I have been very firmly in my cozy fantasy romance/mystery era since the start of false Fall in Atlanta, so I was extremely excited for the opportunity to review what sounded like a very promising book.

From nearly the first page, however, I knew I was not going to enjoy the book. That said, I did try both to like the book, and then to finish the book. I did not succeed on either front. The issue with the magic system, like so many other things in this book, felt more suited to YA. I recently finished Brewed With Love by Shelly Page, and any issues I had with immaturity over oversimplification or, for lack of a better word, cartoonishness was explained by the genre. "They're in high school." I kept reminding myself. This book did not have the same crutch.

This book also did a lot of telling and not showing, which led to dialogue that felt stilted. For instance, "Everyone's confused. And panic is setting in... Did you notice downtown, Scarlett, and how it isn't as heavily decorated as you remember?" reads to me like a conversation that someone who has never spoken to another human person would write.

I also believe pretty strongly that books should not rely on pop culture references too heavily, and they were mentioned too frequently throughout for my taste. Especially in a cozy fantasy romance, I should not be reminded who Taylor Swift is.

I am hopeful that because this is Emily Grimoire's first novel (to my knowledge) that there is room for improvement. I really liked the concept and feel sad that I disliked the execution too much to finish the novel.

I really REALLY wanted to love this book...and I just couldn't connect. The idea is there, but it felt very rushed and half-hearted. Truthfully, I kind of felt like I was reading a first draft. I do love that I felt warm and cozy vibes, but I honestly felt like it was manufactured and the author just thought "okay how can I make fall BookTok like this?" and I don't want to feel that way when reading.

Honestly, Scarlett was really unlikeable and so rude. If you hate Oak Haven so much, why are you even back? It was just giving entitled and mean girl...not estranged. And every SINGLE miscommunication (there were so many) could have been solved with one sentence.

I also feel like the author took direct scenes from Gilmore Girls, added magic, and called it a day...it just felt a little too close. Like we literally had a hardware store with coffee, a family inn, prodigal daughter, and "oy with the poodles already" which was wild. And I searched and searched for any kind of "inspired by" or "based on" in the notes and could not find any... Just feels a little off to me.

This review kind of hurts to write, and I wish I had a better time reading this... I'm looking forward to giving Emily another try.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc, my opinions are my own.

I actually really enjoyed this! It was a cute cozy tiny bit spicy fall read. The self deprecating and the family drama got a bit annoying but overall this was a cute story. The final conflict was odd and I feel like the timeline could’ve been shorter but overall I liked this. Pick this up for a fun easy read this spooky season!

This book felt like a warm hug! When they said if you like Gilmore girls you will like this book… they were not kidding! I love that this book got me in the fall spirit even though it’s 99 degrees outside.

It was a bit too cheesy for me. Cute and easy to read but it felt a little silly at times. It is warm and fuzzy. So if you’re looking for a palette cleanser from serious reads or just want something light and the feeling of watching a Hallmark movie. Then this is for you. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for this ARC.

Eh, it was alright. It did feel like the author was trying to capture popular vibes (fall, Gilmore Girls), but the story felt weak. I wanted more depth and more character development.

2.5⭐️ This book has all the qualities of a fall/witchy book that I would love, but this one just falls flat for me.

I found the main character unrelatable and unlikable, and certain elements of the story felt very rushed. I think there is a lot of potential here, but I wish more of the storyline was explored.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the opportunity to read this eARC for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

A big thank you to Avon books for this review copy!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was everything that I wished ‘The Pumpkin Spice Cafe’ had been last year for me…a whimsical, slightly cliche, small town, autumnal romance but this time with witches and magic!!!

I instantly fell in love with the small town setting and the little references to Gilmore Girls that were sprinkled in; He runs a hardware store with a little nod to how he makes great coffee and should sell that too…and has a sign behind the counter ‘featuring a magic wand in a red circle with a slash, and the words "NO SPELLS."’ sound familiar?

My one negative was that I thought that the pace picked up towards the end a bit too much compared to the start and we jumped over some things quite quickly to get to the end. I would have happily read more pages to have fleshed out these things a little more but that being said, this was definitely an enjoyable and cozy read, perfect for the upcoming autumnal season!!!

I DNF'ed this at about 20%. I really, really wanted to like it but I just couldn't get into it. It seemed like it would be a quick read, and I was totally fine with it being lighthearted and cheesy, but I really couldn't get through it or find interest in it. I am bummed-I really hoped that I would like this and it would give cozy, fall vibes but it was just meh. One chapter would say one thing, another chapter would contradict it. I think at one point it was said that Luna's magic was unpredictable, but then just a couple of chapters later it said that her magic was perfect, or orderly or something like that?

Everything also just felt very surface level. I couldn't really picture the town or hotel very easily despite the descriptions, and I didn't really like any of the characters. I think the readers need more "showing" rather than "telling" from the author. It was really repetitive that the main character left for a decade and everyone kept snarking about it. The subtle mentions of what happened to her father were not subtle at all, and it was just really obvious to me how the story would end (which I'm sometimes fine with, but this time I really didn't feel like lugging through this book to see an ending that I didn't really care much about).

The concept is great, the magic mishaps have potential to be really funny, it just needs some fine tuning!

Thank you for the digital arc of Impractical Magic

This book had a few issues for me and I didn’t enjoy it.
The female mc wasn’t very likable and I think a dual timeline would’ve helped us understand her past more.

My number one issue was the way the author took advantage of the statement “for the fans of Gilmore Girls” it was taken too far with the direct quotes taken from the show without crediting it until the acknowledgements

Gilmore girls meets practical magic! An absolute must read this fall season! I loved every character and the charming townsfolk. Such a fun and cozy read that should be on every fall lovers to read list!

Think pumpkin spice lattes + witches + beautiful autumn setting all in one book--you'd get this book. It was just as cliche and heartwarming as a starbucks PSL and I wasn't mad at it-you come in knowing what you want and you get it.

Impractical Magic is about 3 sisters in the enchanted town of Oak Haven, which is full of magic and witches. Main character and middle sister Scarlett is brought back to the town from San Francisco when the magic in the little town is going haywire. Scarlett had been gone for 10 years because of mistakes she made and has to face both the current problems and her own problems when she comes back.

The setting was so cute, lots of little magic bookstores, hardware stores, a magical inn, pumpkins, pretty leaves, etc etc. It made me super excited for fall to start and to do all the related activities. The magical inn that Scarlett's family owns was really entertaining as it brought in quirky guests and kept doing randomly funny things because of the haywire magic.

Unfortunately, the book felt super slow and the main character was really annoying. She spent the entire book going "its all my fault that ___ and I suck at magic!!" and the whining got very old very fast. She had almost no character development and was insufferable to read about. The other characters felt very flat and either pandered to her whining or yelled at her, making it worse. The plot progressed extremely slowly and was mostly Scarlett going around town to various magical businesses and talking to the owners.

Minor spoilers but it was quite funny when Scarlett was chasing this bad guy with her sister and they have an intermission mid-chase to eat at a Las Vegas buffet. It made no sense considering the situation and the gravity of catching up to the person but made me laugh.

So, is this book the best fall book this year? No. Is it a fun time and has all the fall vibes? Yes. Just don't go into it with a ton of expectations past context and you'll have a great time.

Thank you to NetGalley + Avon Books for this ARC!

Fun, whimsical and cozy - just what I needed to start the autumnal season! 🍂🍄🔮

Blurb:
When Scarlett Melrose receives a call from her estranged sisters, she immediately knows something is wrong. The magic at their mother’s inn – and in fact, the whole of Oak Haven – has gone awry, and they need her help to save it.

As the conflicted middle-child, returning home has given Scarlett the heebie jeebies. And to make matters worse, she’s just come face-to-face with charming old flame and handyman, Nate.

When her spell to fix the magic goes horribly wrong, all Scarlett wants to do is flee back to the peace and quiet of her San Francisco flat. But she can’t keep running away forever, and she’ll need all the help she can to solve this magical mess.

Sadly I didn’t love this. I found Scarlett hard to connect with and since the whole story centered around her it made it hard to enjoy the book! I didn’t get invested in the sisters and their family dynamic. The author did do a wonderful job of world building and describing the town of Oak Haven though. It delivered completely on the cozy fall vibes reminiscent of Gilmore Girls. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and the Impractical Magic team for the opportunity to read this ARC. I really thought I would love this book. I love Gilmore Girls, Charmed and the tropes advertised and really wanted to get those cozy Autumn vibes.

I think the book had potential, but it fell flat for me and I have had to DNF it at 45%. It takes me a lot to do that, but I just found the family dynamic really quite toxic, the miscommunication with Nate annoying and didn’t feel like I had enough to connect with the FMC. The constant pop culture references completely take you out of the world and story, particularly references to Harry Potter and “muggles”.

I really like the concept of the book and think the story has a lot of potential. But I just couldn’t connect with the characters and didn’t feel immersed enough in the world.


I am so sorry, but this just wasn’t a good fit for me on this occasion.

I enjoyed the vibes of this book… cozy, magical, and like a warm fall hug. However, I didn’t fall in love in with the characters as much as I hoped that I would. Definitely a solid fall read.

“Impractical Magic” is a charming, simply magical story great for the autumn season. Scarlett returns home to her small town to help save it from the magic that’s gone haywire. This story has many themes in common with Gilmore girls. It’s cute and easy to read, very light-hearted. The romance was friends-to-lovers and second chance, it felt under-developed without much of the backstory. The family dynamics were fun and I enjoyed the magical elements.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I enjoyed this! Very good for the forthcoming autumnal season. Very easy to digest, fun magical characters, and interesting twists and turns.

I love the family and how they all have these very distinct personalities and seeing how they all work with each other. Also love the town itself and how I could picture it so easily, and just evokes a proper cosy, hot chocolate in the fall, Connecticut town vibe. The romance was nice, a bit of will-they-won't-they, which is always good. My favourite detail was probably about all the Earls and their history as I thought that was very original and funny.

I'm only giving this 3.5 because although I enjoyed it, I don't think I'll remember it. A lot of it is very surface level - easy to digest which is nice, but also just fine, not amazing. Just a classic easy read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon books for a free review eArc in exchange for an honest review.

As a lover of all things fall, witchy, and Gilmore Girls, I was absolutely thrilled when I received this eARC. And though this book certainly doesn’t disappoint in terms of its witchy, cozy vibes, it reads like an initial draft rather than a final product.

I really found myself struggling to connect with the FMC, Scarlett, who spent the majority of the book struggling with the guilt of her father’s death. When the time finally came to address/discuss said guilt, it felt very rushed and entirely unimportant.

In terms of the plot itself, it was a bit of slow start that picked up as the chaos in Oak Haven grew out of control. I was enamored with the concept of Oak Haven, the witches channeling their power from grove, and the infamous “forgetting spell.” I would have loved more world-building and a cleaner ending. I’m still confused as to who the “bosses” are.

That being said, overall, I enjoyed Scarlett’s growth both as a person and witch, as well as her romance with Nate. I also absolutely loved all the pop culture references sprinkled throughout the book.

A fun cosy small town romance read that is perfect for Autumn. I loved it. The chemistry between Scarlett and Nate was fantastic.
Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the eARC.