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A review by bzliz
Payback's a Witch by Lana Harper
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is a cute, harmless modern fantasy with a witchy side of queer love. It wasn’t groundbreaking by any means but I enjoyed it well enough to continue the series.
Our main character Emmy is returning to Thistle Grove to be the Arbiter of the Gauntlet- a 3 event magic tournament of the other 3 founding families of the town. Her ex-boyfriend’s casual dismissal of her family led to her fleeing town as soon as she was able, forsaking magic to build a life of her own in Chicago. In the mean time, he has managed to burn her best friend and the sexy wild card which leads to a plot for revenge to ensure his family loses the tournament.
The romance was cute but overall the less interesting part of the book. A lot of their chemistry felt heavy handed and Talia didn’t feel like a real person to me. Their blow-up didn’t feel warranted and felt manufactured.
I preferred seeing Emmy’s personal growth as she learns that she can still love her town and she doesn’t have to change everything about herself because of Gareth’s past actions. I would have like to see more of the families interacting; it seems like most of them want to follow tradition even though it has always been weighted heavily in favor of one family in particular. I kept thinking of it like generational wealth: of course the family who has “earned” some extra luck and magic over the past several generations keeps winning their little tournament at the expense of the other families.
Content warnings:
Cursing (on page):I don’t usually tag this but the cursing in this was so prolific that it feels worth mentioning. Hardly a page goes by without a curse or three to spice it up.
Sexual content (on page/fade to black):There’s a make out scene in the woods that gets stopped by spirits. Further sexual situations including chest touching but anything spicier fades to black.
Alcohol (on page):A few bar scenes and a party in the woods, plus alcohol at functions. Emmy has a hangover in one scene.
Infidelity (off page):Prior to the start of the book, Gareth is seeing Lin while hooking up with Talia. Talia feels betrayed because she thought they were exclusive and Lin felt betrayed because she thought they were falling in love.
Our main character Emmy is returning to Thistle Grove to be the Arbiter of the Gauntlet- a 3 event magic tournament of the other 3 founding families of the town. Her ex-boyfriend’s casual dismissal of her family led to her fleeing town as soon as she was able, forsaking magic to build a life of her own in Chicago. In the mean time, he has managed to burn her best friend and the sexy wild card which leads to a plot for revenge to ensure his family loses the tournament.
The romance was cute but overall the less interesting part of the book. A lot of their chemistry felt heavy handed and Talia didn’t feel like a real person to me. Their blow-up didn’t feel warranted and felt manufactured.
I preferred seeing Emmy’s personal growth as she learns that she can still love her town and she doesn’t have to change everything about herself because of Gareth’s past actions. I would have like to see more of the families interacting; it seems like most of them want to follow tradition even though it has always been weighted heavily in favor of one family in particular. I kept thinking of it like generational wealth: of course the family who has “earned” some extra luck and magic over the past several generations keeps winning their little tournament at the expense of the other families.
Content warnings:
Cursing (on page):
Sexual content (on page/fade to black):
Alcohol (on page):
Infidelity (off page):
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Infidelity and Alcohol