'With my heart I love, with my body I protect,
with my life I trade for yours, forever to keep."
with my life I trade for yours, forever to keep."
Twice Cursed
Marianne Morea
Cursed by Blood, book two
Kindle Edition, 320 pages
Published November 14th 2012 by Coventry Press Ltd.
First published October 14th 2012
ISBN 9780988439603
Psychic investigator, Lily Saburi is no stranger to the supernatural. Tough as nails, she’s a hunter in her own right, a once self-proclaimed vigilante that has joined forces with the man she once sought to kill, and now can’t live without. Sexy, Sean Leighton, Alpha of the Brethren of Weres. Their passion surpassed every obstacle set in front of them, yet in the wake of a mysterious virus threatening everyone they love, they are embroiled in an unforgiving scheme of political double dealing, hidden agendas and assassination, with Lily and Sean as primary targets. To stay together, they are forced apart. But treachery follows hard on Lily’s heels when she returns home to find New York City bathed in a series of bloodbaths. Baffled, the police have no leads, so they call in their last line of defense to work the case. Lily.
Thrown together with homicide detective, Ryan Martinez, dangerous sparks fly as the two uncover the undead truth behind the killings. Long hidden secrets are revealed, as are truths too unbelievable to accept when Lily is kidnapped and Sean and Ryan have to work together to find her.
Revenge and the struggle for power all play a part in this urban fantasy suspense, taking you from the rocky coast of Maine to the heart of New York City, the NYPD and the vampire underground, where Weres and Vampires are forced to work together to solve the mystery of what’s tearing their veiled world apart from the inside out.
Disclaimer: My copy of Twice Cursed was obtained from the author. All opinions are my own.
I read what is referred to as 'book one' of this series back in December of 2010 and walked away from it leaving behind a pathetic review and weak 2-star rating. You can find my little opinion on that one here and a bit more detail on the actual story in Redd's review here.
This, known as 'book two', is the where the true story lies. Hunter's Blood is a prequel at best and really shouldn't be read without Twice Cursed on immediate standby. Or just skip HB altogether. It's been years since I read it and I still didn't miss a thing.
A mysterious disease is infecting all Were kind, barreling each victim into psychosis, and Lily's blood alone holds the cure. But there are those who believe that, for a human, she's seen too much and so desire that she be turned, even against her will. So Lily and Sean part ways to better things...and all that goes on the back burner.
Days pass without Sean even giving her a call, telepathically or otherwise. Seriously? The chick you just claimed is far, far away with one of your wolves whining about being at the bottom of the totem pole... she's going through her first full moon with Were DNA inside her on top of that... and that doesn't warrant a check in??? The guy's affect was seriously off for a wolf.
It doesn't help that we have to stomach every male going gaga over Lily with her big tits and tight leathers. Bleh! Hot headed and disrespectful, Lily was once again on my Just Go Away list. I couldn't stand her in book one and only managed to tolerate her here. Seriously, the best scenes are those with which Lily's role is minimal or very neatly absent. I'm all about a human having that moment she puts a Were in its place, but Lily's life seems to be one big, looong moment.
Jack. Oh, Jack. Why?
I liked Jack and didn't suspect him at all. Kudos to the shock factor there. Maybe there were signs, but hell, I'd rather be a fool for trusting Jack than a fool for rooting for Lily.
Jack. Oh, Jack. Why?
I liked Jack and didn't suspect him at all. Kudos to the shock factor there. Maybe there were signs, but hell, I'd rather be a fool for trusting Jack than a fool for rooting for Lily.
My biggest complaint with Hunter's Blood was the lack of explanation. No problem with that here. Logic behind explanation? Still needs some tweaking on that end though that may just be a matter of instincts. Which were questionable. All in all, Morea is a much better writer/creator than HB gave her credit for. If only she'd turned the 'alpha bitch' mode down a bit, I would have enjoyed it more.
3 out of 5 stars.
Previously in this series: