Review: Sealed with a Curse by Cecy Robson

Sealed with a Curse
by Cecy Robson
Series: Weird Girls #1
Publisher: Penguin
Publication date: December 21, 2012
Genre: Adult Urban Fantasy
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Celia Wird and her three sisters are just like other twenty-something girls—with one tiny exception: They're the products of a curse that backfired and gave each of them unique powers that make them, well, a little weird… The Wird sisters are content to avoid the local vampires, werebeasts, and witches of the Lake Tahoe region—until one of them blows up a vampire in self-defense. Everyone knows vampires aren't aggressive, and killing one is punishable by death. But soon more bloodlust-fueled attacks occur, and the community wonders if the vampires of Tahoe are plague-ridden. Celia reluctantly agrees to help Misha, the handsome leader of an infected vampire family. But Aric, the head of the werewolf pack determined to destroy Misha's family to keep the area safe, warns Celia to stay out of the fight. Caught between two hot alphas, Celia must find a way to please everyone, save everyone, and—oh, yeah—not lose her heart to the wrong guy or die a miserable death. Because now that the evil behind the plague knows who Celia is, he's coming for her and her sisters.  This Wird girl has never had it so tough.

Reviews from peers led me to purchase Sealed with a Curse the first book in the Weird Sisters Urban Fantasy series and I finally read it during the Take Control of your TBR pile challenge in March. Robson presented three sisters with special abilities she added some smexy weres, a master vampire and a suspenseful mystery. From the first page I knew I was in for one heck of a ride. With loveable, snarky characters and troubles galore I quickly consumed this and wanted more.

We first meet the Wird sisters as they enter vampire court charged with murdering a vampire. Celia is a shifter with a tigress living inside her. Emme can heal and has telekinetic abilities. Taran can work magic and Shayna’s ability is to turn anything with a point into a deadly weapon. From the first pages their individual personalities and unique voices are present as they try to keep themselves from being vampire food. When it becomes apparent that bloodlust was to blame the girls are cleared but now Misha the master vampire who wanted them dead is asking for help. Add in some smexy Weres and the tale that unfolds is fast paced, action packed with suspense, mystery and a little romantic heat.

I quickly formed an attachment to the Wird sisters. They are all quite close due to tragic events in their past and we quickly learn why one family has so many unique and different supernatural abilities. Apparently they were cursed and  are supernatural freaks; not quite human and not quite a classifiable supernatural creature. They live in a lovely Victorian that backs up to the lake in Tahoe and work at the local hospital. Until recently they have kept a low profile but the cats out of the bag so to speak. Celia is the responsible one, kind of the mother hen. She doesn’t see herself as beautiful or even pretty but she protects her sisters like a mama lion and she gets involved in everything going down because she cares how it will affect the humans. This tale really centers on Celia and we slowly get to know her siblings. Ari is an pureblood werewolf who just may be strong enough to handle Celia and her tigress. The interaction between all of the species was interesting and at times intense. I love Were mentality when it comes to their woman and at times I giggled. Misha oozes smexy but cannot hold a candle to Ari, at least for this chick. All of the secondary characters had unique voices and whether you love them or hate them you will find them memorable.

The world-building was unique especially as it deals with the girls and their abilities. It is really hard to classify them and I found it quite clever. While we know about the tragedy and the curse I am hoping we will learn the how and why in future books. The author slowly revealed the girls abilities and they were cool, quirky and at times hilarious. The author’s descriptive voice gave me a stunning visual of the characters and the world around them. The overall mystery was suspenseful and the reveal of the villain took me by surprise. Events unfold at a blurring pace and I completely immersed myself in the world Robson created. The only shift occurred during some of the intense battle scenes as I tripped up a few times and found myself re-reading. I am hoping it was just me and I quickly feel back into the story. The romance was sweet, despite some bumpy moments and communication issues.

Sealed with a Curse was a clever start to this urban fantasy series. A Cursed Embrace book two will release in July and I cannot wait to get my hands on it. With a unique storyline, developed characters and tons of supernatural creatures this series is sure to please.

Four and half cups of coffee from the Dam Café in Lake Tahoe

This weekends Clean Sweep Challenge Schedule

 Saturday May 4th
9am (EST) Barbara @ Basia's BookShelf
4pm (EST) Thuy @ Nite Lite