I love this almost Hallmark vibe and series of tropes. The romance was great and the magic was very fun. Can't wait to read the next book.

There's something about witchy rom-coms. I want to like them, but they never quite get there for me. Such is the case with Payback's a Witch, by Lana Harper, previously Lana Popovic of YA books Wicked Like a Wildfire, etc. There is something deeply YA about Payback's a Witch, which is not much of a problem given the twenty-something characters, but their problems are all quite surface level and the plot itself couldn't really keep me interested.

This was such a fun witchy read! I really loved the entire town and all the characters (I'm looking forward to reading the next two books in the series).

The competition was interesting and I loved how it was a central part of the story but not the only plot point.

Delightful, spooky, and well-written with great characters and world building.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a great book to read during the spooky season. It was a cozy sapphic story about witches and I really enjoyed it. I thought the characters were great and the plot was also very intriguing. It was a fun story and if you like witches and tournaments then this book is for you.

I liked the diversity of the characters and how they all came together with one common goal. I also really enjoyed the world build and the writing was excellent. I could always picture what was going on and I never lost track of where i was. I would sneak read it at work and it took me a little over a month to get through but it was very easy to fall back into the world even though i would a few pages here and there. I think it is hard for authors to write that way but Lana Harper kill it.

Definitely pick it up for a fall read.

I liked the witchy tournament aspect of this novel, but wasn't super into the romance.

I did enjoy the small-town, witchy fall vibes, so that was great.

I'm curious to see where the series goes from here.

A cute and cozy read that would def get anyone into a fall mood. Plot is exciting without distracting from the character relationships/romance.

Oh this book was a lot of fun! It took me a minute to get into it, but once I did, I ended up reading it in a day.

When Emmy came home to Thistle Grove she was not looking forward to seeing her ex again; and she was not expecting to fall in love. But both happened.

I enjoyed the story, the concept, everything except there was not enough about Emmy's dog! It was a cute story and I am looking forward to the next one following a different set of Thistle Grove witches.

First of all, thanks to Berkley Publishing for the free copy.

I was really curious about this book, but I'm starting to feel that the author's style isn't completely my cup of tea.
As I've said before I really like the worldbuilding Lana Harper's created (and I'm a fan of witch's books) but for me this story hasn't the power to go after that. The plot is a little bit flat and predictable, so I ended it quite disappointed.

Payback’s a Witch is the first book in the Thistle Grove Witches series and can be described as John Tucker Must Die meets Sabrina the Teenage Witch. The book follows the POV of Emmy Harlow who has returned home to represent her family in a spell casting tournament but as well as the stress of THAT, she’s quickly pulled into a plot against her ex-boyfriend. What ensues is DELIGHTFUL.
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Payback’s a Witch was so much fun to read- while I did have one or two minor issues- overall, the book was exciting and the characters refreshing. Emmy is pulled into this plot by her best friend, Linden, and a girl she’s always crushed on, Talía. Get your popcorn ready because the drama that follows is so entertaining.
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In addition to the main plot we have a f/f romantic subplot and like Emmy, I was so gone for Talía- her family basically terrifies the town of Thistle Groove(not on purpose) due to their darker magic and YES PLEASE! The tension was real between these two and I loved their developed romance.
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I really enjoyed the magic system in this book, and I’m impressed with how detailed and enjoyable it was to read about. The spell casting tournament was so FUN. It was detailed without info dumping and I enjoyed how much of its own character the town was.
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In terms of the issues- my main erk with the story involved Emmy’s motivations for leaving Thistle Groove in the first place. No spoilers but while the leave made sense I didn’t get the prolonged absence. Which of course is a personal preference. Lastly, even though this was adult and the characters in their 20’s it read very juvenile at times. Sometimes it felt like I was reading a YA. Which is just a pet peeve of mine.
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Despite my issues, I did really like the book and I cannot wait to move onto book 2.

A fun paranormal challenge set in the Midwest with a dash of romance. I’m happy that the publisher decided to reframe its marketing because while there is romance in it, it’s primarily paranormal fiction first.

This book was so much fun to read. I found that the characters were likable and the relationships they formed were sweet. I did think that the book could have used a little more character depth and a slower pace of plot but it was overall a fun sweet romance book.

A cute, fun, fresh take on a wonderful witchy novel!

This book was a lot of fun to read and put me right into the autumn mood with its quirky characters and just the right amount of "cheese". It's almost like a hallmark movie if hallmark was actually cool and didn't shy away from a little steam. Overall such a fun read and I would absolutely recommend!

This is the perfect cozy autumn read! I love a good magical town and a slow burn romance, but I especially appreciated the bisexual rep in this book. It's a great one to recommend to folks who love Halloween-y books.

A super fun read with John Tucker Must Die vibes mixed with the high stakes competition of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. This story had a great balance of romance and magic and is a fantastic, witchy Fall/Halloween read. The writing style is also addictive and and lush. Definitely will be looking forward to more in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for review

This was a fun and spooky read! A dash of witchcraft with a little bit of Hallmark movie vibes, Lana Harper delivers a fun story about love and heartbreak - perfect for the fall season.

Emmy Harlow was chased out of her magical town of Thistle Grove by heartache. She had to sacrifice family, friends, and magical ability in a desperate attempt to escape her pain and find herself. Now she must return to fulfill a family duty, as arbiter of traditional witchy games.

Emily is a sexually fluid heroine, which I wasn't expecting, but fit in well as a Pride Month read. I think we could all identify with her heartache from Gareth, and her attraction to Talia was electric. The women-scorned aspect made for a good story angle, along with the power imbalance of the Blackmoores vs. the other founding families. Unfortunately, I just couldn't forge a connection with Emmy. I think I was more drawn to Talia and her talents, and I would've loved to have some of the story from her POV. The only time I got drawn into Emmy's plight was during a heartfelt conversation with her mother, and I wish there could've been more of that connection throughout the story.

I really like the concept of Thistle Grove and the founding families, but I'm a sucker for magical tales and abilities. Now that the games are over and a winner has been crowned, I'm interested to see what changes are in store for this small town. Can Gareth be redeemed? Will Linden and Rowan find their own happiness, and with who? And will the Harlows start being respected for their contributions to magic? Lots of questions that can be answered!

3.5 stars

Witchy fall vibes, sapphic love, and a cute cozy town atmosphere collide in this fun rom-com. And it's the start of a series!

Concept: ★★★
Characters: ★★★★
Plot/Pacing: ★★★

A short reader disclaimer: So first off, I have to SINCERELY apologize to the publisher, as I messed up and did not review this book in a timely manner despite having an early digital copy. In general, I've struggled a lot more with ARC reviews this past year due to a lot of upheaval in my personal life, but that's not this book's fault or the publishers so please keep that in mind.

On to the review!

So, did you ever watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Halloweentown, or those other adorable witchy vibe tv shows and wish they had a lot more lesbian action and just a gooey romantic plot arc?? Payback's a Witch is the novel for you.

The magical town of Thistle Grove has been the home of several powerful witch families for generations—including the Harlow family. Emmy Harlow thinks that her family's line isn't exactly prestigious or on the same level as the others, but it's still their claim to fame and Emmy's the reluctant heir of the situation.

The catch is, Emmy fled Thistle Grove years ago due to some unfortunate angst and hasn't been back to her home town in quite some time.

When she does come back for the all-important tournament that requires all of the Thistle Grove witch family heirs to be present, Emmy is met with something new: the enigmatic and wickedly devious Talia Avramov, one of the other family heirs and a reluctant partner-in-arms.

Will Emmy and Talia intertwine as they work together to bring down their mutual ex, Gareth, or will tensions collide?

Ok y'all, this was super cute. I do regret missing out on the opportunity to read this in the fall, when the vibes would have been immaculate, but this did give me a wonderful dose of the season anyway. Payback's a Witch was clever, funnier than I expected it to be, and filled with a lot of small town shenanigans.

I had some small quibbles with the pacing and lack of real stakes—it was a bit too quaint for me, a little less dramatic angst than I tend to like in my romances—but overall I do think it was a wonderful and fun rom-com to spend an afternoon reading.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

My thoughts on this one are a little bit mixed! I really, really enjoyed the setting and the almost grown-up-Halloweentown-y vibes of it all, but I'd be lying if I said that this wasn't a little.. cheesy? Which isn't necessarily a bad thing! But I went into this one hoping it would be the queer, witchy contemporary fantasy of my dreams and it ended up falling quite a bit short of those dreams. I do definitely still intend to carry on with the series because I'm very curious to see where the story will go without the whole magical competition as the center of the story, but I just didn't enjoy this installment quite as much as I was hoping to.

Happy Halloween season, readers! For October, I was looking for something sapphic and spooky. Luckily, I was approved for an ARC of Payback’s A Witch by Lana Harper, which meets those two requirements perfectly. I absolutely loved this fun, feminist story and am excited to share it with you all.

Our story begins with our protagonist, Emmy Harlow, returning after a long time away to her hometown of Thistle Grove. Thistle Grove might seem like your run-of-the-mill Halloween-themed tourist trap, but it secretly is the home of four powerful witch families: the Harlows, the Thorns, the Avramovs, and the Blackmoores. As Emmy returns, it’s time for the families to compete in a magical competition called the Gauntlet, and it’s Emmy’s turn to be the judge. Before the tournament starts, Emmy meets with her best friend Linden and their other classmate, Talia. It turns out that all three of them have had their hearts broken by golden boy Gareth Blackmoore. The three hatch a witchy plan for Talia, the only one of them actually competing, to take Gareth down and seek sweet revenge.

The plot is surprisingly intricate, so there are also layers I didn’t mention in my short summary. It’s basically John Tucker Must Die meets The Craft, with an extra serving of queer relationships. The book is as fun as it sounds. I loved the short, page-turning chapters and engaging competition between all of our characters. All of the challenges in the Gauntlet were fun to read about and had compelling stakes. The central romance in the book really worked for me, as well. Tension and surprise happened at every turn without the plot becoming too complicated or dour. I also really liked the ending, especially the final setpiece. To avoid spoilers, I will leave my review at that. I encourage you to read this book for yourself and see how you like it.

All that being said, my favorite aspect of this novel was the setting. Thistle Grove felt like a real place, and Harper’s vivid descriptions brought the Halloween vibes in a big way. That’s probably why I found the book so comforting to read. I especially loved the cozy feel of the Harlows’ witchy bookstore and the town dive bar, the Shamrock Cauldron. The powerful, scary aura of the town’s lake was similarly striking. The book opens with Emmy almost being bowled over by the magic of her hometown, and I felt the same way reading about it. Thistle Grove was definitely a place I would want to spend time in, and that compelled me to keep reading.

At times, the characters did feel a little flat, especially the extended family members of our four core competitors. However, that didn’t take away from the story at all for me. At the heart of this story was friendship and forgiveness. Forgiving others, yes, but also forgiving yourself for past mistakes. All of this was wrapped up in a bow of Halloween excellence. Payback’s A Witch comes out on October 5th, 2021. Thank you to Berkeley Publishing Group for the Netgalley ARC in exchange for an honest review.