A review by themothermorrigan
Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper

3.0

A sapphic fantasy witchy cosy book? Yes, please! And yet, I cannot love it. I really enjoyed the last quarter of the book and it was a fun read overall but it just doesn't work well enough. The characters are juvenile, it reads more as YA than an adult novel. I am a child at heart and it still felt like these people, who are supposed to be my age (mid-to-late twenties), were so much younger than me. The whole premise is interesting and works for a spooky yet cosy fantasy romance story. I enjoyed the plot, I loved that the romance took more of a backseat to the (weirdly, given the main character's age) coming-of-age story.

I hated that it didn't make sense for the scorned witches to feel so strongly, especially not Emmy and Talia. A few changes would be needed for me to make Emmy's behaviour and feelings make sense. I know that little things can impact us greatly and I know what Harper was going for, what she was trying to communicate, but it wasn't done effectively, at least in my opinion. Just make the payback guy a little shittier, Emmy's self-confidence a little more wounded by how the town has treated her family and we would have a much more coherent story on our hands.

Still, I am happy I read this book and if you want something easy to read and you like witches and wlw stories? Go for it.