Series Name: The Witches of Thistle Grove #4
“It was easy to forget sometimes, when you lived in an enchanted town alongside three other innately gifted families, that other magic even existed in the world at large. Magic that had nothing to do with Thistle Grove or Lady’s Lake; grimoires beside our own Grimoire, the book of spells contributed by the four families and penned by Elias Harlow, my own ancestor.”
Not the strongest book in the series, but a great look into the world building of Thistle Grove.
Six months after having been hit by a power surge that nearly obliterated her memory, Delilah Harlow is still picking up the pieces. Her once diamond-sharp mind has become shaky and unreliable, and bristly, self-sufficient Delilah is forced to rely on friends, family, and her raven familiar for help. In an effort to reclaim her wits and former independence, she casts a dangerous blood spell meant to harness power with healing capacities.
While the spell does restore clarity, it also unexpectedly turns Delilah into an irresistible beacon for the kind of malevolent supernatural creatures that have never before ventured into Thistle Grove. One night—just as things are about to go terribly sideways with a rogue succubus—a mysterious stranger appears in the nick of time to save Delilah’s soul.
Gorgeous, sultry, and as dangerous as the knives she carries, Catriona Quinn is a hunter of monsters—and half-human, half-fae herself, she is the kind of sly and morally gray creature Delilah would normally find horrifying. Though Delilah balks at the idea of a partnership, she has no choice but to roll the dice on their collaboration. As the two delve deeper into the power that underlies Thistle Grove, they uncover not only the town’s hidden history but also a risky attraction that could upend Delilah’s entire life.
I was really excited to read Delilah’s book after seeing snippets of her in the first three books. She gets injured in the third book and I wanted to see how the accident and after effects would be dealt with in her book. And Delilah, she’s great – fierce, independent and funny. But in this book she’s really, really angry: at the person who hurt her and at the world in general. She pushes everyone away from her and tries to go on her own for everything. While I totally understood the anger – the accident that happened in the third book left her with some pretty serious trauma. But, and here’s the but, she was so angry with everyone and everything, and then met Cat, a half fae who mysteriously shows up in Thistle Grove, and she throws her anger out of the window for her.
I really liked Delilah’s journey to healing herself (even if it’s extreme!) and I absolutely loved seeing some past characters on page, but I could not buy into her relationship with Cat. Cat seems like the Lara Croft/Tomb Raider type woman, who I would normally love (hello sexy fae mercenary), but I didn’t like them together, and the twist at the end that separates them is almost reprehensible to me. The fact that Delilah and Cat make up actually bothered me.
This is the fourth book in the series, and I think you really need to read the other three to understand why Delilalh is in the situation she’s in and has so much anger. I really liked the world building that happened in this book and the magic work we got to see. I feel like it’s really fleshed out the world even more for me. I love spending time in Thistle Grove so I really enjoyed the book for that aspect. I’m hoping there’s still another book in the series as there’s still characters I want to learn more about. There’s some fabulous action scenes that had me on the edge of my seat, and that’s really where I saw Cat and Delilah’s chemistry bloom.
If you’re a fan of the Thistle Grove series, you should read In Charm’s Way, but don’t start with it!
Thank you, Berkeley, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
