Bea's Book Nook: Bea Reviews A Witch's Handbook of Kisses and Curses by Molly Harper

Publisher: Pocket Books
Series: Half Moon Hollow #2
Format Read: paperback
Source: my local library
Release Date: May 28, 2013
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | ARe* | Barnes & Noble
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Blurb from goodreads:

A new comedic paranormal romance featuring a witch who finds love while searching for a magical artifact and set in the same “terrific vamp camp” (Publishers Weekly) world of Half Moon Hollow as the Nice Girls series.

Nola Leary would have been content to stay in Kilcairy, Ireland, healing villagers at her family’s clinic with a mix of magic and modern medicine. But a series of ill-timed omens and a deathbed promise to her grandmother have sent her on a quest to Half-Moon Hollow, Kentucky, to secure her family’s magical potency for the next generation. Her supernatural task? To unearth four artifacts hidden by her grandfather before a rival magical family beats her to it.

Complication One: The artifacts are lost somewhere in vampire Jane Jameson’s occult bookshop. Complication Two: Her new neighbor Jed Trudeau keeps turning up half-naked at the strangest times, a distraction Nola doesn’t need. And teaming up with a real-life Adonis is as dangerous as it sounds, especially since Jed’s got the face of an angel and the abs of a washboard. Can Nola complete her mission before falling completely under his spell?

Bea's Thoughts:

The short verdict - cute and fluffy fun that made me laugh.

The longer verdict -

Take a meddling concerned family, add a reluctant witch, a promise to a dying relative, a personal quest, add humor, mystery and betrayal, and mix into a humorous paranormal romance. I first read Harper several years ago, her Werewolves in Alaska series, and really enjoyed it. I'd seen this one on some blogs and thought I'd give it a go so I got it from my library. This series is a spin-off of the Jane Jameson series but for the most part I was able to read despite not having read that one yet.

This book is set in Kentucky, although the heroine, Nola, is from Ireland. She goes to Kentucky to look for some magical objects valuable to her family and gets involved with wacky folks, some of whom are relatives, in a small southern town. There are quite a few supernaturals in this small town, which really didn't seem believable, and the ease with which Nola gains access to the site, a bookstore, she needs for her research is absurd. Despite those implausibilities, the story rolls along, drawing you in and making you laugh and feel so that you just don't care how unlikely it is or how cliched certain characters are.

There's snappy dialogue, witty banter, quirky characters, lively interactions, a sweet romance, and all sorts of crazy relatives. It's a character driven story but Harper doesn't ignore the plot. Some events were predictable while others took me by surprise and Harper's twist on shapeshifters was enjoyable, a smart bit of originality. I hope she does more with it. "A Witch's Handbook to Kisses and Curses" was rollicking fun and thanks to a friend, I now have book one in the Half Moon Hollow series so I'll be diving into that one soon.