Review:  A Spell for Heartsickness (The Rune Tithe #1) by Alastair Reeves 

Rating: 3.5🌈

Spoilers 🚨 

A Spell for Heartsickness (The Rune Tithe #1) by Alastair Reeves is a fantasy romance or romantasy written by an author I’ve never read before.  

The story is preceded by a lengthy author’s note, which I always read. This one was informative, but somewhat overly detailed, especially equating curses to debilitating illnesses. More on this later.

For two thirds of this story, Reeves had me absorbed into the lives of the characters and the magical mysteries of the island of Coill Darragh. There’s well crafted engaging ghost witch, Gretchen. She’s a character with a huge role here, as well as part of a horrific mystery needed to solve that’s got multiple layers to it. 

The main characters start out astonishingly well. Witch Briar Wyngrave’s personality and character is reflected by his painful reality and dire circumstances. He’s cursed which has resulted in a incurable physical illness . And Briar wants to achieve his life goals within a certain time period. 

The history and the ramifications of this curse will be revealed slowly by events and by Briar, the narrator of the story. How Briar handles living with his increasingly debilitating physical condition, the impact of his curse has on his life emotionally and mentally, is very well written. It helps bring him closer to the reader’s perspective, understanding his mindset as he deals with his life as the curse worsens. 

However , there’s a flip side to this approach. As the only pov , to stay connected, Briar’s actions need to be relatable and consistent with his personality and storytelling. . By making Briar carry the sole responsibility and weight of this narrative, the author risks losing some appeal to the readers when Briar’s actions become either mind numbingly inconceivable (read SMH dumb) or ones certain readers won’t get over (like knowingly sleeping with the villain). 

That starts to happen just as he’s gotten to the point this reader was able to understand his background and his new positive life choices. 

The others characters , including damaged Rowan , the mysteriously scarred alderman,his wonderful sister and her family, are fantastic in their vivid characters and beautifully crafted locations.   Plus let’s not forget Gretchen, the ghost witch whose involvement starts strong and then storyline goes sideways. That’s a real shame.

The wild, enraged magical forest, the angry vines, all these elements are wonderfully brought to life, vibrant and horrifying. 

I wish I could say the same about the villain. From the moment he appears he’s got a capital V stamped on him that inescapable. It’s a matter of oh yeah, there the bad guy immediately which makes Briar’s actions even worse.

So there’s much here to enjoy and admire. There’s also quite a bit of elements in the characters and storytelling that make the narrative puzzling and less appealing.

If the author and their books are in your TBR folder, add this to it. 

The Rune Tithe series:

A Spell for Heartsickness #1

A Hex for Hunger #2 – July 15,2025

Buy link

        A Spell for Heartsickness: A Romantasy (The Rune Tithe, 1)

    

Blurb 

In this charming MM romantic fantasy, cursed witch Briar Wyngrave has a date with destiny―but isn’t totally sure which man that date is with.

Witch Briar Wyngrave’s time is limited. The wasting curse that killed his mother is coming for him too, consuming his magic bit by bit. At least he’ll have the chance to make his name as a magical fashion designer with an elite placement in Pentawynn, the country’s glittering capital, after graduation. Until, that is, a prophecy sends him to the remote island of Coill Darragh instead, in search of a predestined lover with a mysterious mask.

When Briar arrives with his grumpy magpie familiar, Vatii, he finds an unwelcoming town, a murdered poltergeist named Gretchen in his apartment, and a handsome alderman named Rowan with a haunting scar. He also gets pulled into the mysterious magic of the darkly enchanted forest that surrounds the town and seems to have something to do with his curse . . . As if all that weren’t enough, famous witch Linden Fairchild has come to town, complete with a charismatic smile, an unreadable aura, and a surefire plan to cure curses.

How’s a cursed witch to know which enchanting man is his destiny? And can Briar possibly make an impact as a magical fashion designer in this tiny town? One thing is certain: a witch’s magic requires a tithe―a berry, a feather, a cut into flesh―and Coill Darragh may take tithes Briar isn’t ready to give . . .

• Publisher: Podium Publishing (October 15, 2024)
• Publication date: October 15, 2024
• Language: English
• Print length: 330 pages