Payback's a Witch (The Witches of Thistle Grove #1)

by Lana Harper

Four witches founded Thistle Grove, and its power was meant to be shared equitably between their families—not hoarded by one family year after year, until they eclipsed the others into irrelevancy.

.. The blackmoores really are such a pain.. And i didn't expect the games to hold that much weight here

“The challenges will appear only for the Arbiter, and only when it’s time,” he explained. “That way, the competing families couldn’t possibly prepare for them in advance.

Bruh sooo this plan is already cooked

“The magic will also force you to be impartial in your verdict—not that I’d expect any less of you, even if that weren’t the case.”

Uh soo how exactly is she gonna help cheat Gareth of his win ??

My father’s words receded into a background murmur as I wondered dreamily how Talia Avramov might dress for a gala hosted at her imposing family manse.

??? Can she like lock in??

Maybe arbitrating the Gauntlet in the town I thought I’d left behind for good, while I helped Linden and Talia scheme against Gareth Blackmoore, Prince of Bastards, would be manageable after all.

??? Bruh where tf do you see any hope?

She’d been exactly like this since I could remember her: unapologetically foulmouthed, joyfully extroverted, and driven entirely by the beat of her own drum.

She sounds quite fun honestly

“I know we have history, but come on. Cut me a break. You must see what an awkward position I’m in, here, with you as Arbiter. Caught totally wrongfooted.”

Bitch tf you mean you're the victim

I was a little shocked by how badly I wanted to taste her skin.

Atp how y'all even making plans cause this one just horny and can't focus for sht

“Unethical?” I suggested, voice rimed with frost. “Unfair? Just plain wrong? Wouldn’t those be more your areas of expertise?”

Lmaoo

Or maybe it was just a gloss like any other, and me who wanted to bite her.

...... Uh yeah this fl is cooked

“I’m perilously close to liking you, Harlow.” “How close, though? Close enough to consider using my first name?”

Why aren't they on first name basis atp?

There was something uniquely magical about sleeping cozied up with a best friend, a primal sense of safety and contentment that couldn’t really be explained.

That's So Cute..

“HOW . . . DARE . . . YOU!” I thundered, unsure if I was picking the words or if the magic was feeding them to me. “DO YOU PRESUME TO QUESTION THE MANTLE’S AUTHORITY, VESTED IN EMMELINE OF HOUSE HARLOW BY THE FOUR WHO

Oh yeah gran blackmoore cooked

“Once more, and for all to hear—first victory goes to House Avramov!”

One comp down! Unfortunately It might become the first tie by comp 3 im guessing from how pissed granny b is

curmudgeonry

Something like homesickness struck next, a premonitory sense of the yearning I’d feel when I was ensconced back in my little one-bedroom in Bucktown, so very far away from home. Cut this shit out, I chided myself, struggling to get a grip. You love your life, and this is not your home—not anymore. This is just reunion nostalgia set on high, that’s all. You’ll get over it.

Something wrong with her fr why can't she double down on her own decisions ? She clearly regrets leaving but cant make herself stay.

“It’s just Seven Deadly Zins, I think?

Lmao

“Rowan Thorn,” she said, making his name sound like a two-word hex. “Isidora,” he replied, in a wary tone. “Hello. Thanks for, uh, having us.” “You didn’t say he’d be coming, Talia,” Issa said as if he hadn’t spoken, imbuing the single pronoun with an impressive amount of contempt.

Uh..? Looks like isadora hates rowan for some odd reason..

“would this be way too weird a time to kiss you?” I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak. A dazzling smile streaked across her lips like a lightning bolt. Then she closed the space between us, her mouth settling over mine.

Well ok

“Not that I don’t cosign this—very fucking enthusiastically, in case there’s any confusion—but we need to stop.” “Why?” I asked, in a half-strangled tone that suggested I might die of such deprivation. She jerked her head toward the dark beyond the lantern. “Because we’re attracting an audience.”

... Yeah especially after the whole i attrack ghosts and yeah the trees are all ghosts thing.. It is wild to be doing all that in their presence ..

And then you stone-cold made out with her, in Ye Woods of Gloom and Devastation, in front of all the ghoulies and everything?” Linden marveled, looking awestruck. “Girl, that’s metal.”

Lolll

that took guts, Emmeline, mantle aside. A lot of that was you alone—and that part deserves nothing but respect. From all of us.”

Awww thats hella sweet

“I appreciate you looking out for me like that,” I said, reaching out to cover Linden’s sun-warmed hand with mine and give her a little squeeze. “And what about you? How are you doing?”

I think shes being more considerate for talia

“You feel so far away. Like if we never saw each other again, you might be totally okay with it.”

.. At the start she meantioned they were just reasonably drifting apart

I’ll lie about it if you ever tell anyone, but I’ve managed to burn rice at least three times in the past few months. Like smoke-alarm-and-pissed-off-neighbors burnt.”

Oh hell nahh as an Asain this is a horror inducing reveal

“Stop.” “I mean, it would have been the polite thing to do. We’re all adults here, and there’s plenty more oranges, and I feel extremely confident you have more canned wine—” I groaned into my arms. “I hate you, Avramov. I really, truly hate you.”

Uh yeah there would have been a better way to joke i guess but yikes ok. Idk not liking the recovery convo here

it wasn’t until I was in bed, the carriage house colder and darker without her there, that I realized Talia had never even held up her end of the deal. I still didn’t know why she had no tattoos of her own.

Yeah Im not even surprised she couldn't get any actual conversation going that required communication skills and genuine self confidence and strength

Tea or cappuccino?”

Tea obvi... Cause witches ya know . .

“A cappuccino sounds amazing,”

... Oh i really don't like this gal

“Because you didn’t choose to tell me about him, my darling, and you were old enough that it wasn’t right to pry. But it changed you, didn’t it? He changed you. Damaged you, somehow. You were happy here with us, before. And then . . .”

.. This sounds harsh as hell coming from a mom but she is saying the truth. This idiot didnt overreact at all by abandoning her whole life and family bc of that POS

“You could have visited,” I whispered, though I knew even as I said it that it was not just a miserable cop-out, but a flat-out lie.

Wow she honestly sucks as a whole person despite her crappy love life dilemmas

“You know we’d never have done that,” she said, with a terrible, quiet kindness. “Not when you made it so clear that you didn’t want us there. Your father and I . . . No matter how terribly we missed you, we’d never have wanted to foist ourselves on you if the feeling wasn’t mutual.”

They loved and missed her more than she did them.. I feel horrible for her family

I bit my lip, swimming in sticky shame. It was true. They would have come, had I ever invited them with any real sincerity.

Good feel shame for your actions. Such a selfish inconsiderate brat at the end of the day and she fr has not learn shit since her teenage years

“And we should have come even if you didn’t. We should have, because discretion be damned, Emmeline Constance, you’re my daughter,”

She was trying to do what she thought her idiot daughter needed

I should never have just let things sit and fester in the first place, I should have asked you before it was far too late . . .”

I doubt she would have actually said shit though . She's the "you'll never understand" type alongside "leave me alone to make bad decisions and have no one but myself to blame later" type.

As was traditional, the next challenge took place by twilight.

I ave a suspicion that Gareth winning this round. The last is thorn's and then there's a tiebreaker match

It was, Gauntlet matters aside, almost intolerably hot to watch.

.... The overtly sexualizing EVERYTHING aabout Talia is getting on my nerves

“Second victory goes to House Blackmoore!”

Called it.. Too bad Talia still tried helping Rowan.. She might have done it otherwise

“Because that’s what it means to be a Harlow, my Emmy. Thistle Grove is where we become who we are. Which means that no matter where you turn, where you visit or escape to, this will always be the place that calls you back.”

She needed this convo. She ong needed someone to tell it to her straight and let herself come clean truly about her own anxieties and shame

“You don’t need my help after all, Natalia,” she said. “You’ve already got the way of it, you clever child. Simply forge onward together, just as you have begun.”

Well okay i guess

“And do be sure to bring those Blackmoore bastards merry hell.”

Lol everyone hates the Blackmoores

Her pale eyes glittered like something out of a Billie Eilish song; a starlit ocean, or the sky above some frozen alien world, much colder than ours but maybe even prettier.

Ocean eyes

Her pale eyes glittered like something out of a Billie Eilish song; a starlit ocean, or the sky above some frozen alien world, much colder than ours but maybe even prettier.

Ocean eyes by billie elish

Then it began to rain outside, just like I’d known it would.

just like any bollywood movie where the two leads say they love each other

“How about you? You love it here, you’re fucking dying to stay, anyone with eyes can see that. But you refuse to admit it, and why? Just because some ripe asshole broke your heart a decade ago, made you feel like you’d never matter if you stayed. Have you even considered that it might be time to decide what you want for yourself?” “You have no clue what you’re talking about.”

... Rich saying that shit emmy. You Don't Got a Damn Clue

“Look, I really can’t handle this tonight, Talia,” I said wearily, stepping into my shoes. “I’m exhausted. I just . . . I need to go.” “Of course you do,”

She gonna clock her flight risk habits

“What do you think it means?” Even in the dark, I could see the pain scrolled over her face. “That running the fuck away is what you do best.”

Lmaooo Emmy done honestly. She runs away from everyone and everything if it even breathes too hard in her general direction

“Shit, maybe she’s even right.”

She is.

“I cede the mantle, and my authority as Arbiter of the seventh Gauntlet of the Grove, to my cousin, Delilah Harlow,” I pronounced, my voice a thunderclap. “And I step in as combatant for House Avramov.”

Holy shit I didn't expect this

For a moment, I felt a bitter swell of envy that I’d never wear the mantle again myself, never feel that incomparable rush of old and massive magic pounding through my veins. But I had something more important to do, and I was at least a little glad that Delilah was finally getting to live the dream. She’d probably appreciate it more than I ever could, anyway, since I had technically never even wanted it.

Honestly I felt bad hearing this line. Idk i can't quite put it into words