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?
Release Date: Oct 5, 2021
Series: The Witches of Thistle Grove
Book: 1
Heat Level: Sensual
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $9.99
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
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