Review: Cursed – Kelly Abell

Cursed Book Cover Cursed
Hunters of the Cross Chronicles
Kelly Abell
Paranormal

Reviewed by: Linda Tonis

Meet Gabriel Rome, tall, dark and sexy, and dedicated to the fight against any supernatural evil that crosses his path. He is a descendant of Dr. Igor Romanoff, was raised by monks, and is an authority on how to kill all things paranormal. His companion is a beautiful white wolf with crystal blue eyes who has the ability to communicate with him telepathically. The wolf is actually his wife, Grace, cursed by the Dark Witch Media five years earlier, to live in the body of a wolf. The only way to break the curse is to find Media and kill her; otherwise Gabriel and Grace are destined to spend their lives as human and wolf, soul mates unable to be together. Finally, they know where to find Media, but what surprises await them in her lair?

From the first page the author manages to pull us into the story and engage our interest with Gabriel and Grace’s relationship. Even as a wolf, Grace maintains a certain sense of humor and you can feel the love she and Gabriel still have for each other. We are given the back-story of all the major players, which is surprising in such a short novella. There are a couple of somewhat graphic love scenes, and yet they are written in a way that almost makes them seem PG, which was pleasantly surprising and had me asking myself “hmmm, how did she do that”. This novella is packed with all you could ask for and then some; humor, truly evil witches and vampires, smelly creatures and even one pretty kick rear action scene.

This is a short novella and I read it easily in an hour and half. My one complaint would be that I wish it had been longer. It would have been nice to have seen some more of Grace and Gabriel’s adventures while looking for the Dark Witch. Hopefully the second installment will be more of a full length novel. I spent the afternoon before reading the book, cleaning out my mother’s attic, and I found the book a good escape from the woes of everyday life.

There was a movie in the 80’s named Ladyhawke which my son was obsessed with, making us watch it over and over; this novella reminds me of that movie. I found myself falling in love just a little with Gabriel and hoping the two would manage to break the curse, just as I did each time I watched the movie. I recommend anyone who enjoys a good love story with a twist, pick up this novella and escape for an hour or two.

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