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bookcheshirecat's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
4.0
“Places from the past are usually much smaller than you remember when you return to them years later, shocked that they'd ever managed to command so much space in your brain at all.”
➽ Payback's a Witch is a cute paranormal, witchy Romance! The story follows Emmy Harlow, who left behind her hometown Thistle Grove 9 years ago, but now has to come back for a magical competition. I really liked the small-town setting and the way magic worked! Instead of being innate, magic is tied to Thistle Grove, meaning that Emmy lost her magic when she was away in Chicago. There are several founding families and each has their speciality. The Thorns are best at life magic/healing, the Avramovs at necromancy and the Blackmoores have the most powerful magic. I liked the political dynamics between the families and the implications of the monopoly the Blackmoores have on magic. They're slowly driving away business from the others and trying to be everything for the town.
➽ Emmy deals with a lot of insecurity and complicated feelings towards her home and her magic. Her family barely has enough magic to cast spells and is mostly there to chronicle the lore and history of the town. Therefore, she has dealt with some bitterness toward the other families for having much more magic. I liked how the story explored her reluctance to see Thistle Grove as home and not a stifling obligation to her family. She's been away for a long time and didn't realize how much it hurt her parents and her best friend Linden. I liked seeing her rekindle these relationships! Her ex Gareth Blackmoore is the one who drove her away, so I loved the pact Linden, Emmy and Natalia made against him! They each have been used by him, so they're no longer willing to let him and his family walk over everyone.
➽ I loved the witchy vibes, the romance and the tournament! Emmy's falling for her co-conspirator Natalia, a strong-willed woman with dark humor from the Avramov clan. Their romance was sweet and I thought they had great chemistry! Their conflicts were very realistic, as both of them have very different views of the town. I liked how Emmy came to terms with her own complicated feelings in the end and how her change of heart wasn't only about Natalia.Emmy finds out her family has a bigger role than she thought. They are conduits/filters for the magic in Thistle Grove, so that's why they can't do any big spells themselves. Knowing that really helped her feel more powerful and like her family has a purpose in town! I also appreciated that while Gareth was the catalyst for the plot, he didn't take over the story. Natalia, Emmy and Linden forged their own paths and built their futures without him!
➽ Payback's a Witch is a cute paranormal, witchy Romance! The story follows Emmy Harlow, who left behind her hometown Thistle Grove 9 years ago, but now has to come back for a magical competition. I really liked the small-town setting and the way magic worked! Instead of being innate, magic is tied to Thistle Grove, meaning that Emmy lost her magic when she was away in Chicago. There are several founding families and each has their speciality. The Thorns are best at life magic/healing, the Avramovs at necromancy and the Blackmoores have the most powerful magic. I liked the political dynamics between the families and the implications of the monopoly the Blackmoores have on magic. They're slowly driving away business from the others and trying to be everything for the town.
➽ Emmy deals with a lot of insecurity and complicated feelings towards her home and her magic. Her family barely has enough magic to cast spells and is mostly there to chronicle the lore and history of the town. Therefore, she has dealt with some bitterness toward the other families for having much more magic. I liked how the story explored her reluctance to see Thistle Grove as home and not a stifling obligation to her family. She's been away for a long time and didn't realize how much it hurt her parents and her best friend Linden. I liked seeing her rekindle these relationships! Her ex Gareth Blackmoore is the one who drove her away, so I loved the pact Linden, Emmy and Natalia made against him! They each have been used by him, so they're no longer willing to let him and his family walk over everyone.
➽ I loved the witchy vibes, the romance and the tournament! Emmy's falling for her co-conspirator Natalia, a strong-willed woman with dark humor from the Avramov clan. Their romance was sweet and I thought they had great chemistry! Their conflicts were very realistic, as both of them have very different views of the town. I liked how Emmy came to terms with her own complicated feelings in the end and how her change of heart wasn't only about Natalia.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity
starry's review
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.
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
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Cursing, Classism, Toxic friendship, Gore, Infidelity, and Violence
moeckles's review
lighthearted
relaxing
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence
linesiunderline's review
funny
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.5
Such fun! Witchy, magic-packed, an ode to Fall and small town life, romantic, sexy, funny a strong sense of place… I love all the things about this book. What else could there possibly be to love? It’s the first in a series! Yay! The only way I could’ve been more delighted would be if it had been a touch longer and some of the secondary characters had more face time so they could be more developed. A new October favourite for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, and Violence
Minor: Misogyny
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