Shelf Awareness for Readers "Gone Witching" column, Oct 12, 2021:

It's officially spooky season, and I, for one, am excited to celebrate the array of witchy books available. For nonfiction history buffs, look no further than Stacy Schiff's The Witches: Suspicion, Betrayal, and Hysteria in 1692 Salem (Back Bay Books, $19.99), which offers a comprehensive account of the Salem Witch Trials, starting with the convulsions of one young woman and resulting in the execution of more than a dozen men and women.

Alice Hoffman's Magic Lessons (Simon & Schuster, $17) also transports readers back to 17th-century Salem, offering an expanded history of the Owens family that stars in her popular novel Practical Magic (Berkley, $17) and its more modern-day prequel, The Rules of Magic (Simon & Schuster, $16.99).

Nearby Lowell, Mass., provides the setting for C.S. Malerich's The Factory Witches of Lowell (Tordotcom, $14.99), which imbues women on strike in the small mill town with a bit of strength in witchcraft. Danvers, Mass.--where the accusations originated that kicked off the Salem Witch Trials--also serves as the setting for Quan Barry's excellent We Ride Upon Sticks (Vintage, $16.95), as the 1989 Danvers High School field hockey team taps into darker powers to secure a state championship.

That's not to say New England has the corner on witch trial histories: Rivka Galchen draws on historical accounts from Württemberg, Germany, in Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $27), which our reviewer called "a vibrant, provocative story" with a "decidedly modern tone."

Never one to miss a good contemporary romance (or a punny title), I gobbled up Lana Harper's Payback's a Witch (Berkley, $16), a queer revenge-gone-magic tale of a handful of witches out to take down the magical bro who's hurt them each in turn. Here's to the magic of the season!

This is such a fantastic book to read in autumn. It was extremely immersive and the atmosphere that Harper creates is extremely unique and enthralling, I honestly couldn't put it down and didn't want to! After reading so many horror books in October, some that were quite boring, I loved throwing myself into this witchy tale. I tend to find it difficult to really love characters but I had no problem falling in love with these ones, the whole cast felt real and fleshed out. I'd highly recommend this to anyone looking for the perfect fall book.

Emmy returns home to take up the mantle of Arbiter of the Gauntlet, a generational challenge for the witch families that rule her small, perfect town in Illinois. Her plan is to get in and out of the town as quickly as possible with as little contact as possible with the boy who dumped her in high school. Her plans immediately hit a snag as she is pulled back into her family and the drama of the town. Think Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire but as a romcom for adults. Fun and fast.

Payback’s a Witch was once of the most anticipated books for me. I am not sure how to explain how I feel about it. I know that we are in an era in which authors want to include more diverse characters and that is truly beautiful. However, when the characters identify as LGBTQ, sometimes it feels like the author is holding back. Meaning, if the main characters were male and female, authors tend to unleash like a volcano all the sexual tension that has been brewing. So why not do the same for two girls or two guys? If we are trying to highlight and promote diversity, why are we holding back? This book had me captivated within the first few pages, but I slowly lost interest when it was taking forever for anything to happen. This was more of a cute story, not steamy and that is okay, but I still felt like the author was playing it safe between Talia and Emmy.

4.25/5 stars

*Thanks to NetGalley for sending an eARC and to Berkeley for sending me a finished copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Emmy Harlow left Thistle Grove far behind, or at least that's what she thought. But, in one last trip to preform the family duty of overseeing a witch competition, she is forced to confront the reasons she left in the first place, as well as a possible new reason to stay.

SAPPHIC WITCHES...that's the only description I really needed to convince me to pick up this book, and it delivered. This NA paranormal low fantasy is romantic, fun, and very appropriate for spooky season.

First off, I adored the romance plotline. It is well developed, but definitely not slowburn. Both Emmy and Talia are such dynamic and relatable characters (I literally adore Talia), and they have really great chemistry. I also love the revenge plotline

The plot is pretty well developed, thought there were some things I wished were explained a little more thoroughly. However, this is a series, so I can cut some slack on all of that, as more could be brought up in the next book. The pacing, on the other hand, was done very well in my opinion.

My one real issue with the book is that some of the internal monologue felt like it was trying to hard to be 'gen Z,' and it really wasn't. For example, some of the references felt awkward and out of place, and Emmy uses hashtags in her thought process unironically. This threw me off for a bit, so it took me a minute to get into the book, but I absolutely devoured the last bit of it in like two days.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one, and I'm definitely requesting an ARC of book two once thats announced.

Honestly, this was cute as shit and just made me happy. After a couple of books putting me into slumps these past few months, this paranormal sapphic romance was exactly what I needed to lift my spirits. I found the writing in this to be really well done as you completely understand the magical town of Thistle Grove and how ancestry plays a big role into the story. I never found myself confused or questioning the worldbuilding. While this book, at its core is primarily a romance, the magic made sense and felt as though it could happen in some town perfectly automnal town (you know, like Halloweentown). I really enjoyed the characters in the book, they all felt like real people who make questionable and stupid mistakes that made a lot of sense. The third act argument that always happens in romances was obviously ridiculous and (I felt) came out of nowhere, but it just led to a pretty fun ending that resulted in the main character finding herself and developing the confidence she needed to be her own person, so you know what whatever! Let the ladies fight if it means the ladies will be in love. (Also, Talia is the necromancer woman of my DREAMS and I completely understand how Emmy fell in love with her so quickly.)

3.5⭐

Payback's a Witch was an entertaining queer paranormal romance. The characters were my favorite part of this story. Emmy isn't perfect, and when she returns to her hometown she has to face her reasons for running and staying away. Her friends and family loved her unconditionally, and I appreciated that she acknowledges how her actions affected them. I was completely invested in the slow burn, steamy romance between her and Talia. Talia was such a strong and fascinating character and I really loved her! The plot itself was entertaining: three female witches joining forces to knock the male witch who scorned them down a peg. However, it seemed to really dragged at times and I found myself skimming to get to the exciting parts.

Overall Payback's a Witch was a great for the fall season with a bisexual rep, an F/F romance, witches, magic, friendship, and family.

This story was delightful. I’ve been reading a lot of gloomier books because I love them but I needed a little break from the bleak and I’m so glad this one caught my eye. I thought it was the perfect mix of a developing romance, a character struggling to put aside past hurts and figure things out, a long-overdue revenge plan and also a fun witchy adventure. All great things. All done just right! This is one of those magical books featuring such a well-drawn warm and cozy setting you might want to move into the book and never leave.

Emmy fled her beloved magic filled hometown of Thistle Grove after her heart was shattered by a callous man and she never looked back. But now she’s been called back to fulfill something called the Gauntlet which is basically a magical-filled event that the four founding families participate in every fifty years. The winning family receives a LOT of power and of course the same family has been winning for far too many years and is using their power to take control of the town as power hungry villains will do. Villainous villains, all of them!

That’s the bones of the tale and I found it all enjoyable. There’s a good amount of time spent on friendships, family, new romances and the fun revenge plot line against the town heartbreaker Gareth Blackmoore. He of the power hungry Blackmoore’s. The brazen fool has spurned not only Emmy but her best-friend and even one of the town’s darker magic badasses, Talia, and they are not suffering his bullshittery any longer. During their planning and researching and bonding over their mutual disdain for Gareth, Emmy and Talia become more than friends but they have a lot of things to figure out here. The romance is a little angsty but it never gets out of control.

I thought Payback’s A Witch was an amusing, breezy tale with luscious fall atmosphere and just enough adventure for me. Admittedly I’m not a huge fan of too much action/adventure so if you have similar tastes you’ll likely enjoy this one as much as I did. I’m looking forward to the next one! Maybe I’ll even keep up with a series for once in my life 🙀

Really torn on this one.

A good portion of it was charming, with funny and sometimes dark humor/dialogue. The poetic and lyrical writing worked for me on some passages but was a bit much on others. What lost me was the heavy usage of colloquialisms, the very current slang, and cultural references that will easily be stale in a year or two.

I wish I could say it held my interest enough to be a quick read but I had to force myself to stay with it after the halfway mark where I hit a major slow point. Once I made it to the last quarter of the book the pace picked up again and I enjoyed the ending.

Payback's a Witch is the book to read this Halloween that will give you a lovely atmospheric read with ghosts, necromancy and a spellcasting tournament but will also give you that sapphic romance you have been craving.

Right from the start I was hooked by our introduction to your main character Emmy. Emmy returns back to Thistle Grove after a long absence after a romance gone bad. As she returns she realizes that she wasn't the only one he's played and with the upcoming spellcasting tournament that is held between the witch families of town every 50 years or so, it shows the best opportunity to get back at him.

Now that in itself isn't what grabbed me of course. It sounds like a very basic something but that is not this book. Emmy ran from a bad romance as she likes to say but it was much more than that. It was what gave her the final push with her low insecurities with her powers. And as she returns she has to challenge that side of her choice. And find out what she really finds worthwhile.

There is also a lot of history in Thistle Grove where we get hints of through the elders of each family as the tournament continues. Each family has their own strength and their own place in town. But with one family always winning the tournament there is a focus of power on one end. It doesn't feel right to the next generation.

Emmy, despite why she ran, is a very kick ass lady. She cares about her friends but has been putting up a wall. Enter Talia who starts poking her walls. Talia is a mysterious lady to many as is her whole family, but she is genuinely a gentle soul. When they both run into each other again sparks start flying. Their romance felt so very real and the chemistry was flying of the page from the very start. The bond between them was something that build up throughout the book and there was no talking of loving each other forever but giving each other a chance at a serious relationship. I liked that a lot.

Next to these two ladies I just really appreciated all the side characters. Rowan and Lindin, Talia's and Emmy's family. And just the whole mood of this book.

"Payback's A Witch" is a fun and quirky LGBTQ+ witchy book for fans of The L Word and Practical Magic. Families in the town of Thistle Grove compete in challenges for control of the town's magic. This read is definitely recommended for any witchy book fans out there!

Thank you to Berkely and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a fun read for October! It's got hot witches of all kinds, a fun triwizard tournement-esque series of challenges, and some romance with a side of self-discovery for the mid/late twenty-year-old. So much fun!

Emmy Harlow is a member of one of the families that occupy Thistle Grove. She's not very powerful -- no one in her family is -- but she has to come back to participate in some arcane ritual game. So she returns to the town where she felt caged, and where she had her heart shattered. Teen years, am I right? So, there are lots of shenanigans, lots of fun characters, and some steamy stuff with oh-so-hot Talia Avramov. Swoon.

So, I loved it! Loved the games, loved the lore, loved the families, the romance, the drama. But I honestly just wanted MORE of all of it. More about the creepy family founders, more about the powers everyone has, more of all of Emmy's friends. More of a panic about her life! I want existential dread, people! But if you want a light-hearted romantic spooky edgy romp, here you go.

4 stars.

3.5⭐

This was such a magical, beautifully written contemporary. Without a doubt, Lana Harper is an amazing writer. The prose, world building, descriptions, and character development absolutely took me away to this magical town. This is one of those stories were the world and setting is so real, it feels like it's own character.

Unfortunately what kept me from falling head over heels in love with this romance, was the little emphasis on the romance itself. Especially since I absolutely ADORED the moments we got with them.

This book has a huge emphasis on Emmy's personal journey. She is struggling to find her own place in the world against the pull toward the home town she doesn't want to love. This story is very much about her self-acceptance of her magic, family, and place in town while not giving up what she wants and loves. And I loved all of those elements.

But I guess I just had different expectations for this story. As much as I loved the contemporary aspects, I wanted more time with the romance. Emmy and Talia had such good on page chemistry, but I felt as through there was just so little of it. I wanted more! I wanted more one on one moments where they got to know each other and explore their feelings beyond attraction.

Overall, this was a stunningly written contemporary novel, with lush descriptions, and intricately developed magic system with a sweet, but not forefront, romance. I do 100% plan to read the sequel to this! I liked the little intro we got to the next couple and I can't wait to read their story.

I loved this book SO MUCH and am already just waiting for the next one in this series! Cute, queer, witchy, romance, what's not to love!

A really fun book that showcases magic in a different way. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and the build up for the next books.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

This is a story about coming home. Emmy Harlow is from a magical town, Thistle Grove, home to the four magic founding families: the Blackmoores, Thorns, Avramovs, and Harlows.  Emmy has not been back home for a long time -- in part because of her desire to find her own, non-magical path in Chicago and in part because of her heartbreak at the hands of Gareth Blackmoore nearly a decade ago.  

But when it comes time for the periodic magic tournament where a Harlow serve as the arbiter and a representative of each of the three other families compete, Emmy is drawn back to town by the family obligation.  Her first night back in town, she runs into Talia, the sharp edged and very attractive member of the Avramov family, and the two have a night full of sparks.  Emmy is surprised to run into Talia the next day when she is having brunch with her best friend, Linden Thorn, and even more surprised to learn the three share something in common -- each has been with and dumped by Gareth Blackmoore.  As the three plot their revenge, Emmy finds herself increasingly drawn to the home she thought she had left behind for good -- and to the charming and mysterious Talia, who she can't keep thinking about -- as she begins to question what type of future she wants for herself.

This book was terrific!  Emmy's struggle between the competing impulses of wanting to make her own way in the world, independent of her family and her hometown, is a universal story, and the author here did an excellent job exploring these themes.  As a reader, we understood Emmy's desire to blaze her own trail, while also seeing the pull of home.  The author also deftly explores relationships, including the romantic and the platonic.  I also enjoyed the world building of Thistle Grove.  In the single book, the author built a compelling magical world, complete with an interesting backstory -- and, hopefully, the potential for a sequel.

Strongly recommended!

Thanks so much to berkley for this free copy of Payback’s a Witch! This is an absolutely perfect read for October. Payback’s a Witch is a queer witchy revenge story set in a charming small town that’s full of creative magical trials, hook ups in a haunted forest, snarky banter, sweet lady kisses (points if you get this reference) and a unique system of magic. I’ve included the synopsis below and recommend if you’re looking for a witchy romance with an extremely satisfying ending for this spooky season.

<i>*This book was given to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review*</i>

A witchy rom-com?! Sign me up! I'm enjoying these recent lighthearted fantasy titles coming out, and this was no exception. Friendship, community, heritage, and love played heavy themes.

I read Cackle! just before this and I really loved that book, so I was in the mood for some more witchy mystery but this didn't deliver for me. Too many smouldering looks and sexy banter but no real plot to speak of. The romance didn't develop, it just came out of nowhere. The big tournaments were actually low-key and quickly over and it felt like the same scenes were being repeated. The author has some crutch words that need to be cut down - moue is a word that should only be used once., ditto for biting/nibbling the inside of your cheek/lips. The book wasn't bad, just not what I hoped for and I did think the LGBTQ rep was great.

Paybacks A Witch is the most wonderful, witchy, sapphic romance that you absolutely need in your life.

Emmy and Talia are everything that I’ve been looking for since I finished Delilah Green Doesn’t Care and I absolutely adore them. This story sucked me in from the very first page and it was magical. A revenge plot on an ex-boyfriend, a magical competition, a cute little witchy tourist town; this book is everything & was absolutely perfect for a spooky season read.