Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Cursed Luck by Kelley Armstrong Narrator: Carly Robins
Series: Cursed Luck #1
Published by Tantor Audio on May 4, 2021
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Length: 12 hours, 20 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
Kennedy Bennett comes from a long line of curse weavers. For centuries, her family has plied their trade in Unstable, Massachusetts, a quirky small town that’s welcomed paranormal practitioners since the dawn of spiritualism. Kennedy has recently struck out on her own, opening an antiques shop in Boston, where her speciality is uncursing and reselling hexed objects.
Then Aiden Connolly walks into her life with an offer she really should refuse. The scion of a wealthy family of luck workers, Aiden has a scheme to get his hands on the most famous cursed object of all: the mythical Necklace of Harmonia. He’s not the only one after the necklace, though. And he’s not the only one looking for a curse weaver to fix it. Kennedy’s sisters are kidnapped, she finds herself plunged into the underbelly of the magical world where even Aidan soon finds himself in over his head.
The beginning of Cursed Luck almost feels like a cozy paranormal mystery with a “witch” and magic. Kennedy is the sassy middle of three orphaned girls who are curse weavers / breakers. The depth and layers make this much more than the usual cozy. The Cursed Luck series is my favorite urban fantasy genre.
Kennedy at first seems like the snarky cozy heroine but she is much more. She runs her own antiques business in Boston. Her sisters are back in her home town. Things get complicated when people come looking to hire her and then her sisters go missing. Aidan Connelly, born with a silver spoon, is one of them.
Kennedy and Aidan, not quite trusting each other, but somewhat attracted, search for her sisters and to learn more about the famous necklace. As they deal with all the problems, they come to know and appreciate each other. Kennedy is smart and very capable in her skills. Her knowledge of history and ancient Greek serves her well.
The mystery around the necklace and all those who want to buy or steal it is twisty. There’s plenty of danger for our team and the allies they develop. I really enjoyed the world and characters and look forward to reading more. There will be a novella in an anthology, Hex on the Beach, releasing in July.
Narration:
Carly Robins is a narrator who I recognize but I can’t find anything of hers I have read and she is pretty prolific. Her tone was a bit higher and sharper than average which seems usual in the snarky, cozy world. I was quickly comfortable with her performance. I listened at my normal 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Carly Robins
Carly Robins is an actress and voice-over artist. She can be heard on commercials, video games, and promos. Carly comes to narration with a passion for performance along with the capability to span several genres, from romance to children’s literature and thrillers.
About Kelley Armstrong
Kelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could
write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a
story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls
and evil dolls, much to her teachers’ dismay. Today, she continues to
spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked
away in her basement writing dungeon. She lives in southwestern
Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- C21-Spring
I haven’t read Kelley Armstrong in quite a while. This might be a good choice to jump back into her work?
It has a bit of a cozy mystery feel. I enjoyed it and look forward to more in the series.
I love Kelley Armstrong’s writing and UF so I just popped over to request this one. Wonderful review, Anne!
Thanks Rachel. It has a cozy feel but it is UF. I’m looking forward to more world-building and character growth (always).
I’ve got this one in my listening queue. Glad to see you loved it. 🙂
I’m guessing I’ll enjoy it more as the series continues. I think you’ll like this one maybe more than me because you like cozy more than me.
This sounds pretty good. I’ve only read Armstrong’s thrillers and didn’t even realize she wrote Urban Fantasy.
oh yes, Armstrong’s original stuff is all UF. Her otherworld series is even a tv series.
This sounds like something that I would really enjoy. I am going to have to try to get my hands on a copy sometime soon. Great review!
It’s a little bit cute, cozy at the start for me but it develops into more UF feel along the way.