I love this series from Lana Harper! I can't wait for more books from her. I love the bi representation!

“Disaster and hero, monster and martyr, beauty and beast. Choose your own dichotomy because it doesn’t matter. We were always built to be both.”

AHHHHH I loved this book! It had romance, mystery, magical duels, social awareness, steam, and heart. It’s the perfect little bewitching package!

Goodies:
• Enemies-to-lovers
• LGBTQIA+ representation
• Racial diversity
• Creative world-building

What I liked about the book:
1. The first thing I want to point out is how easy this sequel was to follow for me, someone who did not read the first book. The need-to-know characters and plot of the first book were presented in a clear way without being an information dump. I did not feel anything went over my head by not reading book 1 in the series.

2. The worldbuilding was a little on the lighter side than I was expecting, but it was still good. I could totally see this lending well to a movie that I would watch every Halloween right up there with the Harry Potter marathons.

I also enjoyed how there was a pretty clear indication of Thistle Grove being a beautifully weird town still in the middle of America. The fact that the town caters to tourists who think the magic is purely for show is ingenious! Makes me want to find Thistle Grove!

3. I thought it was hilarious that Isidora was creating an enemies-to-lovers vampire themed haunted house, when going into this we knew this was going to be an enemies-to-lovers witch themed love story. I also loved how throughout her creative process, Isidora totally called herself out on her story imitating her own life with Rowan! This little detail took the comparison from corny to downright hilarious!

4. I LOVED ALL THE REPRESENTATION!!!! Within this world, we got so much LGBTQIA+ representation, racial diversity, and lifestyle diversity that I was downright giddy! I especially loved how the author didn’t shy away from the topic of Rowan being a black man who still had to deal with the unjust societal implications surrounding his skin tone outside of Thistle Grove.

5. Speaking of Rowan, I loved most of the characters in this book! Let’s focus on our main two though.

Isidora is a spunky little badass who doesn’t need anyone to save her! She is cocky in the best ways possible, shockingly loving, and a true QUEEN! I love that SHE saved HIM multiple times and that she was behind a lot of their discoveries along the way! She was also super empowering of other women, and that rocks! What a great representative for International Women's Day!

Rowan is a gentleman in the streets, dirty in the sheets and this is quickly becoming my new favorite type of fictional man! I also loved that he was such a nurturing person once Isidora let him get close to her. And that panic attack scene!!!! OH MY GAWD! As someone who has suffered from panic attacks (shoutout to the author for writing about this!), this was EVERYTHING to me! I instantly had big swoony heart eyes for Rowan after this.

What didn’t do it for me:
1. These characters felt like high schoolers during various parts of the book, rather than a 25- and a 29-year-old. While we got steam (which, thank you!), I also felt like the drama we got (especially from Isidora) was pretty juvenile at times.

Special thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to read this lovely book in exchange for my honest review. Make sure you check it out when it releases May 17th!

4 bewitching stars!

This is the second book in the Witches of Thistle Grove and was a nice addition to the series. I really enjoyed the first book and I think I liked this one even better. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. I think our patrons will like it, so I'll order a couple of copies.

This is the second book in The Witches of Thistle Grove series but can also be read as a standalone. It took me a bit to bond with the characters but I ended up really enjoying this one and went back to read the first in the series. Thistle Grove is run by witch families who use their skills to operate the town as a 'magic' tourist destination. Two witches, Isidora and Thorn are tasked with finding out what caused the magical poisoning at the opening celebration for the annual Beltane festival. These enemies must work together to solve the mystery and end up falling for each other. I love all the tropes involved in this one and got through this one very quickly. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

From Bad To Cursed is the second book set in Thistle Grove, Illinois a few months after the events of the first book. This book is way more fun than the first! With some of the world building out of the way, the chemistry of the couple and a crime to solve was very enjoyable. This is a true enemies to lovers romance; the characters genuinely dislike and mistrust one another. But their banter and dislike slowly but surely give way to deliciously heated stares and arguments about astrology signs. This book is much steamier than the previous installment and we do get a glimpse of how Emmy and Talia from book 1 are doing. 3.75 out of 5 stars.

I liked this better than the first book, even though the initial premise interested me less! I didn't love the main relationship and I liked Rowan much more than Isidora, but I really liked the mystery and though this was better written than book 1..

First, this book wasn't at all what I was expecting when I first requested it. While I do think the premise is unique and interesting, the actual story just wasn't something I wanted to continue reading. The writing was a little too cheesy and informal (I do want to say that I normally love voices like this but it just read as amateur for some reason) and I couldn't get into it all. I might pick this up again sometime in the future to take another stab at it, but for now, I don't plan to finish it sadly.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book as I had not read the first one. It is a cute cozy setting and a fun way to write an enemies to lovers with some paranormal elements. I will need to go back and get the first book!

I immediately fell in love with Payback's A Witch when I read it last year, and From Bad to Cursed is just as amazing.

The return to Thistle Grove brings back our main characters from the first book, Emmy and Talia, and then introduces us to our new character focus, Issa and Rowan. Issa Avramov and Rowan Thorn are from families that want nothing to do with each other, and thanks to a bad job experience with the two in the past, we're definitely starting out the book as enemies.

I'm a sucker for a good enemies-to-lovers romance, and when you offer to sprinkle a little bit of magic and family drama in there? I'm sold. Another thing I really love about this series is that, even though it's lighthearted and sweet, the author is still touching on tougher issues. The first book had a bisexual main character whose sexuality was treated as completely normal and no different than the other characters around her, and this book addresses panic attacks and mixed race relationships.

This series just keeps getting better and better, and I can't wait to see what Lana Harper has in store for Thistle Grove next!

This was fun -very light hearted and the dialogue was super snappy and did make me snicker at times. I also really appreciated the representation in the story and the authors careful thought to writing about an interracial romance.

I received this from Berkley, but I hadn't read the first book. There's not a lot to catch up on, so I usually found myself guessing about what was going on. I know the first book was really popular, so I would recommend it to romance/witchcraft lovers, but it wasn't for me.

Despite being extremely here for the spooky witch town vibe, I had the same issue with this novel as I did with the first in the series: everyone outside the main character—particularly, and most disappointingly, the love interest—was really underexplored and undercharacterized, like a cardboard cutout.

I cannot believe in myself for saying this but it’s whole truth: I loved the second installment even more than Payback’s a witch.

The never ending family feud between Avramovs and Thorns was legendarily developed. They reminded me of incarnations of Capulets and Montagues!

The enemies to lovers trope was perfectly thrown into equation and the sexy chemistry between two all time nemesis Issa and Rowan was fiery and intense!

The series keep growing on me at each book! I’m definitely addicted and never say no to a next installment! But so far this one is my favorite!

So many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

"From Bad to Cursed," the second book set in the magical town of Thistle Grove, is even more charming than its extremely charming predecessor, "Payback's a Witch" (and author Lana Harper renders springtime just as enchantingly as she did autumn). This one focuses on Talia Asimov’s younger sister, Issa. When a local witch becomes the victim of a dark curse, suspicion falls on the Asimov family. Issa has to work with her arch-nemesis, the sexy stick-in-the-mud Rowan Thorn, to clear her family’s name. This is an extremely fun read with great dialogue, an entertaining whodunit plot line, and a sweet enemies-to-lovers romance.

Lana Harper returns to Thistle Grove with From Bad to Cursed a light and fun sequel featuring Isidora Avramov and Rowan Thorn, two characters who don’t get along. It’s a quick read that doesn’t disappoint and was exactly what I needed.

A lackluster follow-up to “Payback’s a Witch.” The redeeming factor of the first novel was the strong, yet grounded characters paired with that autumnal feel. The characters felt flat and fake. Even the witchy feel couldn’t redeem this one as it just didn’t have any magic.
2.75/5
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

A welcome return to Thistle Grove, this time with a deep dive into the Avramov’s family via Issa, younger sister to Thalia who featured prominently in book one. In book two, there is a more sinister evil lurking in Thistle Grove. It seems as though someone is targeting the Thorn family when a Misbegotten Curse is cast at an annual spring event physically scarring Holly Thorn and stripping her of her magic. Issa Avramov is partnered with Rowan Thorn to uncover the mystery of who cast the spell. The relationship between Issa and Rowan is animus to say the least and goes beyond the general mistrust between Avramovs and Thorns. Things have been sticky ever since Issa was fired by Rowan from her volunteer work at an animal shelter after she cursed him (not unproved) to be followed around by demonic squirrels. As they work together, it becomes clear to both that a current of something more lies beneath their animosity. Will they be able to overcome decades of family dispute, solve the mystery of some seriously dark magic, and fall in love?

I was delighted by this read. I thought it held up really well for the second book in a series. My one complaint is that I would have really liked to get inside Rowan's head a little bit too. But the storyline and chemistry are spectacular. I cannot wait to read my way through all the founding families casts of characters in books to come.

Ahhhh it felt so good to return to Thistle Grove. I love this town and it's witches. Funny and swoony and exciting- a total joy to read.

Another fun installment of the witches of Thistlegrove! The world building and characters in this series have my heart

From Bad to Cursed is the second book in the Witches of Thistle Grove series and focuses on Isidora (Issa) Avramov and Rowan Thorn. Both characters made small appearances in Paybacks a Witch, Isidora is Talia's younger sister and Rowan is Linden's twin brother. The story is a slow burn and is told from Isidora's first-person pov. Rowan and her don't really start interacting until a few chapters in though there is clearly some history there hinted at in the first book.

The story focuses again on the four powerful witch families of Thistle Grove with the Avramovs being front and center. This time the Avramovs and the Thorns must team up after a spell gone wrong nearly kills one of the Thorns and the spell has a distinctly Avramov feel. Issa and Rowan are forced to work together to both figure out who would want to hurt the Thorns and clear the Avramov name. The enemies-to-loves romance builds as the two learn more about each other and their old issues seem to be mostly miscommunication. Rowan is a genuinely nice guy which works well with Issa's prickliness. We also get to learn more about the Avramov family and Issas secret desire to be a fashion designer. as well as Rowan's green magic and his connection with plants and trees. The twist of who actually cast the spell to hurt the Thorn family completes the story and Rowan and Issa get their happily ever after.