For Better or Cursed by Kate Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
For Better or Cursed is the second installment to Kate Williams, The Babysitters Coven trilogy. These comedic teen stories channel heavy Buffy vibes, with a dash of Adventures in Babysitting.
Witchy besties, Esme and Cassandra, are back and beginning to settle into their new lives as full-blown Sitters. They’re back at school, babysitting and continuing to learn under Coach Brian’s tutelage.
After their battles in the first book, Cassandra seems to be suffering from some lasting side effects, so they’ve been trying to figure that out as well. She’s blacking out and doing incredibly bizarre things during these spells.
The girls think she may have been cursed, so clearly, that’s not good.
In addition to all of this, they receive news that the Synod, the Sisterhood’s governing body, has called a Summit and it’s going to be in their hometown.
In fact, Esme and Cassandra are responsible for planning the grand finale party for the weekend. They’re so not prepared for that. Luckily, Brian’s interior design skills and expert social event knowledge will definitely come in handy.
I loved the Summit. It was attended by witches from all over the world. The introduction of some new characters was a lot of fun to read. They all stayed at the same hotel and attended classes where they learned more about Sitting and the many threats they are facing.
I thought this was a great plot device to build-out the concepts of this world. Incidentally, the girls learning more about Sitting allowed the Reader to learn more right along with them.
As with the first book, I loved the humor in this. It’s silly, completely ridiculous and over the top, and because of this, a perfect escape from the world.
I laughed so many times. Esme’s perspective is dry and hilarious. The most insane things happen during the course of this story. There’s never a dull moment. The scenes in the hotel room trying to capture the chicken; I was in tears.
Overall, I think this series, despite its minor flaws, is highly entertaining. It’s not perfect, but if you enjoy spoofy types of humor, you could really enjoy this.
As an aside, I did listen to the audiobook of this and I thought the narrator’s delivery was so strong. She definitely added to the level of humor with her performance!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Delacorte Press, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.
I will absolutely be picking up the third book when it releases later this year!