Cursed Luck

It always takes me a little bit of time to adjust to <i>Kelley Armstrong's</i> writing style, but once I do I'm usually hooked right away!<br /><br /> I honestly thought it was going to be a bit different this time... Why? Well, I settled into the character building, the world building, the plot of the story but, for me, it was just going a little too slow. However, at some point I became hooked! At some point it all mattered! At some point I couldn't put the book down... and then it ended...<br /><br />I love <b> Kennedy</b> and her sisters and I love <b> Aiden</b>... I enjoyed all the characters and the storyline!<br /><br />I do have the 2nd book ready to read but I'm waiting for book 1.5 to be released as a single short (as opposed to being part of an anthology book) and I don't have to wait long, bring on Jan 18th!

Cursed Luck by Kelley Armstrong <br />Cursed Luck book 1. Paranormal mystery with a hint of romance. <br />Kennedy owns an antique shop in Boston, the cover for her skills of removing cursed objects of their spells and then reselling the clean item. After underhandedly proving that Kennedy is a witch, Aidan contracts with her to find and unweave a spell on a famous antique necklace. Kennedy agrees because somehow connected, her sisters were kidnapped and she will do anything to protect her family. <br /><br />Intriguing and complex with spells, luck, hidden Gods and tricksters. <br />The chemistry between Kennedy and Aidan was soft and romantic. The inclusion of bad and good luck offsetting each other was amusing. The tricksters were annoying and arrogant. Of course. <br />Absolutely enjoyed and look forward to reading more. <br /><br />I listened to the audio version narrated by Carly Robins. She did a fantastic job of voice inflection and emotions tones. I noticed a few editing adjustments but they were minor and not obtrusive. I enjoyed her overall performance.<br />I started at 1.0 speed and after an hour increased to my usual 1.25.<br /><br />I received a copy of this from NetGalley and @Dreamscapeaudio.

2.5 Stars<br /><br />Some parts were interesting, but some parts made me want to skim-read. The romance alone was very slow burn (as in they don’t even kiss in this book) which was a let down. There’s apparently a sequel coming out in 2022, but I think I’ll skip it.

This story starts with Kennedy doing a job for Connolly that's a bit of a setup. It culminates with her in his business with the door locked and him going, "hear me out". And Kennedy <em>loses all her calm and goes full nuclear on him</em> and that drew me in immediately. Because too often this scene plays out with the woman in a vulnerable position giving in and hearing him out even if she then decides to blow him off. So I liked that she pulled out all the stops because what he did was not right and that he'd think it was okay was a problem. I loved that she called him out and in the strongest possible terms. And then made stick.<br /><br />And I liked that Connolly was one who learns his lesson well and that while he may default to arrogant it isn't an excuse for him to stay there. He's actively learning, is what I'm saying, and I enjoyed seeing him grow. But then, that's kind of what ended up being a problem with the story. Because he's the only one who grows, really. And it isn't that it makes for an unbalanced relationship (though it does), so much as that Armstrong reiterates that message in other circumstances (<em>not</em> with Connolly, with other guys). And does it over and over again to the extent that the story ended up feeling like a polemic against icky men forever imposing their wicked will on women.<br /><br />And the thing is, and I'm pretty sure Armstrong didn't mean it this way, it comes across a bit as infantilizing those women because the message is that they are unable to resist even the mildest forms of coercion. So a "good" man is one who hesitates to even express an opinion or preference because doing so might, just possibly, cause a woman to feel compelled to agree or to suppress her own preferences or opinions in favor of his. And because those little interactions are surrounded by big events where bad guys actively oppress the women they deal with (including Kennedy), those little moments become inextricably tied to the big ones such that any man not constantly walking on eggshells when a woman is around is an oppressing jerk just like the ubiquitous bad guys.<br /><br />Why yes, I am elevating a very minor aspect of the story and spending lots of time on it. Why do you ask? Sigh. The plot is riveting and the pace relentless and Connolly is adorable and Kennedy awesome. And I loved seeing them grow together in trust and acceptance to overcome some horrendous odds and do the right thing along the way. Seriously, I stayed up way too late on a work night just to finish this and I regret nothing.<br /><br />And while I'll admit that the ending matched the characters and events very well, I hated that Connolly was ready to wimp out and that Kennedy's bravery had to be sly because of events that made her romantic choices ultra-pressured. I'm a romantic. I wanted hijinks. What we get is stronger and, frankly, better, but I don't care, I still want them together <em>in that way</em>.<br /><br />So this ends with four stars because of the little aspects that kept drawing me out of the story and the ending that I wish (irrationally) were different. I'm not sure if I'm interested in more of the series, though I'm definitely not interested in the shorts currently on offer. We'll see if Armstrong decides to continue, and I wonder if she'll shift to one of Kennedy's sisters' PoVs?<br /><br /><strong>A note about Chaste</strong>: The events are fast and not a lot of time passes. So even though there's a solid foundation of trust and they have chemistry in spades, there's not any shenanigans. So this is pretty chaste, despite a dream or two that hinted at there possibly being more.

I wasn’t sure how I would like this when I first started reading, but it eventually grew on me. With the plot twists leading up to the ending, I was sold. <br /><br />This was a fun, quick read and an excellent choice for an audiobook! I absolutely adored the banter and I think that is definitely one of Armstrong’s strongest points. I like the main romance but it was incredibly slow-burn, with the mystery taking up way more of the plot. I do love a slow burn, though, and I’m looking forward to book two. The narrator was amazing as well and 100% contributed to my enjoyment of the book.<br /><br /><i>Thank you to Netgalley for giving me this audiobook in exchange for a review.</i>

<br /><p>I like Kelley Armstrong's books so I was pleased to find a new audiobook from her just when my wife and I had some long drives ahead of us. And it was the start of a new series so it promised something fresh.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>At first, the tone surprised me. I hadn't expected Kelley Armstrong to be headed for Molly Harper Dark Moon Hollow country- stories about supernaturals that aim at a little tension, a lot of humour and a low burn of sexual tension that occasional flames on with obligatory sex scenes - but I thought, 'Why shouldn't she try something different? And anyway, this is Kelley Armstrong so it's bound to be good'.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>It wasn't.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>As the miles went by I started to appreciate just how well Molly Harper does all that light-hearted but sexy stuff. Kelley Armstrong had all the right ingredients but lacked whatever magic it is that makes this kind of cake rise.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>There are some good ideas here. A whole new magic system about curse workers and luck workers. A cursed necklace. Kidnapped siblings. A woman and a man forced to work together until their initial antagonism converts into mutual respect and then deep attraction (Yeah, saw that coming but that's part of the fun) and bad guys who might be good guys but who definitely have something to hide.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>But the pacing was uneven. Some of the banter fell flat. The sexual tension felt forced and self-conscious. Some of the bad guys are cardboard cutout villains.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>We continued to listen because we were driving and because some of the ideas were good and this was Kelley Armstrong so it was bound to get better.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>The book lasted longer than the drive but we came back to it tonight to give it another go. Just before we hit the 75% mark we got a long and clumsy exposition of who some of the good/bad guys were. It should have been a big reveal, instead, it felt like an info dump. That was followed by a reveal of the bad guy behind the kidnappings. Exciting? No. The bad guy had all the threat of a pantomime villain. At that point my wife and I decided to abandon the book. Three more hours of it held no appeal and we didn't care what happened to any of these people..</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>If you want to try a sample for yourself, click on the SoundCloud link below.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /> <div><br /><a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://soundcloud.com/audiolibrary-a/cursed-luck-by-kelley-armstrong-audiobook-excerpt">https://soundcloud.com/audiolibrary-a...</a><br /></div> <br />

<br />I enjoyed the first part with the mystery but I didn't like the end part.<br /><br /><input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="f621ef6c-73b0-49bb-bfad-b33606aad880" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="f621ef6c-73b0-49bb-bfad-b33606aad880">I didn't like the inclusion of the Greek gods and goddesses because they are extra dramatic. It spoiled the mystery part of the story because now it's a rehash of the mythology.<br /><br />Another thing, Marius kidnaps Kennedy's sisters and Vanessa admits that he treats mortals as pawns but they still think warmly of him. <br /><br />Also, Vanessa entered the dreams of Kennedy and Connolly and "provided" them with a situation where they could have sex but insists that anything they would be doing would be of their free will? That's <b>non-con/dub-con</b>.<br /><br />Havoc is a brat and Vanessa and Marius decide to give up on her that's why she's causing trouble. <br /><br />Like I said, the Greek gods&amp;goddesses part overwhelmed the story. Instead of a fun mystery, it boiled down to the drama of the Greek pantheon.<br /><br /></label>

Cursed Luck is the first book in the Cursed Luck urban fantasy series.<br /><br />Kelley Armstrong is my favorite author. So I was beyond excited to get to read her newest release.<br /><br />She describes the genre as urban fantasy. The story is set in the real world. But some of the characters have powers and there are some magical elements. So it's a paranormal series.<br /><br />The narrator is 25 year old Kennedy Bennett (1st person POV). She and her sisters are curse weavers. She has a small antiques showroom in Boston. But she is from the small town of Unstable, Massachusetts. <br /><br />This book was an enjoyable read. I loved the idea of cursed objects. And I absolutely loved that Kennedy's specialty was uncursing and reselling hexed objects.<br /><br />The main male character is Aiden Connolly. He comes from a wealthy family of luck workers, which I found fun and fascinating.<br /><br />There is a mystery aspect too which I really liked. A bunch of people are after the famous and cursed Necklace of Harmonia. <br /><br />I really enjoyed the dynamic between Kennedy and Aiden. They were funny and sarcastic. And these two totally grew on me. I would say that the book isn't a romance. But there is some romance in this story.<br /><br />The book definitely took on more fantasy/magical elements than I was expecting. And at first I was taken aback. The beginning part really read like a contemporary mystery (with just a few magical elements). But as I kept reading I enjoyed this aspect of the book.<br /><br /><br />This is an easy fun read with an enjoyable mystery. The book doesn't end in a cliffhanger. But I am very interested to see what happens in the next book.<br /><br /><br />*This book was originally written as an online serial.<br /><br />*I received a complimentary copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book written by Kelley Armstrong that I’ve ever read and I love her style. The book follows Kennedy Bennet (a curse weaver) and Aiden Connolly (a luck worker) as they try to find the infamous Necklace of Harmonia. But they’re not the only ones after it. Filled with schemes, kidappings, magic, a hint of romance, and great backstories, Cursed Luck is a very entertaining read.<br /><br />Perfect book if you like:<br />✨ magic<br />✨ curses<br />✨ greek and roman mythology <br /><br />The characters were all amazing, and Kennedy is an excellent narrator. I found myself gasping, laughing and all other sorts of other very notable reaction to the story.<br /><br />There is not much to say without revealing parts of the plot, so I’ll just leave it simple: <b>I love this book</b>. Regarding the romance, during the last minute of the audiobook, Kennedy said everything that I had been thinking throughout the book and I am extremely satisfied with this ending for book 1. <br /><br />Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for providing me with a copy of this audioARC in exchange for an honest review. I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy.<br /><br />I normally do not like audiobooks since I tend to get distracted but this was not the case with Carly Robins’ narration style. She put a lot emotion into it and made very interesting voices for the different characters. I was, at absolutely no point during the 12 hr long audiobook, distracted by anything else.

So thankful the author gave us this amazing serial story to help us through this crazy time. I had so much fun reading it each week and am a little sad it is over. I truly enjoyed every chapter of it!