Spells for Forgetting in Beyond Reality

Jul 19, 2025 Natalie rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction

This story starts out as a slow telling of a woman's love for the island she grew up then turns into a murder mystery. The increasing tension and exploration of characters' motivations is captivating. But the surprise ending pulled things out of a hat and felt like a quick reversal of the first third of the book.
Emery lives on Saoirse, a quaint island outside of Portland, Oregon. Emery, who has lost her mother but loves the island, is haunted by the loss of the boy she loved, August. August, who This story starts out as a slow telling of a woman's love for the island she grew up then turns into a murder mystery. The increasing tension and exploration of characters' motivations is captivating. But the surprise ending pulled things out of a hat and felt like a quick reversal of the first third of the book.
Emery lives on Saoirse, a quaint island outside of Portland, Oregon. Emery, who has lost her mother but loves the island, is haunted by the loss of the boy she loved, August. August, who disappeared after a tragedy, has returned to bury his mother's ashes.
Emery, August, Dutch, and Lily grew up in this small community as best friends. But Emery loved August, Lily wanted August for herself, and Dutch loved Emery but can never get her love. After graduation, the island's apple orchard was set on fire and Lily was found dead in the orchard, sea water in her lungs. Most people believe August killed her, having fled the island unexpectedly with his mother right after the tragic events.
So we follow along as Emery, after a long lead up, finally figures out why August left (from letters between their mothers) and explains to August she loves him still. She also investigates Lily's death, partly to clear August's name. Signs point to Dutch, who had secretly been sleeping with Lily, and had unknowingly gotten her pregnant.
August and Emery have a deeply passionate love for each other that reignites even though it has been 14 years. I don't love romance books but the storytelling is nicely done. We have chapters from the point of view of Emery and others from August. But towards the end, the island has a chapter, as well as several older members of the community to reveal their part in the story. It makes for a surprise ending but I felt it broke the flow of the story developed throughout the rest of the book.
Lily's death, it turns out, is caused by an unusual twist. And several older members of the community have been working to preserve the community in the way they think is best. Another family wants the orchard, and several unsavory community members have been killed in the past, their deaths covered as just disappearances. (view spoiler).
There is a happy ending for August and Emery, but they completely reject Saoirse, even though it has played a meaningful part of their lives growing up. It felt a bit like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. And the amplification of community backstabbing, while dramatic, was not a plot point I enjoy.
The prose is wonderfully descriptive and emotional. Emery and August are great characters. Though this is tagged as fantasy, there is really only one instance of magic so I think it's more fiction instead. I enjoyed reading a work that is a different pacing and level of emotion than most of my reads. ...more

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