Reviews

Cursed Coven by Kara Badalamenti

lexareadsaalatte's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

 I received a free ARC of this book and am leaving a review voluntarily. All references and notes are available in the synopsis to keep this review spoiler free.

CURSED COVEN
Rating: 5/5 ⭐
Spice: No explicit spice but mentions of sexual situations
Kindle Unlimited

Genre(s): Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy or Paranormal
Tropes: Dual POV, Found Family, Witch/Witch Hunter, Enemies-To-Lovers, Cliffhanger ending

“There is no shadow without light”

SUMMARY:
Octavia, a magicless witch from a broken coven, and Leif, a tenacious witch hunter with a desire to impress his father, unexpectedly collide and they begrudgingly agree to join forces to confront a common enemy. But when their drastically opposing views of witchcraft threaten to bring their carefully-laid plans crumbling to the ground, they’re forced put aside their differences before they lose the very thing they were never expecting to cherish—each other. Together, they'll learn that light and dark do not always translate perfectly into good and evil.

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, Octavia counted her friends frantically. All here.”

What I liked: A perfect spooky season read! THE ENDING WAS SO CUTE AND PERFECT FOR WHAT WE DISCOVER AS WE READ (even if we have a bit of a cliffhanger on resolving all issues and I am already desperate for the next book). I thoroughly enjoyed the world building, the characters and the complexity/diversity of each of them, and the overall feel of the story. Set in modern day, we have characters using They/Them pronouns and introductions to others using pronouns which I loved. This was such a fun and attention-capturing read.

“I mean, come on! Who in their right mind doesn't believe in climate change at this point? Especially the type of person who goes on a date with a nonbinary person. It just doesn't add up!”

What I didn't like: That the next book isn't out already? 😅 That's all I have for this section!

My Rating System:
5 ★ Masterfully created work of art with many strong qualities. Will re-read. Cannot imagine my life without it. Devastated it is over.
4 ★ Solid Work. Enjoyed from beginning to end.
3 ★ Decent with poor execution in some manner. Neutral.
2 ★ Wasn't good but not completely bad. Only 1 or 2 redeeming qualities
1 ★ DNF and/or no redeeming qualities

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ashwhit2024's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

I was gifted an ARC copy by Kara but this review is completely free from biases.

Wow… first of all, why the heck did it have to end in a cliffhanger! I went into this book believing that it was a stand-alone and now I need more! I need to know what happens once they get to their new home!

Okay, the fact that Leif and Octavia were one of the most perfect enemies to lovers in a twisted sort of way was done perfectly. Well, I guess they weren’t originally enemies until he met the other three… But the story behind Leif and Octavia was done so beautifully and I just loved them together! I also want to see a romance happen between Tripp and June! So when I got to the point where Leif and his family were planning things out, I kind of had an inkling that they might have been the four children that went missing and boy was I right! I also loved that how they found out was due to Octavia asking Leif to come with her to Salem! 

I really loved how slowly (but not so slowly) all eight of them became friends and a family again and it just made me smile seeing all of them fight to protect one another! When the the original coven members found out what Leif had planned to kill them, I’m glad that it didn’t go too crazy with everyone going murderous! And the confrontation with Garren on me on the edge of my seat, especially when I thought Leif was going to die. And I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m pretty sure what caused the hex to lift was Leif telling Octavia that he loved her. I believe this because Garren stopped him from saying it earlier.

Final thoughts; this book is perfect for the spooky season!

staceyrz's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jennamae's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I got this eARC from the author, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! 

I loved this book. It was so much fun to read from beginning to end. The plot, characters, and the banter is just fun. I can’t wait to read the next one. 

jamiezaccaria's review

5.0

A refreshingly adult take on the magical dark academia genre, Cursed Coven grips its readers from the first page and doesn’t let go. I'm officially attached to all of these characters and love the found family vibes. I need the sequel now, please!

christinakann's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

kcbadreads's review

adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0