Genre: Romance, Fantasy
Actual Rating: 4.5 stars
Content Warnings: Mentions graphic injuries, violence, and panic attacks.
“From Bad to Cursed” is the second book in the The Witches of Thistle Grove series, but it does not follow the narrator from the first book, Emmy Harlow. This time around, we’ll be following Isidora—Issa—Avramov, a demon-summoning witch who’s part of the (current) strongest Thistle Grove founding family. After someone tries to sabotage the Beltane Festival with dark magic, people suspect it was her family’s magic at work right away. That’s why she’s appointed to search for the culprit alongside Rowan Thorn, a noble and ethical member of another of the founding families—and who’s most definitely her archnemisis and has been for years now. Forced to work together, will their loathing turn to different types of tension? You’ll have to grab this book and see.
I understand that this book is sold as part of a series, but I honestly feel like it could work well as a stand-alone. Like it wouldn’t really matter the order in which you read these books, you’d be able to appreciate both stories no matter which you’ve read first. But trust me, as soon as you read one, you’ll want to read the other. Thistle Grove is such a cozy, warm setting. I personally wouldn’t mind living there—or reading 10 more stories set in it either. I gave this book a higher rating than the first installment in the series because I liked this plot so much better.
I loved Issa’s ambition, as she wants to divert from her family’s business and open up her own fashion store. I loved Rowan’s consistency throughout the book. I loved how we got a sneak peek of the romance pretty early on, before we were 40% through the book. Sadly, “From Bad to Cursed” does not have the LGBTQIA+ aspect that the previous book had going for it, but I must say the romance aspect of this second installment is still heartwarming and fun.
I would recommend this book to fans of the close-proximity troupe and for all who enjoyed the character dynamics and setting of the first book in this series: “Payback’s a Witch”. And get ready, because this isn’t the last we’ll see of Thistle Grove, as a third book is announced in the end of this one. I am beyond excited.
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ARC provided by NetGalley and Berkley Publishing in exchange for an honest review.
andrea's galley 