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A review by caitlins_bookshelf
Back in a Spell by Lana Harper
lighthearted
mysterious
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? Yes
3.5
the third book in the witches of thistle grove series, this one follows nina (witch) and morty (normie). in an attempt to get over her ex fiance, nina's best friend encourages her to use a dating app, where she finds morty. their date is ridiculously awkward, made worse by the fact that nina's family has been trying to buy out the cafe owned by morty and their family. but then morty starts to develop magical powers - something that usually only happens to commited romantic partners who are 'witchbound' - and nina has to find out why.
this one had a lot going for it! I really enjoyed the plot and the mystery side of it. I wasn't sure where it was going and it made for a good quick paced read. it's a really fun, interesting world and despite my issues with this book, which I shall get into, I am still interested in reading the rest. it's the perfect level of witchy fantasy and romance, and of course just the right vibe for this time of year.
I didn't love nina (she was kinda annoying at times) but I really liked the relationship between nina and morty and the way this was developed. I also liked the way it explored the differences between their two families and their dynamics.
my main issue with this one is the very disappointing non binary rep ! morty is introduced as being non binary, using he/they pronouns, and yet after one initial short conversation about this where it's established that they're happy being referred to as he (though it's made clear that either is good!!), it's not mentioned again for the rest of the book and not a single character refers to him using they/them pronouns 🙃 obviously being non binary can mean something different to everyone, and there will be so many non binary people out there who are very comfortable with binary pronouns. but in this book it just felt very much like an afterthought, and I'm left a bit baffled on why the author chose to do this ?? sort of feels like morty was written as a cis man and then at the last minute this was lazily changed.
basically just a real shame because this could have been such a good book. as I've already said, I enjoyed pretty much everything else about it but I've dropped it a star because of how frustrated I felt whenever I remembered how morty's identity was just brushed over. idk, as a whole the book still felt pretty queer as both characters were pan but maybe just don't advertise your book as having non binary rep if you're not actually gonna properly commit to it ? 🙃
this one had a lot going for it! I really enjoyed the plot and the mystery side of it. I wasn't sure where it was going and it made for a good quick paced read. it's a really fun, interesting world and despite my issues with this book, which I shall get into, I am still interested in reading the rest. it's the perfect level of witchy fantasy and romance, and of course just the right vibe for this time of year.
I didn't love nina (she was kinda annoying at times) but I really liked the relationship between nina and morty and the way this was developed. I also liked the way it explored the differences between their two families and their dynamics.
my main issue with this one is the very disappointing non binary rep ! morty is introduced as being non binary, using he/they pronouns, and yet after one initial short conversation about this where it's established that they're happy being referred to as he (though it's made clear that either is good!!), it's not mentioned again for the rest of the book and not a single character refers to him using they/them pronouns 🙃 obviously being non binary can mean something different to everyone, and there will be so many non binary people out there who are very comfortable with binary pronouns. but in this book it just felt very much like an afterthought, and I'm left a bit baffled on why the author chose to do this ?? sort of feels like morty was written as a cis man and then at the last minute this was lazily changed.
basically just a real shame because this could have been such a good book. as I've already said, I enjoyed pretty much everything else about it but I've dropped it a star because of how frustrated I felt whenever I remembered how morty's identity was just brushed over. idk, as a whole the book still felt pretty queer as both characters were pan but maybe just don't advertise your book as having non binary rep if you're not actually gonna properly commit to it ? 🙃