From Bad to Cursed (The Witches of Thistle Grove)

Enemies to lovers + forced proximity + witchy romance + one of my favorite book worlds ever = perfect recipe for an amazing book…and From Bad to Cursed does not disappoint!Lana has such an enjoyable, sassy writing style that flows so naturally, her books make me so happy to read. I love the world of Thistle Grove SO much and fully enjoyed this return! Isidora is such a fun protagonist and pulls you into the story straight away. I adore Emmy but I think I related to Issa even more in many ways. She is the best balance of being sassy and strong while still being soft and vulnerable too. Her journey not just with Rowan, but within herself and finding her way to what she truly wants in life is so compelling and fun to read. The transition of Issa and Rowan’s relationship from enemies to lovers was done really well and felt like a completely natural shift. Also…the squirrel hex…I am STILL randomly thinking about this days later and cracking up, HILARIOUS!!I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, but also loved it so much that I bought my own copy. Opinions and review are my own and provided voluntarily.

From Bad to Cursed is an enchanting, enemies to lovers romance with lots of forced proximity and a seriously steamy slow burn. This book was full of magic, mystery and so much chemistry. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, Payback’s a Witch, and was excited to travel back to Thistle Grove for Issa and Rowan’s story.Thistle Grove is the witchy, queer version of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls; the town is idyllic, charming, and full of surprises. This book follows Isidora (isn’t that the most beautiful name) Avramov and Rowan Thorn. Issa comes from a family of necromancers and is known as an impulsive, wild child around the small town. She works designing costumes for her family’s haunted house, a local tourist attraction. She is a total cinnamon roll of a character and I absolutely adored her. She is brave, determined, and fierce but also tenderhearted and sensitive. She hides her vulnerability between her rough exterior and longs to be seen for her talents and worth outside of her family.Rowan Thorn and the Thorn family are highly respected within the Thistle Grove magic community; they are known for their kind hearts and gentle earth magic. Between a bad experience years earlier and their families conflicting powers, Rowan and Issa are sworn enemies and avoid each other at all costs.This has allowed them to peacefully coexist until they are thrown together to figure out who has cursed Rowan’s cousin with dark magic. Rowan soon finds out that Issa isn’t what she seems as he strips away her rough outer layers. But can they right the wrongs of their past to find a future?I loved Rowan and Issa together. On paper, they are complete opposites, but through the course of their investigation they discover they have a lot in common. It was special to see Issa let down her walls around Rowan and to see him support her and care for her in a way she hasn’t let other people. Rowan had previously judged Issa and I was glad he apologized, matured and was able to see beyond her family’s bad reputation and publicly choose Issa.I cannot wait to read the next book in this magical series!

Tw: possessionI loved it. I figured I would. Book 1 was amazing! And I was very much hoping this book would be just as good. I do remember thinking she would end up with the other thorn twin at the end of book 1 one though. Or another girl since she is for sure not straight, but Rowan is good too.Loved the entire idea of this. They are forced to work together to solve this magical crime and it’s just peak forced proximity.Tropes: enemies to lovers, forced proximity, coworkers, opposites attract, she fell first?, magic, witches, witchy romanceSpice: 🌶️Steam: 🔥🔥Sweetness: 💗💗💗Third Rowan I’ve fallen for 💚

This is book 2 in a series. I think I liked the first book Payback's a Witch a bit better but I'll definitely be reading the next one when it arrives in 2023.From Bad to Cursed picks up after the events in the previous book so you should definitely give that one a read first or you'll be left wondering about a few things. In this book, two witches with a contentious past are forced to work together when their families choose them to solve a crime that defies all of their witchcraft rules. Forced into constant proximity with each other, Rowan and Isadora slowly become friends who are attracted to each other but they are still enemies because, uh, they want to be? It's always been that way? Their families can't stand each other? There's a lot prejudice in the witchy community? Also, they need to have a few honest conversations, maybe? I don't know. They drove me a little bananas.This was cute and I loved certain scenes but the conflict keeping the couple from being a couple was a bit underwhelming to me. But maybe not for you? I'm a grouch so it seemed silly to me and it dragged on too long for my impatient butt. The rest of the book was fun though.

Great follow-up to the 1st book. Good amount of mystery and tension wrapped within a romance.

This is the second book in the witches of thistle grove series and it was so much fun to return to the world but with a different MC and love story.In this story there had been a "crime" and the MC had to try to find who did it.The book was filled with so many different fun things and I absolutely did not expect the outcome.These books read so easily and fun and I'm excited to read the third book in this series!

I enjoyed it overall, I liked that it was still about the town you knew and the previous characters still played a part. Occasionally I felt like the main character was a bit of a drag, but she did manage to get over herself quite quickly, which was good. I found the plot kinda predictable, but enjoyed it all the same, it's nice when the endings don't come out of nowhere, but make sense and have been slowly building if you've been paying attention. Just as sweet and sexy as book one and can't wait for book three! Perfect autumn book series 😍

Incredibly strong plot compared to the other witchy FIC I’ve been reading but the romance felt a teeny bit forced at times. Still great though