The Kiss Curse Review

by Erin Sterling

Rating: 3/5

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.

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After enjoying The Ex Hex - book review here, I was excited to pick up this sequel, knowing it took place back in this modern-day Halloween Town. This small town of Graves Glen was adorable, and I was eager and curious to go back and see what this sequel had in store for us.

I loved all the humour and hexes we had gotten in the first book. The idea of mixing vodka with witchcraft was a recipe for disaster, but created for a fun, quirky paranormal adventure. I was really hoping for that same vibe with this one. However, it didn’t match. This one fell flat for me. 

As I mentioned, we’re back in Graves Glen, following the older brother of Rhys, Wells and the cousin of Vivienne, Gwynn from the first book. Wells decides to follow his brother from Wales to Graves Glen to move their family’s magic roots there so it doesn’t die out. And what better way than with a witchy store, right across from Gwynn’s witch shop. This leads to some competition between Wells and Gwynn. What could go wrong?

This definitely went a route I didn’t expect. I thoroughly enjoyed the feud between Wells and Gwynn. But it felt like we moved on from that very quickly. We flipped from loathing each other to wanting to suck each other's face off real quick, and so early on in the book. I really thought we’d get more of a slow burn romance. The romance felt rushed and a little forced.

The spice between these was hot, which was enjoyable to follow. But again, that sudden switch from hate to lust seemed too instalovey for my tastes. 

Plus about a third of the way through, the entire plot shifts and I felt myself struggling to stay interested. The vibe wasn’t the same. It became much more serious. It wasn’t fun anymore.

While I found this enjoyable, I did not love this as much as the first book. This just didn’t have that same lighthearted vibe. But if you enjoy paranormal romances with witches, you might enjoy this series!