Perfect fall vibes for those of us wishing it would cool off already! Great enemies to lovers storyline with the additional intrigue of magic!

I was so excited to see the Ex Hex was getting a sequel and it did not disappoint. I think the only way I'd be disappointed is if there isn't a third book!

The Kiss Curse: I love a good enemies to lovers story but, alas, there's not a lot of story to be told.

SPOILERS AHEAD

My grievances are as thus:
- Gwyn's character lost a fair amount of spark between "The Ex Hex" and this book.
- Wells seemed...flat. If it weren't for the fact that we're repeatedly told of the inescapable pull between the couple then you might miss it entirely.
- I was 3/4 of the way through the book and I was still waiting for some sort of tension that went beyond a couple of retail shops tussling over turf in a small town.
- The climax was entirely anticlimactic. Power hungry, dark magic coven wants to take control AND! Gwyn gets tired. I mean, she survived near exsanguination but that was about as dramatic and interesting as the sad sentence I just wrote.
- Oh yeah! Papa Penhallow is an evil dick whose own thirst for power for Graves Glen ironically enables the evil coven to weaken Gwyn *yawn* and not at all come close to claiming the the town.

Erin Sterling is talented and she's a much better writer than this book lets on. The Kiss Curse was bewitched by Second Novel Syndrome.

Amazing , she did it again , this novel is fun, can stop laughing at Gwynevere ideas , and the situations she gets into. Like I said awesome book, a really good sequel to The Ex Hex . Also you can notice that has a lot of heart same as the book before. Totally loved it

Someone please make Erin’s books into movies like yesterday! I’m such a sucker for enemies to lovers and this one fits the bill with the added bonus of basically being set in my dream home of a little witchy town. The chemistry of the two mc’s is pure serotonin and had me laughing the whole time. I’m in love and ready to do a re-read already!

The first three quarters didn't have a ton of plot, mostly just focusing on the two leads relationship and chemistry, but I don't see that as a bad thing. Gwyn and Wells are both lovably flawed and it was a pleasure to watch them butt heads and fall in love. Overall this book was cute, steamy, a little cheesy, and just a really enjoyable read set in a little witchy magical town.

The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling is the second book in the Ex Hex series. In this witchy romance, Gwyn and Wells, who are huge enemies at first, find a way to overcome their differences and work together to figure out what is messing with magic in the town of Graves Glen. Along the way, Gwyn and Wells hatred for each other turns into so much more.

I have read both books in this series and have loved them both! I love Erin Sterling’s writing and am always pulled into her books, magic or not. I really love the characters in this series and the tension between them. I am very happy with this sequel and would recommend it to anyone who loves a good witchy romance!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon Books for an eARC of The Kiss Curse (The Ex Hex #2) by Erin Sterling in exchange for an honest review.

Gwyn Jones is in an all-out war with her school rival, and oldest of the Penhallow boys, Llewelyn (Wells, Esquire) when he sets up shop directly across the street, selling witchy wares in direct competition with Gwyn's store. Sabotaging each other is all fun and games until they stumble across an enchanted item containing a love spell in the basement of Wells' shop. The sexual tension ramps up between these two as Gwyn starts to lose her magic, and they have to get to the bottom of the problem, which may or may not be related to another former classmate that has recently returned to Graves Glen.

This second installment of The Ex Hex series was even more fun than the first! Bisexual representation, enemies to lovers, multiple spicy scenes, and heavy featuring of a beloved talking cat! I had a blast reading this and sped through it in just a couple of days. I can't wait for this book to release in September, and my hopes are high that Book of the Month makes it available in hardback so I can own a physical copy.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙆𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝘾𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚
Author: Erin Sterling
Genre: Romance
Rating: 5 🐈‍⬛✨🎃
Publish date: Sept. 30, 2022
🌶

I devoured this book in one sitting & this is the perfect book to add to your Fall TBR!! Amazing banter, cozy vibes, baby witches, some 𝑒𝓃𝑒𝓂𝒾𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓈 steam🔥 & a mysterious new power to unearth!! Give me spooky, Halloweentown vibes and I’m hooked. I loved The Ex Hex, but The Kiss Curse is now my fav!!

We are thrown right back into Graves Glen after the ending of The Ex Hex and Vivi & Rhys make some appearances😍 I love Gywn’s quirky and snappy attitude to everything. Her long time enemy, Wells who is this sophisticated, stoic man shows back up in town and opens up a shop right across from hers and she’s not having it!! I loved how much Wells was affected by Gwyn’s presence & the longing this man was doing for her😩 while Gwyn was wanting him to!

The mysterious aspect of this book keeps you hooked & I loved the diverse characters that Erin gave us in this book. This romance was snappy and funny & I was laughing out loud most of the book.

Thank you to Avon Books and Harper Voyager US for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

Sophomore efforts from authors are sometimes a tiny letdown or a major one. However, there are those shiny ones that have disproved that! This is one of those stories!
Coming back to Graves Glen was a treat. The fact that our story centered on Gwyn Jones, cousin of Vivi in book one, was the cherry on top! We also get to know Wells, Rhys’ older l brother, alot better. I think I liked this book more than book one! There’s a new mystery afoot and our two witches (plus a trio of Gwyn’s “baby witch” mentees) set out to to solve it. What was an antagonistic partnership soon becomes something much more flammable, and maybe,(if they can survive the danger), much more permanent.
**Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early draft.**

✨ARC REVIEW ✨

✨ SYNOPSIS (FROM PUBLISHER): "The follow-up to Erin Sterling’s New York Times bestselling hit The Ex Hex features fan favorite Gwyn and the spine-tinglingly handsome Wells Penhallow as they battle a new band of witches and their own magical chemistry."



✨TROPES:
🎃Small Town
🎃 Enemies/Rivals to lovers
🎃 Family Rivals
🎃Badass Lady and the Guy who Simps for her

✨My thoughts: WOW did I love Gwyn and Wells. I loved their dynamic and the way they pushed and challenged each other but also bring out the best in each other. I loved the setting, the mystery, the TWISTS, I loved the sibling and family dynamics. Mostly I wanna live in this witchy, Halloween town.

✨The Kiss Curse is from Erin Sterling, published by Avon and Harper Voyager. RELEASES SEPTEMBER 20.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

A magical, enchanting follow-up to The Ex Hex!

The Kiss Curse follows Gwyn, the spunky, fiery older cousin of Vivi, who is now happily married to Rhys Penhallow. Gwyn is living her best life running Something Wicked when Rhys’s older brother Wells comes to town to open his own witchy shop. Tension between the two brews deliciously, and when a mysterious witch from their university days comes to town and seems to disrupt Gwyn’s powers, they team up to discover the root of the trouble before it’s too late. The chemistry between Gwyn and Wells crackles with electricity, and I fell in love with them. The best part, though, is the world building and expansion since The Ex Hex. I love seeing how the magic of this universe works and expands throughout this book.

The real star, though? Sir Purrcival.

I want to live in this book series. Graves Glen is the spooky, witchy town of my dreams, and the setting is painted so perfectly. The character development for Gwyn since the first installment is incredible; she becomes more than Quirky Best Friend and shows her vulnerability in a very endearing way.

Since I read the ex hex I immediately wanted a book for gwyn and also for wells (rhys's brother) when I found out that they would be the protagonists I was excited!! I needed this book, and now that I read it, I totally loved it, I feel like it was missing something, but it wasn't bad, it was very funny, entertaining, and it reads quickly, I love the relationship between gwyn and wells, they are beautiful 🤎 and also how they met years ago 🤭 I also loved the three Baby Witches it was so much fun to read their spell progress 😂🤎, also Vivi and Rhys coming out was beautiful 💖, now what I need is a book for Bowen, it's the last brother I need to read🤧🖤

Thank you Avon and NetGalley for the ARC!

Exactly what I was hoping for this in this magically marvelous sequel! If you didn’t love the Jones women and Penhallow men already, you sure will once this is through. A fabulous love story, twisty plot, and a lot more Sir Purrcival! Love love love.

I received a copy of The Kiss Curse via NetGalley to read and review.

3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars.
While The Kiss Curse can stand by itself I would still recommend reading the Ex Hex first. Wells volunteers to go to Georgia when his father visits him at the tavern and hints that someone needs to keep an eye on things in Graves Glen. Wells goes and sets up shop across from Gwyn’s shop. At first both pretty much hate each other but very quickly other feelings start to bloom.

Then Gwyn starts having trouble with her magic. Since Wells promised to keep an eye on the magic situation he ends up teaming up with Gwyn to figure out what’s happening.

This gave a very similar vibe as The Ex Hex- cozy read, best in fall with some sort of warm drink and a fire. The Kiss Curse is similar to The Ex Hex but also different enough that will keep readers interested.

It’s a year after The Ex Hex, and it’s the Jones family’s magic that now fuels Graves Glen, so the Joneses are now responsible for protecting it. And after playing the classic role of snarky best friend/cousin in the first book, Gwyn Jones is now front and center, with newly married Vivi is relegated to a minor supporting role here.

Gwyn is perfectly happy with her life, being with her family, running her touristy witchcraft shop, and beginning to mentor to a group of three “Baby Witches” who want to learn more than what their school will teach. She’s even ok with her cousin Vivi’s new husband, Rhys, even if she thinks his father Simon is a jerk and thinks his brother Wells is an even bigger jerk for not coming to Vivi and Rhys’s wedding. So Gwyn is unprepared for the day that Wells Penhallow returns to Graves Glen, announces that he’s staying permanently, and then opens up a more upscale witchcraft shop right across the street from hers. And she could deal with all that, even the fact that she’s attracted to this gorgeous jerk-who’s-maybe-not-a-jerk-after-all. But Morgan, a witch with a mysterious past who Gwyn went to school with, has also just returned to Graves Glen. And at the same time all of this is happening, Gwyn begins to lose her magical powers….

The Kiss Curse was written under a pen name by Rachel Hawkins, author of the very good thriller Reckless Girls, and her writing skills again show here. But, as with The Ex Hex, this book is a light, fun read. There is a bit of drama, but it’s relatively brief and resolved quickly (though leaving open room for more books in this series). Instead, this book is all about the funny- provided largely by the “Baby Witches”—and the budding enemies/rivals to lovers romance between Gwyn and Wells, whose bantering and hijinks also provides quite a bit of humor. The chemistry between Gwyn and Wells is again well done. And while there are a couple of sweaty scenes, the book is again more thirsty than steamy. Still, another enjoyable story, and I’ll be on the lookout for the next book in the series. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump and this was just what I needed. Gwyn and Wells were adorable! I really hope there will be more to this series.

Speechless at how much I adore this book. Gwyn is everything I strive to be and don’t even get me started on the perfection that is the baby witches. I absolutely love The Ex Hex, but I really enjoyed how much the main character’s relationship was fleshed out.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the digital ARC! I absolutely adored this book. I usually don’t enjoy second books in series, but this one was so good. Gwyn is a bisexual icon and Wells is an uptight witch who falls absolutely head over heels for Gwyn after some initial animosity. I did appreciate that Rhys and Vivi had a small part in this story but that it still felt like Gwyn and Well’s stories. Also, Sir Purrcival is an absolute star and I want my own talking cat that begs for treats and calls people dickbags.

I liked this even more than the first book! These two had great chemistry! I loved the banter, mystery, cozy vibes, and Gwen's admiring "baby witches". It made me happy. This book was fun! It's also pretty spicy at times.
I bought the first book last year and enjoyed it. When I saw this on netgalley I knew I had to request it! It definitely did not disappoint.
If you like books about witches and romance, you don't want to miss this series.
Thanks to netgalley for allowing me to read an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.