The Curse Keepers (1)
by Denise Grover Swank
Genre(s): New Adult, Paranormal, Romance
Pages: 312
Published: Nov 2013
Publisher: 47North
Official Summary: The wall between our
world and that of vengeful spirits has protected humanity for more than
400 years. It’s about to come crashing down.
Ellie Lancaster has lived her whole life by the site of the mysterious Lost Colony of Roanoke, the Virginia settlement that vanished without a trace around 1590. Only the descendants of the two men who banished the spirits of an enemy tribe from the material realm know what really happened to the colony. Ellie is one of those descendants—a Curse Keeper. Her father took pains to teach her what he knew of the curse and the responsibilities of its guardians. He taught her that if the two Curse Keepers ever meet, the curse will be lifted, the gate will open, and the raging Native American spirits will be unleashed to seek their revenge.
Despite her father’s seriousness, Ellie has always taken the legend for a harmless fairy tale. Until she meets the darkly handsome, but downright infuriating, Collin Dailey and realizes everything she was told is true. For when they meet, it’s like the air is sucked from the room. Collin’s presence is electrifying… and it’s not just attraction Ellie feels, but the inexorable pull toward her destiny. The prophecy is real, and now Ellie and Collin must battle supernatural forces and their loathing—and passion—for each other to set things right.
The Curse Keepers are all that stand between the world and its destruction
Ellie Lancaster has lived her whole life by the site of the mysterious Lost Colony of Roanoke, the Virginia settlement that vanished without a trace around 1590. Only the descendants of the two men who banished the spirits of an enemy tribe from the material realm know what really happened to the colony. Ellie is one of those descendants—a Curse Keeper. Her father took pains to teach her what he knew of the curse and the responsibilities of its guardians. He taught her that if the two Curse Keepers ever meet, the curse will be lifted, the gate will open, and the raging Native American spirits will be unleashed to seek their revenge.
Despite her father’s seriousness, Ellie has always taken the legend for a harmless fairy tale. Until she meets the darkly handsome, but downright infuriating, Collin Dailey and realizes everything she was told is true. For when they meet, it’s like the air is sucked from the room. Collin’s presence is electrifying… and it’s not just attraction Ellie feels, but the inexorable pull toward her destiny. The prophecy is real, and now Ellie and Collin must battle supernatural forces and their loathing—and passion—for each other to set things right.
The Curse Keepers are all that stand between the world and its destruction
Review: A unique and interesting paranormal tale revolving heavily around the
Lost Colony of Roanoke. Some Native American lore mixed with the
paranormal make this a fascinating urban fantasy. However, this book
has two of the most frustrating characters ever! So this really is a
fifty/fifty book
Ellie is a waitress and helps her stepmother run the family in. Her father has dementia and the family struggles financially. She is a Curse Keeper. One of two and when she meets the other they unlock a gate that has been keeping angry Gods and spirits locked away for the past several hundred years. Now they only have 1 week to seal the gate before it is too late.
The problems? Ellie does not remember how. Her father taught her but she forgot and dismissed the lessons. They are missing key items needed to stop the vengeful from passing the gate and they have a strange despised attraction to one another.
At first Collin frustrated me the most. He is a complete jerk and has a LOT of secrets. But then Ellie is frustrating in her own right. While they only have a week to SAVE THE WORLD she at first refuses to work with him just because he rubs her the wrong way then things like job shifts, etc are still needed. UMM, you are on a tight schedule and you don't even have or know what you need yet. You just rely on Collin and assume nothing will go wrong?! Then, to top everything off, Collin keeps warning her off, saying not to trust him, yet she does and then blames him when it goes bad! I wanted to go off on her several times throughout the book. While I don't have to love every character is is hard to fully enjoy the book when the main character refuses to take off her rose-colored glasses and wake up while the world is going downhill fast. GRRR!
I do like how the author took the time to look into the legends and lore to make this book work. It gave the book a more plausible feel. The story concept is great with an interesting perspective. The writing style is okay but not great. Simple, I guess you could say. The flow works and it builds nicely to the ending.
Overall, I am curious enough to read the next book but Ellie especially needs to improve or I might not continue very far. The ending of this book better have been a wake-up call for her. Note that this is a New Adult book and is filled with sexual situations from beginning to end.
Ellie is a waitress and helps her stepmother run the family in. Her father has dementia and the family struggles financially. She is a Curse Keeper. One of two and when she meets the other they unlock a gate that has been keeping angry Gods and spirits locked away for the past several hundred years. Now they only have 1 week to seal the gate before it is too late.
The problems? Ellie does not remember how. Her father taught her but she forgot and dismissed the lessons. They are missing key items needed to stop the vengeful from passing the gate and they have a strange despised attraction to one another.
At first Collin frustrated me the most. He is a complete jerk and has a LOT of secrets. But then Ellie is frustrating in her own right. While they only have a week to SAVE THE WORLD she at first refuses to work with him just because he rubs her the wrong way then things like job shifts, etc are still needed. UMM, you are on a tight schedule and you don't even have or know what you need yet. You just rely on Collin and assume nothing will go wrong?! Then, to top everything off, Collin keeps warning her off, saying not to trust him, yet she does and then blames him when it goes bad! I wanted to go off on her several times throughout the book. While I don't have to love every character is is hard to fully enjoy the book when the main character refuses to take off her rose-colored glasses and wake up while the world is going downhill fast. GRRR!
I do like how the author took the time to look into the legends and lore to make this book work. It gave the book a more plausible feel. The story concept is great with an interesting perspective. The writing style is okay but not great. Simple, I guess you could say. The flow works and it builds nicely to the ending.
Overall, I am curious enough to read the next book but Ellie especially needs to improve or I might not continue very far. The ending of this book better have been a wake-up call for her. Note that this is a New Adult book and is filled with sexual situations from beginning to end.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair/honest review. All opinions expressed are strictly my own.*
I totally loved this book. Ok there were some explicit scenes that seemed overrated but the story and plot got me gripped on the entire time and I was hooked on to the relationship between the characters. It seems like a cliche supernatural fantasy love story but it's not!
ReplyDeleteAlex @ The Book's Buzz
I've not read this but I felt the same about her other book Chosen. It was just okay for me. I didn't even finish the series. I may give this one a chance.
ReplyDeleteHavent read a an urban fantasy book ina long while!! But this sounds like the right book to jump into it again.I love Native American lore!! Thank you so much for your honest review
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your detailed review. I do like Urban Fantasy and Native American Lore so I'm undecided whether to add this book to my TBR, given that you point out some weak writing and annoying characters!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds different. I think I would maybe have a tough time following it.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds different. I think I would maybe have a tough time following it.
ReplyDeletesome people love it, some people hate it. That's what I love about books!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the warning about the sexual situations. I think I'll pass.
ReplyDeleteI think I have to give this book a pass because of the frustrating characters. Being a character driven reader I do need to like them in order to enjoy the story somewhat. So it's a shame that spoils it!
ReplyDelete