The Kiss Curse: An Ex Hex Novel (The Graves Glen Series Book 2)

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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. This is the perfect fall romance book and no one can tell me differently. I adored Gwyn from The Ex Hex and was so excited to know we were getting a whole book about her. She is full of sass and knows what she wants in life. She is so protective of the people she loves and I just love her spunk.

Okay, so it was less that they were screaming at her, more they were just screaming in general, and yes, all right, maybe the leaf now resembled some kind of small dinosaur with very pointy teeth currently clamped around the toe of her professor’s pointy boot, but had the spell been specific? Always practise safe hex . . . New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hawkins, writing as Erin Sterling, follows her sensational TikTok hit, The Ex Hex, and casts a spell with a new spine-tingling romance full of wishes, witches, and cursed kisses. While Gwyn and Wells are fully committed to their witchy rivalry, they soon find themselves thrown together once again to deal with the sudden appearance of a mysterious new coven and Gwyn's growing concern that something - or someone - is messing with her magic… After the events of The Ex Hex, the Jones witches have the town’s ley lines under control and everything is seemingly calm in Graves Glen. However, whilst Vivi, Rhys, and Elaine are out of town, drama inevitably ensues when Rhys’ brother Llewellyn (or Wells) Penhallow moves to Graves Glen to re-establish his family’s connection to the town by opening a witchy shop across the street from Gwyn’s. Despite their competition, Wells and Gwyn both become wary when some of Gwyn’s schoolmates unexpectedly return to Graves Glen. Shortly after, Gwyn and Wells are forced to work together when Gwyn’s powers mysteriously begin to fade.And though Gwyn and Wells are fully committed to their witchy rivalry, they find themselves thrown together when they have to deal with the sudden appearance of a mysterious new coven and Gwyn’s concern that something—or someone—is messing with her magic… One of the best rom-coms I’ve read all year! . . . It’s Practical Magic meets Gilmore Girls and I am a hundred percent OBSESSED!’ Rule follower, extra polished, a remarkable uptight gentleman and elder brother of Penhallows; Wells strikingly charming Penhallow decides to move to Graves Glen to open his own store after the failure of family pub in Wales. Interestingly his father Simon supported his decision, warning him about Jones women who stole their patriarchal powers and magical throne! He still doesn’t give his blessing to youngest son Rhys and Vivi Jones’ marriage. Firstly, I have to say that I personally enjoyed Wells and Gwyn’s “enemies to lovers” romance in The Kiss Curse more than Rhys and Vivi’s second chance romance in The Ex Hex. All of the comedic moments Sterling included in The Kiss Curse were stellar, especially Gwyn’s enthusiastic and often mischievous trainees (or “Baby Witches”), Gwyn’s outspoken talking cat, Gwyn’s fondness for witchy puns, and a hilarious incident involving a glittery “love spell”. The sweet and swoonworthy moments were also delightful, especially the meaning behind Wells’ fondness of Gwyn’s pink hair streak. I appreciated that Sterling kept me guessing and I didn’t feel like the ending was predictable. The autumnal vibe of the small-town of Graves Glen is dreamy with all the Halloween and fall festivals in Graves Glen reminding me of beloved fictional small towns like Stars Hollow ( Gilmore Girls) and Halloweentown. Due to Graves Glen having a change in the flow of power, many new witches have gathered in the town. Encountering these weird energies and emanating magic is cause for lookout into the safety of the town's magic.

Sterling's novel is ultimately crisp and sweet, like biting into the perfect caramel apple . . . will sweep readers up into a world of whimsical magic' Kirkus

Gwyn is perfectly happy with her life in Graves Glen. She's formed a powerful new coven with her family; she's running a successful witchcraft shop and she's mentoring some of the younger witches in town. As Halloween approaches, there's only one problem - Llewellyn 'Wells' Penhallow. I loved the plot of this story even more so than The Ex Hex. I think the pacing is superb and I loved all of the new characters that we meet throughout the book. The romance was full of spice, but didn't take away from the plot of the story, it just added to it! Penhaven College in Graves Glen, Georgia, taught both regular students and witches, the witchcraft classes secretive and hidden from everyone else who just thought the kids who went to those weirder buildings on campus were pursuing esoteric degrees in Folklore or something. Advanced Hedge Making, maybe. Her face was glowing, her smile bright, and that...that was what had him feeling a little light-headed, if he was being honest.

And his dare to open a shop selling same kind of non magical witchery stuff across the street with promotional cup of tea makes Gwyn even more frustrated! While Gwyn and Wells are fully committed to their witchy rivalry, they soon find themselves thrown together once again to deal with the sudden appearance of a mysterious new coven and Gwyn's growing concern that something - or someone - is messing with her magic... I really hope the author writes more books about this town and these characters because I love them so much. We are given mouthwatering tension, skin-warming fluff, and abs-inducing humor along with an intriguing and fun plot that has the reader on their toes. I really enjoyed the supporting cast, especially the baby witches who Gwyn mentors (I’m hoping we’ll see more of them in future preferably alongside Bowen, Rhys and Wells’ other brother) but my absolute fave has to be Gwyn’s treat-loving, talking cat, Sir Purrcival who’s even more hilarious than he was in The Ex Hex.

Given that the spell had been “Turn this leaf into something else,” and Gwynnevere Jones had indeed turned that leaf into something else, it seemed extremely unfair that everyone was now screaming at her. After Erin Sterling’s witchy, Halloween-themed rom-com The Ex Hex cast a spell on me — el oh el — last fall, there was no way I was missing out on the sequel, The Kiss Curse. Although it’s still set in Graves Glen, and the original main characters Vivi and Rhys make plenty of appearances, this time around the story focuses on Vivi’s cousin Gwyn Jones and Rhys’s brother Llewellyn "Wells" Penhallow. (And Gwyn’s talking cat, Sir Purrcival. Obviously.) She is running her families store when Rhys older brother, Wells, comes into town and sets up a similar store right across the street. She has a lot of hate in her heart for Wells and is extremely mad that he decided to do this. The enemies to lovers in this book goes hard and is *chefs kiss* amazing. I adore Wells and the witty banter between the two is phenomenal.

If Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Gilmore Girls had a book baby, it would be THE EX HEX. And yes, it’s just as glorious as it sounds!’ Gwyn wants to leave that kiss all behind because there is some more important matters she has to deal like she slowly loses her magic and a threatening dark magic vibes start to threaten the town after one of her schoolmate’s surprising arrival. Unfortunately she needs to team up with the man she hates to like for unfolding the mystery and she has to resist the palpable attraction between them! Jones& Esquire agency is at your service! The conflict really starts to happen around 85% of the book. The main focus of the story is the romance, so there wasn't as much setup for the conflict. And by the time it's starting to unfold, the story ends. This was a really low-stakes romance when it could have easily had a little more plot. To say i was bitterly disappointed by this book would be an understatement. after really liking the first book, this one just let me down so much. I had so much hope and it was just shattered. I did like parts of the book and it really did have potential, however the execution was just flawed. 🥲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. While Gwyn and Wells are fully committed to their witchy rivalry, they soon find themselves thrown together once again to deal with the sudden appearance of a mysterious new coven and Gwyn’s growing concern that something – or someone – is messing with her magic . . . I really enjoyed this one. It’s a ton of fun, and an excellent book to read as the leaves start changing and all the spooky decorations start going up. There’s plenty of twisty intrigue regarding Gwyn’s mysterious loss of powers, as well as the undoubtedly rancid vibes coming off of Glen Graves’ newest resident, who Gwyn (and Wells) attended college with. Personally I found both of those side-stories more compelling than the big mystery at the core of The Ex Hex. Also, likely because I go feral at the mere whisper of an enemies-to-lovers trope, I thought Wells and Gwyn’s love story burned far, far hotter compared to the spark between Rhys and Vivi. They’re super cute. The Ex Hex was one of my fave reads last year so I was soo unbelievably excited to get the opportunity to review The Kiss Curse. And honestly, it lived up to all my expectations! It’s witchy, sexy and full of flirtatious banter I couldn’t get enough of. I loved returning to Graves Glen and seeing Vivi and Rhys again, but I have to admit Gwyn was definitely a one of my fave characters in The Ex Hex and I’m glad she finally got her own book. Graves Glen was a collection of lights glimmering in the darkness, homey and warm but far away, shadowy hills rising all around it.