Review: The Cursed by Alyssa Day (The League of the Black Swan #1)

The Cursed (The League of the Black Swan #1)
Alyssa Day
Published: May 7, 2013 (Berkley)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: Purchased

Reviewed by: Candace

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

Authors are risk takers. They finish off a series and begin another with their fanbase expecting something just as intriguing as the series and characters that made them become dedicated fans to begin with. Alyssa Day set the bar high with the Warriors of Poseidon series, and now begins anew with The League of the Black Swan. Does The Cursed live up to what we have come to expect from Day?

Yes, and that is a pretty powerful claim. The Cursed hits gold with Luke Oliver. Hang on, the reviewer must pause to fan herself. He’s that intriguing. Luke Oliver is old, like centuries old, and is the Dark Wizard of Bordertown, a place that isn’t exactly easy for humans to get to. Bordertown is basically a home for creatures such as goblins, ogres, demons, Grendel, Fae and wizards. And periodically, humans. Which is where our heroine, Rio Jones comes in.

Rio works for a bike messenger service and has been crushing on Luke for years. But he turned her down flat. Understandably, Rio was hurt by this, but she didn’t have all of the facts. Namely, Luke is cursed (hence the title) and she’s not exactly human. So when her 25th birthday swiftly approaches and Rio finds herself under attack, she seeks out the Dark Wizard of Bordertown knowing that he can help to save her. But the question is, will Luke be able to save himself in the process?

Day weaves an intricate series of threads in this new series. You have big bad creatures, a seemingly human girl who is the target of these creatures, a Dark Wizard who smolders with his sex appeal and a shifting fox determined to save Rio. Yes, a fox. Luke Oliver, for all intents and purposes, could sell this book himself.  But there are also other factors sure to make this series just as engrossing as the Warriors of Poseidon. The background players—Maestro, Alice and Miro—all need stories.

The sex scenes also make you want this couple to succeed. You have raw emotion from a character with a centuries-old curse hanging over his head with this woman in his arms and he’s as close to exposed as he ever has been.

This is paranormal romance, so you will get the characters together at the end, but their road isn’t easy. There’s a curse, uncertain parentage and villains that want a piece of Rio. And I want more of the League of the Black Swan.

Sexual content: Sex