From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper didn't disappoint. I loved everything about it. Thank to you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was fun with witchy magic, conjuring demons that wreck havoc, a centuries old feud/grudge with two families, and two of those descendants going from enemies to lovers.

I really like Issa. She is very devoted to her sisters and mother even when her mother might not act like a mothering type towards her. I really liked how she stepped in front of Rowan to save his life when she didn't have to. It really showed that she cared and that she was trying to let go of her family's anger towards the Thorns.

I'm looking forward to going back to read book 1 and then to continue on with the series.

I really loved Payback's a Witch, and I was excited about continuing on in this series. I thought that From Bad to Cursed was a fun follow-up to PAW. Everyone's queer and witchy and it's just an easy quick read. This series is a great witchy season read!

There were some solid steamy scenes, a compelling mystery and charming magical elements. The plot itself is low-stakes, but that's not a bad thing. It was a relaxing, fun read and everyone needs one of those occasionally.

This series has become such a favorite of mine! The atmosphere and ambiance is such a strength of the writing, and the coziness and magical whimsy scratches such a particular itch. I can't get enough of this world and characters in Thistle Grove. That being said, having read all four books currently out in the series so far, From Bad to Cursed is the weakest of the bunch. The mystery whodunnit plot is okay, but felt at times meandering and left the reader in the dark simply just to progress the romantic plot. The balance felt off to me, but I did enjoy the chemistry between the romantic leads and enjoyed learning more about the lore of Thistle Grove.

This is my second try with this series and the writing style is just not working. There is so much telling instead of showing and it's written like a conversation with the reader which takes me out of the story and prevents it from ever feeling real.

Isadora is immature and kind of bratty which makes her incredibly difficult to empathize with. I don't think the tone of her interactions with Rowan made sense in what should have been a pretty serious situation. The different family magics are interesting but the writing and characters are losing me.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

While I love the first in the series, From Bad to Cursed didn’t quite hit for me. I really liked the start but felt it slogged a little in the middle before finishing strong.

I didn't love this as much as Payback's a Witch, but it was still a good, fast read. I love reading about Thistle Grove, and each book expands the characters and the town, so for that alone, it's worth it. I just didn't connect with Rowan as much as I wanted to in order to root for their romance. Issa is a great character - very fleshed out, but I wasn't overwhelmed by the chemistry. That doesn't mean I won't be moving right on to the next in the series!

I LOVED this opposites-attract/semi-enemies-to-lovers follow-up to Payback’s A Witch. I want to crawl in to Thistle Grove and stay there forever. This series is the perfect fall cozy read.

I am having a difficult time reviewing this book because I couldn't finish it. It was just not for me, which is unfortunate because it felt like a book that should be right up my alley. I wasn't the biggest fan of the first book in the series either, but maybe I should give them another shot when I am in a better frame of mind to enjoy it.

I did not finished From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper because I couldn't get into the story and it just wasn't for me.

I really did enjoy it, although not as much as the first book. It was a great story, but something in it made me lose focus, which made it hard at times to keep focused on the story. All in all definitely a lovely book, though!

I was only able to get through the first ten chapters of this one before deciding to DNF. It just wasn’t for me

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I am loving the witches of Thistle Grove!
I was absolutely stoked to get a copy of From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper. My expectations were a little high after reading her debut book, Payback’s a Witch. Lucky for me, Lana Harper delivered in her follow up story which also takes place in the magical town of Thistle Grove.


From Bad to Cursed delivers on the enemies to lovers romance trope. Isidora and Rowan are both witches with complete opposite styles of magic. While Rowan’s ancestral magic is reminiscent of flowers, sunshine, the magic of Isidora’s family is a darker magic that allows them to connect to spirits, and even summon demons. It sounds like dark/evil magic, but it’s portrayed rather beautifully and more like a respectful art.

When a member of Rowan’s family is magically attacked during a festival on their grounds, Isidora’s family are the most likely suspects. With a small radius of dead trees, and a witch who has had her magic stolen, it is up to Rowan and Isidora to work together to find the culprit of the crime. Even if it is one of their own family members. The forced proximity of their investigation is where the magic truly happens ?.

The witches of Thistle Grove are full of fun, and spunky attitudes.

Lana Harper’s characters have plenty banter and hilarious remarks for each other. Some of the best moments in this book are full of sarcasm and teasing of each other. I loved it because of how natural it felt. Those scenes felt true to the personalities of the witches, and made them real. None of the discussions felt forced, which invites readers to feel present in their conversations.


Thistle Grove is a town full of diverse people with a wide array of magical gifts, styles, cultures, and preferences. Harper’s beautiful little town inhabits residents of all races, sexual orientation, and gender. It’s not portrayed as perfect, and she used care when writing about these varying relationships. She also took care to write about anxiety and panic attacks in a main character. While none of those topics are unusual for me, it does always make my heart skip a beat when I read about them in books. People of all shapes, sizes, colors, and orientations love, feel, and face challenges. Each time a book touches on such diverse topics it widens our window just a little more to see what our world truly looks like.

This was a fun book! Unfortunately I didn’t read the first book in the series but i still enjoyed this book.

Thank you for the advanced copy!

I'm honestly so in love with this series. For me, it is the perfect balance of romance and like cozy fantasy/witchy vibes.

I loved returning to Thistle Grove for book two in Lana Harper's series! The writing is fun and witty, and Isadora and Rowan are an ADORABLE couple. I love a good forced-proximity romance. The mystery running through the story was interesting, even though I did guess the answer about 3/4 of the way through. I thought it was a unique idea and wasn't bothered by the predictability. I can't wait to come back to thiste grove for book three!

When you need happy reading I definitely think you should pick up Lana Harper’s Thistle Grove Books: Payback’s a Witch, From Bad to Cursed and Back in a Spell – you have time to read all three before In Charm’s Way comes out this fall! The romances are sweet, the magic is exciting and each book gave me a little bit more than I was expecting. Definitely books I’d read again for fun.

I’ve gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper. I was not a fan of the first book of the series, but this one really turned it around for me. With fun witchy characters set in the same Thistle Grove, we get to explore more of the residents’ lives as their world becomes more complex. Continue reading my review below.

Plot
One of my grievances with the first book of the Thistle Grove series was the plot. It felt basically like the Triwizard Tournament (TM??) or the Hunger Games. I’m not really into that sort of plot advanced only by the conclusion of a series of mini-games that may or may not kill the participants. From Bad to Cursed happens in the aftermath of the Victors Cup (I think that’s what it was called). I liked how this book focused on some sort of bad thing actually happening in the town and it was something to be solved. This makes for a much more interesting read for me.

Characters and World Building
It’s difficult to separate discussing the characters and world-building. Part of what makes this series interesting (beyond magic, duh) is the prevalence of the four founding families. In From Bad to Cursed, we get to learn more about the Avramov and Thron families. While they were present in the first book, we now are able to have an inside look into the expectations and prejudices that come with being a part of those families.

Many series that move around to different main characters from the same town/universe between books often give focus on the best friend of one of the main characters or something like that. With From Bad to Cursed, I enjoyed that I was getting to know characters that were tertiary to the first book. This I think also helps with continuing to build the world of Thistle Grove.