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ranbara's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Suffered through the heterosexual b-plot bc I like the world building. Some hamfisted "look how diverse our cast is, I'm not racist!" Main character mess that I'll just overlook and some cringy writing from time to time (as was in the first book) but what do you expect
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death, Alcohol, and Sexual content
Minor: Racism, Cancer, Misogyny, Drug use, and Grief
just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
“End of the day, we’re all living beings, right? And everything alive just wants to feel like they’re not in this alone.”
I read Payback’s a Witch, the first book in the Witches of Thistle Grove romance series, last year right around this time. And honestly, I loved it. So much fun. So much magic. So much bisexual lady love and a solid side of joined-together-in-righteous-vengeance female power. So, this next one has been on my “ready for another romance read” shortlist. With the very busy lead up to the Holidays (working education-adjacent during this time of year is…intense), I needed this to keep me grounded/distracted. And it was just right for that.
From Bad to Cursed focuses on Isadora Avramov (Talia’s younger sister), widely known as a powerful witch of the darker Avramov style, leaning into the evil-sorceress projection with her thrill seeking and demon summoning and overall vibe. When very dark, very dangerous magic threatens Thistle Grove’s Beltane celebrations, targeting the green/nature magic Thorn family, the Avramov’s are the obvious suspects. But they know their family didn’t do this. So, Isadora (as Avramov representative) and Rowan Thorn (Thorn representative, and all around frustratingly rule-following, “too good” guy), are tasked with tracking down the truth. And though their families have long been at loggerheads and Issa and Rowan have been each other’s archenemy for years, they realize, after spending so much time together, that they each were a bit blinded by history and assumptions and might, in fact, not hate each other at all.
Will I ever have enough of magic witchy romances? Unlikely. And while I have to be honest tell you that I was a bigger fan of Payback’s a Witch than this one, I also have to say that I sped right through and thoroughly enjoyed this. First, Thistle Grove remains a place that I wish I could live. It was so much its own character in the first book and I was thrilled that it continued to get developed here. Reading about the details of swearing on Lady’s Lake, First Dew ceremony, all the preparation for Beltane, the details of the Emporium and Honeycake Orchards…it was all wonderful. I love the sense of place (and if you are a GG fan, you’ll maybe notice some Stars Hollow vibes that you’ll really like). I was also super into Issa’s vibe. That dark lace and intense self-assurance vibe (a la Wednesday Addams) is always one that I thought was really cool and a bit too out of reach for me personally…so as such, the characters that have it in spades always tend to be my favorites.
As far as the romance, obviously an important piece of the plot, the grudging romance was really well done. Neither Issa nor Rowan wanted it to be happening, but the physical attraction/connection was strong enough that they tried harder than they otherwise might have to see each other’s perspectives, which opened them up to realizing they may have had some misconceptions about each other. Plus, the time they were forced to spend together was enough that their “true personalities” were given space to shine (no one can act that thoroughly). So, yea, it developed well. And the sexual tension was fantastic. The few kisses and steamy scenes were nicely written. I’m not sure that I’m totally bought into them being successful long term…however, the end made it clear both were willing to put in the effort to keep evolving, so I’ll take it. The mystery aspects of the plot were good too. It was enough of a framework, their sleuthing, to be believable without taking over. And the way the small clues scattered throughout came together in the end was smoothly done. I thought the culprit was perhaps an easy out, but the way it played out did fit the facts and situation, so I’m accepting it.
Harper tried to add in a few deeper elements, like Issa’s mental health and her dreams/goals that didn’t line up with family expectations, as well as the prejudice pieces (racial and magical). In the end, it felt more like a good try that a successful attempt, used more as plot devices than developed in their own right with any real depth. It wasn’t (IMO) done so poorly as to be offensive, but it just was surface-level and, even though it shouldn’t have felt this way because they were all legit issues, seemed somewhat contrived. Anyways, nothing bad, necessarily, just some “could have been better” things.
This was the magical, entertaining romance (with a surprise side of light mystery) that I wanted it to be. Nothing profound, and not a new fav as the first book was, but absolutely the romantic escapism with a side of enchantment (literal and figurative) that I was hoping for. A great follow-up and I am back to looking forward to more from Thistle Grove!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Sexual content, Cursing, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcohol
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