Cover Image: The Kiss Curse

The Kiss Curse

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Member Reviews

Following the events of The Ex Hex, the Jones family is now responsible for the magic that flows through the small town of Graves Glen, in Georgia. Gwyn Jones is busy running her touristy witchcraft shop, Something Wicked, and mentoring three young witches, fondly renamed “Baby Witches”, but she feels that something is missing from her life.

In Wales, in Dweniniaid, Llewellyn “Wells” Penhallow runs the mostly empty pub the Raven and Crown, but, tired of the monotony of his life, he returns to Graves Glen to re-establish the family name. Gwyn doesn’t give him a warm welcome in town, especially when he opens his own witch shop right across from hers. She is determined to hate him, despite the strong attraction she feels for him. But when she begins to lose her magic powers and a new coven of witches arrives in town, they team up to figure out what is going on.

review

The Kiss Curse is the fantastic sequel to the equally brilliant novel The Ex Hex, but it can easily be read as a stand-alone. Set a year after the events of the first book, we find its protagonists, Vivi and Rhys, happily married and about to embark on a journey to Scotland. So, the story focuses on Vivi’s cousin, Gwyn, and Rhys’s brother, Wells.

Gwyn is impulsive, quirky, sarcastic, and smart and she can hold a grudge for years. As a matter of fact, her first dislike for Wells started thirteen years ago when he interfered in one of her enchantments. Considered the Favored Child of the Penhallow patriarch, Wells has always done what his father wanted. For the last thirteen years, he has been holding fort and guarding the magic at the Raven and Crown. In Graves Glen he is finally away from his father’s clutches and he looks forward to validating the family name in the town his ancestors founded.

There is a lot of fun, mostly provided by the Baby Witches, the three young witches mentored by Gwyn. But, also by Sir Purrcival, Gwyn’s talking cat who thinks mostly about food and insults, and the witty banters between the two protagonists. There is romance and steam, provided again by the two protagonists, whose chemistry is very well-played. There is also magic and a bit of drama and suspense with the mysterious arrival of the new witches in town.

in conclusion

The Kiss Curse is well-written, entertaining, refreshing, and immersive, perfect for fans of the enemies-to-lovers trope! Highly recommended!

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No surprise I loved this book! So far I have really enjoyed everything Rachel Hawkins/Erin Sterling. I can’t wait to read the third book.

You do not have to read the first book in order to read this one. This one is about Viv’s cousin, Gwyn. It takes place in Graves Glen and Penhaven College.

This was a fun & light romance. There was also no miscommunication trope and I am ALWAYS here for that 👏🏼

Read this if you like:
🫶🏼 romance that’s not smutty
🎃 the fun side of Halloween
🍂 fall vibes
👯‍♀️ friends you can root for.


Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for this ARC in exchange for my honest review! I’m sorry it took me so long to read it. 🥲

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This follow up to the Ex Hex did not disappoint! Gwen and Wells find themselves in a predicament- they kiss and believe they have accidentally come across a curse. This is explored as time goes on. I really loved the writing and the comedy throughout, and of course the love story

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5/5 Stars

I'm loving these paranormal romances!
They make me feel like I'm in my twilight phase again.
This book was fun and cute much like the first one.

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I couldn't get into the book before this one. I need to just accept that romance in any form is just not me, but just because it's not my cup of tea, I know most love it so 5 stars

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Erin Sterling is an author I have found that I will drop a other books for as soon as i see her put something out. The Ex Hex was great and I fell in love with Gwyn in the first book and I love her with Wells. Very fun and lighthearted read. Great for someone who likes a shorter story with a little spice in it.

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I found The Ex Hex to be mediocre but was still looking forward to giving book #2 a try and I'm glad I did! The Kiss Curse was much more enjoyable! It has a different sexy, spicy feel to it. A quick and easy spooky season read!!

Thank you, Avon and Harper Voyager, and Net Galley for a gifted copy in return for my honest review.

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I really like the continuation of the world from the Ex Hex and was ready to delve back into the world, especially since I'm a mood/seasonal reader. This was a top pick for Fall. I really enjoyed the witchy small town and quirky side characters. Recommend.

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Erin Sterling and fall, witchy romances go together like peanut butter and jelly, milk and cookies….and two hot witch enemies who are in competition with each other and can’t be in the same room together or things start catching on fire….I will take that last one over peanut butter and jelly any day.

Like The Ex Hex, great delicious spice but if you are here for the plot, the final act moves real fast. I’ll take more from Erin Sterling with a hot cup of apple cider.

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I am a big fan of Erin Sterling and this series. The Kiss Curse is a brilliant follow-up to the first book in the series: The Ex Hex. I love visiting this town and its characters every Halloween. It's the right amount of adventure, world-building, character development, and romance. I can't wait to read the third installment this year!

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I quite enjoyed this one, I accidentally read it first but it wasn't missing much context from the first book.
Gwyn and Wells have such a sweet relationship and it seemed like it progressed very naturally, it didn't feel forced at all. They had major chemistry from the beginning and thankfully the conflict at the end was cleared up somewhat quickly without them spending too much time apart. I hate when misunderstandings are drawn out, but they actually *gasp* COMMUNICATE once they are reunited. I will definitely read this one again.

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I LOVED The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling, even more than The Ex Hex! The romance was an absolute delight and it was fun to revisit the setting through the eyes of Gwyn and Wells.

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Compared to its predecessor, this book fell completely flat. There was hardly any romance at all, and it just felt like a slog from start to finish.

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I couldn’t even finish this. It was just so immature and I couldn’t carry on with it. I can’t do YAish books like this anymore.

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A solid sequel to The Ex Hex, The Kiss Curse focuses on the romance between Gwyn from the first book and a new witch and competing store owner, Wells Penhallow. This enemies to lovers romance had witty banter, a mystery that needed solving, and more steam than expected. I enjoyed these two characters and inclusion of characters/events from the first novel. What made this a 3.5 star for me is that it took me a while to get into the plot, it was a bit of insta love, and the magical aspect seemed to lose importance/focus in the story. But overall, this was a fun, lighthearted witchy read perfect for spooky season!

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A cute follow up to the ex hex. Gilmore girls meets practical magic. We get the cousins pov this time. She’s training baby witches and things just so happen to go haywire.

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Loved this book so much! It was fantastic just as good as the first in the series! I fell for these characters and the story was so robust and involved!

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If you want spooky, witchy, Gilmore Girls in fall vibes, this book is for you. I loved this book just as much as I loved the first one. I connected with these characters so much in the first book and I'm so happy that they got their own book. Gwyn was honestly my favorite character from the beginning, her wit and sassiness I loved and I loved her relationship with grumpy Wells. Some of the lines he gave her I swooned over. This had the perfect amount of steam thrown in with its witchy mystery and I devoured it. I love Erin Sterling and all of her pen names but I'm pretty sure these books are my favorites of theirs.

*Many thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager for the gifted copy for my honest review*

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Oooh this one was better than The Ex Hex! I did enjoy The Ex Hex a lot but I liked this one better. I was getting my witchy rom coms a little confused though, there seem to be a lot these days! I loved the witchy shops and Gwyn's "baby witches" were such a fun side character addition! I can't believe book 3 doesn't come out for another year when this one has already been out for a year!! 😭

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This book was just as good as the first.

The characters are enjoyable and I especially like the three little witches Gwyn has decided to help along the way.

The story was up and down for me. Some parts were really great and some felt slow for the story progression, but overall I enjoyed it. It was the perfect read to go in and out of and not miss anything. A great book for the fall.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this.

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