Reviews with content warning for Classism - Payback's a Witch

I thought I was going to love this book and was so excited to read along as the series progresses. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for me to realize this was not the cozy fantasy romance I was looking for. While the setting was charming at times and the spicy moments delivered as promised, the main character's motivations are weak, the relationships all feel forced and awkward, and no one seems to exist past the main character's sphere. For a book that was pitched to me as having Halloween Hallmark vibes, I feel like this missed the mark on the community aspect that makes small-town romances like this successful, and in truth, it felt more like the plot of a Sims neighborhood story than a Hallmark movie. I will also admit that I have a strong bias against characters referring to themselves and each other by their last names outside of sports media, so that certainly didn't win this book any points.

Content Warnings

steffiraquel's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

2.0

Emmy doesn't deserve the understanding of everyone around her, I see her as selfish, bitter (like me after reading this) and extremely childish. Everyone around her deserves better. Talia deserves someone who won't pick fights with her, Linden deserves someone who genuinely wants to stay best friends, Dahlia deserves the powers Emmy should of lost and her parents deserve a child who is grown enough to go to therapy and open up to them about her hatred of some boy who broke her heart 10 years ago. I agree with the founder about the powers, because they are so obviously the reason Emmy is swayed to stay and even bother giving her relationship with Dahlia a chance! I'm sorry, Emmy only stayed because she realised she would lose magic forever if she left! She doesn't deserve it, not even in the slightest

Content Warnings

ka_ke's review

Go to review page

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I am impressed with how much I liked this book. Although the romance is fade to black, Talia & Emmy make a cute well developed couple. Its a pseudo coming of age mixed with destiny fulfillment with a light hearted energy and some inventive insults. I’ll be on the look out for more from Lana Harper.

Content Warnings

wordsareworlds's review

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.5

This book was sold to me as a revenge plot with a heaping side of burning down the unfair and ridiculous generational power structure...and it is not that book at all. However, people looking for an underdog coming out on top/finding her own worth/prodigal child returns home story will find a lot more here to like. It's a cute small town romance, and wow did I love Talia so much. Despite not getting her PoV, Talia is an incredibly well-rounded character with layers of both awesome traits and flaws, and she really shone during the climactic scene.

The book does suffer from some of the drawbacks of many small-town romances, including having exactly one Black family whose characters exist solely in service to the MC's growth and no other PoC. Blood family is the only family that truly matters, and life in the Big City is empty, at its core, because you aren't living within shouting distance of your relatives. In a story where the magic is literally tied to the land itself, the inclusion of that trope felt so unnecessary and condescending. I was also really confused as to why Emmy had just a problem with her cousin Delilah, and her constant belittling and bad treatment of Delilah grated throughout.

I'd recommend this for people looking for a witchy sapphic small town romance, especially for Hallmark holiday movie vibes. The writing is descriptive and evocative without being overly flowery. I can tell Harper really loves this town and she nails a kind of just-graduated-college vibe for her characters, but if you can't overlook the poor depiction of Black characters and idealization of white colonialization give it a pass.

CN

racist depictions of Black men using AAVE, misuse of caste language, anti-Asian racism through MSG jokes, the ex is stalking Lin

Content Warnings

stacy837's review

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

starry's review

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

1.5

I really wanted to like this book, but it lost me a few chapters in and never got me back. It took me over a month if daily reading to finish this book, because it just failed to grip me. My main problems with this one stem from the faults of the main character, Emmy Harlow. Emmy is a witch who left her hometown (and her magic) behind ten years ago after a traumatic breakup, but heads home to the witchy, autumnal Thistle Grove for a once-per-generation magical tournament at the request of her father. Payback’s a Witch is one of those Emma-like stories, where the main character starts off self-absorbed, pretentious, and largely tuned out to the consequences their actions have on others. Over the course of the book, they’re supposed to learn, face consequences, and make amends. The thing with this one is, Emmy realizes she’s been unfair to her family and her friends, but readers don’t ever really see her change. At the end of the novel, Emmy is still self-absorbed, unthinking of how her actions will affect her family and her friends, and she gets everything she wants, without having to sacrifice anything. Usually in a romance novel, that’s exactly what I would want. But with Emmy, it felt too easy, and undeserved.
The romance was lackluster to me, relying on sultry looks and banter that failed to evoke any reaction. I wanted more witchy autumnal town, and less of… whatever this ended up being.
Side characters were criminally underdeveloped and one dimensional, which was extra frustrating because there was so much potential for nuance in these characters and this narrative.
This was one of my most anticipated romance reads from 2021, and I’m sad to say I will not be rereading or recommending it to anyone.
One star for fun bisexual rep, and another half-star for Emmy’s dad, whose bookish stoic personality really charmed me.

Content Warnings

firefly's review

Go to review page

adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

More...