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adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Sexism, Blood, Pregnancy, Alcohol
Minor: Infertility, Rape, Sexual content
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A beautiful mix of science, archeology and magic, where history meets the present, all on the beautiful Amalfi coast.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Child death, Abandonment
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm not a huge fan of dual timelines, but this wasn't too bad. I usually love the older / past timeline much more than the present timeline. This was the same, Mari's story was much more intriguing and kept me going. The present was okay but not super interesting or in-depth. Good book but not one I'd read again, a solid 3.5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Murder
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A solid 3.5 stars ⭐️
I LOVED the setting, and I was invested in the 1800s storyline, but there were too many moments that were just, MEH, and I mostly just tuned out, which is a bummer.
But I love the cover of this book 🤩
I LOVED the setting, and I was invested in the 1800s storyline, but there were too many moments that were just, MEH, and I mostly just tuned out, which is a bummer.
But I love the cover of this book 🤩
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Stalking, Death of parent, Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I've read every book Sarah Penner has released so far, and they just keep getting better. I genuinely believed The Lost Apothecary would be hard to top, but this one might have done it for me. I absolutely love when an author has the ability to make you feel like you're completely immersed in the setting as you read, as though there's a movie playing out in your mind. Penner's ability to do this really shines in this book, and I loved the characters and the connection across the dual timelines. This is absolutely going to end up being one of my favorite books of the year, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Sarah Penner’s newest novel has all of the things that she has become known for- history, witchcraft, and strong female leads. I really enjoyed my time with the Amalfi Curse. It was a quick read and even with dual timelines and quite a few characters, it was quite easy to follow and enjoy. I was fully invested in both timelines and main characters and I thought she did a good job weaving them together. The setting in Positano was beautiful and atmospheric and complemented the story perfectly. The present day romance subplot didn’t really work for me- I didn’t feel much chemistry between Haven and Enzo and I would have been fine without it, but I didn’t hate it by the end. A great beach read, although I’ll always recommend The Lost Apothecary as your first Sarah Penner read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.75 ⭐️
An atmospheric dual-timeline and multi-pov story filled with Italian summer vibes, sea witches, archaeological and historical intrigue, and mystery. This was a delight!
As my first book by this author, I had no idea what to expect in terms of writing style but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The past and present timelines intertwined so well, I found myself reading a chapter set in the past and then in the present and could see how the threads of the past wove into the modern day timeline which was so satisfying! I will say that although the first 10 ish percent immediately caught my attention, after that up until maybe 65% it did feel like a bit of a slog. But I read the last bit in one sitting because everything was weaving together and I was on the edge of my seat to find out how the story would resolve, and Sarah Penner absolutely delivered on a satisfying ending which definitely boosted the rating of this book for me.
Something important to note is that our character in the present timeline, Haven, is a nautical archaeologist and much of the plot is filled with technical jargon and is very career focused. This was a huge plus for me as an aspiring anthropologist who is very interested in all the related fields to that subject, but I could see how this would be a turn off for some people. I really enjoyed the scenes of Haven in the archives. Even so, I still found myself connecting more with the past timeline as I really enjoyed Mari and Holmes as characters as well as their storyline just a bit more than Haven and the modern storyline. I was at times frustrated with the characters and their choices but the ending really wrapped everything up and I was very pleased. I definitely recommend picking this one up this summer!
A huge thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Gun violence, Suicide, Blood, Injury/Injury detail