Cole Alpin runs a small-town candy store. He visits his grandmother twice a week. And sometimes he breaks curses.
Leo Ericson’s curse is obvious right away, spiderwebbing across his very nice body. Though something about it worries Cole, he agrees to help—with little idea of what he’s getting into.
Leo is a serial monogamist, but his vampire ex has taken dating off the table with his nasty spell, and Leo needs Cole’s companionship as much as his help. When the hex proves to be only the beginning of his problems, Leo seeks refuge at Cole’s place. Too bad magic prevents him from finding refuge in Cole’s arms.
Cole’s never had a boyfriend, so how can he recognize true love? And there’s still the matter of the one responsible for their troubles in the first place….
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| Average! |
Sara - 5 Hearts
My ginger senses tingled when I saw Ashlyn Kane was going to write in the Dreamspun Beyond line. If you didn’t know tingling ginger senses are a good thing; they’re nice and warm, giving you a pretty euphoric feeling of anticipated pleasure. My ginger sense rarely fail me and they were spot on with this story. Kane nailed exactly what I’ve come to love from the Beyond line with perfection. The balance of paranormal and fluff were exceptionally done and I am still smiling after having finished this book a day later.
It was that good.
I have to say, reading for me has been a struggle this year and I really can’t put my finger on the why of it all. I just know that I am not reading as much and find it hard to even pick up a book and start reading. So the books that I do read, when they hit me in the feels and make me sneak read all day at my desk instead of the pace I’d set to read? They are gold.
Told from the dual POV’s from our adorable couple we meet Cole Alpin, candy maker extraordinaire, first as he is working in his candy store when a stranger walks in needing his help. Cole isn’t just a candy maker, he’s also a witch and a curse breaker and when the tall drink of water that is Leo walks into his store needed to break a curse, Cole is ready to help. Sure, he finds Leo attractive, but it’s the work that comes first as the Alpins are family of witches, who hold their craft to a high level of importance.
Oh Cole. I adored him so damn much. He’s so loyal to his family and to his grandmother first and foremost. She’s the one that raised him when his mother left and she is the one who has always had faith in his abilities, even if that means Cole may always be alone. I won’t go into all of that because it’s layered into the story, but Cole is adorable and steadfast with a dry sense of humor and a love of punny shirts. He’s quite easy to fall in love with.
Now Leo Ericson. How can I not fall in love with a guy who takes home a one-night-stand only to find out the dude’s a vampire? Leo takes it all in stride until him and said vampire, Roman, part ways and Leo can’t get no satisfaction with anyone. He finds out he’s been cursed by his ex-lover with fangs and is pointed in the direction of Cole to break the curse. Leo is so much fun. I love how open he is to the idea of being tossed into a world where vampires and witches exist. He’s fascinated by it all while being slightly afraid and it’s that side of afraid that moves this story along and moves him in with Cole.
True love’s first kiss.I am kinda getting ahead of myself here. Let me backtrack and sum this up. Cole can break Leo’s curse, but it’s a bit tricky to do once he sees all of it in person and realized what it would take to break it. *cough* (see above quote) *cough* When Leo starts to feel watched and starts getting mixed messages of curse and protection, he runs to Cole for help. Cole opens his home to Leo and his already sugary heart starts to melt. I can write about these two for days and not get tired of reliving their moments. I love how easy they are with each other and how at first, Leo isn’t attracted to Cole because he’s not “his usual type”, but gets that his usual type is pretty crappy. Leo knows he’s magically cockblcoked by the curse, but as Cole loosens the threads of the magic, the two grow closer and start to build some serious UST. Serious UST where I needed to just make my own voodoo dolls of them and force them to make out. Goodness. When the near misses of a kiss happen, I felt it. When they start admiring each other’s body parts, I felt it. When both men wanted the other, but Leo was afraid of the curse and Cole is afraid of getting what he wants could do to the balance of the universe… I. FELT. IT. The payoff of all this UST though, is so freaking fracking worth it.
This reminded me of Practical Magic. With the Alpin family living in a small town and having a strong history of witches with the townsfolk fearing them. I love Practical Magic, so this warmed my heart with the pagan celebrations (Psst… I was born on Beltane) the Alpins have and how Gran is the center of it all. Both this story and the story of the Owens women have lessons in them with meddling with magic and its consequences. And both stories have witches who fall in love with humans that are their destiny. This book was easy to see translated to the big or small screen and would be so much fun to watch.
If you can’t tell, I loved this romance something fierce. I get giddy thinking of apple pie, Monarch Butterflies, Gran’s special tea, Ella’s aura readings, tarot cards foretelling destiny and all the magic involved. From Leo and Cole, to Gran, to Kate, to Amy, to Nate, to Jimmy and even to Roman. I enjoyed being part of this world in every way possible. Seeing as this is listed as the first book in a series, I am hoping I get to be a part of this world for a long time. I wouldn’t mind Nate getting a story or Roman, maybe Jimmy or really anyone, who is adjacent to Leo and Cole.
R *A Reader Obsessed* - 4 Hearts
A promising beginning to a charming series!
This starts off with Leo, newly introduced to the fact that there are things such as vampires that truly exist. Having just recently been in a relationship with one, Leo’s handling this new world view pretty well until what he thought was an amicable breakup is anything but, and he finds himself literally cockblocked by a curse courtesy of his ex. Desperate to find a solution, Leo lands himself in Cole’s candy shop hoping and doubting that a magical miracle can help him.
Cole doesn’t have active magic, but he’s particularly adept at seeing and unraveling curses. Leo’s predicament seems straightforward, but it soon becomes clear that the curse and the entire situation is rife with complications and could very well suck Cole down the proverbial rabbit hole, endangering his tender heart. What’s a nice guy like him to do? Follow it through, of course.
This was quirky and adorable, peppered with some cute funny as well as some heartfelt emotions and feels and little dollops of suspense. This kept me on my toes, and I was smiling and anxious and curious throughout. The premise was great. I loved that this blended magic and paganism plus paranormal and supernatural elements, to feature not only the aforementioned vampire, but witches and seers, talking animal familiars, and werewolves! To top it all off, it’s also wrapped up in a big pretty bow of fate and destiny.
Clearly, I enjoyed this story a lot to give it a 4 heart rating. However, having never read this author before, I’m not sure if it’s a me thing or just the author’s style, but I felt at times that the flow of the dialogue and prose was jarring or confusing, and it kicked me out enough for me to comment on.
Regardless, I obviously liked the torturous slow burn and the UST that is manufactured by Leo’s awful curse and the stipulations needed to break it. Once he and Cole are able to be together (around 65% for those who need to know), it was very nicely sexy and sweetly sigh worthy. Again, this was a great start to a new series despite my reading stumbles and one that I'll definitely be coming back to for more!
Thank you to the author/publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
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