Cursed Luck (Cursed Luck, #1)

by Kelley Armstrong

Kennedy Bennett comes from a long line of curse weavers. For centuries, her family has plied their trade in Unstable, Massachusetts, an unconventional 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 specialty 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, and she finds herself plunged into the underbelly of the magical world where even Aiden is in over his head.

This title is available for preorder in hardcover, paperback and ebook, with audiobook to follow. There is no difference between the contents of the hardcover and paperback–it’s just a choice of binding.

• ISBN10: 1989046304
• ISBN13: 9781989046302
• Publish Date: 4 May 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Kla Fricke Inc
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 340
• Language: English

Reviews

[Berls]

I enjoyed this even more than I had anticipated. I love the magical world and the characters. I'm excited to keep reading the series.

I think the world is probably what made this a bit better than I had anticipated. I love the curse weaving/curse breaking element, but even more I like that all the magical abilities come with a set of rules and consequences. I always prefer worlds where magic isn't just this instant solution. There's also a lot of puzzling involved in curse breaking, which was neat. And there's some fun Ancient Greece/Roman Gods -- as the ancestors to modern magical abilities -- weaved in, which added some fun twists.

Then there's the characters. I loved that both Kennedy and Aiden grow a lot over the course of the book. I wasn't huge fans of either of them at the start. Kennedy had a chip on her shoulder - mostly about Aiden and his silver spoon; Aiden was a bit presumptuous seeming, though that may have just been his awkwardness that we get to see as we get to know him better. I enjoyed seeing both of them grow into better (but believable) versions of themselves.

The tone of the book changed as the characters grew too - what started off as a paranormal cozy mystery (in my head) developed into a grittier, action-packed urban fantasy feel. I'm classifying this as a Cozy Urban Fantasy -- and I'm super excited to see where it leads.

I listened to this book, narrated by Carly Robins and enjoyed her performance as much as the book. She voiced the characters really well and I felt the variety of personalities shine through. Looking forward to listening to her narrate more of the series (I hope).

[Quirky Cat]

Fans of Kelly Armstrong rejoice! Cursed Luck is the first novel in a series by the same name, and yes, I am very late to joining this party. The second novel will be out soon (and likely will be out by the time I post this review), and I cannot wait!

Kennedy Bennet comes from a long line of curse weavers and breakers. It's become a family business of sorts, though Kennedy has opted to break away and create something new for herself. So she moved to Boston and started up an antique shop that's really a front for uncursed items.
It's a living she enjoys. Right up until the drama, it dropped on her head. Drama by the name of Aiden Connolly. His offer is just the tip of the iceberg, as Kennedy quickly finds herself and those she loves most in grave peril.

“All those powers, though, have one thing in common. Balance. You cannot create in a vacuum. Weave a curse on one object, and you must unweave another. To uncurse an object, you must cast another curse, preferably on a different object.”

Cursed Luck was such a delightful read; I strongly recommend it to all the Kelly Armstrong and paranormal/urban fantasy fans out there. Seriously, it has been a minute since I read a novel that fits this particular niche that I love so much.

I loved the fun twist on curses the most about this novel. More specifically, cursed items. The entire Bennet line knows all about how to curse and remove curses from objects, and I just find this entire premise fascinating. I want more – and thankfully, there will be more!

Kennedy's character is a lot of fun to follow, and her family seems delightful. I hope to see more of them in the future. The secondary characters covered a vast array of personalities and thematic points, which helped to round out the whole story. Naturally, we get to hate and love a couple of characters.

Other fun elements include a romantic subplot (which includes one of my favorite romantic tropes!), humorous moments, betrayal, magical depths, and lots of other surprising twists that I will not spoil for readers. I'd say that this book had the perfect balance of elements. No wonder I'm looking forward to the sequel so much! Speaking of, High Jinx is out as of December 2021. So go nab it; I know I will be!

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks