[Archive] LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of The Cursed

Alyssa Day is the pen name (and dark and tortured alter ego) of RITA award-winning author Alesia Holliday. She is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy novels. She was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, and spent her childhood moving all around the world with her family and her dad, who was in the U.S. Air Force, living in such varied and wonderful places as Colorado, the Philippines, Alaska, Turkey, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and probably a few other places she has forgotten. After graduating from The Ohio State University (go Buckeyes!) with a degree in sociology, she worked in the real world for a while but then went to law school, graduating summa cum laude from Capital Law School in Columbus, Ohio. She practiced law as a trial lawyer in three different states before deciding that she had more fun with the voices in her head than the ones in courtrooms. After marrying Navy Guy, she started on another round of adventures, moving from Ohio to Florida to Seattle to Florida to Virginia to Florida to Japan (so far!).

A voracious reader, Alyssa has a collection of research books on mythology and history that nearly makes the moving guys cry when they come to pack up her house each time the Navy decides to send her family on a new adventure. When not writing or reading or driving white-knuckled on the left side of the road in Japan, she can be found watching reality TV, going to the movies (she adores really, really bad Sci-Fi movies), travelling, and trying new restaurants. She puts pictures of her adventures as #blondeinJapan up on Facebook and Twitter.

Her WARRIORS OF POSEIDON novels were published by Penguin books, under the Berkley imprint. Atlantis Rising was the first of the series, and was featured on the cover of the March, 2007, issue of Romantic Times BOOKClub magazine. All of the Warriors of Poseidon novels have rocketed to the top of the bestseller lists, and have been featured in the Rhapsody and Doubleday book clubs as well. The Warriors novels follow High Prince Conlan of Atlantis and his elite warriors as they protect humanity, save the world, and find amazing human women to fall in love with. (No mermaids, gills, or fish tails; these warriors are 100% pure alpha male!). The series concluded with Heart of Atlantis in December of 2012.

Alyssa’s exciting new project is an urban fantasy series called THE LEAGUE OF THE BLACK SWAN that combines her love of the paranormal with a hot contemporary setting. Both Alyssa and I are very excited to share it with you!

If you want to keep up with Alyssa online, you can find her at her Website, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on GoodReads.

The Cursed, LEAGUE OF THE BLACK SWAN Book #1
by Alyssa Day

Buy from Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon Ca | B&N | BAM

Synopsis:

Bordertown private investigator Luke Oliver’s beat is the dimensional fold in Manhattan between the human and supernatural realms. But now a secret from his past—the League of the Black Swan—has surfaced. Because Luke isn’t any ordinary P.I. He’s the Dark Wizard of Bordertown, and he never backs down from a fight.

But this time the fight threatens his life and his heart. Rio Jones, the only woman he loved, needs his help against a deadly menace. Luke pushed her away once before, so she’d never fall prey to the curse that threatens to destroy him. He swore he’d never let her go again.

Luke and Rio, with the help of the newly reformed League, must keep evil forces from taking over Bordertown—all the while battling a passion on the razor’s edge between danger and desire. And going to take everything they have just to stay alive.

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Associate Reviewer - Shawnie:
*eBook gifted by LITERAL ADDICTION in exchange for an honest review

The Cursed is set in a backdrop of New York City, Manhattan to be precise, but nothing is as it seems. Welcome to Bordertown.

Luke Oliver is Bordertown's resident 'dark and mysterious wizard;, and has been tryingto keep a low profile. Nobody can hide forever though, and the past has a way of catching up you; no matter who you are.

After having an interesting conversation with Maestro, an active member of the Order, in which he's given an envelope that contains a photograph of a young woman and nothing else, Luke is shaken; he knows the woman. He's seen her around his office building when she stops in to deliver packages, and he wants her like nothing else. Even though he's been trying to stay away from her and keep his feelings under wraps - for reasons he can never explain to her - he still feels like he knows her and things just don't add up. The burning question of the hour... Why does the League want the woman? And why do they want Luke, of all people, involved?

Rio Jones - just one of the many names she uses as a shield to keep people at a distance - is an enigma. She's a 24 year old Bike Messenger in Bordertown, and her employer is a Siren. She didn't have an easy life, and from what Alyssa allows us to read in The Cursed, it's still not easy (sorry, no spoilers). After growing up in an orphanage run by a convent, Rio's got more scars and unanswered questions than she is willing to deal with, but it all comes out in the wash — or rather when she's twenty-four hours away from turning 25.

The book starts out simmering, and then explodes into an all out rat race as Rio and Luke try to figure out exactly what's going on, and determine why everyone wants Rio.

Turning twenty-five is significant in the supernatural world, but Rio doesn't think there is anything supernatural about her. Yeah, she can read minds, but that's nothing serious. Little does she know that things are about to get REAL serious, when two different factions basically start a war in their attempt to get her for themselves and keep her away from the other.

I have to say, I was hesitant with this book, but I'm glad I got the chance to read it. I can totally see myself reading the next installments of the series. The love story that paralleled the main storyline was great. Luke and Rio had to come to terms with themselves and each other, but once they did, they were all in.

My only complaint was that the book took awhile to get to where it was all going. All of the running around and the secrets/hints about who Rio really was, etc was annoying at times, yet hilarious at others.

I give this 4 1/2 skulls, and absolutely recommend it.

The Cursed