The Cursed by Alyssa Day
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Truthfully, this isn't really a five star book, but, Lord, do I love the hero. Like, he's a wizard with a penchant for blowing things up, and yet I'm still entertaining the question of 'If this guy was real, would I date him?' I am actually going to quote all y'all a section that solidified my devotion to the hero. From page 129:
"Before she had a chance to even think about her next step, a thunderous explosion shook the house, and then the door burst open, and Luke stomped back in, slamming it behind him.
"'I just blew up the Helga's Tea Room van,' he announced. 'Blew it to smithereens. There's not a scrap of metal bigger than a shoe box left of it.'
"Rio's mouth fell open and she realized she was completely speechless.
"He advanced on her, swept her up off the stool into his arms, and kissed her until she was having trouble breathing again, and then he walked around the counter and started drinking coffee while she sat, half-dazed, tingling in every nerve ending she'd ever thought of having. He wasn't even breathing hard, darn him.
"'I know. Don't yell at me,' he said, half sheepishly and half defiantly. 'I'll buy her a new van. Hell, I'll buy her two new vans.'
"'But why--' She couldn't wrap her head around any of it.
"He scowled, but somehow she knew it wasn't directed at her. 'I don't know how to have all these feelings. I know how to blow stuff up. You were hurting, and I wanted to help, but I didn't know how, so I blew something up.'"
I've never had a fictional boyfriend before, but I want Luke to be my first. *swoon*
For the non-hormonal portion of this review, I have to say I wasn't crazy about the world-building. I was confused as to the nature of Bordertown because quite frankly, it put me in mind of a Wild West town and it's actually more like a cross between the Dresden Files and the Shiftertowns in Jennifer Ashley's Shifters Unbound. In addition, The Cursed suffered from first book-itis. The plot jumped around a lot in order to expose the reader to the new world. We meet a lot of supporting characters and different races.
I really should have rated this 3.5-4 stars, but I'm powerless against Luke and his adorkable ways.
