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The Curse

Jennifer Brassel (Goodreads Author)

3.19 · Rating details · 16 ratings · 8 reviews

His search for her has been timeless, eternal, and ultimately thwarted. Until now…

Seth Almose has spent countless lives trying to break the curse that robs him of his soul mate. Each time the cycle begins anew, he meets it with hope, and each time he is left with heartbreak. But as the cycle dawns again, with yet another incarnation, Seth can’t help himself. She is extraor ...more

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ebook, 116 pages

Published June 1st 2014 by Escape Publishing

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Average rating 3.19 ·

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May 22, 2014 Douglas Meeks rated it liked it

I wanted this book to be much better than it was but unfortunately it was not. The premise was great, the background and the characters were pretty good but the execution of this story was less than optimal.

I am not going to repeat the synopsis on this one , the bottom line here is that the meetup, the "getting to know each other" parts were done pretty well, the suspense was done very well but the action sequences and the conclusion were lame and anticlimactic almost, add to that they never act ...more

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Jan 31, 2015 Sam Still Reading rated it liked it

Recommends it for: those looking for a romance with paranormal elements

Recommended to Sam Still Reading by: from the publisher

Reading books with a paranormal element is a bit out of my comfort zone (perhaps Twilight scarred me a bit too much), but with The Curse being shortlisted for Favourite Paranormal Romance in the annual Australian Romance Readers Awards, I decided to give it a go. I’m glad I did – the story was intriguing, with a number of twists and a big finale.

The Curse combines romantic elements with action in addition to exploring the idea of a curse that has haunted a family for centuries. Seth is a banker, Reading books with a paranormal element is a bit out of my comfort zone (perhaps Twilight scarred me a bit too much), but with The Curse being shortlisted for Favourite Paranormal Romance in the annual Australian Romance Readers Awards, I decided to give it a go. I’m glad I did – the story was intriguing, with a number of twists and a big finale.

The Curse combines romantic elements with action in addition to exploring the idea of a curse that has haunted a family for centuries. Seth is a banker, but he knows from his grandfather that when he finds his true love, she’ll be taken from him in a horrifying way. This is what happened when his Egyptian ancestor fell in love with a slave girl and it’s happened in every generation since. Seth is determined to break the curse and has a crack team of security at hand. Julia is a painter who left Australia hurriedly after a stalker invaded her privacy. She changed her name and moved to Boston to escape. But she’s strangely drawn to an Egyptian exhibition and paints the best work of her life of the pharaoh Tuthmosis. She then starts having dreams about the pharaoh and gradually finds herself present in them. Once she meets Seth and falls in love, the dreams intensify. Seth is worried when she tells him and he tells her about the curse. Julia’s not sure about it, but meanwhile her enemies are closing in to destroy her – just as they have many lives again.

The Curse is a fascinating premise in looking at reincarnation and rebirth across the ages. The tone of the story changes from light and sweet to something darker as those out to destroy Julia and Seth’s happiness come out of hiding. Seth is a strong character and remarkably sensible for someone who knows that his beloved will be killed – it’s just a matter of when. He’s also very calm, yet exceptionally protective of Julia (as you would expect). Julia grew on me as I found out more about her past. I loved her Major Mitchell cockatoo, Bird, who provided some light relief as the story got darker. I would have liked to know more about the stalking in Australia and why her reaction was so strong to move hemispheres. The bad guys – well, they were suitably creepy and some hid their spots well.

I would have liked to know more about Julia and Seth’s past lives, but then again, that may have detracted from the action. The tension is super-strong as the bad guys pounce on Julia, and it was great that Seth didn’t lose his head, but called the police (he needs to give some lessons to thriller characters). This part was my favourite and would play well as a movie.

I found the epilogue a little out of pace with what had gone on before in the book, but it was nice to know (rather than assume) the happy ending.

Thank you to Escape Publishing for the eBook. My review is honest.

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Apr 19, 2014 Carrie Slager rated it liked it

Shelves: reviews-for-authors-publishers

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

I really debated requesting The Curse on NetGalley but in the end my curiosity got the better of me. Despite the cliché-filled blurb I thought I’d give this one a chance and approach it with an open mind. After all, I did the same thing to Echo Prophecy by Lindsey Fairleigh and it turned out to be a great book. The Curse isn’t a great book, though. Don’t get me wrong—it’s far from a bad book. It’s [Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

I really debated requesting The Curse on NetGalley but in the end my curiosity got the better of me. Despite the cliché-filled blurb I thought I’d give this one a chance and approach it with an open mind. After all, I did the same thing to Echo Prophecy by Lindsey Fairleigh and it turned out to be a great book. The Curse isn’t a great book, though. Don’t get me wrong—it’s far from a bad book. It’s simply an average novel with nothing really to distinguish it from similar reincarnation curse stories.

The characters were very well developed. I really felt for Julia having to move and change her name after being stalked for months before the story started. Her behaviour is obviously affected by this incident but with the help of Seth she does seem to recover at a natural pace. She’s strong and brave but at the same time isn’t an unrealistically kick-butt protagonist. Seth was surprising for a male lead in that he isn’t the type of guy to rush out immediately when his beloved is kidnapped. No, he called the police, something that normal human beings would do in that circumstance. That was probably the biggest surprise of the whole novel but in hindsight it fits with his character.

Other than some surprises with the characters, there weren’t really all that many plot surprises. The Curse followed a pretty typical reincarnation story arc where girl starts having dreams, meets boy, they get together after some initial misunderstandings and circumstances or evil forces try to pull them apart. I wish Jennifer Brassel had put more of a spin on the old story arc but she really didn’t. Her story is well-paced and the world-building is relatively good but it’s really just the same old thing I’ve read before.

I would have liked far more backstory not only for the villains of the story but also for Seth and Julia’s past lives. We get flashes of it so we know the basic sketch of the story but I personally would have liked more details. That’s probably just me so I can’t really fault the author for that, though. The only real criticism I have about the backstory is that we didn’t really know very much about the villains and their motivations. I wish the villains had more complex motives than they were presented as having because it would have made the climax far more exciting. Oh well.

So like I said this isn’t a great book but it’s not a bad book either. It’s somewhere in between and if you generally like this kind of stuff I’d recommend The Curse. It’s just that it’s not all that unique.

I give this book 3/5 stars. ...more

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Jun 13, 2014 Les Romantiques rated it liked it

Posted on Les Romantiques - Le forum du site
Reviewed by Rinou
Review Copy from the Publisher

I was attracted by the synopsis of The Curse, as it talks about curses and reincarnation. But if the base idea is interesting, the final implementation left me a bit dissatisfied.

Julia Morrow, a painter, is so obsessed by a pharaoh whose statue she discovered at the museum that she drew a portrait of him, and has begun to dream about him. She’s very surprised when she meets Seth Almose, who not only looks Posted on Les Romantiques - Le forum du site
Reviewed by Rinou
Review Copy from the Publisher

I was attracted by the synopsis of The Curse, as it talks about curses and reincarnation. But if the base idea is interesting, the final implementation left me a bit dissatisfied.

Julia Morrow, a painter, is so obsessed by a pharaoh whose statue she discovered at the museum that she drew a portrait of him, and has begun to dream about him. She’s very surprised when she meets Seth Almose, who not only looks a bit like the pharaoh, but triggers strange and unusual feelings in her, and wants her to believe in a family cruse.

I liked the main characters. I found them realistic and credible. Julia has logical reserves after hearing what Seth tells her or what he makes her feel, even after she gets the memories from her previous life back. He is sure of himself, and if he takes most decisions to protect her he isn’t much overbearing. However I found too bad the reincarnation story makes the things too easier and doesn’t allow the reader to see a real evolution in their feelings. It’s more an instantaneous thing or so.

We have lots of glimpses of the bad guys, but some points don’t become clear until the very end and other not at all, like how do they met or what were the pseudo-spiritualism séances they went to? And in fact in the end we don’t know if they acted only for their own interests or to fulfill the curse (on their own accord or pushed by their self from their previous lives as at one point they talk about spirits).

In fact if the beginning of the story, that is to say the characters’ meeting and how Julia regains memories of her previous life, is classical but pleasant, the last third, which has got the suspense and the action scenes, is a bit flabby. And most of all the end is expedited, with a very short epilogue that doesn’t provide anything.

So this is a story which doesn’t keep all its promises, and which would have needed to be more deepened, and most of all completely settled. But in spite of this final frustration I had a good reading time, hence the average rating and not lower.
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May 17, 2014 Tamra LeValley rated it liked it

NetGalley Free Book

Julia has a new identity because she had a stalker. Will she ever feel safe again? Seth has to break his families centuries old curse. In order to do that he needs to find his soul mate and then keep her from getting killed. When the two meet there is no denying the spark.

This was a really good book. The plot was definitely one you find in love stories but it did not feel stale. The characters were wonderfully written and the author did a good job of keeping the story in a con ...more

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Apr 28, 2014 Helen rated it it was amazing

Seth Almos was born in Egypt but has lived most of his life in England and America but never lets go of his Egyptian background his ancestor is the Pharaoh Tuthmosis and Seth knows that he will find his soul mate one day he has been looking for a while and there are secrets and of course he believes in reincarnation but there is also a curse on his family and when he meets Julia Morrow an Australian living in Boston he is sure he has found his soul mate. Julia has been through a lot and has fled ...more

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Jun 15, 2014 Roz ~ My Written Romance rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014-reading-challenge, arcs, australian-author

I was provided with an ARC of this book by Escape Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

There is something about Egyptian history and the time of the pharaohs that is so wildly fascinating. The drama, the intensity, the talk of curses - all perfect material for suspenseful and romantic fiction alike.

Jennifer Brassel's The Curse blends these elements of drama, suspense and romance, and despite my lack of experience reading fantasy romance, I very much en ...more

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