Rise and Divine is a queer fantasy romcom and the final book in The Witches of Thistle Grove series by Lana Harper (3.5/5 stars)

Rise and Divine is a queer fantasy romcom and the final book in The Witches of Thistle Grove series by Lana Harper.

I borrowed the audiobook from my local library and as always, I enjoyed listening to Bailey Carr narrate.

The macro plot of the series has been really interesting! I think the different magic lines in the four founding families is a cool plot hook, and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the goddess at the bottom of the lake.

Apparently, this is the final book in the series and while there were some nods to all the families, it didn’t really fell like an ending. I would have loved to have seen a POV character from the Thorne line (altogether, we’ve had two Harlows, two Avramovs, and one Blackmoore). The final Big Bad came into the story like a lion but then the issue was dealt with a little too quickly. I

I really love the town of Thistle Grove, and how casually queer the people who live there are. This book features a sapphic romance between Ivy, a nature witch, and Dasha, a devil eater who feels drawn to the other side. It’s playing on light/dark magic which was fun.

Unfortunately, it’s also a second chance romance, which is often a hard sell for me. I’ve been told throughout the series that these two dated for a bit and were really into each other, but it fell apart. I didn’t really get to see them fall in love, they were already kind of there, but on pause. That’s my biggest qualm with second chance romances.

The Witches of Thistle Grove series is made up of:

• Payback’s a Witch (4.25/5 stars)
• From Bad to Cursed (4.5/5 stars)
• Back in a Spell (4.5/5 stars, my favorite of the series)
• In Charm’s Way (3/5 stars, my least favorite of the series)
• Rise and Divine (3.5/5 stars)

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