Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper

Payback's a Witch

by Lana Harper

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina meets The L Word in this fresh, sizzling New York Times bestselling rom-com by Lana Harper.

Emmy Harlow is a witch but not a very powerful one—in part because she hasn't been home to the magical town of Thistle Grove in years. Her self-imposed exile has a lot to do with a complicated family history and a desire to forge her own way in the world, and only the very tiniest bit to do with Gareth Blackmoore, heir to the most powerful magical family in town and casual breaker of hearts and destroyer of dreams.

But when a spellcasting tournament that her family serves as arbiters for approaches, it turns out the pull of tradition (or the truly impressive parental guilt trip that comes with it) is strong enough to bring Emmy back. She's determined to do her familial duty; spend some quality time with her best friend, Linden Thorn; and get back to her real life in Chicago.

On her first night home, Emmy runs into Talia Avramov—an all-around badass adept in the darker magical arts—who is fresh off a bad breakup . . . with Gareth Blackmoore. Talia had let herself be charmed, only to discover that Gareth was also seeing Linden—unbeknownst to either of them. And now she and Linden want revenge. Only one question stands: Is Emmy in?

But most concerning of all: Why can't she stop thinking about the terrifyingly competent, devastatingly gorgeous, wickedly charming Talia Avramov?

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

4 of 5 stars

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Lana Harper's debut novel, Payback's a Witch, is the first book in The Witches of Thistle Grove series. If you love witchy romance (and exes), small-town magic, friendship, and lighthearted tales of revenge, this is going to be a series worth checking out.

Emmy Harlow is not a powerful witch. Nobody in her family is. They're the Harlows of Thistle Grove, which makes them the weakest of the witchy families. Perhaps that is why it was so easy for Emmy to walk away from it all. The town and her magic both.

Okay, having her heart broken certainly helped get her to leave – and stay away. But now Emmy must come home, for there's a magical tournament happening in Thistle Grove, and they need the youngest of the Harlow's to officiate it. Just what Emmy needed.

You better believe that I signed up for Payback's a Witch as fast as I could possibly manage! This is one of three 'light witch' novels I read this Halloween season, and I had SO much fun with this little binge of mine.

I love the idea of modern witch society. I don't care if it is super light and fluffy or all dark academia. I'll take what I can get and be happy with it. For example, there's Payback's a Witch. This book had a lot of fun elements: a magical town with a magical tournament, a wealthy/powerful ex, and a broken heart. Oh! Not to mention a sapphic romance. Yes, please!

Learning about the different Thistle Grove families was so much fun, and I can't wait to see what we'll learn in the next novel. At the moment, the Harlows are my favorite, though, given their predilection towards books, that's no real surprise.

Talia's character is amazingly badass, and I'm not going to lie – I would love to learn more about her family (Avramov) as well. Actually, I want to learn about all the families! So, when's the next book dropping? (Answer: According to Goodreads, From Bad to Cursed is releasing on May 17, 2022).

Thanks to Berkley and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 22 November, 2021: Finished reading
  • 22 November, 2021: Reviewed