Back in a Spell (The Witches of Thistle Grove)

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What would have really helped is having chapters from Morty to get some of their perspective, though I understand the decision was probably made to follow the single POV format of the other Thistle Grove novels. I don’t want to give away too much about what is really happening, as that is something that unfolds over the course of the book, but it is a new aspect of the magical world we haven’t really delved into before and it was fun to explore. If I could rate just the ending, it would be a billion cups of tea, but it takes a lot of work to get there, and I just couldn’t get into all that slow, meandering work, even if Morty learning to use magic was kind of awesome. I definitely found the second half to be much more engaging, so I was a little disappointed during the first half because it was a little slow and all I really had to rely on were Giorgina and Nehal to get me to the second half. I enjoyed reading this one, as well as the two previous books in the series; this book can be read as a standalone, but I recommend starting at the beginning to get more background and world-building.

Praise for Lana Harper'A queer rom com that bewitches from the very first page' Publishers Weekly'John Tucker Must Die but with queer witches' Goodreads'Compulsively fun' Jacqueline Carey, New York Times bestselling author'Sexy, charming and completely magical!This novel works as a standalone novel, but readers will get more background if they start with book one. Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH). Fate has other plans for the mismatched duo, though, as Morty soon develops their own powers and Nineve awakens to her own powers growing powerful beyond her control.

Morty does say that they default to ‘he’ at the bar and at home for various reasons, which makes total sense; many nonbinary folks have to navigate a certain degree of fluidity depending on their comfort and safety levels in various situations. There is a scene in the book where Nina asks Morty about his pronouns and they say how they mostly use "he/him" because of his family but use "they/them" at bars and with friends. She gets a light slap on the wrist and only one of the four family members (accomplices) are properly punished, leaving a Cis het white guy (who has been an absolute knob for three books) to take over charge of her family’s dealings. Some positives: I still like Lana’s writing a lot, the audiobook narration was enjoyable, the setting is very fun, the law stuff is well-done (you can tell Lana is an actual lawyer lol), I love a good magical bond, and the magic stuff in general keeps things interesting and fun.

I mean, I absolutely understood her, but she just felt mired in the past when literally everyone else around her was catching up to the times. I think a big problem is that I just really don't like the Blackmoore family, and focusing so much on them in the book was not a selling point. She can’t deny that her enhanced abilities make her feel amazing, but when she learns the truth about what is really going on, Nina will have to decide if she should claim the power for her family alone, or if she must put the needs of the town before herself. Reeling from heartbreak, a witch finds new love with someone entirely unexpected and has to decide who she truly wants to be.

But between Morty’s representation and the lackluster character arcs and plot resolutions, I can’t recommend Back in a Spell, and I will not be continuing with the Witches of Thistle Grove series. Lily marries Ryle hoping the good will outweigh the bad, and the mother-daughter dynamics evolve beautifully as Lily reflects on her childhood with fresh eyes. One of the things I’ve really enjoyed in this series is the world building and this story focuses on a different aspect than the first two in terms of this mysterious new power Nina gains. Pansexual witch Nineve Blackmoore is over being heartbroken after her fiancée abandoned her at the altar, so she takes to every modern witch's go-to mode of finding love: dating apps.I’m hoping it doesn’t fall prey to whatever lack of sensitivity readers this book had and that Harper has taken the critique from the negative reviews and time to grow through it.