A Witch's Handbook of Kisses and Curses

Half-Moon Hollow, Book 7

By: Molly Harper

Narrated by: Amanda Ronconi

Length: 9 hrs

Publisher's summary

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?

©2013 Molly Harper White (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

B rating....

Overall... 4.00 star

Performance.... 4.75 star

Story... 3.75 star

Another great, fun book by Molly Harper! This one features a witch, Nola, who is visiting the states from Ireland trying to track down the family artifacts that Grandma gave to her baby-daddy and he took back to the states. No one ever met the missing granddaddy, and unfortunately he's died, which complicates the recovery of the artifacts even more. But Nola has managed to secure a rental in one-half of his house and quickly moves to make friends with Jane Jameson who bought granddaddy's bookstore. Nola's witchcraft takes the form of healing so she's also a nurse, but her powers fluctuate wildly.

Living in the other half of granddaddy's house is Jed, a good old boy who never seems to wear a shirt, something that Nola appreciates a LOT, even though she has a boyfriend back in Ireland.

There's lots of madcap mayhem in this book...rogue witches after the artifacts, bounty hunters after the artifacts, dead relatives making inopportune appearances, wild lust over Jed's very nice chest, and a screwball family in the form of Jane, Dick Cheney, and Andrea. It really was an incredibly entertaining book. While not my favorite of Molly Harper's stories, I honestly cannot see that I would ever hate reading/listening to one of her books. Her sense of humor always shines through and makes every one of her books a blast and so freaking enjoyable.

I have to note here about Amanda Ronconi's narration...WOW!!! Nola is Irish, but lived for many years in Boston so she has a combination of the two accents. Ms. Ronconi NAILED that accent...she did it so incredibly well. On the flip side of that was Jed with his Louisiana good-old-boy drawl. Really, Amanda Ronconi is absolutely one of the best narrators out there. Bravo!

Dynamic Duo

The pairing of Molly Harper's voice as a writer with the vocal artistry of Amanda Ronconi is the best I've yet to come across! I really love these books and the way the stories are told!

Another fun romp into the paranormal.

Had fun with this. The only tiny criticism is that Ronconi doesn't do Irish well. Southern, yes, Irish, not so much.

You'll get used to the accent - it eventually makes sense

Enjoyed this book a lot - the accent was distracting at first but once the story gets going you notice it less and less. The ending was great!

Very good story :D

4-4.5 stars

This was a really good story. I just love Molly Harper and this was an enjoyable addition to the Half Moon Hollow stories.

Nola is a witch from Ireland that's been sent to Half Moon Hollow to retrieve some mystical items that are very important. She rents half of a duplex, the other half of which has been rented to Jed. A very handsome man she tries not to flirt with because she has a boyfriend back home. Regardless of this fact, the attraction between them is hot and they both have trouble ignoring it.

Jed is a good guy. I liked Jed and liked the chemistry between him and Nola and seeing came next between them. Fortunately, Nola does break up with her ex and we get to see things heat up between her and Jed when they end up on a road trip together.

To start her search Nola contacts Jane and company. Fortunately they get along well and Jane and friends help Nola with her quest to find the items. It's interesting where the items ended up and seeing what Nola has to go through to gather them all up. Unfortunately the search isn't without it's issues. The rival witch clan that's against Nola's family causes problems. Also, Jed does end up having some secrets that cause some issues. Things do get worked out but with difficulty and I liked the way they ended the conflict. It was a good solution.

I really enjoyed this book. I was very happy to see Nola and Jed together in the end. This was a very good book and addition to the Half Moon Hollow series. I'd recommend it. :D

*Note - Nola was supposed to have a Boston/Irish accept. Amanda Ronconi did a great job on this. I wouldn't usually expect a combo accept like that to be pulled off so well but Amanda did a great job with the accent. I could hear both the Bostonian accent and the Irish. Very well narrated.

Quirky and Sweet!

A Witch's Handbook of Kisses and Curses is another adorable paranormal romance that takes place in the same small town that the popular Jane Jameson series portrayed, Half-Moon Hollow, Kentucky. This book has everything I've come to expect from a Molly Harper story with quirky characters, spicy romance, and plenty of comedy.

Nola Leary's family is made up of witches and they are in desperate need of four artifacts known as the Elements to avoid losing their magic forever. Unfortunately, the Elements are believed to have been taken to Half-Moon Hollow for safekeeping and no one in the family is sure where they are. This is where Nola comes in as she travels to Kentucky to find them, meets new people, and gets involved in some sticky situations.

I really liked Nola. She was quirky, intelligent, and very sarcastic which really came out in the audio book. Her mix of Irish and Boston sensibilities was interesting as well. The only thing that I wasn't a huge fan of was her relationship with Steven. I got where Molly Harper was going with that whole scenario, but it was a little awkward especially at the beginning.

Nola's neighbor in Kentucky is Jed Trudeau, a smoking hot construction worker with a few secrets of his own. I absolutely adored Jed's character! He was smart, kind, and loved to joke around with Nola. His devotion to Nola was evident from the beginning and it was just so cute to watch. There were a few moments where I got irritated with Jed because of the secrets he was keeping from Nola, but I think he more than made up for it by the end.

Jed and Nola were an adorable couple who met in a very bizarre situation. They really seemed to understand one another from that first meeting and just got along so well. I love it when authors show couple hanging out together and Harper definitely does that with these two. The secrets that each of them were hiding from the other did cause some issues and that was the only part I wasn't a huge fan of with them.

The plot of A Witch's Handbook of Kisses and Curses focuses primarily on the hunt for the Elements. I love reading about treasure hunts so this story line grabbed me immediately. The search for clues and the act of trying to piece them together kept me interested throughout the entire book. This treasure hunt also brought Nola into direct contact with some of my favorite Half-Moon Hollow residents. I was especially excited to see the return of Jane, Gabriel, Dick, Andrea, and Zeb from the Jane Jameson series. They are just as warm and funny as they were the last time I read about them which is great to see.

In conclusion, I really liked this new installment in the Half-Moon Hollow series. Nola and Jed were great characters to add to the already colorful group in this world. And everything was brought to life by the always wonderful Amanda Ronconi who narrates Molly Harper's books to perfection. I definitely recommend this for fans of Harper's writing or anybody who is looking for a funny paranormal romance.

Entertaining

Really good, though not the best of the series. Reader performance is excellent; she pulls off a character with two accents wonderfully! It is also nice to have the characters from the first series included in the story.

I love this author

Molly Harper writes with a sense of humor and I love that. All of her books are that way. I laughed out loud in all of them. I really enjoy the reader too. I hope she never changes readers for her books. This story was good from start to finish. I hope she follows up the characters in a future book.

Another homerun for Harper/Ronconi

Where does A Witch's Handbook of Kisses and Curses rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I would say that the Nice Girls... series by Harper is my favorite for this genre, but the Witch's Handbook was a fun, easy read (listen). I liked that Harper integrated some of my favorite characters from Half Moon Hollow into this story, but the story holds on its own even if you haven't read other books by the author.

What does Amanda Ronconi bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She is my favorite narrator by far on audible! Amanda Ronconi has great comedic timing, and I love the way she gives all of the characters unique voices. I don't know how she does it! I would much prefer listening to her read these stories than reading on my own.

Before I purchased this book I saw a lot of negative reviews on her performance, but it didn't really bother me except for when I first started listening. The main character has a Boston accent, so if you have a hard time understanding that speaking style then maybe this book isn't for you. I found that once I got into the story the accent wasn't as distracting and actually contributes to what I like best about Ronconi - her ability to make all of the characters distinct.

Any additional comments?

Fun read, and well worth a credit!

Enjoyable, Funny At Times Good Book

I don't believe in these vampires and other "creatures" but I have enjoyed everyone of Molly's Harper's books And Amanda Ronconi just makes them even better. You all of a sudden burst out laughing. I am getting read to listen again.