Spells, Strings and Forgotten Things

In some books there is more one thing that a reader can focus on. It could be the characters that draw the reader in, or the narrative, or the world building. As a long-term fantasy fan, one element that I often end up focussing on is magical systems. How magic works in a fantasy world can change everything from the way that the characters act to the way society is formed. Spells, Strings and Forgotten Things by Breanne Randall has one of the most interesting magical systems I have read in Urban Fantasy, but it is used in a bizarre way. 

The three Petridi sisters come from a long line of witches. They are tasked with protecting the Dark Oak from others. This includes the Shadowcrafters, a coven of witches that placed a curse on the Petridi family, a curse that no one quite remembers how it works. When hot headed youngest sister Calliope mistakenly binds herself to a Shadowcrafter Warlock, she finds herself torn between his tempting darkness and protecting the family. What will she sacrifice to save her family? 

Spells evokes memories of other trio witch stories, Charmed in particular. It has that down to Earth American small town feel to the story, of three sisters dealing with life and the end of the universe at the same time. You have the hot headed youngest, the middle peace maker and the older matriarch. All of them trying to break free from their roles within the family, but with no one else to protect them, forced to play their part to secure the Dark Oak. 

Like Charmed, this book balances some dark storylines with a lightness. It is a story of complex relationships, those among the sisters, but more between Calliope and the Shadowcrafter bound to her. Here we have your classic opposites attract, love/hate relationship. The book is a romance novel as the two are drawn closer together, but can you ever trust a Shadowcrafter? 

Fans of relationship heavy books and romance will get the most from Spells, but as a fantasy and science fiction fan there was another element that intrigued me – the magic system. I love reading new magic systems. For the systems to work they must have a solid base. In this case spells are cast by sacrificing memories. A childhood memory of your favourite hiding place might get you out of a bind, but it will be lost to you forever. 

This is an intriguing concept and one that in places works well. The larger curse story suggests that the witches are made to forget as they get older, and the curse becomes stronger. However, in other places the magic system is not used well, mainly by Calliope. This is part of her character, but the overuse of her powers is ridiculous. She sacrifices memories not for saving the day but changing the colour of her boots. These small memories are what make us, they act as our soul. Throwing away childhood for a new belt is stupid and would have left Calliope in a vegetative state before long. 

Randall does touch on this in the book, especially as part of the larger curse, but I think the magic is overplayed. I believe that this magical system would dictate using it sparsely to protect your sense of self. In fact, I would extrapolate to say that, like in Harry Potter, the wider witch community would have created some sort of school to teach the use of the powers. A place that children and adults can create new memories that they can safely sacrifice. Just giving away everything that Calliope does seemed ridiculous for me. 

Being short term is part of Calliopes nature and sets up the passionate affair she has, but for me the magic system is broken. Most readers will pick up Spells and enjoy the relationships, the passion, the drama. Perhaps I am a little sad, but I could not see past the wonderful magical system undermined by the characters. One for Urban Fantasy fans who like to delve deeply into what makes people tick, not how magic would work.