Berls
I think the world is probably what made this a bit better than I had anticipated. I love the curse weaving/curse breaking element, but even more I like that all the magical abilities come with a set of rules and consequences. I always prefer worlds where magic isn't just this instant solution. There's also a lot of puzzling involved in curse breaking, which was neat. And there's some fun Ancient Greece/Roman Gods -- as the ancestors to modern magical abilities -- weaved in, which added some fun twists.
Then there's the characters. I loved that both Kennedy and Aiden grow a lot over the course of the book. I wasn't huge fans of either of them at the start. Kennedy had a chip on her shoulder - mostly about Aiden and his silver spoon; Aiden was a bit presumptuous seeming, though that may have just been his awkwardness that we get to see as we get to know him better. I enjoyed seeing both of them grow into better (but believable) versions of themselves.
The tone of the book changed as the characters grew too - what started off as a paranormal cozy mystery (in my head) developed into a grittier, action-packed urban fantasy feel. I'm classifying this as a Cozy Urban Fantasy -- and I'm super excited to see where it leads.
I listened to this book, narrated by Carly Robins and enjoyed her performance as much as the book. She voiced the characters really well and I felt the variety of personalities shine through. Looking forward to listening to her narrate more of the series (I hope).