I appreciate the opportunity to read this book, however it just was not for me. It was slow and the main female character was just shallow. I wanted to love this so bad because I love the idea, but this just didn’t accomplish it for me.

A witch cozy with magical sisters and a sweet romance. Unfortunately, I’ve read far better versions of this idea. The pace here is incredibly slow, the plot thin and predictable, and the characters shallow. It was much more about world building than story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

As it gets darker every fall, I've really leaned in to cozy books to keep me going. I'm so glad I picked up Impractical Magic this fall! It hit so many of my favorite tropes--second chance, small town romance with just a dash of magic, of course.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC!

*** I received an e-ARC of this book from Avon Books UK through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review***

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Impractical Magic by Emily Grimoire is a mixture of Halloweentown and Charmed. I was drawn into the story by the comparison to Gilmore Girls, and I then I was hooked! This book has everything you would expect any for a light fall romance: witches, estranged sisters, second chances, magical mishaps, and curses. A perfect cozy read for the Halloween season!

✨ Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley.

Oh my god sorry I hated this. This is so clearly a case of author finds tropes and other pieces of media they like and smashes it all together instead of having one ounce of sincerity and care given to their characters. This was like watching someone smash pieces of cardboard together and going no they fit! and also look they're in a cute hotel! and also look there's sisters exactly like that one witch program that was sort of a hit in the 90s!

This was such an enjoyable book. I love the cozy, small, magical town. This was such a quick, easy, and entertaining read. It was perfect read for the fall season. I really enjoyed the mystery of what was happening to the magic in town, and was curious to see how everything would play out. If you’re looking for a cute witchy read with some Gilmore Girls vibes, add this one to your list!

Read if you enjoy:
✔️Second chance
✔️Witchy romance
✔️Cozy small town
✔️Slow burn
✔️Grumpy x sunshine

Impractical Magic by Emily Grimoire is pure joy from start to finish. The story follows Tessa, a young witch with incredible powers but hilariously little control over them. Her magical mishaps and journey of self-discovery kept me hooked, laughing one moment and rooting for her the next.

Grimoire’s writing is both funny and heartfelt, and the characters feel so real, especially Tessa’s eccentric grandmother, who adds an extra dose of charm. Beneath the humor, there’s a lovely message about embracing who you are—even the messy parts.

If you’re in the mood for a feel-good read that blends magic and self-acceptance, this book is for you. It left me smiling and believing in a little magic myself.

This was a cute idea with a Gilmore Girls vibe. I didn’t really enjoy this writing style though, just not for me.

I'm sad to say this wasn't for me.

I spent weeks trying to finish this because I just couldn't connect with anyone in this story. It didn't give me Gilmore Girls vibes or any vibes at all.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity.

I wish I liked this more. I really tried to.

My Rating: ⭐⭐

Thank you to Avon Books for providing me a review copy of this publication.

In a world full of cozy, witchy, fall romcoms, this book just isn't it. It promises to fill some big shoes comparing to the likes of Gilmore Girls, and Charmed, and sadly just falls flat - for a few reasons.

First of all, I just could not get into any of the characters. Not a single one. Scarlett was annoying, Nate was a pushover, Scarlett's family was continuously unkind to her (yet suddenly all is forgiven in the end even though they spend the whole book telling her that she can't do anything right). The townsfolk.. well they don't really get enough time to be worth writing about. I just didn't care about any one of them.

Secondly, far too many pop culture references. Look - not all books are going to stand the test of time, but you're pretty much guaranteed not to when you fill your book with real-life references to current events and media. And this isn't a criticism towards the author, specifically - I don't particularly care for any books that do this. But here, it gets excessive. And who really wants to walk through a portal and end up in Trump towers?

Third, I was told this was perfect for fans of grumpy x sunshine. So tell me why this book did not deliver? 😭 No, but for real, did I miss something? Who was meant to be grumpy?

Lastly - the dialogue. It just felt a little too over the top, and I couldn't picture a single scenario where characters would actually have the kind of back and forth I was reading. Lorelai Gilmore is an anomaly, you can't convince me of a whole town that talks this way. I know it's fiction and I'm meant to suspend my disbelief, but I prefer to do that with things like magic and not the way the characters are interacting with one another.

Okay, I lied, a couple more honorable mentions. Maybe it's just the editing, but the way the story progressed felt really kind of choppy in areas? The tone of the ending just felt so off from the rest of the story, too. Like we had this lighthearted feeling, and then we got super serious for all of a chapter before we went back to the carefree storytelling. "Hey I lost a year of my life, but I'm not phased. Look, no trauma, want to bang before we go tell everyone I'm alive?" 😭

Witchy small-town, slow-burn vibes. The plot and characters had strong potential, but overall, the story just didn’t resonate with me. There was quite a bit of unnecessary repetition in my opinion.

Cute little fairytale about witches in a New England enclave. The prodigal daughter must return home and save the town’s magic. The plot was fun and I liked how it turned out.

This was such a perfect book to read in October. It had all of the perfect fall vibes you could want and I really enjoyed it. I hope we get more books from Emily Grimoire soon!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

This book has plenty of witty charm, magical elements and a little bit of romance mixed in. Very Charmed meets Gilmore girls and is a perfect read for this autumn season.

Scarlett returns to her hometown full of magic after leaving abruptly 10 years ago when her father passed away. When she runs into her former best friend, possible love interest things heat up again. The will they or won't they vibe picks up where it left off. The town's magic is on the fritz which leads Scarlett and her family to figure out what is going on.

I received an ARC of this book by the publisher via Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review.

This book is a tough one to rate. The plot itself is pretty good, and I found myself very curious to see how the story played out. And as I struggled with other aspects of the book, that interest is the only thing that kept me from DNFing it. There's a mystery aspect where Scarlett, and the other townfolks of Oak Haven, try to discover why their magic is going haywire. And it was executed well-enough.

Now for the parts that make this book a slog to get through. The dialogue in this book is hard to get through. I was reminded of when I worked on a transcription of a panel interview back when I was in school. My first time transcribing the interview, I tried to be as accurate as possible and put all the "umms" and "hmms", etc. My editor bounced it back to me telling me that transciption is not about having the most accurate dialogue, but also about cleaning it up to make it more legible. Grimoire needs to take that advice while writing dialogue. She adds a lot of conversational filler words. And there's also something very stitled and unnatural about the way her characters talk to each other. Sometimes I felt like I was reading mediocre Gilmore Girls fanfiction, where the main characters were witches.

Overall I'd give Impractical Magic 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars.

Thank you netgalley for the chance to read this.
I didn't love this. 2/5 stars. It has ALL the cozy fall vibes: a witch moves back to her hometown when things start falling apart. It was toted as Gilmore Girls meets magic meets friends to lovers...all directly up my alley. But the delivery left alot to be desired.
This was very pop culture heavy but not plot heavy, which is a dynamic I don't love. I LOVE me a good pop culture reference, but not when it seems so heavy handed. Nate/Scarlett really never got off the ground developmentally, and while I felt like they should be together, I never really felt a good why. A lot of it seems very hokey and full of wonderful fall vibes but again, more VIBES less plot. After finishing, I wasnt even fully sure I knew what the book was about.

This read felt like it was giving Gilmore Girls meets witch vibes—the perfect aesthetic for fall! I enjoyed reading this book in October for this reason!

The conflict is due to an impediment with the town’s magic. None of the spells the witches perform are turning out right, but no one knows why. The town’s famous family, the Melroses, are tasked with remedying the situation to stabilize the community once again. Scarlet Melrose, whose been on a 10 year hiatus from her hometown, returns to help her family, worrying she will cause more damage due to her past spell-tastrophes… but will she be the key to fixing it all?

This book is comical and cute in moments! I enjoyed the easy going banter and magical elements that swept me away. However, the characters were not always likable and that made it hard to engage or root for them. I wanted to see them kick butt and get their magic fixed, but I didn’t really feel invested in their personal relationships or care about the “will they won’t they” because, honestly, I didn’t think they all deserved so many chances. Some of the characters are quite selfish and dramatic, and as a high school teacher, I get my fill of that elsewhere.

Still, the storyline was cute and the aesthetic was cozy. It’s a read I enjoyed once, but wouldn’t probably read again!

I do love me some cozy witchy reads for the fall season.
There was something missing with this one. I love the idea but it was lacking and a bit much with the references.
It was still fun and full of magic and mystery.

The Grumpy/ Sunshine trope within this book is done perfectly! you find yourself adoring both characters as their story unfolds and we truly get to know them as individuals throughout.
The entire book is so wonderfully written it is impossible to put it down! I loved it.,