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A review by katbhw
The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This was my first of Sarah Penner's books, and now I get it.
Her writing is somehow romantic and poetic and heart-wrenching all at once. Her characters feel real and rooted in history (I could easily believe that all these characters were real historical figures), and I was invested in all of their stories the whole way through. Mira in particulr just felt so real to me, and her connection/contention with the sea and her magic was so well done.
I love a treasure hunting/archeology story, as well as anything related to wreck diving, so those aspects were a great fun time. Some of the plotline with Conrad did seem a bit fiddly, like he was just there to be outside pressure (which I get), but ultimately he just didn't matter that much? Also Enzo was.... there. His connection to everything was fun, but I didn't really care about him much more than that.
The dual timeline was a bit slow at the start, but it was super effective at ramping up tension near the end - when things started coming together and being revealed I was gasping and screeching and whispering 'nonono' to myself.
A must-read if you're in the mood for a romantic historical story paralleled with treasure diving and the unravelling of a centuries old mystery!
Thank you, as always, to NetGalley and Harlequin/Trade Row for providing me with an eARC for review. All opinions are my own.
Her writing is somehow romantic and poetic and heart-wrenching all at once. Her characters feel real and rooted in history (I could easily believe that all these characters were real historical figures), and I was invested in all of their stories the whole way through. Mira in particulr just felt so real to me, and her connection/contention with the sea and her magic was so well done.
I love a treasure hunting/archeology story, as well as anything related to wreck diving, so those aspects were a great fun time. Some of the plotline with Conrad did seem a bit fiddly, like he was just there to be outside pressure (which I get), but ultimately he just didn't matter that much? Also Enzo was.... there. His connection to everything was fun, but I didn't really care about him much more than that.
The dual timeline was a bit slow at the start, but it was super effective at ramping up tension near the end - when things started coming together and being revealed I was gasping and screeching and whispering 'nonono' to myself.
A must-read if you're in the mood for a romantic historical story paralleled with treasure diving and the unravelling of a centuries old mystery!
Thank you, as always, to NetGalley and Harlequin/Trade Row for providing me with an eARC for review. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Kidnapping