Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Back in a Spell

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Back in a Spell by Lana Harper

4 reviews

apoppyinthewind's review against another edition

emotional inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Another installment of my new favourite series. I love the way Harper writes about magic with a wonderful mix of silly and serious elements. I said it before and I'll say it again, I enjoy how the magic is front and center in the story and not a backseat element compared to the romance. This time we're getting to see more of the infamous Blackmoore family that served as the "villains" of book one, Payback's a Witch.

It was enjoyable to read an inside and new perspective on the Blackmoores that's more nuanced than they're the rich snobby family everyone loves to hate. In this book, we get to meet Nineve "Nina" Blackmoore who's the perfect ice princess on the outside and an adorkable nerd on the inside. She still trying to recover from her engagement ending and soon finds herself entangled with Morty, the lovable bartender from earlier books in the series.

Things start rocky with a short-lived enemies moment to Morty & Nina quickly becoming lovers due to magical fuckery thanks to the interference of a mysterious goddess. I didn't mind the quick pace though as it makes sense story-wise and both characters are good about communicating. This is great if you, like me, are getting a little sick of miscommunication being used as a plot device too often.

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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I was disappointed by this book, especially because I loved the first one. There were a lot of things I would have changed. I feel like the conflict in Nina’s family was talked about but never shown; there was only one confrontation between Nina and the older generation and it didn’t really explain why Nina felt so broken. I also didn’t really like Morty. He was kind of snarky and inconsistently passionate about certain things and aggressive. And I honestly hated the romance. It went from zero to 100 super fast (spice level was HOT- hotter than the other books) after a first date where they basically hated on each other. It wasn’t just awkward or two unlikely people having a hard time connecting; they were both insulting and rude and openly judgy. So the fact that they had a physical (and magical) connection didn’t feel like enough to overcome all that. All of a sudden, they were kind to each other. I could not get behind their relationship. Some people complain about the non-binary representation, but I felt that while it could have been more dramatic of a characterization, it still felt genuine. Nina asked Morty which pronoun he preferred, and I felt like his specific gender expression was consistent and realistic and nuanced. The story, although it was interesting to learn about what was happening, was over-the-top dramatic and wild, and the lore didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the series. I also felt like the consequences of Nina’s actions did not realistically fit the outcome or intent of her actions (like she got off really easily and the conflict resolved too nicely). I also hated how much people despised the Blackmores and Nina never bothered to correct anyone when people made assumptions about her or her intentions because of her family. It made me angry- give credit where they are due but don’t treat them like they are evil. Ugh. I will read the next book still, but I really hope it’s better.

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relin's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

3.0

There was a lot of good feelings and the smut was enjoyable.

The magic system was neat, though the addition of the

goddess and the demigoddess stuff was a bit tough to see how it fit

.

I struggled with the love interest as Morty had the potential to have much more depth than 'be hot' and 'be a decent person'. I appreciated their first date but struggled with how the narrative completely ignored that Morty uses he/they after the first conversation (and only used he). Which I was hoping for a bit more of a fleshed out partner to our main character.

Did enjoy the surprise married factor though!

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oliviathebookwyrm's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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