The Wedding Witch by Erin Sterling

Title: The Wedding Witch (Graves Glen #3)

Author: Erin Sterling

Publisher: Avon 2024

Genre: Romance

Pages: 279

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Holiday Reads

Where I Got It: Library

Spice Rating: 4.5

Bowen Penhallow has always been a loner, studying dark and ancient magic on a mountaintop in Wales. He prefers it that way. But when his friend Colin—who happens to be a ghost—asks him to attend a Yuletide wedding at a grand estate deep in the Welsh countryside, Bowen reluctantly agrees. 

Tamsyn Bligh is not a witch, but she makes her living off of them. As a procurer and seller of magical items, Tamsyn’s business is not always above board, but she’s been trying to fix that (mostly.) Bowen is an occasional customer—as well as the star of several of Tamsyn’s dirtiest dreams—but she’s been around enough witches to know that, as a human, getting involved with one is not the smartest idea. She’s finagled an invite to the Witchy Wedding of the Century in the hopes of finally making a score big enough to retire. Just one priceless magical artifact from Tywyll House would set her up for life.

But Tamsyn isn’t the only one sneaking about in Tywyll House, and the mix of a very strong spell combined with a wedding mishap transports Bowen and Tamsyn into Tywyll House’s past, to the Yuletide Celebration of 1958. As Bowen and Tamsyn work together to get back to the present, they must also face off with the origins of Tywyll House’s haunting, the suspicions of their fellow witches…oh, and the fact that somewhere between the mistletoe and the bonfire, they might be falling in love. 

The conclusion of the Graves Glen trilogy of romance and I liked it but didn’t love it. My biggest complaint is the severe lack of Graves Glen. I wanted a return to our witchy little town and the quirky inhabitants. Unfortunately we move across the pond in a boring castle for our setting. The plot is fun with some time travel hijinks, but I felt like we could have increased the suspense even more than we got. As for the characters, I enjoyed Tamsyn and her offbeat humor and spirit. She was a great main characters. Bowen just didn’t do it for me. I wanted to see more from him. At times, he really was a wooden board. More would have been nice.

Graves Glen

• #1 The Ex Hex

• #2 The Kiss Curse

• #3 The Wedding Witch

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling

Title: The Kiss Curse (Graves Glen #2)

Author: Erin Sterling

Publisher: Avon 2022

Genre: Romance

Pages: 309

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library

Where I Got It: Library

Gwyn Jones is perfectly happy with her life in Graves Glen. She, her mom, and her cousin have formed a new and powerful coven; she’s running a successful witchcraft shop, Something Wicked; and she’s started mentoring some of the younger witches in town. As Halloween approaches, there’s only one problem—Llewellyn “Wells” Penhallow.

Wells has come to Graves Glen to re-establish his family’s connection to the town they founded as well as to make a new life for himself after years of being the dutiful son in Wales. When he opens up a shop of his own, Penhallow’s, just across the street from Something Wicked, he quickly learns he’s gotten more than he bargained for in going up against Gwyn.

When their professional competition leads to a very personal—and very hot—kiss, both Wells and Gwyn are determined to stay away from each other, convinced the kiss was just a magical fluke. But when a mysterious new coven of witches come to town and Gwyn’s powers begin fading, she and Wells must work together to figure out just what these new witches want and how to restore Gwyn’s magic before it’s too late.

Somehow I read the first book in this series, enjoyed it, and completely forgot about it. I saw that Sterling’s newest book is publishing this month and so I thought I would catch up. I remember being slightly annoyed by the main characters in the first book, but was still intrigued by the side characters to continue. In this one, we get a great larger mystery and some great sexual tension. Gwyn and Wells are such a great opposites attract couple. I loved seeing them spar throughout the first half of the novel. Once we get to the last third, the plot moves into high gear. I loved seeing how Gwyn and Wells worked together to save the town. And now I need to read the last one in this trilogy.

Graves Glen

• #1 The Ex Hex

• #2 The Kiss Curse

• #3 The Wedding Witch

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

Title: The Ex Hex

Author: Erin Sterling

Publisher: Avon 2021

Genre: Romance

Pages: 318

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Unread Shelf; Unread Shelf RC - Author You’ve Never Read Before

Nine years ago, Vivienne Jones nursed her broken heart like any young witch would: vodka, weepy music, bubble baths…and a curse on the horrible boyfriend. Sure, Vivi knows she shouldn’t use her magic this way, but with only an “orchard hayride” scented candle on hand, she isn’t worried it will cause him anything more than a bad hair day or two.

That is until Rhys Penhallow, descendent of the town’s ancestors, breaker of hearts, and annoyingly just as gorgeous as he always was, returns to Graves Glen, Georgia. What should be a quick trip to recharge the town’s ley lines and make an appearance at the annual fall festival turns disastrously wrong. With one calamity after another striking Rhys, Vivi realizes her silly little Ex Hex may not have been so harmless after all.

Suddenly, Graves Glen is under attack from murderous wind-up toys, a pissed off ghost, and a talking cat with some interesting things to say. Vivi and Rhys have to ignore their off the charts chemistry to work together to save the town and find a way to break the break-up curse before it’s too late.

I picked this one up and sped through it in about two days. Perfect read for this witchy week. This is a light-hearted mystery and romance set in a small college town. I enjoyed the setting and the atmosphere. I enjoyed the side characters and the general vibe. I really loved all the fun witchy adventures. I could have used more romance inn that it seemed to get the romance started and then speed ahead. I wanted to sit int he romance a bit more before moving to the next scene. I also wanted a bit more of the mystery drawn out. The ending came very abruptly and I just wanted a bit more.

Next up on the TBR pile: