Name: katerina's review of From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper
Item: From Bad to Cursed
Rating: 1.5
Author: katerina

Lana Harper

Opposites attract in this wickedly charming rom-com by Lana Harper, author of Payback's a Witch. Wild child Isidora Avramov is a thrill chaser, adept demon summoner, and--despite the whole sexy-evil-sorceress vibe--also a cuddly animal lover. When she's not designing costumes and new storylines for the Arcane Emporium's haunted house, Issa's nursing a secret, conflicted dream of ditching her family's witchy business to become an indie fashion designer in her own right. But when someone starts sabotaging the celebrations leading up to this year's Beltane festival with dark, dangerous magic, a member of the rival Thorn family gets badly hurt--throwing immediate suspicion on the Avramovs. To clear the Avramov name and step up for her family when they need her the most, Issa agrees to serve as a co-investigator, helping none other than Rowan Thorn get to the bottom of things. Rowan is the very definition of lawful good, so tragically noble and by-the-book he makes Issa's teeth hurt. In accordance with their families' complicated history, he and Issa have been archenemies for years and have grown to heartily loathe each other. But as the unlikely duo follow a perplexing trail of clues to a stunning conclusion, Issa and Rowan discover how little they really know each other... and stumble upon a maddening attraction that becomes harder to ignore by the day.

The Witches of Thistle Grove #2

From Bad to Cursed

Sophia 

"That's what it means to have our blood. We give our hearts and take them back, as we see fit. We choose our own course, set sail by our own stars. And no one else can ever-should ever-hope to master us."

The thing no one tells you about summoning demons is, sometimes you have to think outside the box.

Akansha

"The thing you actually want to do," Rowan said, as if it were obvious. "Your purpose. By definition, that's worth more than what someone else expects of you."

To stand so vulnerable and exposed, to take a step toward them with no promises or guarantees between us. And yet still feel confident they'd be right there, waiting to meet me on the other side with hands extended.

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

katerina

I was so excited to read this book because I absolutely loved the first one! However, this one fell flat for me. It was very generic and the only part that drew me in was the mystery. The characters didn't have a ton of depth, especially the love interest, and there was so little romance it felt pointless for that to be the main genre. Had this been a fantasy/mystery with romance in it, I think I would've enjoyed it more.

Brandyn

Bailey Zaputil

Cindy McKee

Second times a charm for Lana Harper and her Witches of Thistle Grove. Loved this second outing almost more than the first! Rowan and Issa have a shaky past, as it was alluded to in Payback, which has their animosity at an all time high. However, when they are forced to team up to investigate who has cast a particularly nasty spell that injured Rowan’s cousin and her magic, they start sparking in a different way. I cannot wait for the next jaunt to Thistle Grove! 
**I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review. Definitely a great read.**

WHAT A FUN READ! (I didn’t realize until the end that there’s a Book 1 - but not having read it didn’t really affect my experience at all. FYI) 

A modern Romeo & Juliet - if everyone was witches. Enemies to lovers!!! A sprinkle of spice in there. A mystery to solve! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. And so much diversity and queer rep! It was also great to have characters in their 20s! 

WHAT A FUN READ! (I didn’t realize until the end that there’s a Book 1 - but not having read it didn’t really affect my experience at all. FYI) 

A modern Romeo & Juliet - if everyone was witches. Enemies to lovers!!! A sprinkle of spice in there. A mystery to solve! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. And so much diversity and queer rep! It was also great to have characters in their 20s! 

I didn’t really enjoy this book until the last 200-150 pages. It was way too wordy and descriptive of things that had no purpose in the storyline. The story itself could’ve been great but it hard to stay focused. 3.5 is generous for this book, however I did enjoy the ending. 

Anna Bush

The second book in the Witches of thistle grove series, from bad to cursed follows Isidora and Rowen as they investigate an old rivalry between Avramovs and Thorns. I loved this more than Payback’s a witch. Isidore Avramov was amazing throughout. In terms of the MC, she was everything I kind of hoped Emmy would have been in the first installment. 

The plot development was so much better. However, the climax did kind of fall a little flat considering this was high on curses and magic being used to try and kill people. It had the perfect spooky vibes and some of the scenes between Issa and Rowen were pretty amazing, especially the panic attack scene and the swimming pool scene. 

Rowen was the morally good and kind love interest but he didn’t come out as dull given the fact that I am inclined towards grey characters more. However, he sort of played the secondary character even though this was a love story..ig??? I was kind of expecting more of his relationship with his twin sister because this was his story, but Linden didn’t make a single appearance in this book. I would gladly switch her scenes with  Emmy. 

Overall, a decent one-time read perfect for the autumn season.

The second book in the Witches of thistle grove series, from bad to cursed follows Isidora and Rowen as they investigate an old rivalry between Avramovs and Thorns. I loved this more than Payback’s a witch. Isidore Avramov was amazing throughout. In terms of the MC, she was everything I kind of hoped Emmy would have been in the first installment. 

The plot development was so much better. However, the climax did kind of fall a little flat considering this was high on curses and magic being used to try and kill people. It had the perfect spooky vibes and some of the scenes between Issa and Rowen were pretty amazing, especially the panic attack scene and the swimming pool scene. 

Rowen was the morally good and kind love interest but he didn’t come out as dull given the fact that I am inclined towards grey characters more. However, he sort of played the secondary character even though this was a love story..ig??? I was kind of expecting more of his relationship with his twin sister because this was his story, but Linden didn’t make a single appearance in this book. I would gladly switch her scenes with  Emmy. 

Overall, a decent one-time read perfect for the autumn season.

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper

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Join the club

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper