The Cursed Key Volume 1

by Miranda Brock and Rebecca Hamilton

[Sarah Says]

With a synopsis like that how could I not want to read this book! I read the opening sentence “I had come to a dangerous place, eagerly and with abandon fully latched to my soul.” And I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed.

We meet the POV character, Archaeologist Olivia Perez, as she arrives at her next big dig site. Olivia came across as an adventurous and intelligent woman. Although we are never told her age, to me she felt like late twenties to early thirties in age - Mature and confident in herself, but still a ways off from middle age.

Olivia gets more than she bargained for when an artifact she retrieves unlocks dormant magic inside her and fills her mind with horrific and déjà-vu-feeling visions. Cue the appearance of a Jaguar Shifter named Kael and she knows she’s made a terrible mistake removing the artifact from its resting place.

The story has beautiful settings with lush descriptions. It takes us from the jungles of the Amazon to the hills of Scotland and more.

This book is listed as a romance, but the romance was minimal and didn’t overshadow the action and adventure. The Cursed Key was action packed, fast passed and one of the cleanest paranormal romances I’ve ever read (and I mean that as a positive). But I expect the romance to grow in the next book of the trilogy and become a bigger part of the overall story.

All in all, The Cursed Key is a great first book. I found it exciting and entertaining and am looking forward to seeing where the next book will take Olivia and Kael.