For Better or Cursed

A great second book in The Babysitters Coven series. There are still things that need to be resolved so there has to be a third book in the works… right?? Right? This one takes place not long after the last. A month or so in fact because the first was during Halloween and this one everyone is ready for Christmas. With like three days notice the leaders of the Sitters decides to close all the portals and have a giant multi-day meeting, in Esme’s tiny town. Of course nothing is what it seems and demons are now trapped on Earth and creating hell.

The pop culture babysitting references, magic, and action continue in this, which focuses on a Summit for the Sitterhood. Basically, it’s meant to be a training/networking event. But of course, things go wrong. New characters show up and while we don’t get as much time with them as I would have liked, looks like that may change in the future.

The first third of this book is literally the monotony of party planning, and while I can definitely relate to having no clue what is hip with “kids” my age. This was incredibly difficult for me to slog through, and it felt like I was being subjugated to some layer of hell. Especially as someone who has planned a convention and knows that magic or not you need a large team of people and weeks if not months of prep work beforehand,

Both the first and second third of this book is incredibly slow-paced. But if you can get through the party planning, you will at least be treated to some more insight into what Sitter culture, history, and practices look like. But in reality, you are left feeling like you didn’t learn a lot, which really stinks given that The Summit was introduced as just the kind of place where we would learn that kind of thing.

I can’t decide if it’s because I’m not quite the demographic for this book or just Motives’ choice. But I found it really hard to take the villain seriously. Like they felt like you could give them the level of credibility you would Dr. Doofenshmirtz, but they are actually a terrible person that will stab you,

I am definitely left with this really meh feeling, much like finishing the first book. Where I think the story is great, but the execution isn’t there.

*I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for a review; all opinions are my own*

Esme and Cassandra, under the tutelage of Brian, just finished saving the world from an apocalypse (not that anyone even noticed, thanks to some handy-dandy mindwiping).

These teens have just come to terms with their calling: to protect the innocent and save the world from an onslaught of evil.

And what a doozy it was. They now know that in their world, there are Sitters – who use their witchy magic to keep their charges safe and the world free of demonic portals (caused by red magic).

After the crazy events of the last near-miss of the apocalypse, Esme and Cassandra thought they were going to have a nice and relaxing break – only to realize that the Synod (the people who govern the Sitterhood covens) have called a Summit – a huge magical conference.

And it’s happening in their home town! Esme and Cassandra have less than 5 days to host a party and tidy up some rather inconvenient secrets of their town.

And at the same time, Esme’s dad has pulled a disappearing act, her mom’s curse is being ignored by the higherups in the coven and Cassandra is likely cursed! What is a girl to do?

So, while this was a second book in the series, I do feel like it can be read as a standalone.

The characters were pretty good. Esme was an interesting main character to watch and was engaging throughout.

She had a great sense of humor and her little observations about characters or moments of snark really made it enjoyable. I loved the way she’d play off of other characters in the book – so hilarious!

I loved the concept of this book – with the witchiness combined with babysitting.

And I loved the way the author kept adding more and more tension for the characters. It kind of felt like everyone was juggling eggs and I was waiting for one of them to fall and crack.

All in all, this is my first time with the Babysitters Coven but I really enjoyed the experience!!

This is a book two. There are spoilers for book one below.

I actually ended up liking For Better or Cursed more than The Babysitters Coven. That surprised me since I rarely like a book two more. This was a fun, quick read.

Esme and Cassandra are still dealing with the after effects of Halloween. Cassandra is losing time and acting weird during it. She has no idea what shes done when she snaps out of it. Esmes dad isnt paying bills and thats been stressful for Esme. Brain tells them that the Synod is going to have a summit for Sitters and they need to plan the party. The Synod seals the portal during this time.

The girls meet some other sitters that they got close to. I ended up loving all the new characters. Each girl has a different kinesis. Theres a lot of talk about Red Magic and why it cant be used. The Sitters magic is about protecting the innocent and not for personal gain like Red Magic. Esme meets a boy there, Adrian, that she starts to connect to. Its hard for her after what happened with Dion. Janis and Pig are back, too. They are probably always going to be my favorites. During the summit, Esme sees a demon outside and cant figure out how it got out with the portal sealed.

Like the first book, there is a lot of pop culture and fashion, which made the book fun. Esme and Cassandra learned a bit more about their parents, but they still have more questions than answers. Esme is determined to break her moms curse. The ending has a bit of a cliffhanger and Im just hoping for the best in the third book.

I gave this book 4 stars. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy.

Warnings for blood/cutting, parent in a nursing home type place, demons and dark magic.