Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Bea Reviews A Curse Awakened by Cecy Robson

Publisher: Loveswept
Series:Weird Girls #0.4
Format Read: eGalley
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: August 19, 2014
Buying Links: Amazon*  | OmniLit* | Barnes & Noble
* affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.

Blurb from goodreads:

Discover Cecy Robson’s sensational Weird Girls series—or return to where the magic first began—with this eBook original prequel novella about four sisters coming to grips with their unique supernatural powers.

Celia Wird shouldn’t possess the ability to transform into a tigress. Her three sisters should never be able to burst into flames, heal wounds, or transform common objects into deadly weapons. And yet they do.

Before they were born, the Wird Sisters were cursed by a spell that was intended to destroy them, not endow them with extraordinary powers. The sisters’ magic is untamed and explosive at best, and time is running out for them to take command.

Vampires have targeted Celia’s sweet, tragically human ex-boyfriend Danny. The sisters rush to his aid, but in order to take down the vamps, first they must face their dark past and break a spell that’s screwing up their powers. Except this curse wasn’t meant to be broken . . . and the witch who cast it isn’t done toyin
g with them yet.

*This Review First Appeared at Romance at Random*

Bea's Thoughts:

It seems as if every blogger I know who reads urban fantasy loves this series. The reviews I’ve read of the books have intrigued me. So when I saw this prequel novella it seemed like a great way to test out the series and the author and see if wants to read the series. The answer? Yes, yes I do.

Robson has taken standard urban fantasy beings – werewolves, witches, and vampires – and at least one that’s less common, a tiger shifter and given them her own spin. The vamps in this story, and presumably the series as a whole, are nasty and devious. I like that. I am not a fan of sweet and cuddly vampires.

The sisters are still struggling to master their powers and are preparing to move for a new start in life. When an old flame of Celia’s asks for help, they get mixed up in a supernatural battle for dominance. I admit I mostly skimmed the fight scenes but that’s normal for me.  By the time the fighting is done, they have made an enemy but also a potential ally. Mixed in all this is a trip to their relatives where they learn more than they really wanted to know about their family and their powers.

The interplay between the sisters was enjoyable; they rag on each other but they also back each other up. Take on one of them and you take on all of them. There’s also humor, especially around Shayna and her horrendous driving skills:


     “Shayna drove us in Danny’s truck. Now, we typically didn’t allow Shayna to drive anyone, in anything, anywhere. The tri-state was already packed with crazy road rage drivers ready to smash into anyone who cut-or flipped-them off. These same drivers were scared sh*tless of Shayna.”

This scene, in my opinion, uses some humor to clearly show us each of the sisters’ personalities:

     My tigress licked her paws within me, feigning indifference, but I knew better. She was giving me a taste of our new heightened senses. Okay, kitty, try not to get so full of yourself. “There’re about twenty vamps.” I squinted. “Uh, naked and dancing around the fire. Wait, no, they’re wearing fig leaves around their, you know, manhoods.”
     Taran laughed, despite herself. “Did you just say ‘manhoods’? What the hell, Celia? Can’t you just say co-“
     “Taran!” Emme admonished. She surrounded Taran with her healing light. More to distract than heal, I imagined.

A Curse Awakened has some slow moments despite its short length but overall, it was a well-written story that pulled me in and kept me reading. I enjoyed meeting the sisters and learning about them and about their world. If you’re new to the series, and want to dip your feet in as I did, I strongly recommend A Curse Awakened.

9 comments:

  1. Excellent! I picked this up as a final book for my 99¢ Challenge. I had a box set slotted, but it's like 900 pages. O.O I was looking for something else to replace it. This'll do just fine since I've heard it's a good series. :)

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    1. This is a heck of a lot shorter than 900 pages. :D It was a good story, I enjoyed it.

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  2. I'm curious about this series as I've read great reviews for it but am not really an urban fantasy lover. I think I'll give this novella a try though I'll keep in mind that there may be some slow spots! It's got a very Charmed feel to me!

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    1. I hadn't thought of that but it does have a Charmed feel and I loved that show. It's worth a try; since it's a novella, you're not out a lot of time if you don't like it.

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  3. Sweet, I love this series and I was excited to see your review, since most of us have read the other novels first and then experienced this trip back to the beginning. I hope you love the novels as well!

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    1. I'm looking forward to the novels and I see there are more. I need to catch up!

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  4. Haven't read the series yet but I read your review and, well, I just bought the book ;)

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  5. Yay! So glad you liked it and want to read the series. The sisters and their guys are so much fun.

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