"Kiss of a Witch” by S. G. Slade follows the intertwined lives of Mary and Toby. Mary, cursed from birth and living as a prostitute, dreams of a brighter future, especially after meeting Toby. Meanwhile, Toby, longing for freedom from his mundane life, discovers his magical lineage, leading him into the clutches of a sorcerer with sinister intentions.

I thoroughly enjoyed how the series continued with a fresh focus on a new set of main characters. However, my only qualm with the book was its occasional similarity to "Touch of a Witch" in terms of plot.

There were unexpected twists that kept me engaged, and overall, this book was exceptional, and I eagerly anticipate the next book!

Thank you NetGalley and author S.G. Slade for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

"Trapped in a spreading web of darkness, the power of an ancient book might be their only hope.

Mary Sparrow was cursed at birth, and the bawdy house is the only home she’s ever known. Like most of the girls, she dreams of escape. But when an old man drives her friend to madness she swears she will have her revenge.

Toby Chyrche also hopes for a better future, away from the tailor’s shop where his fate seems set in stone. Then a fateful meeting seems to promise freedom, until an ancient book of magic reveals chilling truths.

Ensnared in the spreading web of darkness, they turn to magic to protect themselves. But shadowy forces crave a sacrifice and the spectre of death is beckoning. Can they wield the power of the book to protect those they love? Or will they pay for their courage with their lives?"

This is a second standalone novel Darkness Rising series. I love the first book and I love this one too. I devoured it in one sitting.

Thank you to Netgally, the publishers, and S. G. Slade

When I requested this book I was unaware that it was apart of a series, one that requires you to read the previous books for this one to make sense. I am unable to read all the previous books along with this one before the publish date. Therefore, I will rate this a fair 3/5 stars and will adjust the rating and review when I am able to read all the books in the series along with this one.

This was a strong sequel in the Darkness Rising series, it has everything that I had enjoyed from the first book. The characters were everything that I enjoyed from the first book and thought they worked in the historical setting. I enjoyed that this was a standalone but still in this series. It was suspenseful and had everything that I was looking for. S.G. Slade does another great job in writng this.

I tried so hard with this book and i just couldn’t get into it. I had to stop reading i just couldn’t make it happen.

It was well written and world building was good but I couldn’t get into it.

I’m sorry

Kiss of a Witch, by S.G. Slade is the follow-up to Touch of a Witch, although it's the second book, each can be read as a stand alone. I loved everything about this story! The characters and the plot are solid. Add the atmosphere of Shakespearean England, great characters, magic, and some spice thrown in make for a fantastic read! I devoured this book in one sitting because I could not put it down.

I enjoyed this book. It was a very quick read full of suspense. It is the second book in the series and I’m excited to see what happens next!

17th century London? Check.
Witches? Check.
Multi-generational family saga? Check.
Spice? Check.

The second book in the Darkness Rising series did not disappoint. After meeting Sarah, Tom, and Nick in the first novel, we continue the story with Sarah & Tom’s son, Toby, and his two love interests: Mary and Judith.

I really liked the continuation of the story over the series, while also focusing more on a different set of main characters. The only issue I had with the book was the fact that the plot was at points way too similar to Touch of a Witch. But, there were still twists I did not see coming, and I really enjoyed reading this novel. Looking forward to the next book in the series!

A swift and engaging read, this book boasts likable characters and a plot that maintained my curiosity, compelling me to read until the very end. The enchanting elements involving witches and ghost-like phenomena added a captivating dimension to the narrative. However, my critique revolves around numerous scenes that felt somewhat forced and almost peculiar, disrupting the natural flow. Despite this, the overall experience was enjoyable, and I found myself immersed in the book's charm.

I appreciated the strength of Mary's character and her determination to fight for a better life. While some of her decisions felt a little unnecessary, they did help move the plot along. As for Toby, I did not like his character as he was very one-track-minded, and his choices were abusive or disrespectful to women. I feel book 1 would have allowed me to know Toby’s mother, Sarah, better, but I did like her use of magic far more than other characters' use of it. I feel that every character was a bit 2 dimensional, only really having one or two character trait and lacking the complexity of fully formed characters.

The magic system seems a little, err, sexualised, as was most of the themes of the storyline. I particularly disliked that magic was used to force consent of an unwilling woman and hinted at other events of abusing magic for sexual gain. This story was set in older times, so the derogative terms used about women were common for the times, but it also felt really degrading reading how poorly even the female characters spoke of each other and themselves.

I also did not appreciate that the only queer character was the antagonist. This may not have been intentional, or perhaps book 1 would have made this fact feel a little less offensive. Again, the time the story is set was also not known to be favourable to queer people, so I wasn't expecting LGBTQIA+ representation at all, but I think it would have been better to either omit the sexuality or include at least one other queer character with a positive arc.

Overall, it was a good book, just not the book for me. If the themes highlighted above are not an issue for you, absolutely give this book a go.

This is the second book of the Darkness Rising series but is a standalone novel that focus on Mary, a cursed child since birth that lives as a prostitute and Toby, who longs for freedom from his life at the tailor’s shop.

It was such a quick read with great characters and a dark magical setting with a bit of suspense to add a more mysterious ambience. I really enjoyed the background of the characters and their lack of choices through life.

Overall, it was a good book with the nice amount of spicy scenes and a good dose of mystery that made me keep guessing how it would end. It was the first book I read of this author, but I enjoy it quite much.

Thank you, NetGalley & the publisher, for approving me to read this arc and write this review.

“Kiss of a Witch” is the second book in the series "Darkness Rising" by S. G. Slade is centered around Mary and Toby. Mary Sparrow was a cursed child from the moment she was born and now lives as a prostitute, but she dreams of a better life one day, especially when she meets Toby. She also seeks revenge for her friend who has been broken mentally by a dangerous client. Toby, son of Tom and Sarah, longs for freedom from his life at the tailor’s shop. When he finds out his lineage of magic, he gets ensnared by a sorcerer who wants more from him than he can give.

In this book I loved the lack of options the characters have which is fitting with the period the story takes place in. When reading the Darkness Rising books (this one and the first book) you always hope for a happy ending and then must deal with the conflicted emotions throughout the story. Nonetheless, this book was fantastic,

I really enjoyed this read. I really enjoyed going on the exciting adventure with the characters and look forward to seeing what comes next in the series.

“Kiss of a Witch” by S. G. Slade is about Mary and Toby. Mary Sparrow was a cursed child from the moment she was born and now lives as a prostitute, but she dreams of a better life one day, especially when she meets Toby. She also seeks revenge for her friend who has been broken mentally by a dangerous client. Toby, son of Tom and Sarah, longs for freedom from his life at the tailor’s shop. When he finds out his lineage of magic, he gets ensnared by a sorcerer who wants more from him than he can give.

I loved this book so much! I loved the lack of options the characters have which is fitting with the period the story takes place in. When reading the Darkness Rising books (this one and the first book) I always hope for a happy ending and then must deal with the conflicted emotions throughout the story, which is perfect. I did like the first book a sliver more than this one because I adored Tom and how the book had more social peril than this book which had more of a magical peril. Also, Toby is more of a sweet flirt than Tom who was a reckless flirt. Regardless, this book was fantastic, and I will read anything S. G. Slade writes. 5 out of 5 stars.

-magic
-prostitution
-infidelity
-forbidden romance
-ghosts