A review by ariellesbookreviews
Back in a Spell by Lana Harper

2.5

Thank you to Berkeley Romance for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! 

I was very excited to read Back in a Spell by Lana Harper. I enjoyed the first two books in The Witches of Thistle Grove series immensely and looked forward to learning more about the dubious Blackmoore family. Stories where the reader must interpret how much character basis influences our perception of sides characters always intrigue me. Unfortunately, this story did not meet my exceptions. 

Like many other reviewers, I felt uncomfortable with Harper's nonbinary representation. Nineve Blackmoore asks Morty what pronouns they use, and they state They/Them and He/Him, primarily the former. Morty's use of He/Him pronouns as a nonbinary person is valid; however, Nineve Blackmoore's exclusive use of them feels inappropriate, particularly combined with her use of gendered terms to describe Jonas without their knowledge. 

Nineve and Morty's relationship also was not well developed. This book did not feel like a romance. These two barely interacted, and most of the romance focused around the mating bond. I like stories with mating bonds, but I also want the characters to like and enjoy each other's company. 

Overall, the book was disappointing, but I also had high expectations. I would've rated the book higher if the representation was better. 2.5 Stars