Reviews

Cursed Coven by Kara Badalamenti

amandaevans's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

Wow wow wow, I loved this book so much. 

A witchy romantasy, found family, enemies to lovers, all the goods. The characters all have their moments to shine. We love a background character that still gets character depth and development. 

The dual POV between Octavia and Leif really contributes to the extensive plot of this story and how the plot bridges the gap between these two main characters as the story progresses. 

I breezed through this book, and really the ONLY reason I’m giving it 4/5 ⭐️ is because of the pacing. 95% of the time is was perfect, but at times it did feel a little rushed. I really didn’t mind that much, especially if you’re looking for a book you do not want to put down — this is the one for you. But, if your thing is a slow burn character/plot development, this is going to feel very fast for you. Otherwise, for a debut author/novel, this was phenomenal. 
(I was super on the fence for giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️, which is why I settled on the four instead of the five)

It does lean a little more to the YA side of fantasy in my opinion, but I think that could change in the next book installment based on the characters and plot development 👀🤞🏼 (hoping for some spice here)

Another small note that I loved here - the implementation of pronouns for the variety of characters. I love that when these characters are being introduced to one another, they are introducing themselves with their pronouns in a not weird way. We love character diversity 🫶🏼

I can’t believe the lack of reviews there are for this book and truly it is one I will be recommending to anyone and everyone because I enjoyed it so much. 

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nathie1910's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-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? Yes

4.5

hails15's review against another edition

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2.0

ARC review: 2.5 ⭐️

The book started off fast getting straight into the story with mild spice. However, as the story went on it fell off the tracks. I didn’t find myself truly connected to the characters or rooting for the romance. Spice was maybe a .5

booksandbedtime's review against another edition

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5.0

A witch and witch hunter romance but make it modern day AND with the best friend groups? Sign me up.

This book has a bit of everything - enemies to lovers, trauma, found family, beautiful love story, epic magic. It’s such a beautiful debut. You’ll want this one for your spooky season TBR.

loch_ness_book_monster's review against another edition

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4.0

Not my typical choice of book, but I couldn't resist the dark academia and witchy story. This book pulled me in so quickly, I couldn't put it down. If you are looking for a true enemies to lovers, modern day fantasy then this book is for you. Beautifully written.

nesdy's review against another edition

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3.0

I got this novel for free through a StoryGraph giveaway

I enjoyed the characters and the romance, but there isn't much to the plot, at least in this first book. I think at times it got a bit repetitive (especially towards the middle), but the beginning and end were engaging.

emilyisoverbooked's review

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4.0

Modern-day witch / witch hunter romance and found family? Yes please.

ragans_reads's review

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3.0

3.75 ⭐️

This book was such an interesting adventure! It’s the first witchy book I’ve read (I think), and I was just wanting more of the background of the coven and how their magic works. I enjoyed the two major twists that came during this fun journey! Learning more and Leif and his friends, as well as Octavia and her coven. The pull these two felt with each other had me curious for the better part of this read. One thing I could’ve done without was the overly respective thought of Octavia’s view of herself within the coven without her magic. To me it just seemed like it was thrown in there a few too many times. On the flip side, Octavia, magic or no, is such a badass in her own way. She found a way to combat being hexed and I loved that part of her story! Delta needed to check her attitude but her feelings were 100% validated once she had enough whiskey to share them! My sweet Quinten, I just want to give you a big hug! I cannot wait to see what’s next in the coven’s journey!

baya_111's review

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4.0

I quite liked this story! Won it in a giveaway and it was better than I expected. A bit too much on the YA side for me but I still enjoyed every page! Kinda want to read more about the characters but also not really? As in I'd be happy if this is the ending we get but if there's more I'd like to read it.

autumnk3lly's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

Wow. Just, wow. I didn't really expect to like this. I got it for free and then completely forgot about it. Only ended picking it up because it seemed like an easy read to end the year. I was bored at first but things escalated so quickly and in such a good way. I was giggling and kicking my feet in the air the whole time. Very rarely do I come across books that make me have to set it down so I can scream about what just happened. 

I really like how all of the characters were written and how loveable they all become. Instant new favorite (book and author). 

Hands down one of the best enemies to lovers I've read. It's so well executed!!!!!

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