Thank you Netgalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for allowing me to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I adore The Ex Hex and thought it was super adorable, sexy, and had the right amount of banter between Rhys and Vivi. I was excited to see the approval come in for The Kiss Curse and started on it right away.

I'm disappointed.

After reading The Ex Hex, I was ready to dive into Gwyn's story and meet Wells Penhollow, Rhys's oldest brother. I jumped off the diving board and didn't hit very much water.

Gwyn runs the witchy shop Something Wicked and it's a very popular tourist trap. Gwyn is feeling a little left out in the love department as she watches Vivi and Rhys together. To keep herself busy, Gwyn begins to train a group of young witches from the college. Wells Penhollow leaves his father's legacy pub behind for Graves Glen and rents a building across the street from Something Wicked, selling the same witchy items but with a different atmosphere. A shop-competition starts between Gwyn and Wells as they try to one up the other during tourist season while also trying to not fall for the other.. An old friend from Gwyn's college days comes back into town and something witchy and dangerous follows.

Nothing really happens in this book.

The shop-war between Gwyn and Wells was cute but ends quickly. The romance is adorable but nothing special. The Grumpy/Sunshine and Enemies-to-Lovers tropes are used but falls slightly flat. Gwyn's humor from the first book was good and I loved her in the first book, which of course made me excited for the sequel but in The Kiss Curse, her personality grated on my nerves a bit. I felt like the humor and banter was forced at times and didn't flow as well as The Ex Hex. I liked Wells and his grumpy personality but I can see why some readers were expecting a different love interest. Gwyn was with Jane, the mayor of the town, but they broke up in between the first and second book and Gwyn still felt awkward about each interaction with Jane. Wells is not a bad love interest but it didn't make sense at the same time. Gwyn interacts with Wells only once during a college class that went a little wrong and then nothing until they are in their thirties. The interaction was not enough to convince me that they needed to be "enemies" and Wells does miss Rhys's wedding with Vivi but Gwyn is the only one truly bent out of shape about it and that still didn't convince me.

Everything just falls flat.

Sir Purrcival, the black talking cat, is what saved some of the humorous moments. I didn't care at all for any of the "Baby Witches", that's what Gwyn calls the three witches she is training, they came across as 12 year olds but they are all, I think, nineteen. I did like that Erin Sterling added LGBTQ rep. Gwyn is bisexual and Parker is non-binary and goes by "they/them" pronouns.

At the 80% mark is when things kind of pick up and a sort-of villain appears. But even that falls flat and ends quickly.

I really, really wanted to like this book. I did like the steamy moments between Wells and Gwyn and of course the cat but it was not enough for me to love. I am super curious as to who the next main characters will be. I'm thinking it might be the third brother but there is no clear other interest.

3 stars

This book revolves around Gwyn, the cousin of Vivi from the first book. When Vivi's brother in law Wells come to town, he opens a competing shop across the street from Gwyn's shop. Gwyn and Wells have to put their competition away when a witch with an unknown past moves to town and Gwyn's powers start to disappear. Also a love curse stirs things up between them. Sir Purrcival the talking cat returns and the addition of the baby witches Gwyn mentors adds some humor to the book.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me a ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I LOVED this! The Ex Hex was one of my favorite Fall reads last year and I was so excited when I heard Gwyn was getting her own book. Her and Wells were such great characters and I loved each of their POV's - especially Wells! I was honestly so surprised by how much I loved him. and let not forgot the awesome side characters (Baby witches and Sir Purcival!)

The story was so interested from the very first page all the way to the end. There was never a time where it was slow or dragged, which was awesome. The romance so AMAZING and quite spicy at times which I love, but just a head of for those readers who prefer more clean romance.

All in all this is such a cute RomCom, and is going to be a perfect fall read. The cozy, autumn, small town setting of Graves Glen and the witches and magic are the perfect thing for Halloween.

Now we just need a book about Bowen, right? right???

This was the perfect sequel.

I actually liked this more than book one, and I didn't think that was possible. Gwyn and Wells are such bright and interesting characters to read about and I absolutely adored the romance between the two. The romantic tension was amazing and overall, I enjoyed this one so much.

The Kiss Curse was a cute follow up to The Ex Hex. Main and supporting characters are very endearing. A black cat that’s a star. Fall/autumn vibes. I had a fun time reading it. I think I could have used just a touch more action/adventure. If there is more to come, I will definitely read it.


I voluntarily read an early copy.

Tired of life in Wales and tasked by his father to strengthen the family presence in Graves Glen, Georgia, Wells Penhallow has returned to the States for the first time since a brief stint in college. Gwyn Jones would never admit it, but she's kind of had a crush on him since they locked eyes in charms class that semester. But she's definitely moved on and is happily running the family witchcraft shop and mentoring young witches at the local college. That is, until Wells shows up, opens a competing store, and throws everything out of whack. When Gwyn's magic starts to fritz, they have to work together to figure out why - but is the answer enough to rend their new relationship beyond repair?

I thought the Ex Hex was fun, but very light on plot, and I'd say the same thing about the Kiss Curse. What happened? I don't know. All of the sudden we were at 86% and the author remembered there should be some plot. I'd hardly say this was a slice of life novel, either - it's just that nothing happens, and then there's some action at the end. Whatever! It's fine. It was a fun enough read, and my favorite thing about this series remains the very intelligent cat.

Thank you Avon and NetGalley for the ARC!