#witches of thistle grove

[nzbookwyrm]

August 2024

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3.5/5

Book Blurb: A witch struggling to regain what she has lost casts a forbidden spell—only to discover much more than she expected, in this enchanting new rom-com by New York Times bestselling author Lana Harper. Six months after having been hit by a power surge that nearly obliterated her memory, Delilah Harlow is still picking up the pieces. Her once diamond-sharp mind has become shaky and unreliable, and bristly, self-sufficient Delilah is forced to rely on friends, family, and her raven familiar for help. In an effort to reclaim her wits and former independence, she casts a dangerous blood spell meant to harness power with healing capacities. While the spell does restore clarity, it also unexpectedly turns Delilah into an irresistible beacon for the kind of malevolent supernatural creatures that have never before ventured into Thistle Grove. One night—just as things are about to go terribly sideways with a rogue succubus—a mysterious stranger appears in the nick of time to save Delilah’s soul. Gorgeous, sultry, and as dangerous as the knives she carries, Catriona Quinn is a hunter of monsters—and half-human, half-fae herself, she is the kind of sly and morally gray creature Delilah would normally find horrifying. Though Delilah balks at the idea of a partnership, she has no choice but to roll the dice on their collaboration. As the two delve deeper into the power that underlies Thistle Grove, they uncover not only the town’s hidden history but also a risky attraction that could upend Delilah’s entire life.

Review:

We return back to Thistle Grove and this time we’re focusing on Delilah Harlow, a witch who is struggling to deal with recovering after having her memories wiped and still trying to find a way to recover them and the length’s she’ll go to to be whole again... even if it means casting a very forbidden and dangerous spell that might make her the target of deadly creatures, however at least there is a gorgeous new half fae monster hunter in town who wants to help her, or does she? Delilah Harlow use to have a sharp mind, she used to recall spells and books, but now? After having her memory wiped by Nina Blackmoore, she can barely remember what things are, her everyday life is a struggle, she can barely remember spells, her own house keys, and has gaps in her memories.  She feels completely helpless and refuses to ask for her, she doesn’t want to be a burden onto others but is fueled with her own rage at her predicament and at the very witch who did this to her who just happens to now be working at her store to try and make it up. Delilah has had enough, so when she casts a dangerous blood spell that was meant to heal her own mind things go very wrong and soon she finds herself the target of dangerous creatures... cue Catriona Quinn, or Cat, a gorgeous and sultry half-fae who is a monster hunter who ends up saving Delilah and offers to protect her... yet there is definitely something more going on not only between their feelings but the fact that Cat has many many secrets that could destroy the blooming relationship between Cat and Delilah, secrets that could destroy the trust in the one person Delilah has begun to open up and trust.... can they save Delilah and make it work? Or was it all a lie? This is the fourth book in the Thistle Grove series and it really focuses on Delilah’s healing journey, from her rage and emotions about what happened to her to coping with the sadness and helplessness about her situation. The romance was very light and just kind of happened, I wish it was a bit more fleshed out and we got more of Cat and Delilah after the third act breakup and how they work out and finally make up. I thought it was a really interesting focus on Delilah’s healing journey, and found it very relatable in how she was so focused on trying not to burden everyone but also closing herself off and refusing to ask for help despite how much her family and friends love her, she just can’t seem to see it in the moment due to her trauma. I wish there was a bit more of Delilah and Cat’s relationship and the ending felt a bit abrupt but overall it was a nice addition to the series and I can’t wait to see where the next book goes and which couple Lana Harper will write about!

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[tudorblogger]

'Payback's a Witch' by Lana Harper

Check out my latest review of the brilliant 'Payback's a Witch' by Lana Harper, first in the Witches of Thistle Grove series!

Genre: Adult Fiction – Chic Lit Published: 2021 Format: Paperback Rating: ★★★★ I adored this book. It’s very girl-power with witches and revenge against a douchebag ex who broke the hearts of three women. The women then band together to get revenge on him and his family who have dominated their small town for years. Having read ‘The Ex Hex’ by Erin Sterling and ‘Hex Appeal’ by Kate Johnson…

[neverthetwinsshallmeet]

To usher in spooky season, we have an episode on witchy books! Tune in to listen to us discuss The Scapegracers boy H.A. Clarke and Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper. We discuss the different takes on witches in both novels, their representation of magic-wielding lesbian and bisexual women, and how supernatural elements are used to underscore and develop the character relationships. (And also how a drag show act served as the seed of inspiration for this episode.)Content warnings: car crash, parental death, homophobia

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

JOMP BPC - October 18th - Witches

can't wait to try The Witches of Thistle Grove series the next time I'm in a paranormal mood 💜

[andreai04]

“Because that's what it means to be a Harlow, my Emmy. Thistle Grove is where we become who we are. Which means that no matter where you turn, where you visit or escape to, this will always be the place that calls you back."

[wlwbookshelf]

IN CHARM'S WAY - LANA HARPER Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In this fourth Thistle Grove installment, the series circles back to the house of Harlow. Delilah is a compelling main character, and as always, there is a magical problem for her to solve, as well as a romance to be had. The love interest Catriona is an outsider and a complex character. 

I think these books can no longer be standalone at this point in the series. Thanks to the lore/worldbuilding from prior books so, if anyone wanted to start with this book, I would say to read at least Payback’s A Witch and Back In A Spell before it for better context. 

I enjoyed this book and still find this a solid series/world and am looking forward to reading the next installment about Dahlia Abramov.

Many thanks to Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. 

[sapphic-book-tournament]

[disregardcanon]

toh the witches of Thistle Grove au from my drafts

context: the witches of thistle grove is a new adult fantasy series about a small town in illinois called thistle grove which was founded by four families of witches as a safe haven for them and their kind. the main character is a member of the least consequential founding family and she hasn't been back home from chicago in YEARS because of a very messy breakup with a boy who shattered her heart, who's a member of the most influential family.

after many years, there's going to be a shakeup in the power in the town because the main character's family is going to arbitrate a competition between the families to decide who will gain the town's power. she has a romance with a VERY attractive girl who's the heir of a different family, reconnects with her friends and family, and has a fun adventure. it's gay and great <3

the au is lumity. here we goooooooo

Blights- Blackmoores (the most influential family)

Porters- Thornes (the family the MCs best friend belongs to)

Montagues- Avramovs (this is the last name I give boscha in my fics and also the love interest's family. no she is not the love interest)

Clawthornes- Harlows (the MC's family who has traditionally stayed out of the competition and arbitrated it.)

i don't remember if this was my worldbuilding or the book's, but part of this premise is that marrying or being adopted into a founding family can give someone without magic magic, but not marrying into a family that doesn't have the magic of the town on their side.

additional families that have magic but aren't founders

Deamonnes, Whispers, Parks, Calliopes (last name I give skara)

amity is living in chicagoland with her fiance, luz. she has to return to her hometown for some important family thing that she won't elaborate on and refuses to bring luz. so luz has to IMPROVISE

cue luz making her own way to the town of thistle grove, talking her way into staying with eda and king clawthorne, and getting involved in amity's checkered past.

details

alador is a normal townie that wasn't born with magic. he figured out at a young age that magic WAS real and ended up best friends with and then high school sweethearts with him. he ends up leaving him for odalia, though, because of the fact that marrying into the blights will give him magic whereas marrying darius... will not

willow and amity were besties as kids and then the blight parents made amity dump her because willow is from a family that isn't influential and seems to only have a trace of magic (as a kid, at least)

in high school, amity dates boscha. it's a match made in heaven for her parents but in hell for her. they really want her to stay with boscha because the montagues are a good, powerful family, but she's also. mean. possessive. and amity feels so stifled here in this town. she breaks up with her, runs off to chicagoland for college, meets luz, and never looks back. at least until it's demanded of her by tradition

a few years after that, willow opens up to boscha and falls in love with her. and then boscha takes her heart and stomps all over it, feeling like an idiot for every letting it happen in the first place.

amity and willow reconnect when amity comes to town for the arbitration and bond over boscha being The Worst. luz tries to figure out what's going on and bonds with eda the owl lady.

it's hard to work out a balance because luz sees MAGIC! and witches! and cool secret town of cool secret people! and goes why would you ever want to leave? this is my dream? wait you're saying if i married you i could get magic????~!?!?!?!?!?! amity this is AMAZING why didn't you ever tell me about this wonderful fantastic thing! and amity can't see it as anything but awful because not only did her parents control all of her actions here, her mother, quite literally, has a hold on all of the family magic. so any magic she could give to luz would only come through her mother, just the way it does with amity. which is why despite loving magic amity was able to go live so far away from its source.

i don't remember how we were going to get there, but gus was going to win the tournament for the porters and wrest control of the town magic away from both the blights and the montagues, eda was going to think luz is The Bees Knees enough to adopt her (and as a clawthorne that WOULD give her magic) and amity was going to marry her so that she could have magic that isn't controlled by her mother, but goes through gwendolyn clawthorne who is a lot cooler about Everything Always.

<3

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

Review: From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper

Series: The Witches of Thistle Grove #2Author: Lana HarperPublisher: BerkleyReleased: May 17, 2022Received: NetGalleyWarnings: Racism, self harm (for rituals) From Bad to Cursed is the second novel in Lana Harper’s The Witches of Thistle Grove series. It’s also one of several witchy-romance series that I’ve been enjoying. If you’re looking for something more fun and casual to cheer you up (we’ve…

[desdasiwrites]

It looked like a storybook house belonging to your favorite no-nonsense witch-which, come to think of it, sounded like both my parents.

– Lana Harper, Payback's a Witch

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3.5/5

Book Blurb: An awkward first date leads to a sparkling romance between one of the most powerful witches in town and a magical newbie in this rom-com by Lana Harper, New York Times bestselling author of Payback’s a Witch. Even though she won’t deny her love for pretty (and pricey) things, Nineve Blackmoore is almost painfully down-to-earth and sensible by Blackmoore standards. But after a year of nursing a broken heart inflicted by the fiancée who all but ditched her at the altar, the powerful witch is sick of feeling low and is ready to try something drastically different: a dating app. At her best friend’s urging, Nina goes on a date with Morty Gutierrez, the nonbinary, offbeat soul of spontaneity and co-owner of the Shamrock Cauldron. Their date goes about as well as can be expected of most online dates—awkward and terrible. To make matters worse, once Morty discovers Nina’s last name, he’s far from a fan; it turns out that the Blackmoores have been bullishly trying to buy the Shamrock out from under Morty and his family. But when Morty begins developing magical powers—something that usually only happens to committed romantic partners once they officially join a founding family—at the same time that Nina’s own magic surges beyond her control, Nina must manage Morty’s rude awakening to the hidden magical world, uncover its cause, and face the intensity of their own burgeoning connection. But what happens when that connection is tied to Nina’s power surge, a power she’s finding nearly as addictive as Morty’s presence in her life?

Review:

An awkward first date between two people who are complete opposites... who also happen to be family rivals ... and who just might been witch bound.... aka they are technically considered married by witches. Nineve Blackmoore is a lawyer who is also a nerd, she comes from the Blackmoore family, one of the most powerful families in Thistle Groove... who are also not well received by the other families. She is struggling under the pressure that her mother constantly puts her under and is still reeling from when her ex-fiancee dumped her one week before the wedding saying she couldn’t be with someone who suffocates her and was so boring. So when Nina comes back to town for the holidays and her best friend suggests she go for someone she would normally not go for and sets her up on a date with Morty, Nina think’s “why not?” except their first date crashes and burns when they both realize whose families they belong to. Morty Gutierrez is a nonbinary owner of the Shamrock Cauldron and Nina’s family has been trying to buy that bar from under Morty. Yet Nina’s magic begins to surge out of her control and when Morty comes to Nina saying he woke up with strange magical powers... she knows they are witchbond aka they now share magical powers and can feel each other’s emotions. However, Nina’s powers are uncontrollable as they increase and there is also the issue of it impacting the town’s own magic. While Nina has to deal with the question of : will she finally cave under her family’s expectations be who they want her to be or will she do what is right and stand up for herself? This is the third book in the series and we do get cameos of other characters. This one didn’t feel like there was much going on compared to the other two and relationship wise it wasn’t as high in romance as I was expecting since I adored the other two books in the series this one was just okay for me. It felt a bit underwhelming and anti-climactic storyline wise when you actually think about what happens in the book and then when you compare it to the other two books it feels underwhelming. It’s not to say it’s bad it’s just not what I was anticipating. This would make a cute witchy christmas romance read for sure though.

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for na honest review*

[signourneybooks]

Back in a Spell | Book 3 of The Witches of Thistle Grove | ARC Review

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway. Book: Back in a Spell (Witches of Thistle Grove 3) by Lana Harper Release Date: January 3rd 2023Tags: Adult Fantasy | Paranormal Romance | Witch Families | Witches | LGBTQ+ | Nonbinary CharacterTrigger/Content Warnings: Questionable Nonbinary Rep |…

[givemeanexcuseblog]

Reviewing Back in a Spell: The Witches of Thistle Grove 3

I became obsessed with the Witches of Thistle Grove when I found From Bad to Cursed at my local library. Lana Harper’s style adapts beautifully to the voice of the main character of each book, and I quickly became enamored with the Avramovs, followed shortly by the Harlows and the Thorns. And what do these witch families have in common? None of them are particularly fond of the Blackmoores. And to understand why, you just have to hear their family motto; “by wit or by might, we take what is ours”, which might have worked in ancient times, or if you have any amount of respect for your fellows. But the Blackmoore family has been taking more and more, at the expense of the other magical families, since the town of Thistle Grove was founded. So when I discovered that Back in a Spell followed Nina Blackmoore, the family lawyer, I was hesitant. Could I fall in love with her story as I had with Emmy Harlow and Isidora Avramov?

My hesitance was short lived however, and I was instantly transported back to Thistle Grove. Nina’s genuine love of her hometown mirrored that of other characters I have come to love, and it was obvious she was not the villain we’ve come to expect of Blackmoores. With the support of her best friend, her older brother, and the most unlikely potential partner ever, she explores her personal power, her emotions, and the lines between her duty to herself, her family, and the town. This latest installment of The Witches of Thistle Grove explores breaking generational curses, processing trauma, and taking charge of your life.

[priory]

BACK IN A SPELL - LANA HARPER Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Back in A Spell by Lana Harper is a fun addition to the Thistle Grove series. It's a charming, sexy story that plays on the soul mate trope. It’s always delightful to revisit Thistle Grove, especially discovering more about the Blackmoores through Nineve and the town lore. The wlnb romance is refreshing, and I appreciated how Morty’s gender was portrayed in the book. I found this a delightful and heartwarming read that offered a much-needed escape from reality. Many thanks to Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

[quoteablebooks]

Genre: Fiction, Adult, Romance, Fantasy

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Content Warning: Sexual content, Alcohol, Cursing, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Misogyny     

Summary:

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina meets The L Word in this fresh, sizzling rom-com by Lana Harper.

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?

*Opinions*

Truth be told, I don’t remember how this book appeared on my radar, but it sounded like an interesting premise. While I am a novice romance reader, I am a huge fan of witch books and seeing how the author works magic in a contemporary setting. Also, a woman scorned getting her revenge is also something I am a huge fan of so the elements of this book should have worked for me. I did enjoy my time in Thistle Grove and with Emmy, but due to personal preferences, this book wasn’t a home run for me. 

Payback’s a Witch follows Emmy Harlow’s return to her hometown of Thistle Grove, a city of real witches that attracts tourists during Halloween with a gimmicky witch atmosphere. Emmy left almost nine years ago after a breakup that broke her spirit and her love for the town she called home. Now, she has to return for the Gauntlet, a magical competition that will decide which of the original witch families has governing powers in the town, due to her family scion always serving as the arbiter. However, when she returns to Thistle Grove, she finds out that her ex has also scorned two other witches, the scion of House Avramov and her best friend, and they pull Emmy into a pact to make sure that her ex doesn’t win the Gauntlet. The longer Emmy stays in Thistle Grove and the more time she spends with the people there, she starts to wonder if she has made a new life outside of the town or just run away from her old one. It doesn’t help that she has an electric pull to Talia that doesn’t feel as if it is onsided. What was supposed to just be a month-long visit to say goodbye to Thistle Grove for good is getting more and more complicated. 

As the plot took a back seat to the romance, obviously, I did enjoy the world-building that Harper put into this book. Thistle Grove felt like a real place that I would love to visit during the Fall. Harper also makes the magic a living thing in the town, which in turn makes the town a character in its own right. The history of the town and the founders that are established in this novel was also interesting, if a bit fluffy. In the acknowledgments, Harper stated that while she had been thinking about Thistle Grove for a while, this was a COVID novel, and you could feel that. Everything was just a little too shiny and all the emotional moments were there, but didn’t dig deep into the angst. While I know a lot of people like a nice fluffy novel, I like a little more angst in my stories in general, but especially my romances. 

I felt the same way with all the characters in the novel, they were all a little too shiny, even the horrible ex. Sure, Gareth really screwed over all three of the witches, but he was portrayed as more of an idiot than a truly horrible individual. Linden is the perfect best friend, Talia is the perfect mysterious romantic interest, and her parents are perfectly understanding parents. Emmy is really the character that is shown with the most negative attributes, of being selfish and running from her emotions, but who doesn’t do that in their twenties? Again, there is nothing wrong with any of this, but it just isn’t to my taste.  

The romance, which is the main focus of this novel, was well-written but didn’t really catch my attention. I liked Emmy and Talia together and I think their banter was well written. However, I felt a lot of their chemistry was told to us through electric touches than shown on the page. I believe that there was a good deal of lust between them, and the romance scenes were well written, but I didn’t think that the declarations at the end were earned. Again, Harper didn’t dig deep into either the positive or negative emotions. I am wondering if they pop up in the other novels in this companion series and if I will feel more about their relationship as it grows. 

My biggest gripe about this novel is the amount of pop-culture references in this novel. While I know that this isn’t out of the ordinary with contemporary novels or romances, the amount in this book was noticeable and slightly obnoxious. There was one page in which there were easily five pop culture references and while this was published recently enough that they weren’t outdated, no one thinks in that many references back to back to back. It kept pulling me out of the story and the biggest issue I had with Harper’s writing. 

Overall, this was an easy and fun novel, but I didn’t connect with it. Overall, I think I am going to continue in the series, but I don’t know if I am going to buy the novels or just get them from the library. This is a 3.5 read rounded up to a 4.