Last year I read "The Ex Hex" by Erin Sterling and loved the book! It was a really good story with a YA touch but with some more mature content woven throughout. It was one of my favorite 'Halloween' books to date and when I found out that Sterling was writing a sequel, I was over the moon.
Knowing that "The Kiss Curse" was centered around Vivi's cousin, Gwyn, I knew that it was going to be good because Gwyn was such a standout star in the first book. I was so excited when it was featured as a choice for October's Book of the Month and I immediately started reading.
I finished it a few days ago and I loved it even more than the first book.
Publisher's Summary
Gwyn Jones is perfectly happy with her life in Graves Glen. She, her mom, and her cousin have formed a new and powerful coven; she’s running a successful witchcraft shop, Something Wicked; and she’s started mentoring some of the younger witches in town. As Halloween approaches, there’s only one problem—Llewellyn “Wells” Penhallow.
Wells has come to Graves Glen to re-establish his family’s connection to the town they founded as well as to make a new life for himself after years of being the dutiful son in Wales. When he opens up a shop of his own, Penhallow’s, just across the street from Something Wicked, he quickly learns he’s gotten more than he bargained for in going up against Gwyn.
When their professional competition leads to a very personal—and very hot—kiss, both Wells and Gwyn are determined to stay away from each other, convinced the kiss was just a magical fluke. But when a mysterious new coven of witches come to town and Gwyn’s powers begin fading, she and Wells must work together to figure out just what these new witches want and how to restore Gwyn’s magic before it’s too late.
My Thoughts
I enjoy Gwyn as a narrator more than Vivi - she has so much more personality, is vivacious and fun. I loved being inside her head! I also really loved Wells - I love a brooding male lead mixed with an enemies to lovers story. There was so much banter, flirting, and fire beneath the surface, I never wanted the book to end.
At first I wasn't sure where the story was going to go - Gwyn starts to lose her magic, her and Wells need to figure out why and how it's happening and there are multiple paths the story could take. There were a handful of subplots going on which I think only enriched the story and added more layers.
I loved watching Wells and Gwyn's love story come to life and I appreciate that it wasn't a real slow burn. It was pretty perfect and very satisfying to watch. I loved being in Glens Head, learning about the magic buried beneath the surface and how the Penhallow and Jones families are tied up in it.
At some point, when you get to the climax of the book you think you've got the rug pulled out from under you but everything falls into place in an oddly perfect way.
The Kiss Curse was fun, sexy, exciting and had the perfect amount of witchy magic. It made me feel like magic was real and Glens Head was a real place. It made me wish it was real. It was a fun, easy book to read and get sucked into - it is ideal for this time of year and perfect for pulling you out of a reading slump.
xoxo
B
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