On a mission to find a traitor, Evalle becomes the catalyst that unleashes a 2000-year-old Medb curse on the Beladors…and the world.

The Medb coven sends a team of deadly Svart Trolls to capture Alterants, starting with Evalle. To stop the troll-led gang wars erupting in Atlanta, Evalle borrows a weapon from her Black Ops friend Isak and, in the process, exposes a secret that complicates her tumultuous love life just as sexy skinwalker Storm surfaces with news of where he’s been – the last place she expects. But Evalle has bigger problems when she discovers the real target in jeopardy and the game changes with no time left on the clock.

My Thoughts

The Curse is the third entry to the Belador series, and I hate to admit that I didn’t do my homework before agreeing to review, I usually don’t like to listen out of order, I feel this can influence my experience, and most of the time I don’t get a full enjoyment as I would when I’m familiar with the world and its characters.

Nevertheless, the strong characters  immediately grabbed my attention. I really enjoyed the setting – this world is full of mythological creatures, kicks ass action and mystery; all set in urban Atlanta.

I have to be frank and tell you, at first I was a little lost, so, I’m  highly recommending reading  this series in order, as for me, I’m definitely going back and listen to the first two books.

Here, we get a story centered on the heroine, Evalle Kincaid, a half Belador (a superhuman race) and half Alterant.

I loved Evalle; she’s the kind of heroine we all love to cheer for – she’s honorable, strong, resilient, plus she shifts into a massive dangerous beast, thanks to her Alterant’s bloodline.

In this installment, she sets to fight for survival and her right to exist. I quickly found myself rooting for her.

She’s has a few missions in this novel; among others, it’s to fight to gain recognition of her race (there are very few of them) meanwhile she has to go after a traitor, but a series of troll attacks on Atlanta won’t make things easy.

The fact that she belongs to a group of warriors that protect humans from all supernatural threats makes things more interesting, and it puts this novel solidly in the urban fantasy territory – a genre I love. I was under the impression that this was a paranormal romance.

When it comes to the romance, from what I gather, there’s a mini triangle, not a big one, but I could see one developing. I really liked the chemistry between Evalle and Storm; I hope things stay in that direction.

I also enjoy the seamless writing between the two authors; I already knew I loved Sherrilyn Kenyon; her writing is as good as ever in this novel, but I’m also happy to have discovered a   new author I can enjoy.

All in all, this is a fantastic world, unique and original – the characters are well developed. The action and suspense are top notch. This story has all the elements that make a great UF listen.

I have to mention a little gargoyle that almost steals the show (loved it).

I’m so glad I have found a new series I can love; I highly recommend it to all UF fans.

Now, I’m going back to listen to the first 2 books, if they are as good as The Curse, this could quickly become one of my favorite UF series.

4.21  ·  rating details  ·  324 ratings  ·  58 reviews on Goodreads 

Sherrilyn Kenyon & Dianna Love

Narration 

I became a fan of Holter Graham with The Dark Hunter series. I love the way he gives life to the stories, but what I enjoyed the most is his interpretation of the characters; he really does a great job at conveying their strengths and vulnerabilities, as well as, their emotions.

This is another of those voices the gets lost in the background, and just places you in the story.

I really liked his interpretation of Evalle, not easy for a male narrator to carry an entire novel with a female protagonist, but he did it.

This is another great performance by Mr. Graham.

One note of caution for the first time listener of Mr. Graham, it takes a few chapters to grab his style, at first he might sound monotone, but just giving him a chance, before you know it, you won’t even notice that he’s there.

Small suggestion: If you find his pace a bit slow, you can try 1.5 speed, it might just be perfect 🙂

Holter Graham