Romance

Payback's a Witch

Payback's a Witch

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-10-10 08:51:25
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Lana Harper
  • ISBN：0593336062
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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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？

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Reviews

Rey Hawke ，

4。5

Allie ，

Reminds me of These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling， flew through the book quite quickly however there are some parts that I find draggy and killed it for me。 I picked this up on a whim yesterday having never been heard of it before because the synopsis sounded interesting。 This wasn’t really for me but I bet it is for some others especially if you love books like These Witches Don’t Burn 🥰

Becky Baldridge ，

Payback's a Witch is such a fun story and perfect for getting into the Halloween spirit。 As I understand it， Lana Harper writes young adult novels under another name - I haven't read any of those， but after reading this one， I'll be checking those out while I wait for book 2 in this series。 The story is entertaining， interesting， and thoroughly engaging， and I liked all of that， but what really impressed me was the author's attention to detail。 Everything， from the small-town setting to the well Payback's a Witch is such a fun story and perfect for getting into the Halloween spirit。 As I understand it， Lana Harper writes young adult novels under another name - I haven't read any of those， but after reading this one， I'll be checking those out while I wait for book 2 in this series。 The story is entertaining， interesting， and thoroughly engaging， and I liked all of that， but what really impressed me was the author's attention to detail。 Everything， from the small-town setting to the well-rounded characters to the magic - it all just comes to life。 Yes， I realize it's fantasy， but Harper makes it feel real。 I felt like I was there， listening to these conversations and watching this competition， waiting for Gareth Blackmoore to get his comeuppance。 Then we have the romance between Emmy and Talia， and these two have such good chemistry。 Plus they're likable， both separately and together。 We get the story from Emmy since it's first-person POV， but all of the characters feel just as developed as Emmy。 I'll stop there so I don't give away the book's secrets， but this is definitely a recommended read for the season。 。。。more

make-believer ，

I will be re-reading this book every October for the rest of my life。 Maybe twice。

Ellie ，

You don’t understand， I’m OBSESSED。10/10， no notes。

Mar ，

3。75 stars It was good and very entertaining。I see why it's compared to Buffy and the L word。The romance was very sexy。I wish it had a better villain tho。Overall a great Witchy book。 3。75 stars It was good and very entertaining。I see why it's compared to Buffy and the L word。The romance was very sexy。I wish it had a better villain tho。Overall a great Witchy book。 。。。more

Ashley Hill ，

3。5 stars*

Kim Long ，

Not terrible， not amazing。 I think the characters could have been cranked up a few notches， but over all very well written and a good story！

Riley Trist ，

Solid four-star read。 Fun， but I wish it had given me a little more depth and a little less quip。

Kaitlin ，

This is a must read in October it is a sapphic， witchy tournament， romcom。

Joey Capestany ，

A perfect mix between Goblet of Fire and a queer romance。 The author did an amazing job world building and understanding of what it means to feel powerless in somewhere you call home。 I couldn’t stop listening to this one。 Wouldn’t say this book was mind blowing but it was very entertaining and you just start falling in love with all the quirks of each character。 Would suggest for a cozy October fire-lit night。

Mia ，

Setting was great， ship even though insta was cute but there wasn't even of them。 Pacing is so slow and side characters are not flash out enough。 Setting was great， ship even though insta was cute but there wasn't even of them。 Pacing is so slow and side characters are not flash out enough。 。。。more

Helen Power ，

Review coming soon！

Rowan ，

This is absolutely the best shit。 Bisexual witches getting revenge on an ex and falling in love while participating in a magic tournament？？？ yothis is easily a top 5 romance for me， and it's also a damn fun fantasy novel as well！！ fuck！！ This is absolutely the best shit。 Bisexual witches getting revenge on an ex and falling in love while participating in a magic tournament？？？ yothis is easily a top 5 romance for me， and it's also a damn fun fantasy novel as well！！ fuck！！ 。。。more

Michelle Rogalski ，

I don’t think myself to be a stupid person。 Sometimes， I have my moments， but intellectually I feel like I’m pretty average （not gonna toot my own horn）。 This book made me feel stupid。 The writing was so pretentious。 I’ve never had a causal conversation with someone and slipped that many “large” words into it。 On top of that， the conversations itself were not natural。 Not only did it not flow smoothly， they were filled with details that I think should have been left to internal dialogue or descr I don’t think myself to be a stupid person。 Sometimes， I have my moments， but intellectually I feel like I’m pretty average （not gonna toot my own horn）。 This book made me feel stupid。 The writing was so pretentious。 I’ve never had a causal conversation with someone and slipped that many “large” words into it。 On top of that， the conversations itself were not natural。 Not only did it not flow smoothly， they were filled with details that I think should have been left to internal dialogue or descriptors - not in convo between two characters。 THAT。 BEING。 SAID。 The storyline itself was super cute。 It’s sapphic witches meets “John Tucker Must Die” which I loooooooved。 The friendships were fun， the trials were entertaining， and I needed even more Talia。 I loved the fact this was an “urban fantasy” of sorts， set in the real world with a magical town smack dab in suburbia。 I really wanted to like this book。 I just could not get past the writing。 My queer heart is sad :（ 。。。more

Smitten ，

Vibrant， sensual， and a mystic awakening that overloaded my senses。This is Harper’s move from YA into the world of Rom-com。 I’ll be honest， this book didn’t scream Rom-Com to me。 It read more like a women’s fiction but with the paranormal。 Like if the L Word and Practical Magic had a baby。 The story also started out a little slow。 So why did I give it a four？ I’ll be happy to tell you。Magic。 Worldbuilding。 The reality and stigma of expectations forced upon people at a young age that they carry i Vibrant， sensual， and a mystic awakening that overloaded my senses。This is Harper’s move from YA into the world of Rom-com。 I’ll be honest， this book didn’t scream Rom-Com to me。 It read more like a women’s fiction but with the paranormal。 Like if the L Word and Practical Magic had a baby。 The story also started out a little slow。 So why did I give it a four？ I’ll be happy to tell you。Magic。 Worldbuilding。 The reality and stigma of expectations forced upon people at a young age that they carry into adulthood。 Those are the three big things that resonated with me and also has me eager to see what the next installment from this series will be。We have our main character， Emmy Harlow， coming back home due to a family duty and tradition she can’t escape。 Though upon arrival in the lovely town of Thistle Grove she’s reminded rather quickly why she left in the first place and wondering how she’s going to survive this next go-around。Enter Talia Avramov， town hottie and a woman with natural magical talent that rivals some of the best in town。 She’s fresh off a breakup with the very man who had Emmy running from Thistle Grove。 So， what should two witches do when they have a common enemy… team up。From a pacing perspective this book starts out slow， but there’s a whole world to set up and lot’s of backstory aka baggage that Emmy Harlow is toting around。 At first， I found the story easy to walk away from， but then we hit about twenty percent in and I was hooked/invested。 I needed to see what would happen with Emmy， how would she defeat her ex， and if her and Talia could make whatever was blossoming between them work。 I wasn’t disappointed。Definitely looking forward to the next chapter in this story and this is a perfect read to get some good Halloween vibes。 If Thistle Grove was a real place， I’d move their asap。~ Landra 。。。more

Amberlee Hanson ，

This was an absolutely fun read。 It follows the main character as she returns to her hometown to fulfill her duties as the Scion of the Harlow family。 However， unlike typical books， she is not participating in the competition but is the arbitrator for the other three families。 Which I have to say is a fun new take on those kinds of stories since normally they follow one of the competitors。 But this does not lack drama for the main character。 She had moved away from her hometown， and its magic to This was an absolutely fun read。 It follows the main character as she returns to her hometown to fulfill her duties as the Scion of the Harlow family。 However， unlike typical books， she is not participating in the competition but is the arbitrator for the other three families。 Which I have to say is a fun new take on those kinds of stories since normally they follow one of the competitors。 But this does not lack drama for the main character。 She had moved away from her hometown， and its magic to escape the past she had with an ex。 She’s now back in town and needs to repair old relationships （family， friends， etc） AND she has a beautiful new love interest that is one of the other scions competing （plus her ex！）。 It was honestly a very cute read， and I thoroughly enjoyed it。 Furthermore， I was amazed to discover that the other is also responsible for a few YA books I have read and enjoyed。 Above all else， this author writes wonderful female dynamics and characters。 WHICH given that this is a sapphic romance just makes it all the more perfect！ 。。。more

olivia （miss_ipkiss_reads） ，

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing for sending me a last-minute eARC in exchange for an honest review。 This in no way impacted my rating of the book。 It's giving John Tucker Must Die meets Triwizard Tournament but make it sapphic。 I loved the magical town of Thistle Grove， Harper did a great job with the setting and developing the magical system in this town。 I really appreciated this because although this is a rom-com at its core， you can tell that great care was taken to ensure the fantas Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing for sending me a last-minute eARC in exchange for an honest review。 This in no way impacted my rating of the book。 It's giving John Tucker Must Die meets Triwizard Tournament but make it sapphic。 I loved the magical town of Thistle Grove， Harper did a great job with the setting and developing the magical system in this town。 I really appreciated this because although this is a rom-com at its core， you can tell that great care was taken to ensure the fantastical elements in this world were just as captivating as the romance。 I found the plot was fast-paced and the characters were well developed。 I also love when romance novels touch on all relationships， beyond just romantic ones。 This book touches on themes of friendship， familial love， and romantic love。 To me， that is always the mark of a well-thought-out book。 I'm really impressed with Lana Harper's writing and very excited to read the second installment in this series about Talia's sister Isidora and Linden's brother Rowan。 。。。more

Kristin ，

Initially I was expecting “Payback’s a Witch” to be a funny rom-com with a little big of magic woven throughout。 I was pleasantly surprised by the more complicated nuances of Thistle Grove’s people。 These characters held deep emotional ties to each other and to Thistle Grove。 Reading this book felt like a modern-day Hallmark movie， and I say that as a compliment。 The romance story between Emmy and Talia is a very satisfying storyline with the witch gauntlet revenge plot adding an element of fun Initially I was expecting “Payback’s a Witch” to be a funny rom-com with a little big of magic woven throughout。 I was pleasantly surprised by the more complicated nuances of Thistle Grove’s people。 These characters held deep emotional ties to each other and to Thistle Grove。 Reading this book felt like a modern-day Hallmark movie， and I say that as a compliment。 The romance story between Emmy and Talia is a very satisfying storyline with the witch gauntlet revenge plot adding an element of fun and excitement。 Payback’s a Witch is a magically enjoyable read。I was given a free e-book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Desiree ，

I am about the witchy rom-coms right now！ There was a lot I loved about this book。 For instance， I have a hard time creating mental images when I read， but the way this is written made it way easier for me。 I loved the importance of friendship as well as fighting yourself。I wish the romance had been a bit。。。more？ But otherwise I felt like it was a perfect seasonally appropriate read！

Layne ，

While I have many small quibbles， I must admit this was a perfectly fun read especially for fans of paranormal and queer romance。 You don’t *have* to read this during Halloween season but it’s highly suggested。

Mission Control ，

Actual rating: 4。5， rounded up to 5。 I want to step inside this book and visit Thistle Grove！

Rachel Hoople ，

A fall， witchy f/f romance- my dreams come true！ Mostly， anyway。 Overwhelmingly， yes， read this book！ It is cute， tender， steamy， and action packed！ Goblet of Fire meets The Ex Hex but make it queer。 A perfect early-October read。 With all that being said。。。 my one criticism is the way every ex backstory is written。 I just do not buy it。 Why does everyone fall in deep， life-altering love so quickly in this world？ What are you guys doing over there？？？ It continued to come up and every time it got A fall， witchy f/f romance- my dreams come true！ Mostly， anyway。 Overwhelmingly， yes， read this book！ It is cute， tender， steamy， and action packed！ Goblet of Fire meets The Ex Hex but make it queer。 A perfect early-October read。 With all that being said。。。 my one criticism is the way every ex backstory is written。 I just do not buy it。 Why does everyone fall in deep， life-altering love so quickly in this world？ What are you guys doing over there？？？ It continued to come up and every time it got under my skin。 That part of the plot could have used some revision and given the reader a little more depth to the situation。 Fortunately， those storylines act as more of a ship than a dock， so it wasn't incredibly hard to push through。 For LGBTQ+ rep readers this story has great representation of two bi women becoming romantically involved without any coming out/ homophobic issues being involved in the process。 The ending is satisfying but has enough of a twist that you're not left disappointed in the lack of creativity。 。。。more

Lex Kent ，

4。25 Stars。 I had so much fun with this！ This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 and I’m happy to say that it was just as good as I hoped。 The vibe was The Other Woman/John Tucker Must Die with some the Goblet of Fire， but with sapphic adult witches。 It was really enjoyable and a great read to get you in the mood for Halloween。I was really impressed by how good Harper’s writing was。 Her style is very smooth and nice to read， plus her details are really on point。 Not only do you know wh 4。25 Stars。 I had so much fun with this！ This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 and I’m happy to say that it was just as good as I hoped。 The vibe was The Other Woman/John Tucker Must Die with some the Goblet of Fire， but with sapphic adult witches。 It was really enjoyable and a great read to get you in the mood for Halloween。I was really impressed by how good Harper’s writing was。 Her style is very smooth and nice to read， plus her details are really on point。 Not only do you know what this magical town run by witch’s looks like， but you even know what it smells like。 It seems to me that authors don’t use taste and smell very often anymore， but Harper did and it just really brought this story to life。 I live in New England， actually only a couple of hours from Salem， Mass。， and I can’t tell you how magical the month of October is around here。 The gorgeous colors of the leaves changing， the sunny days that are just cool enough to keep the bugs away， and the smells of pumpkins and apple cider in the air just makes it special around here。 The way I feel about New England in the fall is the same way Harper described the town of Thistle Grove （minus the witchey magic of course） and I could not help but to fall in love with her setting。 While this is her first book under Harper， it’s not a debut as she writes YA under Lana Popovic。 I was really happy with the characters， especially the two main characters。 This is first person， in the head of Emmy Harlow， but the other characters are so well done， especially Natalia Avramov， so that you feel like you know her and she even steals a bit of the spotlight from Harlow。 Natalia has this really sexy presence， mix in some darker necromancer magic， and she just has a bit of a bad girl vibe， but with a heart of gold， that made her into a crush-on-able book character。 I have to also mention that I was really happy with the romance。 The characters have great chemistry and you just can’t help hoping they will somehow end up together。 I was pleasantly surprised that while this book had a good romance， the magical fantasy parts were well done too。 I find a lot of paranormal romances to either have too much romance and not enough paranormal， or the opposite。 I think this book was perfectly balanced and that it will appeal to fans that love magical and paranormal books， but it will also work well for romance fans that are more dipping their toe into this category for Halloween reads。 TLDR: I absolutely recommend this one to readers looking for good Halloween books。 I think this book will have a wide appeal to many different readers and it was good fun too。 I really enjoyed the writing and I hope Harper will write more sapphic stories， in the future， as I would love to read them。 This was really enjoyable and I hope this will be out on audio as I think the writing style would transfer very well and I would definitely buy it。 A copy was given to me for a review。 。。。more

Jessica Marsh ，

I wanted to like this， but I couldn't get past the wordiness。 If it was more about Emmy and Talia and the gauntlet and less about descriptions， I would have given this 5 stars。 I wanted to like this， but I couldn't get past the wordiness。 If it was more about Emmy and Talia and the gauntlet and less about descriptions， I would have given this 5 stars。 。。。more

Claire ，

Think Stars Hollow meets Halloween town。 That’s the backdrop for “Payback’s a Witch。” When Emmy reluctantly returns to her hometown after nearly a decade to help with the town’s traditional witchy competition， she hopes to avoid seeing her ex。 Which of course is exactly who she runs into on her first night back in town。 Worse is， he doesn’t even recognize her。 Emmy soon finds that this ex also double-crossed her best friend Linden and her high school crush， Talia。 The three witches hatch a plan Think Stars Hollow meets Halloween town。 That’s the backdrop for “Payback’s a Witch。” When Emmy reluctantly returns to her hometown after nearly a decade to help with the town’s traditional witchy competition， she hopes to avoid seeing her ex。 Which of course is exactly who she runs into on her first night back in town。 Worse is， he doesn’t even recognize her。 Emmy soon finds that this ex also double-crossed her best friend Linden and her high school crush， Talia。 The three witches hatch a plan for revenge！This was a little slow for me to get into。 There was ALOT going on， which I realize now may be setting up storylines for future books as a sequel has already been announced。 Overall， I did enjoy the themes of family and reconnecting to your roots。 If you are fans of witchy， fall vibes and the movie John Tucker Must Die， I think you’d like this book too。 Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review。 “Payback’s a Witch” is out now！ 。。。more

Rachel ，

Loved this！ Great LGBTQ read。Very sweet， saucy， and lots of fun witchy vibes。Definitely a perfect October read！

Gabrieli ，

Witches being in love and cursing men？ A must read for this time of the year。

Miranda ，

Considering that I got to 48% of Payback's a Witch， I probably should have finished it， but。。。 honestly， I was bored。 The technical aspect of the writing was fine， and the characters had pretty strong， distinct voices， but the pacing was all over place。 Harper seemed to have trouble juggling all the different parts of the plot and figuring out how to have things move in a way that made sense。 The character's plot to get back at the man who hurt them made very little sense， and would have been ea Considering that I got to 48% of Payback's a Witch， I probably should have finished it， but。。。 honestly， I was bored。 The technical aspect of the writing was fine， and the characters had pretty strong， distinct voices， but the pacing was all over place。 Harper seemed to have trouble juggling all the different parts of the plot and figuring out how to have things move in a way that made sense。 The character's plot to get back at the man who hurt them made very little sense， and would have been easy to foil in real life。 I wasn't overly into the relationship between Talia and Emmy， either， as I didn't see much to support their relationship other than mutual lust-at-first-sight。 That may be some reader's cup of tea， but it isn't mine， unfortunately。Also， this is maybe a stupid quibble when Payback's a Witch is meant to be a fun rom-com that you don't think about too much， but I was a bit bothered by the history of Thistle Grove。 The novel states that the four founders of the town gravitated to the area because the land "had an abundance of magic"。 The land that， by the by， is in America。 So。。。 what about the Native Americans who were there first？ Were they using that land for anything？ Or was it just happily empty of people and waiting for a bunch of colonizers to come take it？ Looking at the reviews， it seems I'm in the minority as far as Payback's a Witch goes， so YMMV。 It just wasn't for me。 See more of my reviews at Red Hat Cat Reviews！ I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley。 。。。more

Danielle ，

This was a perfectly witchy read。 I enjoyed the premise and the relationships between Emmy and the other people in the town。I struggled a little with the writing， or perhaps the way the story unfolded。 It took me a bit to really connect to Emmy and her feelings towards the town & her magic。 But once I connected， I was invested。Overall， a great read featuring a queer couple and interesting magical elements。[More like somewhere between 3。5 and 3。75 if we’re really trying to pull hairs]

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Payback's a Witch

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Payback's a Witch&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Payback's a Witch&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0