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A review by bookcheshirecat
Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
4.0
“Places from the past are usually much smaller than you remember when you return to them years later, shocked that they'd ever managed to command so much space in your brain at all.”
➽ Payback's a Witch is a cute paranormal, witchy Romance! The story follows Emmy Harlow, who left behind her hometown Thistle Grove 9 years ago, but now has to come back for a magical competition. I really liked the small-town setting and the way magic worked! Instead of being innate, magic is tied to Thistle Grove, meaning that Emmy lost her magic when she was away in Chicago. There are several founding families and each has their speciality. The Thorns are best at life magic/healing, the Avramovs at necromancy and the Blackmoores have the most powerful magic. I liked the political dynamics between the families and the implications of the monopoly the Blackmoores have on magic. They're slowly driving away business from the others and trying to be everything for the town.
➽ Emmy deals with a lot of insecurity and complicated feelings towards her home and her magic. Her family barely has enough magic to cast spells and is mostly there to chronicle the lore and history of the town. Therefore, she has dealt with some bitterness toward the other families for having much more magic. I liked how the story explored her reluctance to see Thistle Grove as home and not a stifling obligation to her family. She's been away for a long time and didn't realize how much it hurt her parents and her best friend Linden. I liked seeing her rekindle these relationships! Her ex Gareth Blackmoore is the one who drove her away, so I loved the pact Linden, Emmy and Natalia made against him! They each have been used by him, so they're no longer willing to let him and his family walk over everyone.
➽ I loved the witchy vibes, the romance and the tournament! Emmy's falling for her co-conspirator Natalia, a strong-willed woman with dark humor from the Avramov clan. Their romance was sweet and I thought they had great chemistry! Their conflicts were very realistic, as both of them have very different views of the town. I liked how Emmy came to terms with her own complicated feelings in the end and how her change of heart wasn't only about Natalia.Emmy finds out her family has a bigger role than she thought. They are conduits/filters for the magic in Thistle Grove, so that's why they can't do any big spells themselves. Knowing that really helped her feel more powerful and like her family has a purpose in town! I also appreciated that while Gareth was the catalyst for the plot, he didn't take over the story. Natalia, Emmy and Linden forged their own paths and built their futures without him!
➽ Payback's a Witch is a cute paranormal, witchy Romance! The story follows Emmy Harlow, who left behind her hometown Thistle Grove 9 years ago, but now has to come back for a magical competition. I really liked the small-town setting and the way magic worked! Instead of being innate, magic is tied to Thistle Grove, meaning that Emmy lost her magic when she was away in Chicago. There are several founding families and each has their speciality. The Thorns are best at life magic/healing, the Avramovs at necromancy and the Blackmoores have the most powerful magic. I liked the political dynamics between the families and the implications of the monopoly the Blackmoores have on magic. They're slowly driving away business from the others and trying to be everything for the town.
➽ Emmy deals with a lot of insecurity and complicated feelings towards her home and her magic. Her family barely has enough magic to cast spells and is mostly there to chronicle the lore and history of the town. Therefore, she has dealt with some bitterness toward the other families for having much more magic. I liked how the story explored her reluctance to see Thistle Grove as home and not a stifling obligation to her family. She's been away for a long time and didn't realize how much it hurt her parents and her best friend Linden. I liked seeing her rekindle these relationships! Her ex Gareth Blackmoore is the one who drove her away, so I loved the pact Linden, Emmy and Natalia made against him! They each have been used by him, so they're no longer willing to let him and his family walk over everyone.
➽ I loved the witchy vibes, the romance and the tournament! Emmy's falling for her co-conspirator Natalia, a strong-willed woman with dark humor from the Avramov clan. Their romance was sweet and I thought they had great chemistry! Their conflicts were very realistic, as both of them have very different views of the town. I liked how Emmy came to terms with her own complicated feelings in the end and how her change of heart wasn't only about Natalia.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail