Lana Harper’s Payback’s a Witch introduces us to the magical small town of Thistle Grove. Four families of witches founded the place. They compete in The Gauntlet every few years. The winning family is bestowed with good fortune. The wealthy and pretentious Blackmoore family has won for decades. The Arbiter of the competition is the Harlow family. Emmy Harlow left town after high school and never wanted to come back. Her breakup with Gareth Blackmoore soured her on the place. She also was sick of being so weak in terms of magic and class stature compared to the other families. But she can’t run forever. Her father needs her to take up the magical judge mantle this year.
As Emmy reunites with her best friend Linden, she realizes she missed it. Her magic is stronger when she’s here and non-existent when she’s back home in Chicago. She has an awesome job in Chicago for a witch-inspired subscription box. She likes the fast-paced city life…or does she? She runs into the mysterious and beautiful Talia Avramov. They went to school together but never crossed paths. Talia seemed like an unattainable beauty known to break hearts. Emmy didn’t even think Talia would remember her. She learns how wrong she is. They have electric chemistry now and start dating while Emmy’s in town. It’s a small town, so Emmy can’t escape her ex, Gareth. He’s grown spoiled and continues to trample on people’s hearts, just as he did to Emmy all those years ago. Linden, her brother Rowan who is competing, Talia, and Emmy decide to team up to win The Gauntlet. Rowan and Talia are happy if either of them wins as long as it’s not Gareth. They’ll even settle for making things simply more difficult for the Blackmoores. Emmy check’s with her archive in her family’s bookshop. It’s not cheating to help them research past competitions. Emmy’s magical judge powers also will force her to be fair.
We follow the competition rounds as Emmy and Talia grow closer. I was invested as I was when reading Goblet of Fire. Each magical round raises the stakes for the families. The romance is HOT. Talia is irresistible with her magnetic charm. She has the power to talk to ghosts, which makes her quite empathetic. She isn’t as cold as her gothic appearance makes her out to be. Emmy’s journey is about figuring out what truly made her run away in the first place. She wrestles with who she wants to be and who she is. This town sounds delightful. It’s a quaint small-town vibe featuring unusual shops like the Arvamov magic shop and the Linden apple grove. I want to live there, please. Harper optioned the series for television. I hope to see it on a screen one day. If you’re a fan of paranormal romances or tv shows featuring witches, you’ll probably enjoy this novel.
