Payback’s a Witch
Score: 4.5/5 Bookmarks
Steam Level: ✨✨/5
Thank you to Berkley for gifting me a review copy of Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper.
Emmy Harlow heads back home to Thistle Grove after being away for years. The longer she spends away the less magical ability she has as a witch. Plus, her family is known for being the least powerful of the four founding families to begin with.
Emmy fled town when she realized she’d only ever be seen for her abilities with magic (or lack thereof) and so went out into the world to make a ‘normal’ life for herself. It didn’t hurt that she’d just had her heart stomped on by Gareth Blackmoore. The Blackmoores are the most powerful family in town and the only thing worse than being dumped by Gareth Blackmoore, is him not remembering you at all when you come back into town. To really add salt to the wounds it turns out that Gareth also did the dirty on Emmy’s best friend, Linden Thorn, and the uber-hot Talia Avramov. The three of them get together to talk revenge…but Emmy quickly gets distracted by the oh-so-enchanting Talia.
This witchy read was ever so delightful and had the perfect amount of hilarity, depth, and steamy moments. I loved Emmy’s growth after being away and coming home to face how she felt about her past, and carve out her own future. The characters were all so wonderfully written and practically leapt off the page.
And the best news of all? This is book one in a new series called The Witches of Thistle Grove! I can’t wait for book two!
Synopsis:
Emmy Harlow is a witch but not a very powerful one—in part because she hasn't been home to the magical town of Thistle Grove in years. Her self-imposed exile has a lot to do with a complicated family history and a desire to forge her own way in the world, and only the very tiniest bit to do with Gareth Blackmoore, heir to the most powerful magical family in town and casual breaker of hearts and destroyer of dreams.
But when a spellcasting tournament that her family serves as arbiters for approaches, it turns out the pull of tradition (or the truly impressive parental guilt trip that comes with it) is strong enough to bring Emmy back. She's determined to do her familial duty; spend some quality time with her best friend, Linden Thorn; and get back to her real life in Chicago.
On her first night home, Emmy runs into Talia Avramov—an all-around badass adept in the darker magical arts—who is fresh off a bad breakup . . . with Gareth Blackmoore. Talia had let herself be charmed, only to discover that Gareth was also seeing Linden—unbeknownst to either of them. And now she and Linden want revenge. Only one question stands: Is Emmy in?
But most concerning of all: Why can't she stop thinking about the terrifyingly competent, devastatingly gorgeous, wickedly charming Talia Avramov?
