My book club, Adventure Awaits Book Club, read The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic by Breanne Randall for the month of August 2024.
I picked this book, because I went to Walmart and bought the first book that sounded the most entertaining. I’m into fantasy type books that have magical elements and appreciate a good love story intertwined with a solid plot.
Here are a few short thoughts I had while reading the book. They’re not in order of when I thought them.
Grandmas are the best.
That girl did what now?
What is his magic ability?
I want to have those desserts.
I love this dog aspect.
What is the figure?
Will they save her?
Will there be a second book?
There were a few small details about the story that I appreciated. The dog aspect isn’t necessary, but I found it precious. I liked how much thought the author put in what each recipe could do. I loved the diversity in the characters, including LGBTQ+, races/ethnicities, and aspects of multiple cultures. Randall created a large primary family and gave so much personality to each character.
The book, upon first look, is one of those that you think, “wow, they fit a lot of words on these pages.” I love a book that fits as much as possible on a page. It’s an easy read though, and I zoomed through it happily. The last sentence of the book made me smile; I love an author who fits their title so perfectly into the story.
I do wonder if there will be a second book. The ending confused me a bit about a certain character. It hurt my heart to see a return and then a departure so quickly. Another aspect of the storyline made me question a bit about its explanation. I felt bummed and happy about the explanation of this figure that appears over and over. It seemed like an easy way out instead of it being something a little more challenging. It also made me a little happy the way it played out, being romantic at heart and all. I still want to know about the creepy voice on the hill!
Mental health played an unexpected role in the story. Several diagnoses are mentioned, and the book advocated the importance of taking care of your mental health. Who doesn’t love a magical story about things that mostly live in our imagination and aspects that are completely relevant to our everyday lives.
I don’t want to go into too many details about each character or give too much of the story away. I hope I gave you just enough to make you want to pick this one up. I recommend it! I’m sure most can find something about the story to love!
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I hope to get back in to writing these monthly book club updates! Follow along for more book choices!
The book club choice for September 2024 will be The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
Ariel Pierce 