CURSED has a great blend of urban fantasy and procedural, with a nice helping of romance on the side. The first book in a new series from the writing duo of Jeanne C. Stein and Samantha Sommersby, CURSED employs Greek mythology but with a creative twist: the series centres on Emma Monroe, one of three Sirens cursed by Demeter for letting Hades make off with Persephone a long, long time ago. Even though they got her back, Demeter cursed Emma and her two unnamed sisters to live forever, saving young women and punishing them if they fall in love. In Emma's case, Demeter killed the man she married a few days after the ceremony. Demeter be pissed, guys.
As a Siren, Emma isn't gifted with super strength of accelerated healing; all she has is the gift of extreme persuasion, which puts her in danger every time she uses it, even if it's to save one of those endangered young women in her position within the FBI. Emma's in a very-losable-just-maybe-if-she-gets-lucky-winnable kind of situation. How could I wait so long to read this?
Emma and her new partner Zack Armstrong, a werewolf with a past life as a Black Ops sniper, are tasked with finding a missing artist, a case that eventually draws them into a much larger mystery involving multiple missing people. There are some really neat twists and turns that I won't give away but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by the reasons that the artist (and everyone else) disappeared.
Of course, Emma and Zach have something of a history, which makes things a bit tangly on the romantic front. Emma spends a lot of time fighting her attraction to Zach because she doesn't want him to die if Demeter finds out the depth of her feelings. It's a nice Catch-22 since it avoids the insta-love HEA you can find in some other series in the genre while also giving readers the romantic element they might be craving. The chemistry between Emma and Zach is off the charts and it gives CURSED some steamy interludes.
All in all, CURSED is a great start to a series, by two seasoned writers (Samantha Sommersby and Jeanne C. Stein). They've created a very interesting world and cast of characters and I've already got the next book loaded on my e-reader so that I can find out what happens to Emma next. (CURSED ends in a really powerful way and I'm so happy that I have RECKONING at my fingertips.
P.S. This cover model totally reminds me of Amy Acker (who I lurve!). Anyone else feel the same?
I picked up the Prequel, Captured. I picked it up and the New York Comic Con, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I'll have to read the prequel first before I decide on the series, but it does sound interesting. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteTammy @ Bo's Book Nook