Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - From Bad to Cursed

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper

2 reviews

bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

3.0

"We glared at each other, the distance between us seeming to thin and contract, pulsing like a heartbeat, as if our shared loathing were potent enough to actually distort the fabric of reality."

➽ From Bad to Cursed is another Thistle Grove romance that follows Isidora 'Issa' Avmarov and Rowan Thorn! There were hints at their bad history in the last book, but this time Issa and Rowan have to team up again because there's someone in town who's cursing other witches. A member of the Thorn family has had their magic messed with and everyone's suspicious of Issa's family for their affiliation with dark, necromantic magic. As representatives of the families Isidora and Rowan are forced to work closely together in order to catch the culprit. This is an enemies-to-lovers romance, as both Issa and Rowan are at odds with each other. Not only because of their history but also because their families have never gotten along. The Thorns are all about life magic, but the Avmarovs dabble in darker stuff.

➽ I liked the romance for the most part, especially with the added complications of their families being polar opposites. Issa is protective of her family and hates how their magic is seen as revolting by other witches! She also struggles with feeling out of place among her tight-knit family, as Issa yearns to become a fashion designer. Right now she's in charge of the productions at their haunted house, but her work doesn't spark joy anymore. Issa has no idea how to tell her family though, as she feels boxed in by their expectations.

➽ In the end, I was a bit disappointed by this book though as it didn't live up to Payback's a Witch. I didn't feel as invested in the main couple, especially as the mystery took over at times. This made it difficult to root for Issa and Rowan, as I didn't feel like we got to explore their relationship as deeply as I wanted. A lot of interesting aspects of the story weren't properly explored. Issa's struggles with her career weren't as relevant as I would have hoped and were so easily resolved. I was excited for the mental health rep, but Issa's panic attacks were only brought up midway through the book and then weren't mentioned again. It was disappointing that the story didn't delve deeper into her anxiety and panic issues, the portrayal was very surface-level. Another iffy thing was the discussion about the prejudice against the Avmarov's magic and how it was compared to racism. The whole conversation was very tone-deaf. The author randomly included the information that Rowan was biracial and I don't think she mentioned it before that. She goes on about how most family have become more racially diverse, but it feels like a token effort to prove that the witch community is diverse. Rowan being biracial and facing racism was brought up a couple of times, but not further explored in any way. I feel like it was just included to make the romance seem more diverse.

Content Warnings

theespressoedition's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

After reading (and loving) Payback's a Witch, I immediately requested From Bad to Cursed from my library to dive into. I had such high hopes and... I felt a bit let down.

While the first book has a really interesting plot along with great characters, this book had a much less interesting plot and it took the enemies-to-lovers trope to a level that I really don't enjoy. The angst was the primary focus and the banter between Isa and Rowan felt super cringy rather than funny or sexy or really anything worthwhile. I found myself just wanting things to move along so I could stop hating the two of them so much for holding grudges for almost ten years.

The last quarter of the book provided the intrigue I needed and was really the only thing that redeemed it for me. It finally brought the mystery to the foreground and while things wrapped up a little quicker than I hoped or anticipated, I did enjoy the ending. However, I never did find it in myself to really like either of the two main characters, which is a bummer.

I won't let this particular installation keep me from reading the upcoming book in the series. I think this was just filled with tropes I didn't enjoy, but I can see how it would be really appealing to anyone who lives for the bully-love kind of vibe. I look forward to reading Morty's story next!

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