decade later as a big strong firefighter who has transformed into an emotionally stable adult–showing people can change.

I recently saw a reel (yes, I’m one of those Millenials that refuses to get a TikTok) where a woman talks about how every generation has a guy name synonymous with “heartbreaking asshole.” She proceeds to say the following, “Don’t believe me? Go up to any millennial woman and say, ‘I’m so sorry for what Jake did to you’ and they’ll instantly know who you’re talking about.” I find it funny that, unbeknownst to Randall, she has written a character so deeply stereotyped even TikTok/Instagram has called it out.

Their love story is built up significantly in the first 50 or so pages of the book, making you believe that the romance is the main driver of the story. In reality, Sadie’s family dynamics are the real plot points with any substance. I wish Randall’s publisher had encouraged her to believe in the power of those family dynamics and scratched Jake altogether. It is 2023 after all–the era of Barbie, Beyoncé, and Taylor. Give me more of the maternal bond between Sadie and her grandmother, Gigi, and more of her messy relationship with her estranged mother, Florence. I ate that up like a decadent piece of fudge (Hey, look! A simile!). In all seriousness, not every heroine needs a Prince Charming to find happiness. Sadie feels like one of those women.

The character of Jake also projects Randall’s prejudice towards big cities. I took personal offense to this as a city dweller myself. Jake comes back to the small quiet town of Poppy Meadows after having a traumatic experience involving domestic violence as a firefighter “in the city.” While the city is never defined, I believe Randall is pulling from either San Francisco or Los Angeles, since she’s from the foothills of Northern California. As Jake recounts his experiences in “the city” it’s clear the city is seen as the Hell to Poppy Meadows Heaven. Throw in Jake’s conniving city girlfriend, Bethany, and compare her to the selfless Sadie who has never left Poppy Meadows, and it’s pretty clear how Randall feels about urban living. I don’t care about much…but don’t shit on cities if you’ve never lived in one.

My ranting about this book is almost over, I promise. My last complaint is the very odd addition of Christianity in this book. Randall over-explains why Sadie’s family goes to church, which makes you naturally question why a family practicing witchcraft is also practicing Christianity. Then she has Gigi express her own disdain for the religion while disgruntledly heading to a service, which becomes the icing to the unbelievable cake. Throw in steamy moments between Jake and Sadie at the church, and it all just feels off. There isn’t a reason for the addition and it adds nothing to the storyline. 10 points from Randall’s editorial staff.

I didn’t completely hate this book, even though I found a lot of it very frustrating. Something I found very sweet about this read was how Randall added recipes at the end of each chapter. I actually made her fudge recipe for a Practical Magic girl’s night, hence the simile. It was easy to do and turned out delicious. I’m tempted to try some of the other recipes with how well the fudge turned out. So, if you fell into Randall’s marketing rabbit hole like I did, don’t get rid of the book. Keep it for the recipes.

You can purchase The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic here.

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