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booksbydorothea 's review for:
The Amalfi Curse
by Sarah Penner
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.0 stars
Definite recommend
When I saw the blurb for this book, I was excited about sea witches in Italy in 1821. I enjoyed that part of the dual storyline a lot. However, the contemporary part was boring and not that interesting. This book could have been entirely about the sea witches!
The writing was good, but the 1821 dialogue and writing were contemporary and could have had more Italian throughout. Also, more descriptions of the Amalfi Coast would have been lovely.
The main character, Mari, a sea witch, was incredible. I would have liked the book to only focus on her and her time. Again, the contemporary main character, Haven, was just blah and drags the book down.
The character development was not strong enough, as I want to KNOW the characters. This is my primary reason for reading historical fiction.
Overall, I liked this book, but was somewhat disappointed.
For a more detailed review, check out my blog - booksbydorothea:
https://booksbydorothea.blogspot.com/2025/07/review-amalfi-curse-ebook.html
Definite recommend
When I saw the blurb for this book, I was excited about sea witches in Italy in 1821. I enjoyed that part of the dual storyline a lot. However, the contemporary part was boring and not that interesting. This book could have been entirely about the sea witches!
The writing was good, but the 1821 dialogue and writing were contemporary and could have had more Italian throughout. Also, more descriptions of the Amalfi Coast would have been lovely.
The main character, Mari, a sea witch, was incredible. I would have liked the book to only focus on her and her time. Again, the contemporary main character, Haven, was just blah and drags the book down.
The character development was not strong enough, as I want to KNOW the characters. This is my primary reason for reading historical fiction.
Overall, I liked this book, but was somewhat disappointed.
For a more detailed review, check out my blog - booksbydorothea:
https://booksbydorothea.blogspot.com/2025/07/review-amalfi-curse-ebook.html
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Blood, Pregnancy