Book Review: High Jinx by Kelley Armstrong

High Jinx
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Cursed Luck (Book 2)
Publication: K. L. A. Fricke Inc. 2021

Description: Curse weaver Kennedy Bennett has re-settled into her beloved hometown and opened a shop selling previously hexed antiques. When she fails to win an online auction for a notorious cursed painting, Aiden Connolly—the wealthy and swoon-worthy luck worker she is not dating—swoops in to buy it for her.

Crying Girl is one of a quartet of haunted legendary paintings. Kennedy knows that the “ghosts” are actually curses—fatal ones. The paintings have been missing for years, and Kennedy is thrilled at the chance to uncurse one…until Crying Girl disappears before they can collect it.

Kennedy and Aiden soon discover that the painting hasn’t been randomly whisked out of their reach. Someone used it to lure them in, and now that they’ve snatched the bait, they’ve been snared in a trap. Either the thief gets what they want…or the four paintings are going to find their way back into the world, and Kennedy and Aiden will be responsible for the deadly chaos the cursed portraits wreak.

My Thoughts: Kennedy Bennett has settled in her hometown of Unstable, Massachusetts, and has opened her antique shop where she specializes in formerly cursed objects. When the story begins, she is taking part in an online auction to win a cursed painting. She is outbid but learns that her maybe boyfriend Aiden Connolly has purchased the painting for her.

Trouble begins when they go to pick up the painting only to discover that the seller has sold it out from under them because she was coerced by a person she claims was the original painter. The two go on a treasure hunt to find the buyer and recover the painting which really is cursed.

All of a sudden, Kennedy and Aiden find themselves involved in the business of the gods again. Mercy (formerly known as Mercury) has set up a test for Kennedy before she'll agree to mentor her and Mercy's sister Athene shows up too because she really wants the cursed paintings. 

There were four original cursed paintings that date from the Renaissance. Athene thought that she had found them, Mercy had removed the curses, and the paintings had been destroyed. It turns out that Mercy and Athene were a little over optimistic. 

Meanwhile, Aiden is going through some major issues of his own. His parents are very manipulative and have managed to bury Aiden in debt that he can't repay. They will forgive the debt if he marries a woman of their choice which he really, really doesn't want to do. His parents are convinced that Kennedy is just a gold digger out for whatever she can ger from Aiden.

This was an entertaining and exciting urban fantasy. I liked the characters, and I liked the magical system. 

Favorite Quote:

In an ideal world, I'd devote my life to tracking down those infamous objects and removing the terrible curses. In that ideal world, I'd also have a multimillion-dollar trust fund plus the skillset of a trained private investigator and undercover operative.

In other words, the best I can do -- like my mother and grandmother -- is keep my eye out for those objects crossing my path.

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.