Sealed with a Curse (Weird Girls, #1)

Mar 15, 2013 Angela Carr rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

What a way to end my year!!!

Review will be posted at Under The Covers Book Blog
Cecy Robson is a rising star...Sealed With a Curse is even better, funnier, more suspenseful, and more kick ass than its prequel ~Under The Covers

Cecy Robson is a rising star and I'm glad to be a part of her beginning. Like I said on my review for The Weird Girls, she will make her mark with this series and this novel supports my prediction even more. Sealed With a Curse is even better, funnier, more suspenseful, and...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Marg K. rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2-star-rating, recently-reviewed

Sunova....what in the ham sandwich just happened? Man, I seriously can't recall the last time a book sucker punched me so freakin' hard with a fist full of disappointment straight to the face.

That was totally unexpected, especially considering the fact that my reading relationship with Sealed with a Curse started off blissfully well. The book made me smile & laugh, and it even made me snort coffee out my nose in a rather unattractive, unladylike fashion (which of course I will vehemently den...more Sunova....what in the ham sandwich just happened? Man, I seriously can't recall the last time a book sucker punched me so freakin' hard with a fist full of disappointment straight to the face.

That was totally unexpected, especially considering the fact that my reading relationship with Sealed with a Curse started off blissfully well. The book made me smile & laugh, and it even made me snort coffee out my nose in a rather unattractive, unladylike fashion (which of course I will vehemently deny if ever mentioned out in public to anyone). Anyways, first few chapters had me smitten like a kitten with a supersized bowl of milk laced with crack. I was hooked, dangling up in the heavens suspended from cloud nine. But then I started noticing things. Bad things. Annoying things. Things that made me go, "WTF?" Suddenly, my enjoyment took a nosedive and plummeted to the ground at terminal velocity minus a parachute. I was bummed...like majorly.

So, I know you’re probably wondering, “What happened? Where did it all go wrong? What are these things you’re talking about?” Well, allow me to elaborate.

Let's first talk about Celia, the heroine and narrator of the story. Chica was pretty damn cool at the beginning. She had some serious lady balls, the ability to kick some major supernatural ass, a good sense of humor, and an unwavering devotion to the people she cared about. Additionally, she was brave and selfless and endearingly protective of her sisters. Unfortunately, girlfriend was also annoyingly insecure and more than a little whiny. As the story progressed, Celia lamented over & over again about being single. She also repeatedly bitched & moaned about not being beautiful like all the other chicks around her even though the way she described herself was light-years away from unattractive. After a while, Celia’s extreme self-consciousness & poor self-esteem drove me fucking bonkers. Once she also became nauseatingly lovesick, I decided it was time to permanently hang up my Team Celia t-shirt and officially terminate my Wird Sisters fan club membership.

And that brings me to the issue of character development. Um...yeah, it kinda sucked. Celia’s characterization was decently fleshed out (I suppose), but all the other characters not so much. Actually, to be more accurate, all the supporting characters were mostly one-dimensional with a single predominant (and exaggerated) personality trait defining each of them. As amusing as some of their quirky personalities were, I never felt like any of these characters were full-bodied people I could truly care about, and I didn’t feel like I really got to know them besides what was right at the surface.

Another major problem I had with this book was the romance, which was essentially a whole lot of insta-love wrapped up in cheese and topped off with bleh. Listen, I straight-up loath insta-love. It sucks the excitement right out of the romance for me. And the insta-love in this book was just plain lame. It felt incredibly forced & awkward and not at all sexy. Plus, the love interest irked the hell out of me. He was possessive & controlling. And after knowing Celia only a few days and having a total of like two conversations with her, he decides it’s a gee golly swell idea to give her the pet name “sweetness”...’cos that’s not creepy or anything. Oh, come on! Dude, seriously? I feel uncomfortable & skeevy just saying it to myself. Inside my head. Where no one else can hear me. I can’t even imagine saying it out loud to another human being. Cue head-to-toe shudder. Ugh.

Lastly, I’m sad to say that despite initially really enjoying all the crazy shenanigans the Wird sisters got into, midway through the book I started to tire of them as they became increasingly more convoluted, contrived, and silly. Furthermore, the fun bloody action that had me eagerly flipping pages at the start of the story slowly became more & more repetitive (and at times anticlimactic).

Overall, Sealed with a Curse wasn’t a bad read, but it could have been sooo much better. It most certainly had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, that potential was wasted. Better luck next time.
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Jan 19, 2013 Turtles rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy-modern

I almost marked this as 4 stars, but I laughed my ass off at this book since it had tons of stuff I liked in it. So my rare 5 stars, here it is. I was a little apprehensive at first, since I thought it was going to be like Yasmine Galenorn's Sisters of the Moon (which I didn't really like). But this was far different from that. While there are 4 sisters, only 1 of them is the main character. And you see just enough of the sisters for them not to confuse you or get on your nerves. Their personali...more

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Feb 02, 2013 Maja rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-of-2013, debut-author, favorites, i-have-superpowers, magic, my-flat-army, so-many-vampires, surprise-surprise, urban-fantasy, werewhatevers, reviewed-in-2013

You should have seen the look on my face when I finished the last chapter of Sealed with a Curse. It was downright comical! I always get excited when I discover a new series I like, but when it’s Urban Fantasy, I get virtually ecstatic. And lo and behold, Cecy Robson wrote a very promising first installment.

Celia Wird and her three sisters have supernatural powers as a result of a backfired curse. Emme is telekinetic and has the ability to heal people, Taran is a magic worker, Shayna can turn ju...more You should have seen the look on my face when I finished the last chapter of Sealed with a Curse. It was downright comical! I always get excited when I discover a new series I like, but when it’s Urban Fantasy, I get virtually ecstatic. And lo and behold, Cecy Robson wrote a very promising first installment.

Celia Wird and her three sisters have supernatural powers as a result of a backfired curse. Emme is telekinetic and has the ability to heal people, Taran is a magic worker, Shayna can turn just about anything pointy into an arrow or a sword and Celia is a shifter with a powerful tigress living inside her. The sisters are nothing alike, and yet they are extremely close. Their parents died when they were very young and after a few foster homes, some of them terrible, Celia took over and gained custody of her younger sisters. As the oldest, she is used to being responsible for the others, and as the strongest, she is used to protecting them.

The girls aren’t exactly human, but they aren’t exactly part of the paranormal community either. They are stuck between two worlds, and their biggest desire is to be left alone. But powers like theirs can hardly go unnoticed and before they know it, they’re fighting paranormal battles all over the city.

Based on what I wrote so far, I think you can easily conclude what type of character Celia is. She is responsible, strong, determined and caring, and she always puts her sisters first. Buried under so many responsibilities, Celia has trouble relaxing and her loneliness is almost tangible – as a rule, men sense the predator within her and tend to run the other way. There’s a barrier between her and her sisters as well. She might be a Wird sister, but her role is essentially parental and that makes it difficult for her to be their friend.

But fear not, romance lovers! There is a man strong enough for Celia, one that will brush off all her weirdness and accept her for what she is. He is… (mine!)… Aric, a pureblood werewolf and a guy with huge responsibilities on his shoulders, but he handles them well. He takes nothing lightly, which makes him perfect for our girl. These two will make you swoon, my friends!

While I liked Celia, Emme and Shayna, I didn’t feel the same about Taran. She is the loud one, the one who always swears and complains and says inappropriate things at most unfortunate moments. It took me a while to warm up to her, but eventually I did, and that’s all that counts. The sisters were all interesting individually, but I really enjoyed their group dynamics and the little things between them, but most of all, how well they knew each other. It helped that I have a sister who’d do anything for me (and vice versa, of course) so it was very easy for me to relate.

The fight scenes, especially the huge one around the middle, tended to get a bit confusing. I had to go back a page or two a few times because they weren’t descriptive enough and I couldn’t connect it all in my head. But all things considered, that one can easily be overlooked, and I’m sure these big, ambitious scenes will get better in time.

The second book, A Cursed Embrace, should be out in July, but I’m ready to bribe, beg and offer eternal servitude to Cecy Robson or Penguin for an early copy. True, I have no pride, but who needs pride when I can have Aric?

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Jan 22, 2013 Ryan Snyder rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: want, wishlist, hmaybe, paranormal-romance

AH! That was so amazing. I have to wait forever to read the next book! The teaser for book two did not help one freaking bit. Whew, I think I have a new favorite author. This woman is hilarious and makes some Bad- Ass characters. Celia is my hero! :D

I loved how she made all the sisters so unique.. and yet they all have the same profession. Each of the sisters was distinct in my mind. I mean, if you asked me right now, having read the book yesterday, I can tell you certain personality traits each...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Melliane rated it 5 of 5 stars

4.5/5

Mon avis en Français

My English review

After the novella that precedes this book, I was curious to discover an entire story featuring our four sisters. I must say it is quite rare to have so many main characters in the same novel, and as I said for the novella, I think it is a big work to make them all interesting, as well as the secondary characters. But Cecy Robson has completely succeeded in this challenge, and it was very interesting to learn more about all our protagonists. However, I ho...more 4.5/5

Mon avis en Français

My English review

After the novella that precedes this book, I was curious to discover an entire story featuring our four sisters. I must say it is quite rare to have so many main characters in the same novel, and as I said for the novella, I think it is a big work to make them all interesting, as well as the secondary characters. But Cecy Robson has completely succeeded in this challenge, and it was very interesting to learn more about all our protagonists. However, I hope that we can find more about each personality.

We directly fall in the middle of the story from the beginning of the novel. Indeed, the four sisters are part of a trial after they killed a vampire and they’ll choose now their fate. But realizing that the vampire had become rogue, the charges are quickly dropped and life returns to normal. Did I say normal? Oups, it’s a mistake, this event is only the beginning of many other problems. Between the vampires who become more and more bloodthirsty and the werewolves who try to face them, the four sisters won’t be bored.

As for the short story, we follow in this novel the point of view of Celia, a character who is very complex. For her, her sisters are the most important persons in the world, and she would be capable of anything to protect them. The beast that she has in her, keeps her away from the others ... but it's not necessarily by choice, every persons crossing her eyes are scared by her, something that greatly complicates things. She will evolve throughout the novel, allowing us to discover her determination but also her fragility. And when two men are suddenly interested in her, her life gets more complicated and she does not really know how to handle all these upheavals. But well, we can understand her! Aric and Misha are both fascinating and I confess that I have immediately appreciated both of them. It is true that if I had to choose between the two of them, I would probably choose Aric, but Misha is an extraordinary character and I look forward to know a little more.

The plot is also very good and although I thought I knew several times the answers, the author perfectly manage to lost us and mislead us throughout the story to finally give us the truth about everything. We still have many things to discover whether about the characters or the culture of each species and I am eager to know more. I enjoyed the novel and I was completely carried away by this first book. It’s a new great series.(less)

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Nov 16, 2012 Iris (Paranormal Cravings) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wowsa! I liked this book so much we have picked Sealed with a Curse by Cecy Robson MUST READ of this winter! Four times a year we nominate a book from the paranormal genre that we think you Must Read. Not think about it…. We just know you going to love these! We had not so many this year as we would have liked… But boy do I have one for you now!! *grins*

MY THOUGHTS
“Wow … Speaking of force of Nature!
The beginning of a new series that keeps you hooked till the last page!”

Sealed With a Curse is t...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Christy (Love of Books) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-galley, e-book, read-in-2012

Yes! I found a new UF series to fall in love with. It’s weird, because I actually grabbed this off of Netgalley without even fully reading what it was about, but it obviously has werewolves or shifters by looking at the cover. Here’s the thing: I’m not big on werewolf and shift stories, so I usually pass them up. The book gods were definitely guiding me with this, because I don’t know what would possess me to immediately get Sealed with a Curse when I normally wouldn’t have.

Sealed with a Curse i...more

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Mar 02, 2013 Nightwalker rated it 5 of 5 stars

Loved it! This was an amazing read full of action, romance and humor. I rally enjoyed every page and couldn't put it down. For me, the four sisters felt like they belonged together. They had cool powers and everything, but there was a real bond between them that was believable and refreshing. I loved the sisters. Celia's probably my favorite but i really do like them all. I also think that Ms. Robson writes like she's also having fun. The book is a page turner because it is sheer fun! The action...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Jessie Potts rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, romance, vampire, shifter, signet-eclipse

What it's about: This is book one of the Weird Girls series and involves four sisters, who each has powers that are … well, weird … and the cause of a backfired curse. When one of the sisters accidentally blows up a vampire (vampires aren't aggressive in this series), they're going to have to figure out what's going on before things get crazier.

Why you should read it: This is a funny book. Seriously, I was laughing and enjoyed reading every page. Celia is complicated and caught between two domin...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Jen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fv

Celia

Very good start to a new UF series. I can't wait for the next one. Fiction Vixen Book Reviews

Celia Wird and her three sisters are just like other twenty-something girls—with one tiny exception: They’re the products of a curse that backfired and gave each of them unique powers that make them, well, a little weird…

Sealed with a Curse is the first book in a new Urban Fantasy series by Cecy Robson. The book opens with the four Wird sisters in vampire court for killing a vampire. After they test...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Talk Supe Blogspot rated it 4 of 5 stars

Full review at Talk Supe

True to its Urban Fantasy flavor, SEALED WITH A CURSE has a lot of magic, ass kicking and door busting scenes. The story is pumped with adrenalin plus with four sisters sharing the limelight, the story is far from stale and boring. Each sister has her own personality: Shayna has the surfer attitude; Emme is as sweet as honey; Taran the diva; and Celia the indomitable big sister. None of these girls are cookie-cutter supers too, I have to admit I was a little skeptical th...more

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May 20, 2013 Joseph rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, romance, read-in-2013-01-january, 0read-in-2013-05-may

A cool paranormal romance with lots of nonstop adventure, magical relationships, extremely detailed descriptions of scenes, original ideas. A nice change from the more common vampire and werewolf stories out there today.

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Nov 27, 2012 Marcela (BookaholicCat) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Sealed With a Curse is the first book in the new series The Weird Girls by Cecy Robson.

After trying to hide from the supernatural community for many years the Wird sisters find themselves being judge by the Vampire Court for killing one of the members of the Vampire master Misha Aleksandr’s family.
After interrogation it is determined that the vampire in question was suffering from bloodlust and needed to be killed, the Wird sisters are found innocent but have awaken not only the vampire tribunal...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Mlpmom (Book Reviewer) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-book-read, kindle-books

Holy crap! I think I found a new fav!
Full review to come soon!

edit for Full Review:

It is rare that an Urban Fantasy book can grab me from the first few pages. Maybe because usually there is a lot of world and character building going on and sometimes that can make the story drag a little, even if the book is fabulous by the end.

But this book, this one definitely got me hooked after the first few pages. Their was action, humor, danger, sisterly bonding, witty one liners, something fun and comple...more Holy crap! I think I found a new fav!
Full review to come soon!

edit for Full Review:

It is rare that an Urban Fantasy book can grab me from the first few pages. Maybe because usually there is a lot of world and character building going on and sometimes that can make the story drag a little, even if the book is fabulous by the end.

But this book, this one definitely got me hooked after the first few pages. Their was action, humor, danger, sisterly bonding, witty one liners, something fun and completely unique and a whole new world just waiting to be discovered and I knew I wanted to discover it.

I immediately liked the Wird sisters and I knew this was going to be one heck of an adventure filled with lots of the sarcastic humor that I adore along with some kick butt women that wouldn't let me down.

I really didn't mean to start this one when I did. I downloaded it while waiting for one of my daughter's to be out of school thinking I would just read for a few minutes to get a feel for the story and before I knew it I was completely engrossed in the story and I didn't want to put it down. I love it when an author can capture my attention like that.

And even though I had another book I was really suppose to be reading, I had to read this. I just had to, the story and characters demanded it and who am I to argue? Besides, I hate confrontation and no way was I going to tick off the tiger...

I will admit that as much as I didn't want to put this one down I did when I found out there was a prequel called The Weird Girls. I am so glad I did too because the novella gave a lot of background on the Wird Sisters that I was missing with Sealed With a Curse. Their past and the whole thing with the witch coven confrontation when they first moved into town, what happened to their parents. Also more about their powers and how they came to get them. Really this is a must read before you even start this one. So much is told and explained.

I absolutely love Celia. She is fierce and protective and just plain kick butt. She is everything I love in a strong female heroine. Well really all the sisters are. Taran is hilarious with her sailor mouth, Emme with her sweetness and Shayna with her “dudes” , I loved them all.

And can we talk about the men? Yum! There is definitely some eye candy in this one and I really hope we get more background info on some of them because I would love to learn more about them as the series progresses and I have a feeling, Gem, Koda, Aric, Misha and Liam will play a very big part in the next books, at least I really hope so!

Robson has outdone herself. It is hard finding something really great in the adult genre to read that is different and really can capture my attention (other than series I already read) and this one definitely has all of that. I will be pre-ordering the next book in the series for sure and not only will I be ordering it, but I will be anxiously awaiting it. (less)

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Apr 20, 2013 Ashley F rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, paranormal-romance

his was another book I heard about on the DBSA podcast and I just had to read it. I spent about six weeks checking the library catalog for it and finally I was rewarded. I'm not sure why things are taking so long to show up at the library but it is starting to get to the point of two months going by before non-bestsellers show up. Darn you James Patterson!

I'm a huge fan of paranormal romances especially when the story doesn't get too complicated. A lot of paranormal romances have really complica...more his was another book I heard about on the DBSA podcast and I just had to read it. I spent about six weeks checking the library catalog for it and finally I was rewarded. I'm not sure why things are taking so long to show up at the library but it is starting to get to the point of two months going by before non-bestsellers show up. Darn you James Patterson!

I'm a huge fan of paranormal romances especially when the story doesn't get too complicated. A lot of paranormal romances have really complicated mythology involved and after about thirty pages of it I zone out. I end up getting 3/4 of the way through and have to keep turning back to check something because I missed it the first time. This was not one of those books.

I did not read the prequel novella but I think you can skip it and still understand the series. Celia is sort of a combo bad-ass were-tiger (not a were though, according to her) and part low self-esteem innocent. She is a bad-ass for the most part but her romantic history is atrocious. I find it strange but then she sort of has a weird instant-soulmate connection with Aric so maybe that way why.

When Ms. Robson introduced the mating/soulmate bond thing (not confirmed by Aric or Celia by the way) I instantly remembered J.R. Ward's "Dark Lover". In that one the hero tells the heroine her sex drive was nil because she was becoming a vampire and then she got all hot and bothered over him (convenient much?). Celia had a similar reaction to Aric and I thought she was going to jump him in the middle of the park when they first met.

I loved the sisters as a whole, each with their own abilities, and how they interacted with each other. I always love stories with strong female and male relationships. It seems so unrealistic to me when the hero and heroine basically exist in a vacuum other than a rival for conflict. On the other hand I understand not everyone has close friends so I get it. It just makes the story more fun.

I was a little disappointed when I read this to discover all the girls immediately hooking-up with werewolves. I thought this series was going to approach each sister in a different book but from what I can see on Ms. Robson's website, each book will feature Celia with the sisters as background characters. I'm a tad disappointed but the book itself made up for it.

I enjoyed the low-key mythology throughout the book where vampires were made and drew power from their master. Their master in turn could draw power/magic from the natural magic surrounding them. It seemed a nice touch to give them weaknesses that were plausible but at the same time it gave them a lot of strength. At the same time the werewolves were organized but the reader was not lost in power struggles between the pack. Everything was neatly explained but enough was left open to allow the reader to ask questions for future books.

The romance made me all gooey too! Aric and Celia were just super-sexy although the sex was missing while they got their relationship in order. Aric was totally sexy and alpha but he respected Celia and recognized her own strengths. He tried to protect her constantly but accepted she was not going to just fall in line at the snap of his fingers. In turn she respected his needs and desires while ultimately doing what she thought was right.

One negative comment about the book was the conflict. Some chick in the werewolf pack decided she wanted Aric and lied about a fake baby. At the same time a vampire master decided he wanted Celia for pretty much no reason. It was sort of inconvenient to have conflicts crop up that seemed out of place. There was little explanation for the vampire's obsession so I'm hoping to see that explained in later books.

4.5/5 Stars
Published by Signet
December 31, 2012
368 Pages
Provided by--The Library (less)

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Feb 13, 2013 Ren rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own-paperback, giveaway-author-and-signed, 4-and-half-stars, read-2013, tower-team-b-reading-challenge, dangerous-heroes-2013, family-theme, favorite, my-nom-nom-boyfriend, there-are-hot-men, urban-fantasy, alpha-hero, ass-kick-heroine, best-cover-at-series, book-in-english-challenge-2013, its-just-vanilla, reccomended-to-translated, reviewed, shape-shifter-and-or-werewolf, special-ability

4,5 stars

I won the copy from Cecy Robson's FB page :)

Oh, it's not affect my rating for this book. Believe me, if you had seen my review for the novella The Weird Girls, you will know that I'm not new with Ms Robson's writing style and story.

Continued from The Weird Girls, the story start with a bang. With Celia and her 3 weird sisters, Taran the bombshell, Shayna the easy going one, and Emme the shyness of them all, go to the vampire court. Under accusation that one of them had killed their memb...more 4,5 stars

I won the copy from Cecy Robson's FB page :)

Oh, it's not affect my rating for this book. Believe me, if you had seen my review for the novella The Weird Girls, you will know that I'm not new with Ms Robson's writing style and story.

Continued from The Weird Girls, the story start with a bang. With Celia and her 3 weird sisters, Taran the bombshell, Shayna the easy going one, and Emme the shyness of them all, go to the vampire court. Under accusation that one of them had killed their member. After the vampire court examine the sisters's mind (which make them feel sick), they know that the vampire in question show a sign of sickness called bloodlust. The sexy (which kinda remind me of Eric Northman, just this one is from Rusia. Good, finally a vampire from the Eastern Europe) master vampire, Misha Aleksandr want Celia's help to solve this problem. Beside, he show an interest and attracted to her. Not new for me, but surprise for Celia. Since she is not usually become men attention. It usually become Taran's role.

Celia and her sisters reluctantly agreed, mostly because they want to protect Lake Tahoe, their home. In the other side, the weres clan of Tahoe do not like it. Their alpha, Aric Connor despise Misha and his kind. Things get more interesting when he is also attracted to Celia. But lucky for him, Celia feel it too (she's not with Misha). Funny is, some of his wolves pack member, Gemini, Koda and Liam also attracted to Celia's sister. Good job Ms Robson! I like it when author try to be fair to all their characters. Give them at last HFN (Happily for Now).

The relationship between Aric and Celia is not the easy one. Aric was considered as royalty since he was born from pure werewolf blood, while Celia is.. well, weird. She can change not just into her usual form, as tigress, but to other animal's form too. Make the werewolf wary of her. Can't blame them tho. Torn between Misha's request to help him find the culprit behind the bloodlust and Aric's need to protect her, Celia and her sisters must race with time and kickin' ass once again. Because thing will going really, really... ugly.

I really love Ms Robson's writing and reading her journal in her site, I know this book had come from a long, long journey. Sealed with a Curse is a nice start for a new UF series. The world building, although not new (vampire, werewolf, witch, curse), is still fascinating. What make me love it more is the characters. The Weird sisters is like Little Women meet Three Muskeeters meet Charmed. One for all and all for one. Always together and always protect each other. The story was told from Celia's POV, but we also get her sisters's story as well. I like Celia, she's though but also vulnerable. Not the coldhearted one. She care about her sister a lot. It's funny to see her reaction to both Aric and Misha. Since, well she's not have enough experience with men, like her sister Taran. I think reader will find she's too naive. Since I know what it feels, to feel awkward around men, I can relate to Celia

Ms Robson balance the gore (and bloody) part, action, snark and also humor as well in Sealed with a Curse. So, I never bored when reading this book. One thing I like from her more is her website. It's so informative. There's an introduction for each sister, with the image to help us picture them. My favorite is Celia, even I think Emme's head look weird :/. Also love the pic of Aric <3. I hope she will complete it with another's character pics.
You can see it in there : http://www.cecyrobson.com/Weird_Girls...

If you love Urban Fantasy with strong heroines (yep! more than one), full action packed, family relationship, hot men more than just two (and put Edward Cullen and Jacob Black in shame), and sprinkle it with little romance you, will love Sealed with A Curse. Alas, there's no hanky panky between Aric and Celia, which make me a very sad kitten :(. But, the kisses they are sharing is hot enough to make me go "awwww!" and biting my pillow, hope my BF is beside me ;). There's also hint for love triangle for Misha, Celia and Aric, even in this book, its clear that Celia just want Aric. But think can change in the future, right? I just hope Ms Robson can handle it well and satisfied readers, whoever Celia's choose. (I'm team Aric, btw. Even I do think Celia's chance with Misha is 50:50). I >b>really hope, in the last there's no love triangle :).(less)

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Dec 31, 2012 Julie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

Posted at Yummy Men & Kick Ass Chicks

Sealed with a Curse is the first book in debut author Cecy Robson’s Weird Girls series and let me tell you, it’s fantastic. As soon as you start this book, you are drawn into the action. Cecy writes as though you know what is going on so there isn’t any of that ‘so this is the world and this is what happened before the book started and this is what you should expect so pay attention so you don’t miss anything’ crap detail. I like this idea and I think yo...more Posted at Yummy Men & Kick Ass Chicks

Sealed with a Curse is the first book in debut author Cecy Robson’s Weird Girls series and let me tell you, it’s fantastic. As soon as you start this book, you are drawn into the action. Cecy writes as though you know what is going on so there isn’t any of that ‘so this is the world and this is what happened before the book started and this is what you should expect so pay attention so you don’t miss anything’ crap detail. I like this idea and I think you will too.

Let’s talk story. The main story revolves around the vampires in the area and how they are in the midst of a widespread bloodlust epidemic. I know, this is not really new but how it was done was very interesting. And let me tell you, the vampires once they infected…gr-oss! I also like how the werewolves were the protectors of humanity. They were basically the police for the supernatural, and ladies…the werewolves…yum!

The werewolves weren’t just yum, they were fantastic! There are four sisters in this book and four werewolves – oh lookie, one for each of them! I found Cecy matched everyone up really well. But she didn’t make it too easy for all of the girls as there is one coupling who isn’t quite a couple yet and you just keep wondering ‘why the hell not?’ as you read. I am really looking forward to seeing what is up with that in the next book.

The werewolf who stood out the most to me was Aric. Holy hell on a cracker this man was exceptional. Sexy, smart, sexy, alpha without being too much so, sexy… *drool* He is the perfect match for Celia – their chemistry is just incredible. Speaking of Celia, I think it’s time to chat about the girls, a.k.a. the weird sisters.

Emme is the youngest. She is crazy shy and the way she talks sometimes made me wonder at her age. Her shyness is what gives her a unique voice and makes it easy to tell she’s speaking when it’s her turn for dialogue in the book but it also makes her sound very young. She’s in her early twenties and sometimes I found she almost sounded like she was a teenager. But she is a sweet character and she does have quite the backbone when the sisters let her use it. I have a feeling that Emme will grow quite a lot during this series and it will be wonderful to witness her coming into her own.

Shayla is the fun sister and she says ‘dude’ a lot. In the prequel novella (you can read my review here), Shayla used that word a lot and it made me nervous to read her in this full length book. You see, it’s not really used much where I live so when ‘dude’ this and ‘dude’ that comes onto the page, I sort of cringed. But it seems I worried for nothing. It does suit her in the novel and it’s not used to the point where I wanted to find a surfboard and smack her with it. Shayla is a very loyal character and she was a lot of fun to read. I loved her with her werewolf Koda too. They were too cute together.

Taran is a bit on the wild side being all sexy and a little hot tempered. She made me giggle with her potty mouth and her attitude. Her power is impressive too! Her werewolf Gemini has an impressive ability too. I can’t wait for you guys to read about it.

Finally we have Celia. This series is being told from her perspective and I think Cecy made a perfect choice to use her as the voice for these books. She is a wonderful read. Her beast tends to scare people away so she doesn’t have any friends let alone romantic entanglements. Also, being the eldest, she has taken it upon herself to be the head of the family and that’s an added responsibility she doesn’t take lightly. Cecy does a fantastic job writing Celia. You can really feel her loneliness and her desire to find someone to share everything with…other than her sisters. She is loyal, very intelligent, strong… I just really liked her. A lot.

Each sister possesses powers thanks to a curse gone wrong and each girl’s is different. Something that struck me as cool was that none possessed overly usual abilities. I know that we are just scratching the surface of what these girls can do. What we know so far is that they are very powerful and strong. It’s going be a lot of fun to see more of what the sisters can do in future installments.

There was one little ‘issue’ that came up that turned out being nothing but while it was talked about, I was thinking ‘oh no…really?! why?’ But since it went away quickly enough, it wasn’t enough to kill my enthusiasm for the book. I’m glad Cecy wrote that as she did or I would have been pretty bummed. But I’m still totally psyched about this series and can’t wait to try A Cursed Embrace when it hits shelved in July 2013.

Overall, Sealed with a Curse was impressive. The pace was fantastic, the story exciting and the chemistry between all of the characters was just great. I loved everyone in this book – even the creepy people. Everyone was compelling and added a lot to the story and to the world Cecy created. I strongly recommend this book.(less)

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Jan 05, 2013 Lynsey (The Demon Librarian) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: received-for-review, netgalley, action-filled, book-boyfriend, cracking-mystery, girl-power, kick-ass-chicks, mad-butt-kicking-skills, magic-tastic, romantic-elements, sexual-tension-torture-device, shifter-ific, smack-your-witch-up, sweet-romance, unusual-creatures-beings-species, urban-fantasy, vampire-ific, werewolf-tastic

Find more reviews like this at The Demon Librarian.

After a shaky start, I really enjoyed this.

Despite taking a while to grab me and a few minor complaints about the characterization of the Wird sisters, this ended up being a really fun urban fantasy romp with some great action scenes, sizzling sexual tension and really fun magical elements.

Told from eldest sister Celia Wird's POV, she and her three sisters are introduced to us in the opening scene already in hot water with master vampire, Misha...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Margaret rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sf-and-fantasy

I was a bit skeptical about it until I started reading it. I loved it! The book was very well written with a great sense of humour and there is just one other author that I can think of that is similar. I got the book from the library after reading a review on the My Bookish Ways website, and now will buy it when I can. I can't wait to read more of the Wird Sisters! They remind me how different siblings can be! Below is the link to the review I read before getting the book. Enjoy!

http://www.mybo ...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Layla rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-release, genre-paranormal-fantasy-urban-sf, part-of-a-series, rating-4-stars, read-in-2013

So funny! I was laughing like a mad person at three a.m. in the morning. Those four sisters are really something *snickers*

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Feb 06, 2013 Silver James rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013-books-read

Sealed with a Curse is another entry into the first-person POV Urban Fantasy romance genre. Cecy Robson creates an interesting world that's not been done before--a world where witches don't always follow Wiccan precepts, where vampires can walk in daylight (but DON'T sparkle!), and where were-anythings are charged with guarding the earth from evil. Enter the Wird sisters. Told from the viewpoint of Cecilia Wird, the oldest of the four sisters, this is a tale of learning to embrace the inner weir...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Jacq rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, paranormal

I am glad that I won this book thru Good Reads Giveaway. I enjoyed the action, the closeness of the sisters, and the laugh out louds. I will continue this series.

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Jan 22, 2013 Lucy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, uf

For such a strongly reviewed and favorited book, I wasn't that impressed. I read it and finished it in 24 hours, but that's not saying a lot. The romance seemed forced and not well developed, a romance not based on anything or any traits that match each other. The only thing between the two seems to be their chemistry, how hot he is, and his growling. I'm fine with a whole "mate" werewolf story, but that alleged perfect partnership needs to be based on interactions with each other and how they s...more

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Jan 12, 2013 Alexandria rated it 5 of 5 stars

SKEPTICAL . It is how I feel with any author of an Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance of whom I haven't read before. And it is exactly how I approached reading this novel. I immediately went in search of anything and everything that I might find disapproving about this book, and came up with......nothing. Yes, nothing.

Instead, I fell headfirst, flat on my face, in love with the story, characters, and writing. At this point I commenced drooling on myself over Misha and Aric, and all the other h...more

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Dec 17, 2012 Amanda P rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: review-copy-provided, own-as-an-ebook, paranormal-urban-fantasy, humor

I loved loved loved this book! This book was everything I was hoping the last book I read would be. The characters are fun, they are sassy and kick major ass! “Because girls kick ass, it says so on a t-shirt”. (This was on some tv show or movie but I can’t remember which one) LOL A I adored Celia and all three of her sisters. Each had a fully developed and completely different personality. Anyone with a sister can certainly appreciate the sister bond they share! I know I did. ;) Ms. Robson has s...more I loved loved loved this book! This book was everything I was hoping the last book I read would be. The characters are fun, they are sassy and kick major ass! “Because girls kick ass, it says so on a t-shirt”. (This was on some tv show or movie but I can’t remember which one) LOL A I adored Celia and all three of her sisters. Each had a fully developed and completely different personality. Anyone with a sister can certainly appreciate the sister bond they share! I know I did. ;) Ms. Robson has such a funny, fun exciting writing style. I was captured from the first and it did not let me go until the very end, I didn’t want to let this world go and was sad when I saw the pages dwindling. I immediately checked to see what other books I could devour by this author and was glad to see a prequel was out but sad to see the second book in this series won’t be out for months! Waiting sucks!

So the story starts and we are in vampire court, it was a great way to throw us into this new world. You actually find out a lot about this new world from the vampire court and more about the sisters and their individual powers. Their powers are different and unique from any other being, they are not vampires or true were’s or witches and each sister has a different skill set. They are a result of a backfired curse. They were supposed to be cursed with illness at their birth but instead they developed super cool powers! Celia is our “alpha” and POV for this book. We get major time with the sisters but it’s Celia’s voice we hear throughout.

Misha is a Master Vampire who is losing all of her “family” to bloodlust. Vampires in the world are typically non-violent and more charming then scary. But when they fall into bloodlust no one is safe. When Tahoe becomes an epidemic of bloodlust driven vamps, Misha turns to the Wird sisters to help him save his family. They are not too keen on the idea but realize that this has become a bigger problem.

There is major action from page one until the last page. You know how some books lead you up to a major battle and then it’s over basically before it begins? Well this is so not the case here, there are several battles and each one is not a disappointment and continues to build to a final showdown that will not leave you hanging. I do have to say, I saw the bad guy coming from a mile away, but I still liked to see how the events unfolded and where they ended up. Each sister puts the smack down in their own way and only as a collective unit are they successful. I liked that they worked together as a team along with the other major players of the books. Even with all of the action this book was not lacking in emotion. You clearly knew how each sister was feeling especially Celia. Her emotions were right there for you to grab a hold of and feel along with her. A surprising emotion we got from Celia was loneliness and it would tear at your heart. She is surrounded by love from her sisters but they have a much easier time finding men to be interested in them. With the nature of Celia’s beast she scares men away more often than not and is often left alone while her sisters are out on the town.

Although, I wouldn’t necessarily consider this book a “romance” although there are plenty of love interests involved. I think it’s more intended to be an Urban Fantasy type of deal where we will be following Celia as the primary and her sisters. With this book we get a quasi love triangle. Misha makes it clear he has an interest in Celia but Celia meets a sexy Alpha of the new Were-Wolves that recently came into town. They have a tumultuous relationship and Celia has to dodge sexy vampire Misha at every turn. Each sister also get a sexy wolf to themselves and it’s fun to see how the whole group interacts. It’s like a quadruple date! It’s such fun!
I loved everything about this book and would recommend it to anyone. It was a joy to read and I can’t wait until the next installment.
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Jan 02, 2013 Lucy Dosch rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Cecy Robson’s debute novel, Sealed with a Curse, focuses on Celia Wird and her sisters, brutally nicknamed “the weird sisters” since school. The sisters were just plain old humans who were cursed at birth. But that curse became a gift…sort of. Celia can shift into a tiger. Just don’t get her too close to any other animal spirit, or she can end up shifting against her will. No new puppies for these sisters. Taran is the supersexy/badass sister who can harnesses the power of fire. Shayna can turn...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Lori {Romancing the Dark Side} rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-read-in-2012, magic, paranormal-romance, shifters, urban-fantasy, werewolves, vampires, my-reviews, my-favorites

Romancing the Dark Side Review:

A breakthrough series in the urban fantasy genre!

The Wird Sisters are back with even more butt-kicking action, suspense and sarcasm than before! There's never a dull moment for these four sisters who try their best to stay under the radar of the supernatural world only to have it show up on their door step. When Celia's sister Taran has an encounter with a vampire who ends up dead, the Wird sisters are brought forth to the vampire council for judgement, and in tur...more Romancing the Dark Side Review:

A breakthrough series in the urban fantasy genre!

The Wird Sisters are back with even more butt-kicking action, suspense and sarcasm than before! There's never a dull moment for these four sisters who try their best to stay under the radar of the supernatural world only to have it show up on their door step. When Celia's sister Taran has an encounter with a vampire who ends up dead, the Wird sisters are brought forth to the vampire council for judgement, and in turn asked to help identify a plague infecting the vampires of the region by none other than the man who almost had them executed, the charming Master vampire Misha. Just when things aren't interesting enough, the Wird Sisters meet a pack of sexy werewolves and Celia think she's met her match in Aric, the pack Alpha. Together the sisters will try to solve the mystery of the vampire infection while taking a chance on a pack of werewolves in the hopes of finding happiness.

Sealed with a Curse delves deeper in the paranormal world of the Lake Tahoe region and introduces us to more than just witches. Celia is still the protective sister and matriarch of the family who will stop at nothing to ensure the safety of her siblings. I find her to be the most multi-faceted and complex of the sisters and I love how she's the oldest and strongest fighter of the group, yet totally clueless when it comes to matters of the heart, it shows the real devotion she has to her sisters. Celia's lack of experience with men makes the semi-love-triangle with her, Aric and Misha all the more interesting. While most women would love nothing more than to have these two very different Alpha males vie for her attention, Celia is usually embarrassed and confused by it all.

The men in Sealed with a Curse are the sexy heroes I love in my literary world and each has his own charm and distinct personality. There are a few sexy men in this book but I'll focus on the two main ones. Aric, the werewolf, is a great combination of Alpha male and sweetheart. I like that he takes his time courting Celia. Misha on the other hand is far from the brooding vampire, he's flirty and regal and wastes no opportunity to woo Celia. While we clearly learn where Celia's heart lies by the book's end, it's fun to watch these two yummy men compete for her affection. I really enjoy that unlike the other romances in the story, Aric and Celia's relationship isn't instant and is slowly blossoming.

My favorite element of this series is the connection and interaction between the sisters. The author has fully developed each personality and given each sister a voice, along with her own paranormal ability. The Wird sisters have great chemistry and their bond is worthy of envy. I connected with them instantly and commend Ms. Robson for introducing us to some strong heroines with Latina roots instead of the usual cookie-cutter leading ladies we often see in the genre.

Filled with mystery, action, a little bit of romance, creepy villains and plenty of heart, Sealed with a Curse undoubtedly supersedes its prequel, The Weird Girls. Cecy Robson's writing style is fluid and stellar in my opinion, there's just enough detail without taking away from the engaging plot. The Wird sisters will charm their way into your heart and wishing you were part of the family! I'll anxiously await their next thrilling adventure.

{ebook courtesy of NetGalley for review.}

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Dec 18, 2012 Kristin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle, netgalley, for-review

4.5 stars
I haven’t been reading a lot of urban fantasy lately. Almost all the UF I had been reading had the heroine down-trodden with no “happily-ever-after” in sight. There were a few exceptions but UF just wasn’t fun for me anymore… until NOW!!!

I had such a blast reading Sealed with a Curse. It took me back to all the UF books I read when I first started reading. I picked up a little bit of Rachel Morgan’s “unique-ness”, saw some Anita Blake and her hot master vamp Jean-Claude and alpha were-...more 4.5 stars
I haven’t been reading a lot of urban fantasy lately. Almost all the UF I had been reading had the heroine down-trodden with no “happily-ever-after” in sight. There were a few exceptions but UF just wasn’t fun for me anymore… until NOW!!!

I had such a blast reading Sealed with a Curse. It took me back to all the UF books I read when I first started reading. I picked up a little bit of Rachel Morgan’s “unique-ness”, saw some Anita Blake and her hot master vamp Jean-Claude and alpha were-wolf Richard (although our wolf has a clue), and the fight scenes definitely reminded me of Mercedes Thompson. But Ms. Robson wrote a unique new world that ended up being a one day barrel through read for me. That never happens for me when I read UF!!

Setting / World Building

Set in Dollar Point, CA, on Lake Tahoe (I love when you can actually look up book settings on a map), four sisters have learned to survive on their own without their parents. They are all in their twenties now working as nurses and living together under one big roof. All the sisters have been “cursed” with unique supernatural abilities. Celia, the oldest sister, is definitely the mother-figure of the group as she’s the one who takes control and leads everyone when “situations” arise. She mostly ends up doing that because she has no one else in her life to boss around as most guys are frightened of her. Let’s just say her unique ability tends to scare the boys away.

Story / Tempo

Right from the start, the girls are in a “situation”. The second oldest sister, Taran, has killed a vampire and all the sisters are going to vampire court to answer to charges of murder. I absolutely love that this book starts off with maniacal “vamp court”. I do love my vamps so maybe that’s what sold me right off the bat. Ms. Robson uses it as a way to introduce each of the girl’s abilities. It also gives us insight into each of their personalities. World building is off the blocks running already – LOVE! And it wasn’t hard to keep up, either.

The pace did slow down just a tiny bit in the middle but I think it was for the good of the book. It was a point in the story for Celia’s introspection. I don’t think many people will even notice it. And the big mystery of the story is really cool and well done. Although I hate to admit it – I totally guessed it in the beginning. Just not to the extent of the big reveal. The big reveal, I thought, was a pretty good reward despite guessing who the big baddie(s) was behind the plague on the vampires.

Characters

The part of the story I enjoyed the most was the dynamics between the sisters. I want more and more of the sisters! Each is so different in personality but none of them is annoying (at least to me). I think if I had to pick one I wanted to be, it would be Shayna. She’s just so sneaky with her toothpicks (just go read the book!), although I don’t think I can go around calling everyone, “dude”. I can see so much potential in the series: individual stories about each sister, stories from the vampire world, stories about the weres…

Speaking of weres, there was mention of a werewolf alpha, Aric, in the synopsis. Oh, my….. I do love my alphas! Aric is definitely a new book boyfriend of mine!! He’s hot, protective, but he’s not perfect. I like a man with a flaw or two (case in point, my number one boyfriend, Rehvenge, but I digress…). Our other leading man, Misha, reminds me a little of Mircea Basarab (from Karen Chance’s Cassie Palmer series) and Eric Northman, thrown in a blender 50/50. Cocky, smart, and definitely a Northern European god in the looks department.

Overall, I think Sealed with a Curse has the perfect mix of urban fantasy: 33% Mystery/world building – 33% Kick butt fight scenes – 33% Romance. This is definitely a lighter, fun read. Don’t go looking for a deeper meaning to life or the mysteries of the universe explained. This is a let-your-mind-go and escape to where ordinary girls can get “cursed” with extraordinary powers and just have fun, damn it. I bet someday the girls won’t think it’s a curse…. discuss amongst yourselves.

The next book in the series, A Cursed Embrace (Weird Girls #2) is expected to be published July 2nd, 2013. Crap, that’s too long….(less)

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Dec 19, 2012 Melissa Hayden rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook

Loved reading this story of the sisters with werewolves and vampires. Great action and story, with a touch of blooming love. Can't wait for the next one!

****FULL REVIEW****

4.5 Stars!

Trying to avoid the supernatural world Celia, who is more use to being alone, and her three sisters end up in Vampire court, charged with murder of one of Misha Aleksandr family members, to prove they were not as guilty yet to learn of a bloodlust spreading through the vampire families. Now the Supernatural world kno...more Loved reading this story of the sisters with werewolves and vampires. Great action and story, with a touch of blooming love. Can't wait for the next one!

****FULL REVIEW****

4.5 Stars!

Trying to avoid the supernatural world Celia, who is more use to being alone, and her three sisters end up in Vampire court, charged with murder of one of Misha Aleksandr family members, to prove they were not as guilty yet to learn of a bloodlust spreading through the vampire families. Now the Supernatural world knows of the sisters and are sneaking around for a peek, and pictures. However Misha, the lead vampire who tried to have them killed, is now interested in the dominating Celia, but Celia may have her eye on a werewolf. Misha's having troubles in his family. Bloodlust. His vampire family eats well and shouldn't be suffering from this, which means magic is involved. He fears the upheaval of the vampire world maybe the reason - to kill him and take his power. Misha asks Celia, having no ties to the supernatural world, for her help to fight his rival and prove his remaining family innocent and should live. Celia sees the affects of the bloodlust on the human world and makes her choice. Misha and his families time is limited. The sisters jump full force into the supernatural world finding themselves in the middle of werewolves fighting for the world and vampires along with bloodlust vampires.

This book starts off strong, the girls are already in trouble - in vampire court. Quickly we see touches of what each girl's personality is along with a hint to their individual powers even mention of toothpicks with one, to make you curious what she can do with them (serious weapons!).

Action, story, humor, magic, and blooming love all wrapped in one gift here. So many magical variations so makes for a cool action fight. Their is explanations of connections between werewolf and vampire weaknesses and the rules to their kinds. Great set up with action and story blended. Fun quick comments and using current people, places, happenings, and things to relate. Makes me happy with all these elements present.

I suggest making this a weekend read as you're not going to want to stop! I wanted to know if I was right on who was behind the happenings, how much more trouble Celia and her sisters would find, and if Celia got her man.

The blooming love... now, this story has two amazingly hot men and one woman. BUT, this is not what I would call a love triangle. Even though both are interested, she has eyes for one. I loved this. Now there is budding romance in the background with all the sisters as well, but I would not say this is the focus of the story. It's an added top notch bonus to this supernatural story.

This is a definite one for a great weekend read. Cecy has started her series with a kick start, and I CAN NOT WAIT for the next books to come out!(less)

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Urban Fantasy Afi...: Lady D's June Member Choice	15	23	Jun 18, 2013 06:47pm
Girls, Guns and G...: Sealed with a Curse (buddy read)	22	21	Apr 30, 2013 02:13am

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Sealed with a Curse (Weird Girls #1)

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