This was a fun Halloween romance! Perfect for the month of October and full of all the witchy vibes :) definitely appropriate for those who enjoy the fall season and are looking for a spooky story :)

This was such a fun read! I loved reading about the little town of Thistle Grove and all it’s amazing witches! I loved every character especially Talia. She was my favorite.

Emmy (our MC), Talia, and Linden are 3 witches from 3/4 founded families of Thistle Grove but that’s not the only thing they have in common. They also have each had a relationship with Gareth, who is from the 4th founded family. Gareth is quite a jerk, and basically broke all three girls hearts over the years. The girls seek revenge by teaming up to stop Gareth from winning the spell casting tournament. If all this isn’t enough, Emmy starts for fall for Talia!

I felt the beginning of this one started slow, however, it begins to pick up by the time the tournament starts. (So hang in there!!) I almost put it down, but I’m glad I didn’t! By the end, I was dying to read book #2! This will be released May 17th and I will definitely be getting myself a copy!

If you like witches, love triangles (or squares?), magic, LGBTQIA rom-coms, and action packed completions than this one is for you!

Paybacks a witch was so fun. I loved the idea of women coming in and taking down a shitty man. I also loved the romance.

A delightful book full of adventure, action, and thrills. Fun to read, engrossing world building, and very descriptive imagery made it feel like it was cinematic. It's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. Would recommend.

I always love a good witchy story to read in the Fall, and was so excited for PAYBACK’S A WITCH by Lana Harper.

This was a cute sapphic romance that really brought those pumpkin spice, cooler weather, and Autumn colors of Fall that I was hoping for.

The magic and spell casting was my favorite, and I loved that there was a rivalry between two witch families, which led to a an enjoyable plot.

*many thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for sending me and ARC in exchange for an honest review. I tried this book a couple of times and honestly couldn’t get into the plot. The writing was well done, the story just wasn’t catching my attention. I think I had a difficult time connecting to the characters in the story. It just wasn’t the book for me.

Thanks Again!

It was a decent romance novel, but I didn't love it. Everything fell a little flat for me and it wasn't memorable or really hit me.

Yes, please! I am here for all the witchy books and this one is setting up for such a great series! I cannot wait to read more and I really like Lana's writing.

Fun and Sexy

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?

Lana Harper has shown remarkable skill in taking the standard witch trope and creating a sexy, spellbinding version. It reads like a cross between Halloween Town and Hocus Pocus combined with dynamic female characters that have no need for a man to create a romance. It is a story that is fresh, fun with characters that grow and change and characters that while not perfect still resolve the situation. 

Both Emmy and Talia are engaging characters, with sizzling chemistry at least on the page. The secondary characters are just as endearing even the ones that aren’t magical. The other part that makes them so endearing is that the characters’ differ in abilities and strengths but also complement each other well, even while plotting their revenge. And I love that they work out a plan to take their adversary down, not just because he scorned them but because the family is dominating the town and taking over. I also like the descriptions of the magical abilities. They are still recognizable as witches but the magic is kicked up a notch to make it otherworldly. 

If you like stories with magic and sexy women, this book should be checked out for sure. The characters are fun, engaging, sexy, and the magic reminds me of a cross between Harry Potter and Hocus Pocus. I enjoyed the story immensely and I think readers will too. 

Rating: 5 out of 5 broomsticks

Lana's writing was excellent. I love this take on John Tucker must die where two girls fall in love. Yes to lite paranormal small town romance.

Hello, this is the small town queer witch story i've always needed! Its a sizzling rom-com meets wizard games, and i couldnt help but fall in love with the story and the characters.

I absolutely loved this. I wish I would have read this in the fall because it had the perfect fall vibes. A magical town, with bad ass witches, plus a love subplot, and themes of connecting back to those you love. Also, the three witches taking revenge on a man? Here for it. This was such a great read!

This was a fun, sapphic take on Sabrina the Teenage Witch mixed with John Tucker Must Die. I enjoyed the competitive banter between the characters and thought the concept was super fun! I didn't super connect with the characters, which definitely left me wanting more out of their relationships, but overall, it was a fun halloween-time read.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

After she graduated from high school, Emmy Harlow, left her small town of Thistle Grove and moved to Chicago. Since that time, she really hasn't been back. She's forged her own life in the city completely separate from her magical family in Thistle Grove. Perhaps, now is a good time to mention that Emmy is a witch.

During her time in Chicago, she's felt her powers waning. Apparently, it's important for her to remain somewhat tied to her magical roots. With the approach of a traditional spell-casting tournament occurring in Thistle Grove, Emmy finally decides to return for an extended visit. Her parents will be so happy.

Emmy's family normally acts as the arbiters for the competition and because of where she falls within the family line, it is her turn. She could have passed the duties on to her overzealous cousin, but Emmy feels like it is finally time for her to be involved.

Upon returning to town, it doesn't take long for Emmy to be right back into the small town circle: gossip, run-ins with ex-boyfriends, flirting with old classmates, amongst other things. We learn more about the reasons behind Emmy leaving town, more about her and her relationships with her family.

I love the trope of a character returning to their hometown after an extended absence. As someone who moved away from my own hometown as soon as I graduated high school, I can totally relate to those feelings. When you go back, it's so mixed. You're from there, of there, but also, feel like you are out of place. Life moves on without you while you are away and it's like learning about a whole new place once you finally do go back. I really enjoyed that aspect of this book. Emmy being reintroduced to her roots and really reconnecting with the people she had left behind.

The tournament was interesting as well, although I could have used more of it. It's basically like the Triwizard Tournament, but for the founding magical families of this town. I wish there would have been more of that aspect.

Unfortunately, I didn't connect with the romance. I wanted to be interested, but I just didn't care either way. It was fine, but I wasn't sold on how quickly Emmy and Talia fell for one another. Also, I'm not really sure Gareth's vices were worth the efforts the ladies went to in order to get back at him. Not to be mean but, get over it.

With all of this being said, this was a super cute story overall. I loved the town of Thistle Grove. It felt to me like an Adult version of [book:The Babysitters Coven|38856385] and I'm not mad about it. I will absolutely be continuing on with this series.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am looking forward to returning to this town and this great cast of characters when the second book releases in May!

The premise for Payback's a Witch sounds so amazing! I started reading, but had to put it down for now. I wasn't quite connecting with the characters. I hope to pick it back up soon.

It might not be fall anymore, but I am back on my witchy BS when it comes to books. Payback’s A Witch by Lana Harper kicks off The Witches Of Thistle Grove series. This book keeps my witch book pattern going strong and I LOVE it. Friends, I am so glad I picked this paranormal romance up. It was fun and cute with a little bit of competition. I was all over this book.

Payback’s A Witch follows Emmy Harlow who has returned to her hometown of Thistle Grove. Emmy is a witch who hasn’t really leaned into the whole witch thing. In fact, she curates one of those monthly subscription boxes for a Chicago based company. However, the return to Thistle Grove will have her accessing her witchy roots — particularly as she will be serving as arbiter for the town’s Gauntlet which determines who the next mayor is and gives the winning family a big dose of magic. While back in town, Emmy cozies up with Talia Avramov, one of the witches competing in the Gauntlet. Along with another family — the Thorns — the three team up to get revenge on Gareth, a witch who has been cavalier with Emmy, Talia and Emmy’s best friend Linden. Hijinks ensue.

I had a great time reading Payback’s A Witch. This book has characters who are diverse and interesting. Emmy is bisexual. Linden is Black. Talia has SWAGGER like you would not believe. The setting is perfect. This is the kind of book that deserves a hot beverage, a fluffy blanket and cool weather. That is to say — I love

Unfortunately, this one left quite a bit to be desired for me. I found myself lacking any interest in what was going on in these character's lives, and felt no chemistry between the characters at all. I found myself constantly forcing myself to go back to reading this book and felt like it was more of a chore than something I was doing for fun.

This was one of the books I was most looking forward to reading in 2021 and unfortunately I just didn't feel any type of connection to the characters, the plot of the romance. It was a disappointment for me.

I went into this so excited - LGBTQIA+ and witchy vibes? Count me in! I thought the romance felt like it was too instant and too quick. I kept waiting for a buildup but it just sort of ... happened? I did love the atmosphere and the author's way of telling stories and writing to make it feel like i was part of the family and involved in the tournaments. It was just a lot of build up for such a small payout.

So, I think that I had a different idea of what this book was going to be going in which kind of skewed my experience a bit. I'm not sure why but I thought this would have more of a romance storyline and it didn't really deliver in that area for me (again, not sure if it was supposed to!). I did enjoy the writing style and general storytelling.

Some thoughts on Payback’s A Witch because I cant be bothered to write a full review:

•bisexual witchy John Tucker Must Die
•not as steamy as anticipated
•love a good multi-step challenge! The Gauntlet scenes were so fun!
•as someone who did leave her hometown and doesn’t regret it at all, I can appreciate when people love the place they were raised
•there is some extremely cool and hilarious magic here!

I definitely recommend!