The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic

1.4/5

This was a complete miss for me. If I didn't have the audiobook for background noise, I would not have finished this book. I would have likely just skimmed through the recipes provided and called it a day. 

Sadie was a terrible main character. If you do it well, having a terrible MC works; in this case, with the vibe of the story, it did not at all. Especially since it seemed as if the author was trying to justify their actions. She is incredibly immature for being 28 years old. It seems that in her mind, everything she does is correct, from using truth serum on people without their consent to kidnapping.

The relationships between the characters change too quickly. First they're mad at each other and then they make up and are the closest again. This is seen in all the relationships Sadie has throughout the book.  I did not care for the romance. Had it been 2–5 years, I would have given them the benefit of the doubt for them to still be in love but 10 years is too much of a stretch. At that point, it's like meeting a completely different person. So this felt like insta-love. I thought that everyone in this book should be alone for a very long time and consider receiving help. 

It covers far too many dark issues for a book promoted as a cozy read. It should have really simply focused on having 2-3 plots and developed them. That would have been better instead of jumping into the next plot point before you even finish the first one. This led to a bunch of plot holes that never got resolved. 

I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. This is not a cozy read at all. You can skip this one and find another book that executes this concept.